Olympic XC titans Craig, Beckingsale back for another year with Giant

International cross-country standouts Adam Craig and Oli Beckingsale will be back for another season with Giant’s Global Mountain Bike Team, following stellar 2008 seasons which included appearances at the Beijing Olympics and breakthrough results in the sport’s most important events.

Joining U.S. Olympian Craig and Great Britain’s Olympic veteran Beckingsale on Giant’s Global team is veteran Australian downhill racer Jared Rando.

Craig, 27, repeated as the U.S. Cross-Country Champion last season, while also racking up his sixth consecutive U.S. Super D title. His consistent international results also earned Craig a spot on the U.S. Olympic team at the 2008 Summer Games.

“Giant is behind me, and I’m behind them,” said Craig in the company’s official press release. “Any team that has supported me through a six-year Super D national championship streak must be doing something right, and I’m looking forward to keeping the fun rolling in 2009.”

This year, Craig will focus on the international World Cup series, plus a handful of North American events, such as the Downieville Classic in Downieville, California.

Beckingsale, a three-time Olympian, joins Craig as one of the top talents on the World Cup XC circuit. The 32-year-old has won the British National Championship five times (2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007) and is considered one of the world’s most consistent cross-country racers over the last decade.

“It’s shaping up to be a great year, and the bikes are better than ever,” said Beckingsale. “It’s a top team in terms of support and also team spirit. I’m looking forward to hitting the World Cup 100 percent and also having a crack at the marathon world championships in Austria.”

Craig and Beckingsale have played integral roles in developing Giant’s most advanced cross-country race bikes, including the 2009 Giant Anthem X. The bike was unveiled last summer at the 2008 U.S. MTB Championships in Vermont, where Craig used the Anthem X to defend his title on the technical trails of the Mount Snow ski resort.

“It’s great to be continuing into my seventh year with Giant so I can keep a close eye on all of the awesome new bike projects we have in the works right now,” said Craig. “Every year I’ve ended up testing and racing something better, and it’s made riding and racing more entertaining.”

On the gravity side, Rando also plays a key role in product development. A veteran of international downhill and dual-slalom racing, Rando is Giant’s lead athlete for testing long-travel downhill bikes.

Beyond the three-man Giant Global team, the company will also continue to support its North American squad, which consists of U.S. cross-country riders Kelli Emmett and Carl Decker, as well as freeride talents such as Canadian Kurt Sorge and American Jeff Lenosky.