Absalon back to winning ways in Houffalize
By Tour of Japan published
Frenchman rides tactical race to beat Schurter
Julien Absalon (Orbea) scored a decisive victory at the second round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Houffalize, Belgium, letting all his rivals know that the two-time defending Olympic champion is on track for his title defence later this summer in London. Absalon's victory was his third at Houffalize.
"Houffalize is incredible, all the spectators, lots of fans from France and Belgium behind me, so maybe that is why I push like this," said Absalon. "I am really happy because it is always special to win in Houffalize."
Nino Schurter (Scott-Swisspower), the winner of round one last month in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, jumped out in front on the opening start lap, but Absalon bridged up to him on the first of five laps and then set the pace on all the remaining climbs as the duo distanced themselves from the rest of the field.
Initially, Schurter and Absalon were joined by Manuel Fumic (Cannondale), Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized) and Burry Stander (Specialized), but the others could not match the pace of the two top riders and fell back.
Schurter was clearly riding the descents better, opening gaps every time, but Absalon would always close them. For Absalon, this was a problem - the final tricky descent before the paved finish straight was less than 200 metres from the line. Clearly, he had to drop Schurter before that last downhill.
"Nino was so fast on that last downhill," said Absalon. "I saw his line that he kept on taking, and after that I did the same (line). I knew there was no chance to win the sprint, because on that downhill he took maybe 20 metres each lap, so that is why I attacked before."
"I was feeling good, but I was thinking: 'Okay, I need to attack Nino before the last lap, because I know he is always strong on the last lap'. I knew there was no chance to win because I knew he is faster than me on the last downhill. So my tactic was to go before that, so I attacked on the climbs of the fifth lap."
Marco Fontana (Cannondale Factory) took third, just ahead of Burry Stander (Specialized). Manuel Fumic (Cannondale) completed the podium in fifth place.
World champion Kulhavy had a tough day and fell back mid-race. He started to feel better near the end and move back up, but a flat tire brought those efforts to a halt.
Schurter continues to lead the World Cup with 450 points, followed by Absalon at 400 points. Stander sits in third place with 350 points.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea Racing Team | 1:30:22 |
2 | Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 0:00:38 |
3 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:01:03 |
4 | Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing | 0:01:20 |
5 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:01:34 |
6 | Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 0:02:17 |
7 | Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi | 0:02:23 |
8 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) | 0:02:34 |
9 | José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:02:38 |
10 | Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 0:02:47 |
11 | Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Roxracing | 0:03:05 |
12 | Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing | 0:03:15 |
13 | Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 0:03:32 |
14 | Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry | 0:03:58 |
15 | Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:04:04 |
16 | Karl Markt (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 0:04:10 |
17 | Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:04:20 |
18 | Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:04:26 |
19 | Christoph Sauser (Swi) Specialized Racing | 0:04:28 |
20 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 0:04:34 |
21 | Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa) Orbea Racing Team | 0:05:03 |
22 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 0:05:06 |
23 | Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized | 0:05:16 |
24 | Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 0:05:25 |
25 | Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing | 0:05:32 |
26 | Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:05:36 |
27 | Tony Longo (Ita) TX Active Bianchi | 0:05:38 |
28 | Henk Jaap Moorlag* (Ned) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 0:05:42 |
29 | Liam Killeen (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 0:05:44 |
30 | Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Specialized Racing | 0:05:46 |
