Absalon grabs another World Cup win

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Olympic champion Julien Absalon (Orbea) continued his unbeaten streak at Offenburg with a fourth consecutive victory in the seven-lap German World Cup event.

The French maestro, who uncharacteristically hadn't hithereto won a World Cup race this season, moved to the front of the race on the first lap with World Champion Nino Schurter (Scott-Swisspower), who had won the first round of the series.

The pair began to distance themselves from a chase group containing Jaroslav Kulhavy (Rubena-Birrell-Specialized), Christoph Sauser (Specialized) and Florian Vogel (Scott-Swisspower). Sauser was leading the chase, but the group was making no time on the front duo.

On the third lap, Absalon managed to gain a small advantage on Schurter, and then steadily extended it through the remainder of the race, to roll across the finish line 49 seconds in front of the Swiss rider. Kulhavy attacked his break companions in the final lap to take third, followed by Sauser and then Vogel.

Absalon's third lap was the fastest of the race (15:24), and he gained almost all of his winning margin in the this one-lap blitz. However, it was the technical riding of the French champion that were most noticable; in the slippery, rooty Snake Pit descent, Absalon rode the shortest line, while Schurter, Sauser and others were all going wider (and slower). The only other top-20 riders to consistently take the same line as Absalon were Kabush and Marco Fontana (Cannondale).

"I like this course very much," said Absalon. "It has very technical sections, plus good climbing. And the spectators are also very good here. It was a very close race with Nino at the beginning, but I attacked on the third lap on the beginning of the longer climb, and he came back, and I attacked again to get a small gap. After that, I gained a little bit more and a little bit more each lap. It was a perfect race for me."

Matthias Flückiger had been a member of the chase group until late in the race, when he had to stop for a rear wheel change, while series leader Jose Antonio Hermida (Multivan Merida) joined the chase for the first few laps before fading. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) was the top American rider, in 40th place.

Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) was the top North American, in 15th place.

"I definitely felt better in this race, and it is good to finish off this part of the season with a strong result," said Kabush. "With a front row start, I think I could have had a top-10 result, but I didn't have a good start, dropping back a few spots and then first few laps some jitbag battles in the singletrack, but after that I felt I could open up the throttle and settle into my own pace."

Absalon now leads Schurter by 44 points in the overall standings.

"I like this course very much," said Absalon. "It has very technical sections, plus good climbing. And the spectators are also very good here. It was a very close race with Nino at the beginning, but I finally managed to get a little gap on him on the longer climb and was then able to increase it a little more every lap."

Race Notes

- Absalon said that the next race "will be very different. I will be a father for the first time, because my son will be born before [Champéry], and maybe it will give me more motivation." Just what the rest of the field needs to hear - Absalon more motivated...

- Ralph Näf (Multivan Merida) did not start. A week earlier, just prior to a German national series race he became ill. He is recovering now, but not quickly enough to start in Offenburg.

- A number of riders who had done well in the first two races struggled in Offenburg -, Hermida and Manuel Fumic (Cannondale), Fontana were a few. Some complained of "dead legs" or no power, and few admitted that they may have overtrained.

- The cross country series now takes a very long break - until late July. Most riders say that they will take a break, get a good training block in and then race national series races (plus national championships) before returning to the World Cup for the final three rounds prior to the Worlds in Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec.

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