Geoff Kabush’s tenacity and work ethic have seen him remain a name to be reckoned with throughout his career in mountain biking.
SPORT in general always appealed to Geoff Kabush but as he reached his teenage years the freedom and challenges of mountain biking became more and more appealing. In his final year of high school he hit the Canada Cups series by storm and qualified for the World Championships in Germany.
Hard work and total devotion saw him rise steadily in the sport over the coming years and qualification for the Sydney Olympics in 2000 was just rewards. He competed again at the Games in 2008 and 2012 while more recently has attended them in an organisational role. He confirmed his superiority as a competitive rider when he won a World Cup in 2009.
Geoff’s versatility in the biking has seen numerous sponsors team up with him. He has also gained support due to his transparency when it comes to racing and his dedication to campaigning for a cleaner sport.
We were delighted when Geoff agreed to talk to us and go into detail about some of his career highlights as well as what the future holds for him in the sport.
When did you first realise you had the talent to really go places in the sport of cycling?
I played almost every sport growing up in British Columbia but through high school I started to enjoy the lifestyle and challenges of mountain biking more and more. My last year of high school I started out racing the in the first couple of Canada Cups in BC and won both races. This spurred me on to travel and compete in the whole series across the country. That year I ended up qualifying for the World Championships in Germany. That experience really opened my eyes to what was possible and motivated me to pursue the sport further.
What were some of your first cycling successes?
I had a lot of success as a Junior in Canada and after that it was just a really steady and slow progression up the Senior ranks. I was lucky to have a really good mentor and coach that stressed the long term approach in training to really build a foundation first. The real international breakthrough finally came in 2000 when I qualified for the Sydney Olympics and finished ninth there.
Geoff Kabush Olympic breakthrough came in 2000 when he qualified for the Games in Sydney.
Who have been your biggest inspirations and mentors in the sport?
Juerg Feldmann was my coach and mentor as a young athlete and he really taught me about my body and physiology. He also taught me to be a critical thinker and a big part of my success has been to never stop learning about the sport. As far as athletes I really looked up to John Tomac as an inspiration. John was a legend as I came into the sport that was really able to have success across multiple disciplines. Most of all he was really down to earth and showed a lot of integrity with the choices he made.
What do you see as your standout cycling achievements?
For me I’m most proud that I still have the same love and joy riding my bike after all these years. Finally winning a World Cup in 2009 was probably the most satisfying result I ever achieved; standing on that top step was especially gratifying after struggling through and surviving a lot of adversity in my sport.
Geoff is as competitive as ever but never loses his gratitude for the beauty his sport can lead him to.
Tell us about your experience of competing at the Olympics and the buzz you’ve got from being at the event?
I really had a lot of special moments at the three Olympics I attended. My childhood dream coming true qualifying for Sydney 2000 is still a special memory for me. I was a young rider who unexpectedly qualified at the last moment and then went on to an international breakout result in 9th. My first Olympic experience was also special as I had more than a week to enjoy spectating different events and embrace the Olympic spirit in the village. It is really inspiring hanging out in the village and being surrounded by the greatest athletes in the world.
Tell us about your passion to promote clean racing to all enthusiasts of the sport?
Being an advocate for clean sport has been core to my experience in sport. My career was dramatically affected by people cheating. Taking short cuts removes all meaning to sport for me and I think it is important for clean athletes to speak out about their experiences. I’m lucky I have a platform but you don’t hear from many great athletes because they were forced to quit. Sport isn’t easy and I’ve always wanted to speak out to show younger athletes that you can make good choices in sport and still have success. There is no better feeling looking back at what you’ve been able to achieve in sport and know that you did it the right way.
How hard are you currently training and what races, events and projects do you have coming up in the months ahead?
I’ve changed focus but I’m still really enjoying living a healthy lifestyle and working hard at my sport. There are a lot of great events I compete in now that I’ve moved away from chasing World Cups and the Olympics. I’m racing almost every weekend doing longer MTB stages race, endurance races, enduro, gravel, cyclocross, road, and whatever else sounds like fun. I have the Carson City Off-Road next on my schedule before heading back to the seven day BC Bike Race which is one of my favourite events of the summer. In between I am constantly working on different projects with my sponsors.
Geoff pictured with one of his most special fans.
Tell us about some of your work with companies involved in the world of MTB and how you have collaborated with them to further the sport and promote positive messages?
I’m lucky to have built a lot of great long term relationships over my career in the industry. I’m really grateful how a lot of companies have really supported the messages I’ve promoted relating to clean sport. As an athlete I’m well aware of the impact we can have on young athletes so I always try to take advantage of any platform I get to speak about the right values and reasons for pursuing sport. I’m currently the chair of Cycling Canada’s Athlete Council and sit on Cycling Canada’s BOD; it’s been great to see these ideas strongly integrated in Cycling Canada policies and I’m happy to be able to share my perspective and the impact it has on athletes.
