Christoph Reinhold Soukup (born October 11, 1980 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) is an Austrian professional mountain biker. 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 Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in two editions of the Olympic Games (2004 and 2008), where he installed top-fifteen finishes in the same tournament. 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 with the Team FujiBikes and Mérida Biking Team. Soukup first competed for Austria at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, 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. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Soukup qualified for his second Austrian squad in the men's cross-country race by receiving an automatic berth from the

Austrian Cycling Federation The Austrian Cycling Federation or ORV (in German: ''Österreichischer Radsport-Verband'') is the national governing body of cycle racing in Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the s ...

(german: Österreichischer Radsport-Verband, ORV) and the

Union Cycliste Internationale The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing ...

(UCI), based on his top-five performance at the World Cup series, World and European Championships, and Mountain Biking World Series. 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. Soukup also sought a bid for his third Austrian squad at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, but decided to pull himself off shortly from the final stage of the UCI World Cup in

La Bresse La Bresse () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. The area is known for its ski resorts and outdoor activities. La Bresse is located about 45 km west of Colmar and 55 km north west of Mulhouse in ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

due to a sustained

scaphoid The scaphoid bone is one of the carpal bones of the wrist. It is situated between the hand and forearm on the thumb side of the wrist (also called the lateral or radial side). It forms the radial border of the carpal tunnel. The scaphoid bone ...

injury.

Career achievements

;2004 : 1st Kos Cup (Cross-country), Greece : 1st XC Samobor (Cross-country, Elite/U23),

Samobor Samobor () is a city in Zagreb County, Croatia. It is part of the Zagreb metropolitan area. Administratively it is a part of Zagreb County. Geography Samobor is located west of Zagreb, between the eastern slopes of the Samobor hills ( hr, Samo ...

(CRO) : 15th

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

(

Cross-country Cross country or cross-country may refer to: Places * Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland * Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY * Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...

(GRE) ;2005 : 1st MaillotAustria

Austrian MTB Championships (Cross-country), Austria ;2006 : 7th Stage 6, UCI World Cup,

Schladming Schladming is a small former mining town in the northwest of the Austrian state of Styria that is now a popular tourist destination. It has become a large winter-sports resort and has held various skiing competitions, including most notably the ...

(AUT) ;2007 : 1st MaillotAustria

Austrian MTB Championships (Cross-country), Austria : 11th

UCI World Championships The UCI world championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winne ...

(Cross-country), Fort William (GBR) ;2008 : 1st MaillotAustria

Austrian MTB Championships (Cross-country), Austria : 1st Heubach MTB Classic,

Heubach Heubach is a town in the Ostalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 10 km east of Schwäbisch Gmünd, and 13 km southwest of Aalen. The town finds itself at the edge of the Rems River Valley and at the base o ...

(GER) : 5th

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

(Cross-country),

Sankt Wendel Sankt Wendel is a town in northeastern Saarland. It is situated on the river Blies 36 km northeast of Saarbrücken, the capital of Saarland, and is named after Saint Wendelin of Trier. According to a survey by the German Association for Hou ...

(GER) : 6th

(

(CHN) : 6th UCI World Championships (Cross-country),

Val di Sole Val may refer to: Val-a Film * ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a Sov ...

(ITA) : 7th Stage 3, UCI World Cup (Cross-country), Madrid, Parque Casa de Campo (ES) : 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

(Marathon),

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

(AUT) ;2010 : 1st MaillotAustria

Austrian MTB Championships (Cross-country), Haiming (AUT) : 6th European Championships (Cross-country),

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

(ISR) ;2012 : 1st MaillotAustria

Austrian MTB Championships (Cross-country),

Stattegg Stattegg is a Village and a suburb of Graz, the capital of the Austrian state of Styria. It lies at the bottom of the Schoeckl, a mountain of the European Alps. Stattegg has 2982 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2021) and consists of 13 Katastralgem ...

(AUT) ;2013 : 1st MaillotAustria

Austrian MTB Championships (Marathon),

(AUT) : 3rd Austrian MTB Championships (Cross-country), Austria

References

External links

Cyclist Profile – HITEC Team

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Soukup, Christoph 1980 births Living people Austrian male cyclists Cross-country mountain bikers Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Austria Cyclists from Vienna