At the age of 37, Julien Absalon has decided to retire with immediate effect. Last season was already unfortunate with a broken collarbone, but the Frenchman wanted to attack again with his own team "Absolute Absalon" until 2019.

However, health problems thwarted Absalon's plans. Absalon has known for three years that he is allergic to pollen from the Mediterranean region and that this affects his performance at the start of the season. At the BikeTheRock race in Heubach on April 29, Absalon was hit by a new allergy shock: "That's when I realized that I'm also allergic to pollen from northern Europe. I had a great start, but soon I could no longer breathe properly. I had the taste of blood in my bronchial tubes. With this new allergy comes another two months of health problems," says the cross-country athlete exclusively to the French sports daily L'Equipe.

Active off the track - and riding a few more cult races

So Absalon will no longer be on the starting line in Albstadt, the next competition in the Cross-Country World Cup. Nevertheless, Absalon will probably remain faithful to the racing circus in the future, as his partner Pauline Ferrand-Prevot is one of the favorites in the Cross-Country World Cup and his team rider Neilo Ganier-Perrin is attacking in the U23 race.

After his cross-country career, the Frenchman is unlikely to get bored: Absalon is already acting as a brand ambassador for the e-mountain bike manufacturer Moustache. There are also equipment tests and video shoots to be completed, Absalon told the newspaper L'Equipe. Absalon also formulates impressive goals that inspire him to dream, including races such as the Megavalanche of Alpe d'Huez, the Cape Epic or the Transvésubienne.

Julien Absalon has fought numerous top battles with Swiss mountain bikers in his 20-year cross-country career. He fought duels with Thomas Frischknecht, Christoph Sauser and Nino Schurter. Absalon took seven victories overall in the World Championships, 33 victories on the cross-country race track and five World Championship titles and two Olympic titles in Athens and Beijing. He dominated Olympic cross-country racing between 2004 and 2008 with two Olympic victories and four consecutive world titles.