Absolut(ely) Absalon: Undeniably the Greatest

No need for an introduction, you all know Julien Absalon. The man, more at ease on the bike than in front of cameras, prefers to let his palmares do the talking. At the eve of his penultiame international season that kicks off in Nove Mesto na Morave in a few days, we caught up with the leader of the BMC MTB Racing Team to talk about the highlights of his career, the past ones and the ‘still to come’.

Julien, it has been almost twenty years now that you’re on top of the box. Let’s open a photo album and look back at the highlights - good and less good - of your career. Can you talk about them?

Mont-Sainte-Anne 1998 – The click


I became World Champion there just a few weeks after winning the European Championships. It is then that I thought “Maybe I can make a career out of cycling”. Before that I never thought about turning pro. I started cycling pretty late in my life but everything came to me really quickly and naturally. My parents had no cycling background and I had no idea how it all worked. But after just a few months of training I finished 4th at the French National Championships! Many national podiums followed but I did not manage to pin a win. As a consequence, I was not selected for the 1997 World Championships (1st year Junior). But after that I won the French Cup at Roc d’Azur and the following year, in 1998, I won everything!

I had a great race in Mont-Sainte-Anne. I was really in control of what was happening, from the start to the finish. I won in front of Ryder Hesjedal but to be honest it is almost everything I can remember about the race.
I kept studying for a couple of years after that and finally turned pro with Bianchi in 2001.

Durango 2000 – First World Cup win

I was in my second U23 season. It came as a surprise as I had never achieved a podium or a top 5 before. I was lucky that day! Roland Green was dominating but had two or three flat tires. I passed him many times times but he always caught me. In the last lap, I was second behind Cadel Evans but he also had a flat tire and I passed him with 400m to the finish line. It was a lot of luck and a real surprise to win.

Athens 2004 – Day of grace


I was not one of the favorites but more an outsider for a medal. That day was a real day of grace! I was on cloud nine, I rode a perfect race and won gold.

With the date approaching, and although it was my first Olympic experience, I felt more and more serene. At the same time I was excited and looking forward to the race. Nothing could happen to me, I was programmed to win. Now I actually don’t remember much of the race itself. We only get two or three days like this in a lifetime, this was my first one.

Les Gets 2004 – In the momentum of the Olympic Games


I was still on a cloud after Athens. I arrived in Les Gets in holiday mode. Three days before the race I was having a barbecue with Cedric Gracia and Max Commençal… My coach managed to get me focused again: “You were in the shape of your life two weeks ago, it cannot be all gone!” The day before the race I heard the Marseillaise played for Fabien Barel’s victory in the Downhill event, then I heard the rain falling all night long and in the morning I woke up like a warrior! I took some risks and went with mud tyres with almost no air.

I wasn’t feeling that bad at the top of the first climb and passed everyone in the downhill. I arrived at the bottom with a 30-40’’ gap! They caught me again on the climbs but I was so fast in the way down, that is how I won the race. On that day I became World Champion while I hadn’t even thought of racing three days before. That podium will always be very special to me. I shared it with Thomas Frischknecht (bronze) –the benchmark at the time, and someone I really admired – and my buddy Cédric Ravanel (silver). It was a great podium and winning my first Elite World Championships at home in France, felt fantastic.


2005 - 2007 - Absalon n°1




Val di Sole 2008 – The end of an overpowering domination

What a failure I had there! But all in all, it was a good thing. Without it I doubt I would have become Olympic Champion for the second time a month later. Unlike in 2004, I was in a spiral where stress and the challenge took over envy and passion. I was not feeling well and that big slap in the face put me back on the right track. Everything had to be put in question again. A month later I arrived in Beijing in a very different state of mind.

Whithin a month, I managed again to find the right balance. Race after race people had gotten used to seeing me win and when I did not people used to say “Absalon lost, Absalon beaten” and this pressure became harder and harder to manage. After Val di Sole, the pressure disappeared; I was not World Champion anymore.

Beijing 2008 – Second Olympic Gold


I finally arrived in Beijing and wanted to have fun there. I was there to enjoy my second Olympics as much as possible.

Race standards had changed a lot compared to Athens four years before. It was more difficult to open up a gap on the other riders. People expected something from me there as I was the defending champion.
That was another great day, I managed the race perfectly. This title was a consecration and also a confirmation of the first one. Winning the Olympics twice, it was so awesome!

It was also when people got to know Nino Schurter who would take a bite out of me in the next years.

Canberra 2009 – Sprint defeat, the first of a long series




The World Championships in Canberra is when we discovered a new type of racing. Until then, sprint finishes and tactics did not really exist. The race was very tactical with a few Swiss riders working together against me, a lot of wind and a very fast course. I did not manage to get rid of Nino and he beat me on the line. Finishing second is ok but second in a sprint at World Championships is hard to digest…

After that, I lost a whole series of other races in a sprint against Nino. He quickly understood that he was the fastest when it came to sprint finishes and he played smart. With more experience, he started assuming his new role, he had become the boss. I couldn’t find the solution, a way to beat him and started developing an inferiority complex. Many people said I was done but I only went from number 1 to number 2!

