Chris Kovarik (born 1 March 1978,

Dandenong Dandenong is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated mainly ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

), is an Australian professional racing cyclist specialising in

downhill mountain biking Downhill mountain biking (DH) is a style of mountain biking practiced on steep, rough terrain that often features jumps, drops, rock gardens and other obstacles. Jumps can be up to and including , and drops can be greater than . The rider c ...

and four cross mountain bike racing. He is a multiple Australian national champion and multiple World Cup winner.

Cycling career

Kovarik started competitive cycling when he was 17 years old and has been a member of the Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense Cycle's MTB Race team since its creation in 2008. Kovarik was joined by fellow Intense rider Finland's Matti Lehikoinen for the 2010 race season. In 2004, Kovarik shattered his ankle, broke the tibia on the same leg and spent 4½ months with a metal cage around his leg, leading to 7 months off the bike and missing the 2004 World Cup/Championship season. At the time, doctors had said that he may never ride again, however, he went on to place 5th in the World Championships in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 2005. In 2008 Kovarik married teammate and fellow downhill mountain Bike rider, Canadian Claire Buchar. Chris won the Australian National Downhill Championships in January 2010 at the

SRAM Corporation SRAM LLC is a privately owned bicycle component manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, founded in 1987. SRAM is an acronym comprising the names of its founders, Scott, Ray, and Sam, (where Ray is the middle name of the company's ...

Australian Mountain Bike Championships in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. Kovarik's career highlights include * 2006 - 1st World Cup : Mont Saint Anne * 2005 - 5th World Championships : New Zealand * 2002 - 1st World Cup : Fort William (won by 14 secs) * 2002 - Australian National Champ * 2001 - Australian National Champ * 2000 - Australian National Champ

Past Results

1998

* 1st DH MTB National Series Round VIC * 2nd DH MTB National Series Round NSW

1999

* 1st DH MTB Norba Series Mammoth Mountain USA * 1st DH Norba Series Deer Valley USA * 2nd DH MTB World Cup USA * 2nd DH Norba Series Mount Snow USA * 2nd DH MTB Australian Titles VIC * 2nd DH MTB National Series Round VIC * 3rd DL MTB Australian Titles NSW * 10th DH MTB World Cup USA

2000

* 1st DH MTB Australian Titles QLD * 1st DH MTB Norba Series Round USA * 1st DH MTB National Series Round QLD * 1st DH MTB National Series Round VIC * 2nd DH MTB Norba Series Round USA * 3rd DL MTB National Series Round VIC * 7th DH MTB World Cup * 8th DH MTB World Cup USA * 10th DH MTB World Championships ESP * 11th DH MTB World Cup CAN

2001

* 1st DH MTB Australian Titles VIC * 1st DH MTB World Cup CAN * 1st DH MTB National Series Round VIC * 2nd DH MTB World Cup CAN * 2nd DH MTB World Cup FRA * 3rd DH MTB Norba Series #1 USA * 3rd DH MTB Norba Series #3 USA * 4th DH MTB World Championships USA * 4th DL MTB World Cup CAN * 4th DH MTB World Cup #1 * 5th DH MTB Norba Series 2 USA

2002

* 1st DH MTB World Cup USA * 1st DH MTB World Cup GBR * 1st DH MTB World Cup SLO * 1st DH MTB Australian Titles NSW * 1st DH MTB Championships Series USA * 3rd DH MTB World Championships AUT * 3rd DH MTB National Points Series GBR * 4th National MTB Series USA * 5th DH MTB Mercury Sea Otter Classic USA * 5th 4X MTB Mercury Sea Otter Classic USA * 8th DH MTB World Cup FRA * 9th DH MTB World Cup CAN * 17th 4X MTB World Championships AUT

2003

* 1st DH Norba Series #2 USA * 2nd DH MTB World Cup FRA * 2nd 4X Norba Series #3 USA * 4th DH MTB World Championships SUI * 5th 4X Norba Series #2 USA * 6th DH MTB World Cup GBR

2005

* 2nd DH MTB World Cup #3 AUT * 3rd DH MTB World Cup #6 USA * 4th DH MTB World Cup #8 GBR * 4th DH MTB World Cup #2 GER * 5th DH MTB World Cup #4 CAN * 8th DH Australian MTB Championships VIC * 9th 4X MTB World Cup #6 USA * 11th 4X MTB World Cup #4 CAN * 17th DH MTB World Championships ITA * 41st DH MTB World Cup #7 ITA

2006

* 1st DH MTB World Cup #4 CAN * 3rd 4X MTB World Cup #4 SCO * 3rd Australian DH MTB Championships VIC * 5th DH MTB World Championships NZL * 5th DH MTB World Cup #3 GER * 8th DH MTB World Cup #1 ESP * 9th DH MTB World Cup #6 AUT * 15th DH MTB World Cup #5 BRA * 20th DH MTB World Cup #4 SCO * 49th 4X MTB World Cup #1 ESP

2007

* 7th 4X MTB World Cup #4 AUT * 23rd DH MTB World Cup #4 AUT * 38th DH MTB World Cup #1 ESP * 86th DH MTB World Championships GBR

2008

* 6th MTB World Cup DH #2 Andorra * 12th DH MTB World Championships ITA

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovarik, Chris 1978 births Living people Australian male cyclists Cyclists from Victoria (Australia)