Grant Ferguson is a late addition to Great Britain's Rio 2016 Olympic cycling team

Grant Ferguson will contest the men's cross-country mountain bike event for Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro

Grant Ferguson.
(Image credit: Andy Jones)

Grant Ferguson will ride for Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in the men's cross-country mountain bike discipline.

Great Britain had originally not been allocated a place in either the men's or women's XC events, but a re-allocation of unused places handed GB a spot in the men's race.

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Ferguson, 22, becomes the 27th member of Great Britain's Rio 2016 cycling team, with the other 26 members for the road, track and BMX having been named in June.

Naturally, Ferguson was happy to hear that he'd be on his way to Rio.

"I’m thrilled to have been selected to represent Great Britain at the Rio Olympic Games thanks to the support of British Cycling," said Ferguson.

"I was fortunate enough to be on the BOA’s Olympic Ambition Programme in 2012 and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience so to be able to actually compete this time is really exciting and I can’t wait to get out there."

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Team GB Chef de Mission Mark England added: "Being able to add Grant to our cycling squad and ensure we have representation across all four disciplines is fantastic news for Team GB. Grant is a young, exciting rider who’s progressed quickly to elite level having excelled in the junior ranks."

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Ferguson was under-23 winner at the Val di Sole XC UCI World Cup round in 2015 and claimed bronze in the U23 men's 2015 XC world championships and silver in the European championships.

The men's XC MTB event takes place on the final day of the 2016 Games, on August 21.

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Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.