Absalon wins his fifth Offenburg World Cup
Perfect record intact despite challenges from Kulhavy and Marotte
Julien Absalon (Orbea) came into Offenburg undefeated during the past four years, and he left in the same fashion, after a dominating performance that also put him into the World Cup leader's jersey. Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized), the World Cup leader coming into the race finished second, while Maxime Marotte (BH Suntour Peisey Vallandry) took third.
Absalon came into Offenburg with two second places for the season in the World Cup, but he had stated earlier that he was building for this race, which he calls "the best World Cup course in the world".
A group of 12 riders formed at the front of the race on the first lap of seven, and rode away from the rest of the field along with Absalon, Kulhavy and Marotte, Burry Stander (Specialized), Christoph Sauser (Specialized), world champion Jose Hermida (Multivan Merida), Nino Schurter (Scott-Swisspower), Marco Fontana (Cannondale), Thomas Litscher (Felt Oetztal X-Bionic), Nicolas Coloma (Wildwolf-Trek), Rudi van Houts and Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Giant Italia).
By lap three, Coloma, Alvarez Gutierrez and van Houts were gone, and then Hermida flatted. Sauser crashed while chasing Absalon and Kulhavy and later suffered a broken wheel afte getting a flat and riding his rim. Both had to run to the next tech zone on lap four.
Absalon launched his attack on the same lap, exploding the group. Kulhavy took off in solo pursuit, but couldn't close the gap, followed by Marotte just in front of Stander. They would finish in that order, with Coloma jumping back into the final podium spot after posting the fastest split for the sixth lap.
"I tried first to attack on the first lap," said Absalon, "but I saw six guys on my wheel, so I said, 'ok, I need to wait a little'. I sat in for two laps on wheels and I saw Kulhavy was very strong. I knew I needed to attack in the beginning of a long climb, like I have done each year, and so I did the same."
"In the third and fourth lap, I was waiting on the downhill and I attacked just at the first feed zone and I did the long climb at the front. After I took 15 sec on Kulhavy, I felt good. I made no mistakes. To win a World Cup you need to do a perfect race because the gaps are small. I planned the beginning of my season to peak for this race because I like it so much and it is only two hours from my home." He was greeted with hugs and kisses from his wife and baby.
Kulhavy was not surprised at Absalon's strong showing, saying, "Julien was way strong today and I did what I could to race for the finish. I knew Julien would be strong here and in fact, he was."
Absalon's win moved him 40 points ahead of Kulhavy for the lead in the World Cup, but he has stated that he will not attend the two North American race (Mont Ste. Anne), so he will lose the lead in the next round.
Additional reporting by Sue George
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea | 1:46:21 |
2 | Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing | 0:00:29 |
3 | Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH - Suntour - Peisey Vallandry | 0:00:41 |
4 | Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing | 0:01:05 |
5 | Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Racing | 0:02:30 |
6 | Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 0:02:33 |
7 | Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB - Racing | 0:02:35 |
8 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:02:36 |
9 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 0:02:45 |
10 | Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa) Giant Italia Team | 0:02:53 |
11 | Rudi Van Houts (Ned) | 0:02:57 |
12 | Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa) Orbea | 0:03:06 |
13 | Christoph Sauser (Swi) Specialized Racing | 0:03:20 |
14 | Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:03:29 |
15 | José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:03:31 |
16 | Liam Killeen (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | |
17 | Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB - Racing | 0:03:40 |
18 | Karl Markt (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 0:03:44 |
19 | Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi | 0:04:02 |
20 | Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Racing | 0:04:21 |
21 | Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 0:04:43 |
