Christoph Soukup

Christoph Reinhold Soukup (born October 11, 1980 in Vienna) is an Austrian professional mountain biker.[1] Riding the sport for more than 15 years, Soukup has won fourteen Austrian national championship titles in men's mountain biking (both cross-country and marathon races), and later represented his nation Austria in two editions of the Olympic Games (2004 and 2008), where he installed top-fifteen finishes in the same tournament.[2][3] Throughout his sporting career, Soukup has been training and racing professionally for more than a decade on the Hitec Sports Team, although he had appeared short stints under a sponsorship contract on Fuji and Mérida Biking Team.[4][5]

Christoph Soukup
Personal information
Full nameChristoph Reinhold Soukup
Born (1980-10-11) 11 October 1980
Vienna, Austria
Height1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight71 kg (157 lb)
Team information
Current teamHitec Team
DisciplineMountain biking
RoleRider
Rider typeCross-country
Professional teams
2008Fuji Bikes
2009–2010Merida Biking Team
2011–Hitec Team

Soukup first competed for Austria at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where he finished fifteenth in the men's cross-country race with a time of 2:22:50, trailing behind Polish rider and four-time Olympian Marek Galiński on a tight sprint duel by 36 seconds.[6][7]

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Soukup qualified for his second Austrian squad in the men's cross-country race by receiving an automatic berth from the Austrian Cycling Federation (German: Österreichischer Radsport-Verband, ORV) and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), based on his top-five performance at the World Cup series, World and European Championships, and Mountain Biking World Series.[8] Despite having suffered a sore throat and slight fever shortly before the race, Soukup recorded his highest career position on a 4.8-km sturdy, treacherous cross-country course with a much stronger, sixth-place time in 2:00:11, but narrowly missed the Olympic podium by two minutes.[9][10][11]

Soukup also sought a bid for his third Austrian squad at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but decided to pull himself off shortly from the final stage of the UCI World Cup in La Bresse, France due to a sustained scaphoid injury.[12]

Career achievements
2004
1st Kos Cup (Cross-country), Greece
1st XC Samobor (Cross-country, Elite/U23), Samobor (CRO)
15th Olympic Games (Cross-country), Athens (GRE)
2005
1st Austrian MTB Championships (Cross-country), Austria
2006
7th Stage 6, UCI World Cup, Schladming (AUT)
2007
1st Austrian MTB Championships (Cross-country), Austria
11th UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Fort William (GBR)
2008
1st Austrian MTB Championships (Cross-country), Austria
1st Heubach MTB Classic, Heubach (GER)
5th European Championships (Cross-country), Sankt Wendel (GER)
6th Olympic Games (Cross-country), Beijing (CHN)
6th UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Val di Sole (ITA)
7th Stage 4, UCI World Cup (Cross-country), Fort William (GBR)
2009
1st Kamptal Klassik, Austria
3rd Overall, Afxentia Stage Race, Cyprus
3rd Stage 1 & 3
4th UCI World Championships (Marathon), Graz (AUT)
2010
1st Austrian MTB Championships (Cross-country), Haiming (AUT)
6th European Championships (Cross-country), Haifa (ISR)
2012
1st Austrian MTB Championships (Cross-country), Stattegg (AUT)
2013
1st Austrian MTB Championships (Marathon), Graz (AUT)
3rd Austrian MTB Championships (Cross-country), Austria
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References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Christoph Soukup". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  2. "Christoph Soukup siegt mit Streckenrekord bei UCI World Series in Graz/Stattegg" [Christoph Soukup wins with a course record at UCI World Series in Graz and Stattegg] (in German). Radstars.at. 19 August 2013. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  3. "Soukup triumphiert in Maria Lankowitz" [Soukup triumphs in Maria Lankowitz] (in German). Radsport Szene. 24 June 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  4. "Christoph Soukup fährt für das Merida Biking Team CZ" [Christoph Soukup riding for the Merida Biking Team CZ] (in German). Bike Sport News. 2008. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  5. "Seamus McGrath Signs with Fuji". Velo News. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  6. "Cycling: Men's Cross-Country Race". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  7. Jones, Rob (26 August 2004). "Absalon perfect as France defends gold". Cyclingnews.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  8. "70 Athleten für Olympia 2008 nominiert" [70 athletes are nominated for the 2008 Olympics] (in German). Kronen Zeitung. 5 August 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  9. "Men's Cross-Country Race". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  10. ""Unbeatable" Absalon wins his second gold". Agence France-Presse. Velo News. 22 August 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  11. "Christoph Soukup trotz Krankheit nur zwei Minuten hinter Bronze" [Despite illness, Christoph Soukup finished just two minutes behind bronze] (in German). Der Standard. 23 August 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  12. Wallner, Wolfgang (21 May 2012). "Abschied von Olympia" [Farewell to Olympics] (in German). Niederösterreichische Nachrichten. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
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