Jaroslav Kulhavy retires from professionalism at the end of 2022

Jaroslav Kulhavy has won everything and more: in his palmares we find Olympic Games, XCO and Marathon World Championships, World Cups and European Championships. A milestone that only 4 more bikers in the entire history of MTB can boast. His last years were dedicated to the Marathon, where he won the Absa Cape Epic and the World Championship.

THE OLYMPIC GAMES

All London 2012 Olympics both Julien Absalon and Nino Schurter, the 2 biggest names in world XCO. And to win was Jaroslav Kulhavy, of power on the Swiss talent Schurter.

Jaroslav Kulhavy has won everything that could be won: not with the quantity of phenomena of the discipline but the events that count are all in his palmares. His international victories began early as early as Juniors, with the victory of the World and European Championships in 2003.

UNDER23

Among the Under23s he did not have excellent years, despite having participated (at only 19 years old) at the Athens Olympics. His best result was second place at the European XC Championships in his last year in the category. But it is among the Elite that his constant growth has begun. 2010 would have been his first big international season where he won the European XCO Championship and his first race in World Cup.

THE RECORD YEAR (2011)

In 2011 he dominated the World Cup by winning 5 of the 7 races. And at the end of the season, he also won the world championship in Champery (before Nino Schurter and Julien Absalon).

We can consider his 2011 season as the best of his career. To these victories, the XCO European Championship and silver are also added at the Montebelluna Marathon World Championships, won by Christoph Sauser.

THE YEARS IN THE MARATHON

In the years following the Rio Olympics, where he achieved a 2nd place behind Schurter, he began to dedicate himself to the Marathon, also because his physical characteristics were well suited to this effort. In fact, these were the years when Cross Country races were approaching an hour and a half in total duration, with increasingly difficult technical sections, which benefited the explosiveness of athletes like Nino Schurter.

In these years he dominated the Absa Cape Epic winning the 2013 and 2015 editions, paired with Christoph Sauser, and 2018 with Howard Grotts. To these 3 victories is added a 2nd place in 2017 and a forced retirement in 2019 after a serious crash of his teammate on that occasion, Sam Gaze.

He can be considered the only athlete who, when he was in top form, put behind athletes of the caliber of Julien Absalon and Nino Schurter at their peak. An athlete who has won everything and whose sporting career has been associated, practically for life, with Specialized.

AWARDS JAROSLAV KULHAVY