Career Highlights: After winning bronze in the cross-country mountain bike race at the 2008 Games, Schurter has his sights set on taking down two-time defending Olympic gold medalist Julien Absalon of France. Schurter earned a bit of revenge one year after the Olympics when he edged Absalon by 3 seconds to win the 2009 world championship. Schurter went on to win the 2010 overall world cup title. The Swiss star began racing competitively at age seven and blossomed as a rider under the guidance of Thomas Frischknecht, one of mountain biking’s first superstars. Schurter opened the 2012 World Cup season with a bang when he placed first in the opening race in March. Absalon finished fourth in that race.