Jean-Christophe Péraud (Ag2r-La Mondiale) has been named in the French mountain bike team for the London 2012 Olympics, meaning that he will line up in the men’s cross country race shortly after completing the Tour de France.
A silver medallist in the event in Beijing four years, Péraud began to turn his attention to the road in 2009 after he won the French national time trial championship and earned himself a contract with Omega Pharma-Lotto for the following season. He then proceeded to make a fine Tour de France debut in the colours of Ag2r-La Mondiale in 2011, finishing 9th overall in Paris.
With the men’s cross country race scheduled for August 12, the final day of the London Olympics, Péraud is confident that he has ample time to make the transition from road to trail. The Tour de France concludes on July 22, fully three weeks before his Olympic event.
“There will be three weeks and a round of the World Cup between the end of the Tour de France and the Olympic race. That’s enough for me to get my bearings again,” Péraud said, according to Eurosport.fr.
Péraud will thus line up at the World Cup at Val d’Isère on July 29. He finished 7th in the recent round at La Bresse after placing 17th the previous week in Nove Mesto. He has since returned to road racing at the GP de Plumelec and the Boucles de l’Aulne, as he continues his build-up to the Tour.
Péraud is joined in the French Olympic team by double gold medallist Julien Absalon and Stéphane Tempier. The women’s mountain bike team is composed of Julie Bresset and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.
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