French mountain bike star thinking about when to end his racing career
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BMC MTB Racing's Julien Absalon overcame his fear of the rock garden en route to victory in the elite men's cross country win in Pietermaritzburg(Image credit: Darren Goddard / Gameplan Media)
Julien Absalon (BMC Mountainbike Racing Team)(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
Julien Absalon of BMC MTB Racing punches the air after claiming victory in the elite men's cross country in Pietermaritzburg(Image credit: Darren Goddard / Gameplan Media)
Julien Absalon (BMC) claimed the 27th World Cup win of his career on Sunday in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The French mountain biker has had a long and storied career but it's possible that 2014 will be his last season.
Absalon will decide in six weeks whether to end his career with this season according to accrossthecountry.net.
The four-time cross country world champion and Olympic champion has spent the past few years duelling with the younger Nino Schurter (Scott Odlo). The two stars have produced some epic battles, some of which have been decided by sprints, some by late race attacks and some by mechanicals. On Sunday, a mechanical influenced the outcome as Schurter flatted with two laps to go while at the front with Absalon.
The World Cup round in Albstadt, Germany on June 1 is the next target for Absalon and afterward he expects to make his decision.
"My focus in the first half of the season is on Albstadt . I like this course very much - it seems like it was made for me. After my failure last year [due to a mechanical], I was extremely disappointed. Therefore, it would be nice to come back and win there."
He said several weeks ago that he was going to decide whether to race in 2015 and much of that decision will probably rest upon whether he still feels like he can compete with Schurter and current Olympic champion Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized).
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