Jared Graves (born 16 December 1982 in

Toowoomba, Queensland Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 202 ...

) is an Australian

cyclist Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

who has represented Australia in

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

, four-cross (4X), and

downhill mountain biking Downhill mountain biking (DH) is a style of mountain biking practiced on steep, rough terrain that often features jumps, drops, rock gardens and other obstacles. Jumps can be up to and including , and drops can be greater than . The rider c ...

. In 2006, he finished second in the mountain bike 4x world cup series. In 2008 he finished second in the BMX world cup series and was selected to compete 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 Nat ...

in Beijing, where he finished sixth. Graves became 4X World Cup champion in 2009, winning 5 from 8 rounds. On 4 September 2009 he won the UCI 4X World Championship in

Canberra, Australia Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The c ...

. He won the 2010 UCI 4X World Cup series winning 4 from 6 rounds, then won the silver medal at the 2010 4X World Championships At

Mont-Sainte-Anne Mont-Sainte-Anne is a ski resort in eastern Canada, located in the town of Beaupré, Quebec, about northeast of Quebec City. The mountain is part of the Laurentian mountain chain and has a summit elevation of above sea level with a vertical d ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

after leading the final all the way until making a mistake and being passed on the final corner. Graves also won the 2011 4X World Cup title winning 3 from 5 Rounds. Graves rides for Yeti Cycles. Graves is widely regarded as the best four-cross racer of all time. Graves has turned his focus to the fastest growing discipline and arguably the discipline enjoying the most popularity in mountain bike racing for 2013, enduro. He has had a strong start to the season with wins at the traditional international season opening event, the Sea Otter Classic in California. He has finished top at almost all the 2013 Enduro World Series events, including a win at round 5 of the series during the Whistler Crankworx festival, and has finished the season as the number 2 ranked enduro racer in the world. He then jumped back into downhill racing at the end of the season went on to place 3rd at the

UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships are the world championship events for mountain bike racing in the disciplines of cross country, downhill, and four-cross. They are organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the governing ...

Pietermaritzburg, South Africa Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

. In 2014 Graves won 3 of the 7 rounds of the Enduro World Series (Valloire, France, round 3 - Winter Park, USA, round 5 - and whistler, Canada, round 6) as well as 2 second-place finishes (round 1 and 7), a 5th (round 4) and a 9th (round 2) to become the 2014 Enduro World Champion. In December 2015 it was announced that Graves would join the Specialized Racing Factory Enduro Team for 2016.

References

Australian Olympic Committee profile

External links

* * * * * 1982 births Living people Australian male cyclists Four-cross mountain bikers BMX riders UCI Mountain Bike World Champions (men) Olympic cyclists of Australia Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cyclists from Queensland {{Australia-cycling-bio-stub