Enduro26 gravesinterview

issue 26

4

Bikes tested

$10.95 ENDURO MAG SUMMER 2013

jared Graves enduro world series ridinG out oF PovertY FroM kenYa to eden

BAUM CYCLES | QIANSEN TROPHY | PRESS CAMP 2014 | SMITHFIELD AWAITS | 1 X 11 FOR THE MASSES

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JARED GRAVES

There’s an old saying, ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’. Whoever conceived of that saying had never met Jared Graves, who is a master of all things two-wheeled and pedal-powered.

In his 12 years racing bikes on the world stage, Jared has represented Australia in BMX, 4X, and DH. He has won the 4X World Championship, won the 4X World Cup Series (three times), finished second overall in the BMX World Cup Series, finished sixth in BMX at the Beijing Olympics and finished third at the DH World Championships (on his single-crown Enduro bike, no less).

In prepping himself for these disciplines, Jared has also won his fair share of domestic XC mountain bike races (where it all started for Jared) and road criteriums along the way.

If it’s not clear from his results, Jared is a serious competitor who loves to progress, loves to build fitness and skills, loves to win races and loves to ride his bike. In addition, Jared is one of the most highly regarded riders on the world stage, for both his riding prowess and how he carries himself off the bike…there’s a good reason that he has been with Yeti bikes for over ten years.

In 2013, Jared turned his focus to the inaugural Enduro World Series. Things were looking good for Jared in February, when he notched up an impressive 7th place in the Australian XC National Championship, despite some gear troubles, beating some decent names in Aussie XC. Jared kept the throttle open into the Enduro World Series, taking second place at three of the seven rounds and taking a win at the Whistler round (thanks to a blinding 30 secondclear win on the final stage) earning him an impressive second place in the overall, behind Frechman Jerome Clementz.

Enduromag caught up with Jared on his return to Australia to get his thoughts on his career, his switch to Enduro racing and his turquoise blood…

INTERVIEW by WIL BARRETT photos: TIM BARDSLEY-SMITH, SVEN MARTIN, BLAKE JORGENSON

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Jared Graves wins round 5 of the Enduro World Series at Crankworx Whistler. l Photo Blake Jorgenson

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Good morning (or is it afternoon? or evening?) Jared…how are you doing?

Good night actually (laughs), yep doing well thanks!

Where are you in the world right now?

I’m back home in Toowoomba, just got home a couple of days ago.

You've achieved some incredible results not only this year, but over your entire racing career. Be a gentleman and give us three highlights.

Well, definitely winning 4X World Champs here in Australia in 2009, racing the BMX Olympics in 2008, and probably my 3rd place in DH at World Champs in South Africa this year. They would be the three that stand out the most.

With such a successful 2013 season, including 2nd place overall in the Enduro World Series, what's on the cards for you in 2014?

Well, at this stage, a similar season to 2013.

A couple of DH world cups, not sure exactly which rounds just yet, and of course the entire Enduro World Series, and a few other bigger non series/title races, like Sea otter, Crankworx etc. I’m not sure about domestic stuff at this stage, but I’m planning on doing more XC than DH actually, as it’s all about training for the 2014 Enduro World Series.

What's an average week of training for you like?

It really depends of the phase of training I’m in. I am about to start a base block, which will be around 25 hours a week, just long rides really, 40% road and 40% on the mountain bike with a skills emphasis and 20% gym and trainer sessions. Four big days, one medium day and two easy days in each week-long

block. And that’s with two-sessions per day on the big days.

With all the training under the belt, take us through your race day morning. What's your sequence for getting focussed and pumped up for the start line?

It depends on start time. I’m pretty chill though. If you get all amped up you’re just wasting energy. If it’s a later start, some kind of spin/activation three hours before race time, a good feed, some music and getting the small things in place. If it’s an early start I have to be up at least two and a half hours before race start to allow my body to fully wake up, as I’m not a morning person! I’ll have a good breakfast, some kind of easy spin to wake the body up, and more good food.

There are clearly many different demands; both physical and mental, between the disciplines of riding you've applied yourself to over the years. Can you tell us how you've had to adapt your riding fitness, strength and style to Gravity Enduro?

Well a lot of people don’t know that I started as a junior in XC racing, so I’ve always had that base there. Then, of course years of DH and 4X World cup racing. All that combined to give me a perfect base for Enduro: skills, strength and endurance, which was a big reason Enduro and the new World Series was very appealing to me. I just did a tonne of road/xc last off season to prepare, while monitoring my max strength and power, to make sure I wasn’t losing too much of that.

Then taking all that and mixing it all together to make sustainable power, which is what Enduro is all about.