22 | Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 0:04:45 |
23 | Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:04:47 |
24 | Martin Fanger (Swi) Giant Swiss SR - Suntour | |
25 | Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team | 0:04:53 |
26 | Derek Zandstra (Can) | 0:04:56 |
27 | Henk Jaap Moorlag (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 0:05:09 |
28 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:05:30 |
29 | Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:05:31 |
30 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) Team Protek | 0:05:38 |
31 | Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 0:05:39 |
32 | Martino Fruet (Ita) | 0:05:48 |
33 | Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing | 0:05:50 |
34 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 0:05:51 |
35 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys - Evenza Team | 0:05:54 |
36 | Andras Parti (Hun) Euro One - Cube MTB Team | 0:06:05 |
37 | Balz Weber (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:06:17 |
38 | Matous Ulman (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 0:06:21 |
39 | Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) | 0:06:23 |
40 | Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 0:06:28 |
41 | Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor | 0:06:33 |
42 | Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) Elettroveneta - Corratec | 0:06:50 |
43 | Cédric Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix | 0:06:56 |
44 | Marek Galinski (Pol) JGB - 2 Professional MTB Team | 0:07:17 |
45 | Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru - Trek | 0:07:29 |
46 | Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:07:38 |
47 | Periklis Ilias (Gre) Team Protek | 0:07:45 |
48 | Oliver Beckingsale (GBr) | |
49 | Irjan Luttenberg (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team | 0:07:48 |
50 | Hannes Metzler (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 0:07:49 |
51 | Martin Loo (Est) Infotre - Bi & Esse - Leecougan | 0:07:53 |
52 | Filip Eberl (Cze) | 0:08:29 |
53 | Patrik Gallati (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:08:35 |
54 | Michal Lami (Svk) | 0:08:40 |
55 | Niels Wubben (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 0:08:47 |
56 | Lukas Kaufmann (Swi) | 0:08:53 |
57 | Jiri Novak (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 0:09:07 |
58 | Rene Tann (Ger) | 0:09:12 |
59 | Marc Colom (Fra) Team Newcycling | 0:09:27 |
60 | Robert Mennen (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 0:09:44 |
61 | Sergji Rysenko (Ukr) Isd Cycling Team | 0:09:55 |
62 | Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 0:10:11 |
63 | Ole Christian Fagerli (Nor) | 0:10:24 |
64 | Bjorn Brems (Bel) Versluys - Evenza Team | 0:10:32 |
65 | Jukka Vastaranta (Fin) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 0:10:36 |
66 | Giuseppe Lamastra (Ita) Elettroveneta - Corratec | 0:10:40 |
67 | Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru - Trek | 0:10:54 |
68 | Andrew Watson (Can) | 0:11:10 |
69 | Jonathan Galante (Fra) | 0:11:28 |
70 | Philip Buys (RSA) | 0:11:33 |
71 | Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 0:11:35 |
72 | Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:11:39 |
73 | Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis - Rocky Mountain | 0:11:54 |
74 | Mattias Wengelin (Swe) | 0:12:02 |
75 | Torsten Marx (Ger) | 0:12:13 |
76 | Cristian Cominelli (Ita) TX Active Bianchi | |
77 | Tim Wynants (Bel) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 0:12:17 |
78 | Yader Zoli (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop | 0:12:32 |
79 | Matthias Leisling (Ger) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 0:12:58 |
80 | Pascal Hossay (Bel) G - Skin - Deforche MTB Racing Team | 0:13:09 |
81 | Pascal Schmutz (Swi) | 0:13:14 |
82 | Karl Platt (Ger) Team Bulls | 0:13:23 |
83 | Ludovic Dubau (Fra) Team Newcycling | 0:13:43 |
84 | Jiri Friedl (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team | 0:14:31 |
85 | Michele Casagrande (Ita) Elettroveneta - Corratec | 0:14:40 |
-1lap | Benjamin Wittrup Justesen (Den) | |
-1lap | Umberto Corti (Ita) Team Cbe Tecnoimpianti A.S.D. | |
-1lap | Jelmer Pietersma (Ned) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | |
-1lap | Jonas Baumann (Swi) | |
-1lap | Simon Scheiber (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | |
-1lap | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) | |