31 | Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 0:05:53 |
32 | Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing | 0:06:05 |
33 | Sven Nys (Bel) | 0:06:20 |
34 | Marek Konwa* (Pol) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team | 0:06:29 |
35 | Fabien Canal (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix | 0:06:34 |
36 | Stephen Ettinger (USA) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:06:37 |
37 | Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru - Trek | |
38 | Jürg Graf (Swi) Bskgraf Rollmat-Koba MTB Team | 0:06:45 |
39 | Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 0:06:51 |
40 | Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott-3Roxracing | 0:06:57 |
41 | Jiri Novak (Cze) | 0:06:58 |
42 | Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa) Elettroveneta - Corratec | 0:07:06 |
43 | Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) Lapierre International | 0:07:16 |
44 | Matous Ulman (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 0:07:21 |
45 | Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing | 0:07:22 |
46 | Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:07:24 |
47 | Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 0:07:44 |
48 | Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team | 0:07:53 |
49 | Robert Mennen (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 0:08:10 |
50 | Piotr Brzozka (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team | 0:08:18 |
51 | Michele Casagrande (Ita) Elettroveneta - Corratec | 0:08:23 |
52 | Lachlan Norris (Aus) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 0:08:25 |
53 | Patrik Gallati (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:08:37 |
54 | Alban Lakata (Aut) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 0:08:39 |
55 | Cédric Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix | 0:08:42 |
56 | Umberto Corti (Ita) Team CBE Tecnoimpianti A.S.D. | 0:08:44 |
57 | Martino Fruet (Ita) | 0:08:52 |
58 | David Joao Serralheiro Rosa (Por) | |
59 | Max Plaxton (Can) | 0:08:58 |
60 | Lukas Sablik (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized | 0:09:02 |
61 | Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:09:10 |
62 | Robby De Bock (Bel) | 0:09:17 |
63 | Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) | 0:09:21 |
64 | Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Spa) Orbea Racing Team | 0:09:27 |
65 | Christoph Soukup (Aut) | 0:09:28 |
66 | Martin Loo (Est) Hard Rock Canossa Merida | 0:09:38 |
67 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing | 0:09:43 |
68 | Shlomi Haimy (Isr) Focus Mig Team | |
69 | Hannes Metzler (Aut) | 0:09:44 |
70 | Hans Becking (Ned) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team | 0:10:02 |
71 | Kristian Hynek (Cze) | 0:10:08 |
72 | Marek Galinski (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team | 0:10:09 |
73 | Marc Colom (Fra) Team Newcycling | 0:10:15 |
74 | Klaus Nielsen (Den) | 0:10:18 |
75 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 0:10:24 |
76 | Michal Lami (Svk) | 0:10:35 |
77 | Dariusz Batek (Pol) | 0:10:38 |
78 | Jérémy Huguenin (Swi) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour | 0:10:51 |
79 | Sergji Rysenko (Ukr) ISD MTB Team | 0:11:02 |
80 | Pierre-Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Lapierre International | 0:11:09 |
81 | Giancarlo Sax (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 0:11:19 |
82 | Magnus Darvell (Swe) Team Herbalife 24 Raumerrittet | 0:11:22 |
83 | Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru - Trek | 0:11:33 |
84 | Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop | 0:11:39 |
85 | Ola Kjören (Nor) Team Herbalife 24 Raumerrittet | 0:11:43 |
86 | Alexis Chenevier (Fra) Scott Les Saisies | 0:11:51 |
87 | Spencer Paxson (USA) Kona | 0:11:57 |
88 | Martin Fanger (Swi) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour | 0:11:58 |
89 | Karl Platt (Ger) Team Bulls | 0:12:00 |
90 | Filip Eberl (Cze) | 0:12:04 |
91 | Cameron Jette (Can) Scott-3Roxracing | 0:12:05 |
92 | Andy Eyring (Ger) | |
93 | Andras Parti (Hun) | 0:12:06 |
94 | David Fletcher (GBr) Orange Monkey-Cannondale | 0:12:21 |
95 | Tim Wynants (Bel) Milka Brentjens MTB Racing Team | 0:12:22 |
96 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team | 0:12:34 |
97 | Oliver Beckingsale (GBr) | 0:12:45 |
98 | Tiago Jorge Oliveira Ferreira (Por) Bi&Esse - Infotre Protek | 0:12:46 |
99 | Daniel Eymann (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | |
100 | Frank Beemer (Ned) | 0:12:49 |
101 | Bjorn Brems (Bel) | 0:12:50 |
102 | Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 0:13:09 |
103 | Markus Bauer (Ger) | 0:13:25 |
104 | Irjan Luttenberg (Ned) | 0:13:41 |
