Jack Bobridge

Jack Bobridge (born 13 July 1989) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2010 and 2016.

Jack Bobridge

Bobridge in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Jack Bobridge
Nickname	Bobby
Born	(1989-07-13) 13 July 1989 (age 35) Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Weight	65 kg (143 lb)
Team information
Current team	Retired
Disciplines	Road Track
Role	Rider
Rider type	Endurance (track)
Amateur teams
2004–2007	CSC Team O'Grady
2008–2009	Southaustralia.com–AIS
Professional teams
2010–2011	Garmin–Transitions
2012	GreenEDGE
2013–2014	Blanco Pro Cycling
2015	Team Budget Forklifts
2016	Trek–Segafredo
Major wins
One-day races and Classics National Road Race Championships (2011, 2016)
Medal record Representing  Australia Men's road bicycle racing World Championships 2009 Mendrisio Under-23 time trial Men's track cycling Olympic Games 2012 London Team pursuit 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team pursuit World Championships 2010 Ballerup Team pursuit 2011 Apeldoorn Team pursuit 2011 Apeldoorn Individual pursuit 2009 Pruszków Individual pursuit 2009 Pruszków Team pursuit 2012 Melbourne Individual pursuit 2012 Melbourne Team pursuit 2015 Yvelines Individual pursuit 2010 Ballerup Individual pursuit 2015 Yvelines Team pursuit Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi Individual pursuit 2010 Delhi Team pursuit 2014 Glasgow Team pursuit 2014 Glasgow Individual pursuit

In 2019 he was convicted of drug dealing and sentenced to a four-year prison term. He admitted to using banned recreational drugs during his racing career, noting that he used cocaine in training leading up to major cycling events, including the Olympics.^[2]

Career

Bobridge's career combined both track and road cycling.

In 2008, he was part of the Australian men's pursuit team that finished in fourth place at the Olympics, along with Graeme Brown, Mark Jamieson, Luke Roberts and Brad McGee.^[3]

In May 2009, Bobridge signed with Garmin–Slipstream, with his contract starting on 1 January 2010 and had been contracted to race with the team until 2012. He left the team at the end of 2011, and joined GreenEDGE for the 2012 season.^[4]

In September 2009 he won the under-23 time trial at the UCI Road World Championships.^[5] In January 2011 he became the Australian National Road Race Champion with a daring solo breakaway. On 2 February 2011, he set a new world record for the track 4k individual pursuit.^[6] Bobridge was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.^[7]

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was part of the Australian team that won the silver medal in the men's team pursuit, with Glenn O'Shea, Rohan Dennis and Michael Hepburn.^[8]

Bobridge left Orica–GreenEDGE at the end of the 2012 season, and joined Blanco Pro Cycling on a two-year contract from the 2013 season onwards.^[9]

Bobridge won two gold medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, one in the men's team pursuit with Luke Davison, Alex Edmondson and Glenn O'Shea, where Australia set a new Games record in the final, and in the men's individual pursuit.^[10][11]

In November 2014 Bobridge was announced as part of the Team Budget Forklifts line-up for 2015 alongside fellow members of the Australian endurance track squad Luke Davison, Glenn O'Shea, Scott Sunderland and Mitchel Mulhearn, riding a domestic programme with a focus on achieving success on the track at the 2016 Summer Olympics.^[12]

Bobridge won the opening stage of the 2015 Tour Down Under. He lost the overall lead on stage three but finished the race with the King of the Mountains jersey. On 31 January 2015 Bobridge attempted to break the world hour record in Melbourne. He rode 51.3 kilometres falling short of the record of 51.852 kilometres. However he did break Brad McGee's Australian national hour record of 50.3 kilometres which had stood since 2000.^[13] In September 2015 it was announced that Bobridge would return to the UCI WorldTour peloton in 2016, signing a one-year contract with Trek Factory Racing.^[14]

In 2016, Bobridge won his second Olympic silver medal, again in the men's team pursuit, this time with Alex Edmondson, Michael Hepburn, Sam Welsford and Callum Scotson.^[15]

Bobridge announced his retirement from cycling in November 2016. His retirement was due to the effects of rheumatoid arthritis which he was first diagnosed with in 2010.^[16]

The Jack Bobridge Track, a cycling and walking trail from his hometown of Gawler into the Barossa Valley was named for Bobridge when it was built in 2014, however the Barossa Council was concerned that this sent the wrong message to young people after he was convicted of using and selling drugs in 2019.^[17] In July 2019, the council resolved to remove Bobridge's name and rename the track to the Barossa Trail,^[18] a name already used for the northern and eastern extension.

Legal issues

In September 2017, Bobridge was charged with selling trafficable quantities of recreational drugs.^[19] In May 2019, during a court hearing concerning his case, he admitted to using recreational drugs, such as cocaine and ecstasy, during his active career.^[20] He claimed that he took them ahead of some races, but that they would be out of his body by race day. He denied the charges brought against him that he trafficked ecstasy.^[21] On 5 July 2019, he was sentenced to four years and six months in prison, being found guilty for four charges of drug dealing. He is eligible for parole after two years and six months.^[22]

Major results

Track

2006

1st Team pursuit, UCI Junior Track World Championships

2007

1st Team pursuit, UCI Junior Track World Championships

National Track Championships

1st Team pursuit

1st Madison

2008

1st Team pursuit, 2007–08 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Los Angeles

2009

Oceania Track Championships

1st Individual pursuit

1st Team pursuit

1st Individual pursuit, National Track Championships

2010

Commonwealth Games

1st Individual pursuit

1st Team pursuit

UCI Track World Championships

1st Team pursuit

3rd Individual pursuit

2011

UCI Track World Championships

1st Team pursuit

1st Individual pursuit

1st Overall, Individual pursuit, 2010–11 UCI Track Cycling World Ranking

2012

UCI Track World Championships

2nd Team pursuit

2nd Individual pursuit

2nd Team pursuit, Olympic Games

2015

2nd Individual pursuit, UCI Track World Championships

2016

2nd Team pursuit, Olympic Games

Road

2007

3rd Overall Tour of the Murray River

4th Time trial, UCI Juniors World Championships

2008

8th Overall Tour de Berlin

2009

1st Time trial, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships

National Under-23 Road Championships

1st Road race

1st Time trial

1st Eschborn–Frankfurt City Loop U23

3rd Overall Thüringen Rundfahrt der U23

1st Stage 2 & 5 (ITT)

7th Overall Tour of Japan

1st Stage 4 & 6

2010

1st Stage 5 Eneco Tour

7th Overall Delta Tour Zeeland

2011

National Road Championships

1st Road race

2nd Time trial

2nd Overall Herald Sun Tour

5th Time trial, UCI Road World Championships

2014

5th Road race, National Road Championships

2015

Tour Down Under

1st Mountains classification

1st Stage 1

3rd Time trial, National Road Championships

2016

1st Road race, National Road Championships

4th Overall Herald Sun Tour

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Giro d'Italia	DNF	—	DNF	DNF	—	—	156
Tour de France	Did not contest during his career
Vuelta a España

Legend

—	Did not compete
DNF	Did not finish