The Enduro World Series has seen a dramatic step up in both the status and professionalism of the format, though it's still relatively young compared to DH or XC. What improvements do you think there could be made to both the format and the series itself?

Honestly I think it was awesome this year, I wouldn’t want to see much change. I’m sure it will evolve over time, but they really did nail it!

If I had to name one thing though, it would be more course taping. It really wasn’t a major issue, but I got frustrated spending the very small amount of practice time we had looking for the fastest way through a section due to a very loose course marking. I’m all about sticking to the main line and hitting it as hard as you can, I kept to that strategy more than most and it seemed to pay off. But the Frenchies have a habit of finding all sorts of “grey area” lines…I’m not into that at all.

How do you view the change in DH (and now Enduro) racing compared to the old Rennie/Kovarik/Gracia dominated-days?

Man, it’s changed so much, but at the same time, not much at all…if that makes sense.

Those three guys are all huge natural talents, and if they all woke up now as fresh 18 year olds again they would have careers just as successful as they had. The biggest change now is the depth. There are just so many more fast guys, and the training, you have to be full time and totally committed. You snooze you loose!

It seems there are many different interpretations for the word Enduro. What's your take on it?

Well, Enduro I guess is just short/slang for

endurance, which can be applied to track, XC (marathon) or DHI (Gravity Enduro). It is a little confusing though for those who don’t live and breathe the sport. As far as Gravity Enduro goes, it is definitely what most people worldwide think of when the Word “Enduro” is mentioned.

The current Gravity Enduro race format that’s soaring in popularity around Australia seems to be quite different to those events held in Europe. Perhaps it’s because we don't quite have the mountains that Europe is blessed with, but where do you see Gravity Enduro racing going in Australia?

Yeah this is something I think that some of the people organizing races need to take note of. I don’t think you need epic mountains for Enduro to be successful. For me it’s all about using the best trails an area has to offer, and ones that will test the riders’ allround ability: skills, strength, fitness.

I haven’t actually raced any Gravity Enduro in Australia, but from what I’ve heard it’s been more like mini-DH on easier trails, on trail bikes, and to me that isn’t Enduro at all. You need stages with super tech, fast flow, short climbs, flat out pedalling, stuff that really tests a rider’s all around ability. I don’t know why race organisers in Australia are afraid to put in short climbs. You know, a short 30 second sprint climb where you start to redline, straight into a super technical section. That was an aspect of most of the Enduro World Series rounds, and it became a major skill you needed in itself. Also, stages where knowing how to pace yourself properly becomes a real advantage.

I’ll give one piece of advice that any Enduro racer needs to remember. There’s that point during a stage where you are gasping for breath, your arms and legs are like jelly and you just want to stop. If you reach that point at any time during a stage before the last minute, you’ve blown it! I’ve talked to a few race organisers in Australia and they all think too much pedalling is too hard and they think people won’t want to race that. It’s not the pedalling that’s hard, the riders are just going

out too hard trying to sprint everything and are blowing up! When you know you’ve paced a stage well, it’s a very satisfying feeling.

What bikes currently fill the shed?

Too many! I have 21 various Yeti’s from the past 10 years. I keep any bike that I have had a memorable race on. I also have a couple motos and few road bikes. The shd is well and truly full. It’s always locked and alarmed if I’m not in the garage myself. My worst fear is some scumbag stealing them. You just can’t put a price on sentimental value, right?

How much development input do you have with the Yeti and Fox Racing Shox research and development teams?

Lots. The best thing about my job is helping to develop products that will make me go faster and make riding more enjoyable in general. I just say what I would like to see, and the engineers at both companies are continually blowing my mind with new ways of making things how I want them.

And could you point to any specifics about the current Yeti range that should be Graves trademarked?

Well the Yeti DJ is basically just my signature hardtail frame. I had a lot of geometry input with the 303WC DH bike, and really all the Yeti DH bikes over the years. It has really stepped up this year though, and I have had a lot of input with some pretty damn exciting new products that people will know about soon enough…

Having ridden quite a few of them over the years, what's been your favourite bike?

SB66 takes that for sure. They have always had amazing bikes, but all of them in the past have been very single purpose but as has been proven this year, the SB66 is a bike that really can do it all. Unless you are a super serious DH or XC racer, there is no need to own any other bike.

Who is your mechanic and what makes him/ her special?

Shaun Hughes; he is the best mechanic that I’ve ever worked with, hands down. He goes above and beyond to the point where every

time I ride it, it has that ‘first ride after a complete rebuild’ feel. He keeps everything working just as it should. He is also the only mechanic I have ever had that I have 100% trust in. He knows exactly how I want my bikes and never misses any detail.