Losing one position in the UCI ranking was not such a big deal but I remember being on the start line in Nove Mesto with a 12 on my number plate. It was after the London Olympics and a few DNF races. It was a real blow to my morale!

Londres 2012 – The disillusionment



It is definitely the biggest disillusionment and disappointment of my career. I trained like never before for this race and arrived there as fit as it was possible but could not defend my chances because of a slow puncture. A mechanical at the Olympics… it is so hard to swallow and accept. I will never what would have happened if…

The best way for me to turn the page was to focus on the future. But it has been hard times.

In 2013, I joined the BMC MTB Racing Team and it helped me a lot. After six great years with Orbea, changing material, environment and people gave me a new and necessary motivation.

2014 – Grand slam

I won everything that year: the French, European and World Championships, three World Cups and the overall classification…! Of course I had high goals and expectations but if someone had come to me and said I would win so much, never I would have believed it.







My wife was pregnant so I wanted to have a great start of the season. You never know what can happen in the last weeks of a pregnancy or in the first few months of the baby’s life so I focused on the first few races. I won the first two World Cups in Pietermaritzburg and Cairns. After that, I hadn’t really planned to go to North America but eventually did. Everything went well there and I consolidated my lead in the overall classification.

In the back of a new World Cup title I arrived very relaxed in Hafjell and it is often how things go best.

And now?

We are now at the beginning of the 2015 season, your penultimate?

Surely.

What are your goals for this new season?

It is a pre-Olympic season and we are all already thinking about Rio. I would like to get to the same level as last year and win as much: a few World Cups and the French, European and World Championships as well. My preparation did not go as well as I wanted due to some allergies but the international season starts later which is good for me. But from now on, we’ll have to stay as fresh as possible as there is no break during the season.
The World Cup kicks off this weekend in Nove Mesto na Morave, an event you did not win until now.

I love training there, the course is so much fun, but it is true that results were always below my expectations there. I like the course but it doesn’t suit my strengths very well. I enjoy training in Albstadt way less but the course suits me with its long and steep climbs. So I bank more on Albstadt!

It would then be your 30th World Cup victory…

Maybe, I am too sure exactly… 30 is not the goal.

Knowing that you’re in your penultimate season, does it give you more or less pressure?

A bit of both actually. Sometimes I think that there are only two seasons left and that I should win as many races as possible. And sometimes I think I have nothing to prove anymore and that I’d better enjoy my last two seasons and last Olympics. But all in all, my long experience makes everything a bit easier and relaxed. Rio 2016 will be my fourth Olympics so I clearly know how to tackle it.


Talking about that, how do you feel about Rio? Do you know the city and the venue?

I went there once, in 2004, for a RedBull event. The party was awesome! (laughs)

So I know Rio a little but it actually doesn’t matter so much to me that it is happening there or somewhere else. As with everyone else, I am just waiting to know about the course. Until now, we have only seen an aerial shot of the hill that could even be called a little mountain. Unlike London, I don’t think it will be too difficult to find some altitude meters but everything will depend on the image the organizers want to give of mountain biking. I really hope it will be real mountain biking. London was fun to ride but there was no way people could identify themselves with our racing there, it was too artificial. Artificial features are necessary for the show but too far away from everyone’s ride.

To me, a good course is a good mix of natural and artificial obstacles.

After Rio ?

You made it clear many times already that you will never race on the road but will we ever see you…

…at the start of the Cape Epic ?

No ! It is too long, six hours per day on the bike doesn’t appeal to me. I like explosive efforts and technical riding. I get bored too quickly to race marathon.

So you will never do another attempt at Marathon World Championships again (DNF in Montebelluna, Italy 2011)?

No! But why not taking part to the Transvésubienne or the Shimano Epic Enduro. They are races where riding skills and endurance are needed. I would also like to take part to the Mégavalanche in l’Alpe d’Huez.

…with your brother Rémy at an Enduro World Series ?

Why not but Enduro became too professional lately for me to have any kind of expectations in term of results. I would go there for fun.

…at a Team Managers meeting?

Not soon. I am not sure what the future will be but I don’t want to be a team manager as soon as I stop my career. Travels are very constraining and I would like to chill out and spend some time home for a while instead of travelling the world.

…in a reality show?

I was already asked a couple of times in particular for the first “Koh-Lanta for celebrities” (French adventure show) but it is definitely not something to do during a sporting career. Maybe another adventure show but I would have to check the concept first.

…at Paris-Dakar?

I’d like that. I like all kinds of motor sports and definitely would like to do more as soon as I retire. So Paris-Dakar, Trophée Andros or any other event, I am in!


…in politics ?

I don’t think so. I am interested in politics but always forbid myself to get involved during my career. Never say never but I don’t think so.

…working for the bike industry?

For the industry maybe but not if it means working in an office!..