Florian Rousseau

Florian Rousseau

Rousseau (2012)
Personal information
Full name	Florian Rousseau
Born	(1974-02-03) 3 February 1974 (age 50) Orléans, France
Team information
Discipline	Track
Role	Rider & Coach
Medal record Men's track cycling Representing  France Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta 1000 m time trial 2000 Sydney Team sprint 2000 Sydney Keirin 2000 Sydney Sprint UCI Track World Championships 1993 Hamar 1000 m time trial 1994 Palermo 1000 m time trial 1996 Manchester Sprint 1997 Perth Sprint 1997 Perth Team sprint 1998 Bordeaux Sprint 1998 Bordeaux Team sprint 1999 Berlin Team sprint 2000 Manchester Team sprint 2001 Antwerp Team sprint 1995 Bogota 1000 m time trial 1995 Bogota Team sprint 1996 Manchester Team sprint 1999 Berlin Sprint 2001 Antwerp Sprint 2002 Copenhagen Sprint

Florian Rousseau (born 3 February 1974 in Orléans) is a former French track cyclist who won three gold medals and one silver at the Summer Olympics (1996 and 2000). He was popular among spectators for the facial expressions he pulled - many of them seeming to make his eyes bulge - to help him concentrate at the start of races. In retirement he became one of France's national sprint coaches.

Rousseau spent much of his childhood and went to school in Patay. He began as a soccer player but, seeing no future in team sports, switched to cycling.^[1] He showed early talent on the track and joined the national sports institute, INSEP, in western Paris in 1990. He won the world junior kilometre championship in 1992 and the world senior championship in 1993 and 1994.^[1]

Florian Rousseau's win in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, United States, started a golden period for French track cycling that lasted four years. He won the kilometre at Atlanta but dropped the discipline to become a sprinter. He was trained by Gérard Quintyn and won the world sprint championship in 1996 to 1998. He won three Olympic gold medals and a silver. He was world team sprint champion in 1997 and 1998 and won the national sprint championship 17 times.

Florian Rousseau was the national sprint coach at INSEP, in western Paris. He resigned shortly after the 2013 Cycling World Championships in Minsk^[2]

Rousseau was appointed as the inaugural president of the UCI Athletes' Commission in 2011.^[3]

Rousseau is married to Sonia, and a scuba-diver in his spare time, particularly in the Caribbean and off Australia.

• Florian Rousseau at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
• Florian Rousseau at Cycling Archives (archived)