Is there anything particularly anal about your setup that could tend to annoy your mechanic?

I’m very anal about brake lever position and the amount of lever pull before contact on the brake pads. This means a lot of brake bleeding and a lot of new brake pads. I’m also very anal about tyre pressure. It doesn’t annoy him though, he just knows how I like my setup and he just does it. Most of the time I don’t even have to ask.

The Yeti brand is one that has reached a near cult-like status over the years.

What's your take on the brand loyalty?

It’s like a big family. They only hire a certain type of person to work there: people that they know will be 100% positive for brand development and image…passionate people.

It’s something that definitely rubs off in everything they do and make, and that’s what draws people to Yeti and keeps them there, the sense of family! As they say…true Yeti freaks “bleed turquoise”.

Speaking of loyal Yeti fans, do you encounter any over-the-top supporters?

Always, but they are always cool. You know you are doing something right when you have people support you like that.

Is the travelling lifestyle not as glamorous as it sounds?

Honestly, travelling is the worst. I hate it with a passion but it’s a necessary evil to get to the next race which is what I love to do more than anything. So I put up with it.

We saw you storm to 7th overall in the XCO at the National Championships in Canberra early this year, despite only having about three gears after a mechanical incident.

Having been quoted as saying ‘Next year I wanna win it!’, do you think we’ll see you on

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the podium at the National Champs next year?

Haha, yeah I’ve really enjoyed XC racing again like I never thought I would. After the season Dan McConnell has just had and the form he’s shown I think winning it might be a long shot, but I want to podium for sure. I was pretty disappointed how the race went in Canberra, it felt like a pretty off day all around for me to be honest. And I’d only had a proper six weeks of training for it. I know I’m capable of much better. I’m about 10kg or more heavier than any of the other guys I’ll be racing (apart from Paul VDP). This makes long climbing a battle at that level.

But if the track is technical and suits a power rider, then I can’t wait!

And does that performance make you wonder if you should have more of a crack at XC racing?

Domestically, I will be doing more XC than DH, but again, that’s more about a personal challenge and preparation for the Enduro World Series in 2014. I have no doubt Enduro is where my strengths come to the forefront the most - skills and sustainable power - so I know that’s where my focus needs to be. You certainly won’t see me making any XC Olympics push!

What about cyclocross or road racing??

Yeah, I’ve done a bit of road racing over the past 12 months, primarily road criteriums.

I really enjoy them, but I don’t enjoy road races. They are too long, too boring. I’ve won some elite A grade state level criteriums,

racing against guys who have won NRS rounds and raced overseas.

Do you still get a chance to race BMX? No, to be honest, BMX burnt me out very quickly and very badly. There is too much politics and favouritism amongst the national team and too many crazy parents at grassroots level…always drama and backstabbing. I just always kept to myself because of all this, and people find ways to make up drama that doesn’t exist about that even. I love the sport for the riding, I can’t stand everything else that goes on with it.

Obviously you’ve got your fingers in a few pies at the moment, though would anything tempt you back into racing 4X full time again?

Full time? No way! A crack at another world title if I could get a decent block of specific training before hand? Then maybe. My power-to-weight is still inline with where it was three years ago when I trained as a pure sprinter. I would just need to sharpen a few things up, as I haven’t done a single gate start since World Champs final in 2011, but as they say, you never forget how to ride a bike!

It's a beautifully sunny Sunday and the diary is wide-open. Which bike do you grab?

Ooh a tough one! That’s a toss-up between the road bike for a nice 4-5 hour ride, or SB66 for a 4-5hr ride. But I don’t know where I’d go, the best rides have no plan and you just make it up as you go.

And where are your favourite spots to ride when you're on home soil?

Definitely at home here in Towoomba. We have an awesome network of trails, and a club that is awesome, and is always building more. Toowoomba is becoming a bit of an MTB mecca. I have all I need to train here.

Also the road riding is awesome, quiet roads, loads of loops and all the variety you could want.

Racing aside, what is it about riding that gets you back on the bike day after day and year after year? What really gets you buzzing?

I love progression and feeling like you’re getting better and pushing yourself. There is no better feeling. I’m taking a break from structured training right now, but that just means its time to try new things, have fun, and more than likely crash. It’s the only time of the year where an injury won’t make me miss any races, so you have to take advantage of that. I have crashed at least 12-15times in the past three weeks, but I have learnt some new limits in some areas.

Here's a tough one, what would you be doing right now if you were not an Elite-level cyclist?

That’s an easy one, because I have no idea.

Everyone has vices, mine are Reeces Cups, coffee and dark ales. What are yours?

Anything chocolate. A Bundy, rum and Coke…I’m a bit of a bogan! - ENDuromag

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