-1lap | Alexis Chenevier (Fra) Scott Les Saisies | |
-1lap | Jeroen Boelen (Ned) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | |
-1lap | Cristobal Silva Ibaceta (Chi) | |
-1lap | Marc Bassingthwaighte (Nam) | |
-1lap | Kazuhiro Yamamoto (Jpn) | |
-1lap | Severin Disch (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | |
-2laps | Jorgen Flion (Bel) | |
-2laps | Marco Schätzing (Ger) Team Firebike - Droessiger | |
-2laps | Bas Peters (Ned) Team Merida Combee | |
-2laps | Michael Broderick (USA) | |
-2laps | Paul Remy (Fra) | |
-2laps | Seiya Hirano (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor | |
-2laps | Christopher Maletz (Ger) | |
-2laps | Samuele Porro (Ita) | |
-2laps | Giancarlo Sax (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | |
-2laps | Lukas Sablik (Cze) | |
-2laps | Steffen Thum (Ger) | |
-2laps | Klaus Nielsen (Den) | |
-2laps | Heiko Gutmann (Ger) | |
-2laps | Artyom Golovaschenko (Kaz) | |
-2laps | Raphael Gagne (Can) | |
-2laps | Marco Arnold (Swi) Giant Swiss SR - Suntour | |
-2laps | Sang Hoon Na (Kor) | |
-2laps | Marios Athanasiadis (Cyp) | |
-2laps | Robby De Bock (Bel) | |
-3laps | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | |
-3laps | Spencer Paxson (USA) Kona | |
-3laps | Georgios Pattes-Toumanis (Gre) Team Protek | |
-3laps | Gabor Bogar (Hun) Euro One - Cube MTB Team | |
-3laps | Brian Lopes (USA) | |
-3laps | Rafal Hebisz (Pol) | |
-3laps | Kirill Kazantsev (Kaz) | |
-3laps | Brice Scholtes (Bel) G - Skin - Deforche MTB Racing Team | |
-3laps | Lucien Besancon (Swi) | |
-4laps | Chris Jongewaard (Aus) | |
-4laps | Matthias Waldhart (Aut) | |
-5laps | Frank Schotman (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team | |
-5laps | Besik Gavasheli (Geo) | |
DNF | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) | |
DNF | Christoph Soukup (Aut) | |
DNF | Pascal Meyer (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | |
DNF | Evgeny Nikolaev (Rus) | |
DNF | Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop | |
DNF | Oleksandr Gerashchenko (Ukr) Isd Cycling Team | |
DNF | Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Spa) Orbea | |
DNF | Magnus Darvell (Swe) | |
DNF | Matthias Lauk (Swi) | |
DNF | Tony Longo (Ita) TX Active Bianchi | |
DNF | Pierre-Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Team Newcycling | |
DNF | Daniel Federspiel (Aut) | |
DNF | Fabio Ursi (Ita) Team Cbe Tecnoimpianti A.S.D. | |
DNF | Alban Lakata (Aut) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | |
DNF | Max Plaxton (Can) | |
DNS | Pierre Lebreton (Fra) BH - Suntour - Peisey Vallandry |
Teams
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Specialized Racing | 83 | pts |
2 | Orbea | 59 | |
3 | Wildwolf - Trek Racing | 39 | |
4 | Scott - Swisspower MTB - Racing | 38 | |
5 | Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 35 | |
6 | Cannondale Factory Racing | 34 | |
7 | BH - Suntour - Peisey Vallandry | 32 | |
8 | Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 30 | |
9 | Giant Italia Team | 21 | |
10 | Trek World Racing | 19 | |
11 | Multivan Merida Biking Team | 18 | |
12 | BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 17 | |
13 | Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 15 | |
14 | TX Active Bianchi | 12 | |
15 | Giant Swiss SR - Suntour | 7 | |
16 | Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team | 6 | |
17 | Team Protek | 1 |
Elite men individual World Cup standings after three rounds
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea | 650 | pts |
2 | Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing | 610 | |
3 | Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB - Racing | 470 | |
4 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing | 410 | |
5 | Maxime Marotte (Fra) Bh - Suntour - Peisey Vallandry | 395 | |
6 | Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing | 360 | |
7 | Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Racing | 325 | |
8 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing | 320 | |
9 | José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 298 | |
10 | Christoph Sauser (Swi) Specialized Racing | 270 | |
11 | Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 268 | |
12 | Stéphane Tempier (Fra) Tx Active Bianchi | 268 | |
13 | Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 260 | |
14 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 259 | |
15 | Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa) Giant Italia Team | 231 | |
