Julien Absalon

Julien Absalon is a French former cross-country mountain biker, born on 16 August 1980, who competed as a professional from 2001 to 2018 and is considered one of the most successful cross-country cyclists of all time. He won gold medals at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, five world championships in 2004 to 2007 and 2014, and seven UCI World Cup overall titles, along with 33 World Cup rounds, an all-time record until Nino Schurter broke it in 2023. He also won all fourteen French cross-country championships between 2003 and 2016 and five European Championships, in 2006 and from 2013 to 2016.