Olympic champion announces Rio swansong

French Olympic mountain bike champion Julien Absalon has confirmed he will retire after next year's Rio Games.

The 35-year-old is aiming for a third Olympic title after a disappointing London 2012 Games when he failed to win a medal, reports Xinhua.

"Rio is my last big goal, and it will be my last race," the World No.1 told Rio2016.com on Wednesday. "I will stop my career after that."

Considered the greatest cross-country mountain bike rider of all time, Absalon is rated Switzerland's current world champion.

The five-time world champion finished fourth at the Rio 2016 mountain bike test event in October.