Ravanel qualified for the French squad, along with his teammates Jean-Christophe Péraud and defending Olympic champion Julien Absalon in the men's cross-country race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, by receiving one of the nation's three available berths from the French Cycling Association () and the Union Cycliste Internationale based on his best performance at the World Championships, World Cup series, and Mountain Biking World Rankings. Ravanel rounded out his team's roster as the third Frenchman to complete a 4.8-km sturdy, treacherous cross-country course, finishing outside the two-hour barrier and picking up a fourteenth spot in 2:01:38.