August 11, 2012 (London, UK) – On the eve of the men’s Olympic MTB race, the defending Olympic champ Julien Absalon (FRA), who won gold in 2004 (Athens) and 2008 (Beijing), has signed a two-year deal with BMC Mountainbike Racing Team reports De Standaard out of Belgium. Absalon, a top favorite for the gold medal on Sunday, was with Bianchi from 2001-2006 and with Orbea since 2007. Absalon is one of the winningest MTB riders of all time with 17 World Cup wins including four consecutive MTB Worlds titles (2004-2007).