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Graves defends MTB World Cup title
Australia's Jared Graves won the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup title for the second time in as many years, after a victory in the final round of the series in Windham, nestled in the Catskill Mountains of New York State.
Riding for the Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race team, Graves beat Czech riders Michal Prokop and Tomas Slavik, and Dutch rider Joost Wichman in the Windham final.
Fellow reigning world four cross champion Caroline Buchanan from Canberra also showed encouraging form with a second place finish behind Austria's Anita Molcik in the women’s final.
Graves was by far the most consistent performer of the 2010 season, winning four races, as well as a second and a fourth place for a total of 660 points, well ahead of Slavik (475 points) and Wichman (385 points).
Graves and Buchanan headline a 32-strong Australian team to contest the 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, which get underway 1 September in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada.
“Everything has gone really well again this year,” Graves said. “I know I’m coming into the world champs stronger than last year, so I’m feeling really confident.
“My season’s training is based around being at my peak for world champs, and I’ve stepped up a good amount above where I have been all season during my last two training blocks.”
Graves will compete in the world championships four cross qualifying event on Thursday evening (Friday 8:00am AEST), with the final on Friday night (Saturday 11:00am AEST).
