Jaroslav Kulhavy trained so hard for the Olympics that he didnt have time to finish work on a new house.It took a broken left hand to finally slow him down on the mountain bike, though its not the kind of break he needed as he works to get back atop the medal stand in Rio. There is little time to rest with some of cyclings best-known names looking to unseat the Czech champion.In March, Kulhavy had surgery on the hand he broke during a race in Cyprus. After a five-week recovery, he was back on the World Cup circuit in May.The main thing is that I didn*t fall anywhere, because the terrain was very slippery, Kulhavy said on his website after finishing fifth at La Bresse. I have the points and my performance looks good. I was riding in a good feeling especially at the end.Some notes and other things to watch in mountain bike during the Rio Games:FAMILIAR FOESThere are two familiar names atop the world rankings: Nino Schurter of Switzerland and Julien Absalon of France. Schurter won silver in 2012 and bronze in 2008. Absalon, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, had his hopes dashed for another first-place finish in London by a flat tire.SAGAN WHAT?World road race champion Peter Sagan will try to win gold at Rio on a mountain bike. The Slovak Cycling Association said Sagan agreed to give up his road spot for the mountain biking berth. Sagan tested the difficult road course in Rio in January and decided it was too hilly for him to contend. Hes a former junior world champion in mountain biking.TOP WOMENAnnika Langvad of Denmark was the top-ranked female rider internationally going into the world championships in late June, with three World Cup series wins over the last year. Langvad was followed closely by Switzerlands Jolanda Neff, the World Cup winner in 2014 and 2015. Julie Bresset from France, who won gold in 2012, is an alternate this year.LEA IN THE LEADThe top U.S. contender is Lea Davison , ranked 20th in the world. She finished 11th in London and since the last Olympics, Davison had surgery to repair torn cartilage in her right hip in January 2014, about four years after needing a similar procedure on her left hip.She felt good this spring, though ran into some bad luck after gashing her elbow during a World Cup race in May, stunting momentum for a top finish. Davison finished the race still bleeding, in 18th place. Davison, though, has five top-10 finishes in World Cup races in the last year.The womens mountain bike World Cup circuit is ridiculously competitive and deep right now, Davison said.The other womens spot on Team USA went to Chloe Woodruff, ranked 28th in the world. She won nationals in 2015.This is a dream come true, Woodruff said on Facebook after learning on June 23 that she made her first Olympics.FORWARD LOOKINGThe lone mens spot on the U.S. team is going to 23-year-old Howard Grotts. He was chosen over Stephen Ettinger, who is four years older but higher ranked in the world. With the United States a longshot to medal, Rio will serve as a learning experience for Grotts.ON THE COURSEThe 3-plus mile-long, man-made Rio course has received good reviews from riders. Marc Gullickson, director of the USA Cycling Mountain Bike program, said the course was well-manicured, with challenging, though not extremely dangerous, features. The course, riders have said, makes for a television-friendly event. Heat could be an issue, though, with no trees to provide shade. Pete Maravich Jersey . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Randy Wittman Jersey . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. https://www.cheaphawks.com/1654r-john-collins-jersey-hawks.html . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. Jeff Teague Jersey . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. Stacey Augmon Jersey . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. POMONA, Calif. -- Ron Capps won his first NHRA Mello Yello Series Funny Car season title Saturday at the Auto Club NHRA Finals.Capps earned enough points in qualifying in the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T to build an insurmountable lead over Matt Hagan.It hasnt sunk in yet, Capps said. I almost gave up, not winning a championship, but trying so hard and wishing so hard, and just focused on winning races and all the accolades Ive gotten this year especially the 50th win, passing some people I really looked up to in the sport. Thats mind boggling to me every time Im mentioned with those names.We got to the Countdown with a big lead and I thought, `OK, now we really got a shot at this. We said at the beginning of the yyear this is the toughest Funny Car class ever.dddddddddddd Then it was the 50th anniversary of the Funny Car, which was awesome. It just kept snowballing. We kept digging and digging and digging and Rahn Tobler just had that eye.Jack Beckman led Funny Car qualifying with the second-quickest Funny Car pass in NHRA history, a 3.825 at 332.10 in a Dodge Charger R/T. J.R. Todd was the fastest in Top Fuel with a 3.680 at 327.82. Points leader Jason Line topped the Pro Stock field at 6.545 at 211.33 in a Chevrolet Camaro, and Jerry Savoie led in Pro Stock Motorcycle at 6.825 at 194.97 on a Suzuki. ' ' '