Julien Absalon

Julien Arnaud Absalon (born 16 August 1980) is a French former cross-country mountain biker, who competed as a professional from 2001 to 2018. He is considered to be one of the most successful cross-country cyclists of all time. Throughout his career, Absalon won gold medals at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, five World Championships (2004–2007, 2014), seven UCI World Cup overall titles (2003, 2006–2009, 2014, 2016) and 33 World Cup rounds, which was an all-time record before being broken by Nino Schurter in 2023. He also won all fourteen French cross-country championships between 2003 and 2016, and five European Championships (2006, 2013–2016).

Career highlights Source: 2003: Absalon won his first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.

2004: Gold at World Champions and the Athens Olympic Games.

2005: Absalon again won the World Championships.

2006: Winner at the World Championships, European Championships, French Championships and the overall World Cup.

2007: World Champion and World Cup Champion

2008: Won 2nd Gold Medal at the Beijing Olympic Games, World Cup Champion

2009: Number 1 World Ranking for all but 5 days of the year. Winner of UCI MTB World Cup for the 5th time, silver at the World Championships

2010: 2nd Overall at World Championships

2011: 3rd at the World Championships and World Cup

2012: At the 2012 Summer Olympics cross-country race, he suffered a tyre puncture in the opening lap. After changing tyre and noticing that he was trailing the leader by 55 seconds, he decided to abandon the race, seeing that his chances of winning a medal had disappeared.

2013: Won European Championships

2014: Wins 5th World Championship title, French and European Championships. His season was cut short when, that November, he suffered a broken collarbone during a cyclocross race.

2015: Absalon wins the European Championships, French Championships, and finished second overall in the World Championships. Completed the season ranked world number 1.

2016: Finishes the Rio Olympic Games in 8th place.

Major results

1998

1999

2nd Cross-country, National Under-23 Championships 5th Cross-country, UCI World Under-23 Championships 2000

4th Cross-country, UCI World Under-23 Championships 2001

UCI XCO World Cup 1st Durango

2002

2003

1st Mont-Sainte-Anne 3rd Kaprun 3rd Sankt Wendel 3rd Fort William 3rd Grouse Mountain

2004

UCI XCO World Cup 1st Schladming 3rd Houffalize 3rd Madrid 5th Cross-country, UEC European Championships 2005

3rd Overall UCI XCO World Cup 1st Spa-Francorchamps 1st Madrid 3rd Willingen 2006

1st Spa-Francorchamps 1st Fort William 1st Madrid 2nd Curaçao 3rd Mont-Sainte-Anne 2007

1st Saint-Félicien 1st Offenburg 1st Mont-Sainte-Anne 1st Champéry 2nd Houffalize

2008

1st Madrid 1st Mont-Sainte-Anne 1st Houffalize 1st Offenburg 1st Bromont 2009

1st Madrid 1st Mont-Sainte-Anne 1st Houffalize 1st Offenburg 2nd Champéry 2nd Pietermaritzburg

2010

2nd Overall UCI XCO World Cup 1st Offenburg 2nd Val di Sole 2nd Dalby Forest 5th Cross-country, UCI World Championships 2011

3rd Overall UCI XCO World Cup 1st Offenburg 2nd Pietermaritzburg 2nd Dalby Forest 3rd Nové Město 2012

UCI XCO World Cup 1st Houffalize 1st La Bresse 4th Cross-country, UCI World Championships 4th Cross-country, UEC European Championships 2013

3rd Overall UCI XCO World Cup 1st Mont-Sainte-Anne 2nd Nové Město 2nd Val di Sole 2014

1st Pietermaritzburg 1st Cairns 1st Albstadt 2nd Mont-Sainte-Anne 2nd Méribel 2nd Windham 2015

2nd Overall UCI XCO World Cup 1st Albstadt 2nd Val di Sole 2nd Windham 2nd Mont-Sainte-Anne 3rd Nové Město 2016

1st La Bresse 1st Vallnord 1st Mont-Sainte-Anne 2nd Albstadt 2nd Lenzerheide 3rd Cairns

2017

UCI XCO World Cup 3rd Nové Město 3rd Vallnord 2018

2019 2nd Cross-country, National E-MTB Championships