Jack Bobridge is an Australian former professional racing cyclist who last rode for in 2016. 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.
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. In May 2009, Bobridge signed with, 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 for the 2012 season. In September 2009 he won the under-23 time trial at the UCI Road World Championships. 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. Bobridge was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder. 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. Bobridge left at the end of the 2012 season, and joined on a two-year contract from the 2013 season onwards. 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. 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. 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. In September 2015 it was announced that Bobridge would return to the UCI WorldTour peloton in 2016, signing a one-year contract with. 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. 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. 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. In July 2019, the council resolved to remove Bobridge's name and rename the track to the Barossa Trail, 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. 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. 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. 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.
