Two-time Olympic champion Julien Absalon praises Victor Koretzky: "I would have been honored if Victor were my successor"
Mountain Bike
Victor Koretzky came very close to winning the gold medal at the cross-country mountain bike event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. At the end of an exceptional race full of suspense and twists, Tom Pidcock, who came from very far back after a puncture on the third lap, overcame the Frenchman Koretzky with a move that evoked many emotions.
At Cyclism'Actu, two-time Olympic mountain bike champion Julien Absalon looked back at the Sunday's race and especially his compatriot's performance: "It was really a magnificent incredible race. Victor was huge today, he managed to make Tom Pidcock doubt. Afterwards, the racing incident, Pidcock's puncture inevitably spiced up the race."
"The final was a bit stormy, it's really a shame that they touched in the final. We were expecting a masterful sprint, we didn't get it. It's a fact of the race first, is there a fault on one or the other, it's not easy to say. In any case, Victor's small mistake was not to have taken the inside, Pidcock got in and there wasn't room for both of them. They touched and unfortunately, it's Victor who lost the pedal."
As a consultant for the France Télévision, Absalon believes it was a mistake from Koretzky at the end of the race: "A mistake? Yes, I think so. Afterwards, maybe if he had taken a left, Pidcock would have gone the other way. What Pidcock tried was already very daring, it looked like a desperate attempt."
Absalon thinks that Koretzky could have won in the sprint: "The puncture? Even 40 seconds, it wasn't a red carpet, Pidcock is so strong... Afterwards, I believed in it, because even in the sprint, we know that Pidcock is fast but Victor is super powerful in the sprint so he definitely had a chance. I would have been delighted and honored if Victor were my successor."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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