Jaroslav Kulhavý

Jaroslav Kulhavý
	Kulhavý at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Jaroslav Kulhavý
Born	8 January 1985; Ústí nad Orlicí
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	76 kg (168 lb)
Team information
Current team	Specialized Racing
Discipline	Mountain bike racing
Role	Rider
Rider type	Cross-country
Major wins
	Absa Cape Epic Champion: 2013, 2015, 2018 Afxentia: 2017
Representing the Czech Republic
Men's mountain bike racing
Olympic Games
World Championships
World Cup
Men's Mountain bike marathon
World Championships

Jaroslav Kulhavý (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjaroslaf ˈkulɦaviː]; born 8 January 1985 in Ústí nad Orlicí), is a Czech mountain biker

He is currently riding for the Specialized Racing team. He won the gold medal in the cross-country event at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the silver medal four years later at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He is the overall winner of the UCI World Cup in 2011, along with taking 3rd place in 2010 and 2012. In 2013 and 2015 Kulhavy partnered with Christoph Sauser to win the Absa Cape Epic mountain bike stage race ("Tour de France of mountain biking") Kulhavy raced the Absa Cape Epic with Sauser again in March, 2017, but their bid for a third win together was foiled by Nino Schurter and Matthias Stirnemann (Scott-Sram), who eventually prevailed by eight minutes. In June 2014 he took the world title in mountain bike marathon. At the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016 he came in second in the cross country race. Shortly after the start, he entered the front group and gradually formed a leading couple along with Nino Schurter, who was slowly passing by. In the penultimate sixth lap, Kulhavý was unable to respond to the arrival of a Switzerland cyclist and a gap grew gradually between the two rivals. Jaroslav Kulhavý, however, watched his second place and won the silver medal. He was on the start list for the 2018 Cross-country European Championship and he finished

Achievements

2018: Winner with Howard Grotts of the Absa Cape Epic
2016: 2nd place in Olympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil); 2nd place at UCI Mountain Bike World Championships (Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic)
2015: UEC MTB Marathon European Champion; Winner with Christoph Sauser of the Absa Cape Epic
2014: UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Champion (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa)
2013: Winner with Christoph Sauser of the Absa Cape Epic
2012: 1st place in Olympic Games (London, Great Britain); 3rd place at World Cup (overall ranking)
2011: UCI Mountain Bike World Champion (Champery, Switzerland); 1st place at UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships; 1st place at World Cup (overall ranking); European Champion
2010: 2nd place at UCI Mountain Bike World Championships (Mont Sainte-Anne, Canada); 3rd place at World Cup (overall ranking); European Champion; National Champion in MTB Marathon
2009: 9th place at UCI Mountain Bike World Championships (Cambera, Australia)
2008: National XC MTB Champion; 10th place at World Cup (overall ranking); 18th place in Olympic Games (Beijing, China)
2007: 3rd place at World Cup (U23); 2nd place at European Championship (U23)
2003: Junior World Champion; Junior European Champion

Sports career

For the first time, he became more aware of himself in 2003, when he became junior champion of the world and Europe. As a result, he also looked at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, but the Olympic race did not finish due to the defect. In 2008 he entered the Elite category and gradually began to overcome the best results of the Czech bikers. At the World Championships in St. Petersburg, Wendel finished eleventh, improving three places to the best Czech result of Miloslav Kvasnička in 1991.In 2009, he finished the 11th European Championship, at the World Cup in Canberra, Australia, the ninth. The medal position in the World Cup race has not been successful yet. In 2010, the first major medal successes came. In July, he won the title of European Champion in Israeli Haifa.At the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016 he defended the gold in the cross country race. Shortly after the start, he entered the front group and gradually formed a leading couple along with Nino Schurter, who was slowly passing by. In the penultimate sixth lap, Kulhavý was unable to respond to the arrival of a Swiss cyclist and a gap grew gradually between the two rivals. Jaroslav Kulhavý, however, watched his second place and won the silver medal.

Winner of the Afxentia Stage Race

26 February 2017 Jaroslav Kulhavy has successfully completed the first start of the new season. The Olympic winner from London and the Silver medalist from Rio Jaroslav Kulhavy has won the fourth stage of the Sunshine Cup race Afxentia 2017.

Friend's death

Kulhavy lost one of his best friends in 2013. His name was Burry Stander and he was in the same racing team as Kulhavy. His death was very devastating for Kulhavy because they were very close to each other.

Here is a bit of conversation after Burrys death:

Reporter: Jaroslav, can you tell us something about this tragedy?

Jaroslav: I do not know what to say at the moment. He was a really good man and we had a lot of fun together. I will always remember him.

Reporter: Did you know him well?

Jaroslav: We spent a lot of time at races together for the last two seasons. He still had most of his life ahead of him. It's a big blow and a loss for our team and especially for his family. In the team we feel as one big family, from mechanics to racers.

World Cup of Mountain Bikes XCO

2013	Germany	Czech	Italy	Andorra	Canada	Norway
	3	26	3	34	16	1
2014	South African Republic	Australia	Czech	Germany	Canada	USA	France
	10	DNF	87	6	36	DNF	30
2015	Czech	Germany	Switzerland	Canada	USA	Italy
	1	3	1	13	32	4

King of bicycling Kulhavy

23.6 in 2016 he became the fourth time winner of the Survey of the Czech cyclist. Again in the Olympic year, when he won the medal at the most prestigious event of the year, Kulhavý surpassed all Czech stars including riders on the road. His first triumph was in 2010, second 2011 and third in 2012. To the last he won this valuation in year 2016 and he became a king again in his sport in Czech republic.

References

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