Jared Graves Officially Retires From Racing 2

After fourteen years of racing with Yeti Cycles, Jared Graves announced today he is retiring from full-time racing. His final race was the Australian National Championships last weekend, where he won the short-track cross country race, finishing his career on the top of the podium. Graves will remain on the Yeti program, transitioning from racer to Team Performance Coach. 

“I’m stoked to go out on top and I’m excited for the next phase of my career with the Yeti crew,” said Graves.  

Graves’ career has been marked by his versatility — he’s won world championships in 4X and Enduro, earned a bronze medal in downhill at the World Championships, represented Australia in BMX in the 2008 Olympics, and has won a total of 10 elite Australian national titles across five disciplines, most recently winning the 2022 Australian National Championships in short-track cross-country. Few athletes have his range of skill across multiple disciplines and it’s not a stretch to call him one of the best all-around cyclists of all time.  

“Jared’s work ethic and competitive drive are legendary, and we’re excited to have him continue to mentor our young racers and work with our product development team,” said Chris Conroy, Yeti’s CEO. “He’s mentored some of the best in the sport – Richie Rude, Sam Willoughby, Kasper Woolley, and even a young Jack Moir, who raced for Yeti back in 2013, benefited from his wisdom.” 

“Jared’s mentorship over the years has had an invaluable impact on my career, my riding, and who I am as a person. I remember looking up to him in the early days of my racing career, and to have had the opportunity to work so closely with him has been an honor. While I will sorely miss racing with him and watching him between the tape, I am eternally grateful for the lessons I’ve learned from him and the friendship we share.” – Richie Rude 

Jared’s contributions to Yeti have been integral to the brand’s success — working with the engineering team to develop some of the most iconic bikes in the brand’s storied history including the 303 DH, 4X full-suspension, DJ, limited run BMX bike, SB66, SB6, and SB150.  

“It’s almost impossible to overstate how much Grubby has influenced our program,” said Steve Hoogendoorn, Chief Technology Officer at Yeti. “He always knew what he needed to go faster and our engineering team was committed to make product to get him on the top of the box.”  

“I owe my Career with Yeti to Jared. He trusted my skills and knowledge with his bikes from my first race with the team at the '09 World Champs in Canberra (which he won 4X). He has taught me things about bikes that I would never have learned otherwise. He’s become one of my closest mates, and I'm honoured to have worked with him for the past 13 years. I look forward to being a part of his career into the future as he continues with the Yeti Cycles team. Congratulations on an incredible career.” – Shaun Hughes 

In addition to the contributions to Yeti, Graves is also a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in October 2018 and publicly battled through chemo and radiation treatments. He detailed his struggle on his Instagram account and inspired the cycling and cancer community with his honesty, grit, and determination to beat the disease.

Graves is one of the best riders in Yeti's storied lineage and sits beside the likes of Tomac, Furtado, Giove, Rockwell, Streb, Rennie, Kintner, Rowney and many others before him.  

Grubby, here’s to your legendary career (raising a bottle of Bundy), you’re a bloody legend and we couldn’t be more stoked for the next chapter! 

We at Vital want to thank Jared for inspiring so many racers with his focus, determination, passion, and raw talent over the years. Jared managed to transform his racing craft across multiple forms of cycling and we can't think of a more well-rounded and successful racer. What a career, Grubby, we are stoked to see what you do next!