105 | Ludovic Dubau (Fra) Team Newcycling | 0:13:48 |
106 | Periklis Ilias (Gre) Team Protek | 0:13:50 |
107 | Pascal Meyer (Swi) | 0:14:13 |
108 | Giuseppe Lamastra (Ita) | 0:14:15 |
109 | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) | 0:14:19 |
110 | Fredrik Edin (Swe) | 0:14:20 |
111 | Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Versluys Team | 0:14:24 |
112 | Lee Williams (GBr) | 0:14:34 |
113 | Oleksandr Gerashchenko (Ukr) ISD MTB Team | 0:15:56 |
114 | Robert Gehbauer (Aut) | 0:16:55 |
-1lap | Ole Christian Fagerli (Nor) Team Herbalife 24 Raumerrittet | |
-1lap | Sang Hoon Na (Kor) | |
-1lap | Frank Schotman (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team | |
-1lap | Tim Lemmers (Ned) Feenstra Stevens Bike Team | |
-1lap | Severin Disch (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | |
-1lap | Davy Huygens (Bel) | |
-1lap | Steffen Thum (Ger) | |
-1lap | Patrick Gaudy (Bel) | |
-1lap | Jimmy Tielens (Bel) | |
-1lap | Seiya Hirano (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team | |
-1lap | Benjamin Sonntag (Ger) | |
-1lap | Pascal Hossay (Bel) Merida Wallonie Mountain Bike Team | |
-1lap | Michael Broderick (USA) | |
-1lap | Paul Oldham (GBr) | |
-1lap | Kazuhiro Yamamoto (Jpn) | |
-1lap | Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | |
-1lap | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | |
-1lap | Rafal Alchimowiz (Pol) | |
-2laps | Marios Athanasiadis (Cyp) | |
-2laps | Christopher Maletz (Ger) | |
-2laps | Abdulkadir Kelleci (Tur) | |
-2laps | Jonas Baumann (Swi) Wheeler - Ixs Team | |
-2laps | John Whittington (GBr) | |
-2laps | Mariusz Gil (Pol) | |
-2laps | Vitalii Zubchenko (Ukr) ISD MTB Team | |
-2laps | Marco Schätzing (Ger) | |
-3laps | Ruben Almeida (Por) | |
-3laps | Dennis Ebert (Ned) | |
-3laps | Marc Metzler (Swi) | |
-3laps | Matthias Waldhart (Aut) | |
-3laps | Bostjan Hribovsek (Slo) | |
-3laps | Giorgos Fattas (Cyp) | |
DNF | Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) | |
DNF | Simon Scheiber (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | |
DNF | Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team | |
DNF | Tomasz Drozdz (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team | |
DNF | Weisong Tong (Chn) | |
DNF | Rafal Hebisz (Pol) | |
DNF | Lukas Kaufmann (Swi) Team Fujibikes Rockets | |
DNF | David Collins (GBr) | |
DNF | Miha Halzer (Slo) Energijateam.Com | |
DNF | Matthias Wengelin (Swe) Team Herbalife 24 Raumerrittet | |
DNF | Jorgen Flion (Bel) | |
DNF | Przemyslaw Ebertowski (Pol) | |
DNS | Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Notebooksbilliger.De Team | |
DNS | Brian Lopes (USA) |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Cannondale Factory Racing | 74 | pts |
2 | Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 61 | |
3 | Specialized Racing | 61 | |
4 | Orbea Racing Team | 50 | |
5 | Multivan Merida Biking Team | 43 | |
6 | Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 35 | |
7 | TX Active Bianchi | 28 | |
8 | Trek World Racing | 25 | |
9 | Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 24 | |
10 | Scott-3Roxracing | 20 | |
11 | BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry | 17 | |
12 | BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 13 | |
13 | Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized | 8 | |
14 | Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing | 6 | |
15 | Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 2 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 450 | pts |
2 | Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea Racing Team | 400 | |
3 | Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing | 350 | |
4 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing | 300 | |
5 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing | 260 | |
6 | Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi | 230 | |
7 | Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing | 225 | |
8 | José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 220 | |
9 | Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 210 | |
10 | Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 180 | |
11 | Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 160 | |
12 | Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry | 158 | |
13 | Christoph Sauser (Swi) Specialized Racing | 144 | |
14 | Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 142 | |
15 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) | 139 | |
16 | Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa) Orbea Racing Team | 136 | |
17 | Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 130 | |
18 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 130 | |
19 | Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 128 | |
