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 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).

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Julien Absalon

Absalon at the Albstadt round of the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup
Personal information
Full name	Julien Absalon
Born	(1980-08-16) 16 August 1980 (age 43) Remiremont, France
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	70 kg (154 lb)
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Mountain bike racing
Role	Rider
Rider type	Cross-country
Amateur team
1996–2000	Scott France
Professional teams
2001–2006	Bianchi
2007–2012	Orbea
2013–2018	BMC Mountainbike Racing Team
Major wins
Mountain bike Olympic Games XC (2004, 2008) World XC Championships (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2014) European XC Championships (2006, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) National XC Championships (2003–2016)
Medal record Men's mountain bike racing Representing  France Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 0 0 World Championships 5 2 2 World Cup 7 2 3 European Championships 5 4 0 Total 19 8 5 Olympic Games 2004 Athens Cross-country 2008 Beijing Cross-country World Championships 2004 Les Gets Cross-country 2005 Livigno Cross-country 2006 Rotorua Cross-country 2007 Fort William Cross-country 2014 Hafjell Cross-country 2009 Canberra Cross-country 2015 Vallnord Cross-country 2011 Champéry Cross-country 2016 Nové Město Cross-country World Cup 2003 Overall Cross-country 2006 Overall Cross-country 2007 Overall Cross-country 2008 Overall Cross-country 2009 Overall Cross-country 2014 Overall Cross-country 2016 Overall Cross-country 2010 Overall Cross-country 2015 Overall Cross-country 2005 Overall Cross-country 2011 Overall Cross-country 2013 Overall Cross-country 2019 Leogang E-MTB Cross-country European Championships 2006 Lamosano Cross-country 2013 Bern Cross-country 2014 St. Wendel Cross-country 2015 Alpago Cross-country 2016 Huskvarna Cross-country 2003 Graz Cross-country 2005 Kluisbergen Cross-country 2007 Göreme Cross-country 2011 Dohňany Cross-country 2017 Darfo Boario Terme Cross-country

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Source:^[1] 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.^[2][3]

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.