BEIJING -- Wet, sweaty and muddy.

That was Adam Craig on Thursday morning.

The rains came to Beijing again, drenching the Olympics and turning the Laoshan Mountain Bike Course into slop.

"I think if the race were held right now, it'd be great for Adam," said Marc Gullickson, the U.S. Olympic mountain bike coach. "Because he's good in the mud."

But Craig, the 27-year-old Exeter native and Dexter High graduate, will have to wait until Saturday afternoon here to race -- when the course should be dried out. It will be 3 a.m. back in Maine when he competes in his first Olympics in the mountain bike cross country final.

And he doesn't seem nervous.

"I was just born that way, I've never been that bothered by anything," he said after a short training run on the course. "Being in the world championships is a big deal, the Pan Am games is a big deal.

"Now, for me personally, without any disrespect intended, it's just another bike race. That's how I have to deal with it to keep my head screwed on."

There is often a tendency among first-time Olympians to try to do too much, to take in too much of the Olympic spirit. That happened to Todd Wells, Craig's teammate, in the 2004 Athens Games, where he finished 19th.

No one is worried about that with Craig. His reserved and relaxed attitude serves him well.

"I would say more so than a lot of elite riders that I've been around, he's not so one-dimensional," said Gullickson. "He has a lot of interests and passion for a lot of things, not just racing.

"And that keeps him motivated and balanced. In the long run, although some people see it that he's not so serious -- 'Why does he spend the winter kayaking and stuff?' -- I think there's a very strong argument, especially for his personality, that it helps him stay fresh, and motivated to race."

Growing up in Maine, Craig learned not to worry about too many things.

"People in Maine aren't generally bothered by pretty much anything," he said. "I don't know, it's an asset and a hindrance in some ways. People are like, 'Why isn't he fired up?' I'm just not wired that way."

And he never has been.

"He was quiet and unassuming," said Robyn Keyte, a secretary at Dexter, speaking of his time at that high school, where he would often ride his bike to classes. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think he had this great fire burning. What he has achieved has been on his own, through dedication and hard work. He's really just an All-American kid."

Craig and the rest of the U.S. mountain bike team arrived here on Wednesday after spending a week at a training camp on the island of Jeju off the coast of South Korea. The idea was to get acclimated to the time change and the heat and humidity.

"We got everything we needed out of it," said Gullickson. "It was hot and humid, we got used to the time zone, and the travel here was painless."

Craig said the weeklong camp also allowed the U.S. team members to relax, something that was definitely needed after a long World Cup season.

"To be successful Olympians, not just participating Olympians, we needed a camp like that somewhere in the area," said Craig. "It worked out good."

Craig comes into the Olympics on a high note. He finished fourth and then third in the final two World Cup races, in Quebec (Mont Sainte Anne and Bromont) -- his best finishes ever on the World Cup tour. He is now ranked 14th in the world according to the Union Cycliste Internationale, while Wells is ranked 19th. Craig said those results are irrelevant, but Gullickson isn't so sure.

The timing, he said, was perfect.

"Those fields weren't maybe quite as full of fast racers as it is here, but having said that they both World Cup races and generally if you get on the podium in World Cup races, you're riding well," Gullickson said. "His confidence was boosted from those rides. He's riding well. I think those are two pretty positive indicators.

"Obviously it doesn't mean that he's going to medal here just because he did there. But that's his best World Cup ever, three weeks before the Olympics, so that's good."

What's more important, said Craig, is how everyone handled the three weeks since the Bromont race.

"We'll find out who's been doing their homework," he said. "I think I've done mine, I learned lots of good stuff along the way."

One thing to remember is that those races did include some of the world's best, including top-ranked Julien Absalon of France and top 20 mountain bikers Geoff Kabush of Canada, Burry Stander of Russia and Lukas Fluckiger of Switzerland. Still, it comes down to how well you go up and down the hills on Saturday, Craig said.

"It's a bike race," he said. "You've got to ride fast."

So what does Craig hope for? A good race, more than anything else.

"Getting a medal would be great," he said. "Hopefully I'll continue to feel good and have one of those days. That's what I want most, to have one of those days, a good solid race, when you feel good and race your best.

"I think I've set myself up for that as well as I can."