14 Facts About Roel Paulissen

Roel Paulissen took part in numerous regional and local races across Belgium, and soon joined the Ghislain Cycles Club by the following year.

Roel Paulissen officially made his international debut for Belgium at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where he finished seventeenth in the inaugural men's cross-country race with a time of 2:33:53.

In 2001, Roel Paulissen became an elite professional rider by officially signing an exclusive, two-year sponsorship contract with Italy's Rainer Wurz MTB Team, and then capped off his season by mounting four top-ten finishes at the UCI World Cup series.

In that same year, Roel Paulissen managed to earn another triumph on the second stage of the UCI World Cup series in Houffalize, and eventually edged out his teammate Meirhaeghe to take home the overall silver medal in the final round of the circuit.

In 2005, Roel Paulissen took a year off from mountain biking after he was suddenly stricken with rib injuries, fever, and acute bronchitis that prompted his decision to skip from the World Cup series and the Belgian Championships.

In 2006, Roel Paulissen left his team Jong Vlaanderen 2016 for health reasons and long absence to join the Netherlands' Cannondale-Vredestein.

Roel Paulissen capped his successful season by collecting the bronze medal in men's marathon race at the UCI World Championships in Oisans, France.

Roel Paulissen won his first Absa Cape Epic in 2005 with team member Bart Brentjens.

Roel Paulissen then came back again in 2007 with new partner Jakob Fuglsang, placing 2nd place overall.

Roel Paulissen started his 2008 season by defending the men's cross-country race title at the Belgian Championships and by taking part in the Roc d'Azur MTB Marathon tournament, where he registered two more triumphs in the process.

Roel Paulissen successfully completed a 4.8-km sturdy, treacherous cross-country course with a nineteenth-place effort in 2:03:30, radically shortening his chances to climb the Olympic podium on his fourth bid.

Roel Paulissen started the 2009 season by claiming his tenth Belgian national championship title, and by signing an exclusive, two-year sponsorship contract with Germany's Cannondale Factory Racing pro team.

Roel Paulissen defended his men's marathon race title and rainbow jersey at the UCI World Championships in Graz, Austria with a time of 4:34:46, edging out the home nation's Alban Lakata on another tight, sprinted duel match by fifty-one seconds.

On 16 July 2010 Roel Paulissen had been overshadowed by a doping issue after he tested positive for a banned hormone substance clomiphene, mainly used to avert infertility problems.