20 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 128 | |
21 | Karl Markt (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 124 | |
22 | Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing | 124 | |
23 | Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Roxracing | 122 | |
24 | Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing | 120 | |
25 | Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 118 | |
26 | Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Specialized Racing | 106 | |
27 | Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa) Elettroveneta - Corratec | 100 | |
28 | Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing | 98 | |
29 | Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 95 | |
30 | Tony Longo (Ita) TX Active Bianchi | 88 | |
31 | Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 83 | |
32 | Liam Killeen (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 82 | |
33 | Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott-3Roxracing | 76 | |
34 | Fabien Canal (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix | 74 | |
35 | Matous Ulman (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 68 | |
36 | Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 65 | |
37 | Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized | 60 | |
38 | Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) | 58 | |
39 | Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru - Trek | 58 | |
40 | Marek Konwa* (Pol) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team | 57 | |
41 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing | 56 | |
42 | Stephen Ettinger (USA) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 56 | |
43 | Cédric Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix | 53 | |
44 | Henk Jaap Moorlag* (Ned) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 50 | |
45 | Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) Lapierre International | 49 | |
46 | Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 48 | |
47 | Martin Fanger (Swi) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour | 46 | |
48 | Michele Casagrande (Ita) Elettroveneta - Corratec | 45 | |
49 | Piotr Brzozka (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team | 41 | |
50 | Sven Nys (Bel) | 40 | |
51 | Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 40 | |
52 | Jürg Graf (Swi) Bskgraf Rollmat-Koba MTB Team | 38 | |
53 | Max Plaxton (Can) | 34 | |
54 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team | 30 | |
55 | Robert Mennen (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 30 | |
56 | Alban Lakata (Aut) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 29 | |
57 | Jiri Novak (Cze) | 27 | |
58 | Patrik Gallati (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 24 | |
59 | Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing | 23 | |
60 | Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team | 20 | |
61 | Marek Galinski (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team | 20 | |
62 | Philip Buys (RSA) | 17 | |
63 | Lachlan Norris (Aus) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 16 | |
64 | Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 16 | |
65 | Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop | 14 | |
66 | Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 13 | |
67 | Umberto Corti (Ita) Team CBE Tecnoimpianti A.S.D. | 12 | |
68 | Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) | 12 | |
69 | Martino Fruet (Ita) | 11 | |
70 | David Joao Serralheiro Rosa (Por) | 10 | |
71 | Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Versluys Team | 10 | |
72 | Lukas Sablik (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized | 8 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Specialized Racing | 140 | pts |
2 | Cannondale Factory Racing | 132 | |
3 | Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 101 | |
4 | Multivan Merida Biking Team | 99 | |
5 | Orbea Racing Team | 94 | |
6 | Trek World Racing | 64 | |
7 | Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 63 | |
8 | TX Active Bianchi | 51 | |
9 | Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 39 | |
10 | BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry | 35 | |
11 | BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 33 | |
12 | Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing | 29 | |
13 | Scott-3Roxracing | 22 | |
14 | Elettroveneta - Corratec | 15 | |
15 | Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized | 8 | |
16 | S&H Superior MTB Team | 5 | |
17 | Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 2 | |
18 | Giant Swiss SR - Suntour | 1 |

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