16 | Rudi Van Houts (Ned) | 226 | |
17 | Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing | 214 | |
18 | Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing | 209 | |
19 | Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa) Orbea | 205 | |
20 | Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 194 | |
21 | Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB - Racing | 188 | |
22 | Liam Killeen (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 172 | |
23 | Karl Markt (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 168 | |
24 | Martin Fanger (Swi) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour | 168 | |
25 | Derek Zandstra (Can) | 144 | |
26 | Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 138 | |
27 | Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Racing | 136 | |
28 | Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team | 122 | |
29 | Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 118 | |
30 | Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 114 | |
31 | Oliver Beckingsale (GBr) | 108 | |
32 | Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Spa) Orbea | 102 | |
33 | Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) Elettroveneta - Corratec | 99 | |
34 | Henk Jaap Moorlag (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 96 | |
35 | Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis - Rocky Mountain | 91 | |
36 | Matous Ulman (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 91 | |
37 | Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 89 | |
38 | Patrik Gallati (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 87 | |
39 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys - Evenza Team | 86 | |
40 | Martino Fruet (Ita) | 79 | |
41 | Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 79 | |
42 | Andras Parti (Hun) Euro One - Cube MTB Team | 77 | |
43 | Pierre-Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Team Newcycling | 75 | |
44 | Jiri Friedl (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team | 73 | |
45 | Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) | 73 | |
46 | Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru - Trek | 70 | |
47 | Marek Galinski (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team | 65 | |
48 | Lukas Kaufmann (Swi) | 64 | |
49 | Jelmer Pietersma (Ned) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 56 | |
50 | Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru - Trek | 52 | |
51 | Jiri Novak (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 50 | |
52 | Marc Colom (Fra) Team Newcycling | 48 | |
53 | Chris Jongewaard (Aus) | 47 | |
54 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) Team Protek | 46 | |
55 | Christoph Soukup (Aut) | 42 | |
56 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 38 | |
57 | Robert Mennen (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 38 | |
58 | Irjan Luttenberg (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team | 37 | |
59 | Niels Wubben (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 37 | |
60 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 35 | |
61 | Cédric Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix | 33 | |
62 | Balz Weber (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 32 | |
63 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) | 32 | |
64 | Jukka Vastaranta (Fin) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 30 | |
65 | Hannes Metzler (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 30 | |
66 | Jeremiah Bishop (USA) | 29 | |
67 | Tony Longo (Ita) Tx Active Bianchi | 29 | |
68 | Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor | 27 | |
69 | Michal Lami (Svk) | 24 | |
70 | Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 22 | |
71 | Periklis Ilias (Gre) Team Protek | 21 | |
72 | Max Plaxton (Can) | 20 | |
73 | Michele Casagrande (Ita) Elettroveneta - Corratec | 19 | |
74 | Pascal Meyer (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 19 | |
75 | Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 18 | |
76 | Martin Loo (Est) Infotre - Bi & Esse - Leecougan | 17 | |
77 | Filip Eberl (Cze) | 16 | |
78 | Alban Lakata (Aut) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 13 | |
79 | Severin Disch (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 11 | |
80 | Rene Tann (Ger) | 10 | |
81 | Umberto Corti (Ita) Team CBE Tecnoimpianti A.S.D. | 9 |
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