Dirt

Flamboyant Frenchman Cedric Gracia began his cycling career on a BMX at the age of six before moving on to pro freestyle skiing. It wasn’t until 1998, at the age of 20, that he entered the mountain biking scene racing downhill and 4X, and three years later he turned pro with Volvo/Cannondale, finishing fifth in the downhill division.

After a second-placed finish overall in downhill in 2002, he won his first major race – the Red Bull Rampage in Utah – the following year. He has since gone on to win other prestigious races such as the 2007 Crankworx 4X in Whistler, Canada and the 2009 Urban Downhill in Valparaiso, Chile. He also finished fourth overall in the 2008 World Cup 4X series.

In 2010 Cedric started the CG Racing Brigade, and he continued to feature on podiums around the world, including a third place finish at Maxiavalanche at Vallnord, and a victory the following year in the Nissan European Downhill Cup round at La Bresse. He also started strongly in 2012, with wins in the Enduro de la Fenasosa and the Descenso Wild Wolf Santiago Downtown, but a major crash in June led to a premature end to his season.

In July 2013, following the Vallnord round of the competition, Cedric announced his retirement from the World Cup downhill series in order to focus on enduro. He also recently opened his own mountain bike school in Andorra, where he plans to train the next generation of riders.