John Tomac

If you don't know who he is... shame on you!



https://www.pinkbike.com/news/john-tomac-american-mountain-bike-legend-video.html

 

He's the guy who made the tires on my old bike, right!!!

 

Always wanted his 00 Buckshot frame. We had one in the shop I worked at but it was the wrong size.

 

Of course we do, he's Eli's Dad.

 

His son is no slouch either.

 

Great video. TFPU! I've had my Tomac encounters, but who cares (all positive, BTW). I loved that era. His comments explain something I've wondered for years. At first, it was all Americans - Overend, Tomac, Juarez, Grewal, Furtado, Ballantyne, DeMettei, Wiens, Herbold - then, suddenly, it was Euro dominated and has never come back. I think we now have one American in the top 30 in WC XC.

EPO. Plain and simple.

Tomac is a legend.

 

Between EPO and diesel, those Euros seem to like to fudge the rules!

 

I got kind of sad listening to John speak about leaving euro road because of doping, and then not wanting to push his son into cycling because of doping. That's just so tragic

 

I saw John race in Mammoth and he totally dominated, road and mountain. It's so cool to see him riding..damn he's smooth!

An old riding buddy of mine rode with a CA State champ who also chose not to go pro for the same reason. Strong and gifted and no chance to win against dopers.

Major props to JT and the other ethical racers who say "No" to cheating, and a total loss for us they're not able to compete on a fair playing field.

 

Some of the same reasons I quit racing back in the mid 90s. Guys would get real strong real fast, lots of people with "asthma" using inhalers all the time.

Definitely one of the greatest of all time.
That disc wheel though!

 

I was blessed with riding the same race courses that John Tomac rode the day of Nationals. That is what I loved about Mountain Bike Racing as we all got to hang out in the same pits. No air of superiority, just people out doing what the loved at whatever level they did it.
we need grassroots racing back in America. I think the closet we have to that now is high school Mountain Bike which I am so thankful for!

Tomac I a legend.

 

There is a lot of grass roots here. There is no shortage of good racing to partake in, or watch. And there are some fast people you can just hang out with.

 

I've mentioned this before, but mountain bike riding/racing is one of the few sports that as an amateur, you can pretty much ride the same course as the professionals. Sometimes even at the same time!

 

motocross is similar. you can go to the local tracks and have many pros out there practicing on the same track. Even pit next to them too.

 

If you hit any of the local gokart tracks in the mid week, there is a chance you will run across a pro road racer on a Supermoto. Nicky Hayden used to frequent Grange.

I can't go on Youtube right now, but if you search for "Supermoto Madness" you'll find an older video with several MotoGP stars riding at Apex in Perris, a place anyone can drop $35 and spend all day riding.

But it is certainly really easy to hang out with real pro's in MTB.