The Origins of the Mountain Bike in Cycling.
Contents
It’s The Beginning of a New Sport
California was the birthplace of mountain riding in the 1970s, when it was still a relatively obscure activity. The concept of riding a bike on unpaved surfaces was not novel, but the creation of a new breed of bike that thrived on such terrain was; these bikes included wider tyres, quicker gear changes, drum brakes, and innovative suspension.
Thrill-seeking riders were given much more independence with these bikes, and the sport of mountain biking was formed.
Downhill Repackage Race
In most accounts, the pioneers of mountain biking as a sport are the Californians who were part of the Velo Club Mount Tamalpais. They came up with the idea for the Repack Downhill Race, which took place regularly between 1976 and 1979 in the hills just outside San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
Riders travelled from far and wide to participate, and the races quickly gained the attention of the press.
Olympic Background
In 1983, the United States hosted the first-ever national mountain biking championships. Nonetheless, both Europe and Australia saw rapid growth in the sport’s fan base. Founded in 1990, the International Cycling Union (UCI) Mountain Bike World Championships are the longest-running series of its kind.
As a result, mountain biking became an officially recognised Olympic sport in 1988, and a cross-country competition for men and women was included for the 1996 Atlanta Games. Since then, there hasn’t been a single change to the programme.
Take a look at some of the best moments from the 2021 Olympic Games held in Tokyo.
Cycling Mountain Bike Moments at Tokyo 2020
1: Pidcock, a celebrity in a number of fields, recovers from his wounds
Tom Pidcock, in his debut year as a professional cyclist, has been racing in three categories simultaneously: cyclocross, road, and mountain bike.
Furthermore, the 22-year-old cyclist earned Great Britain’s first MTB Olympic title with a brilliant performance despite having only competed in his first elite MTB World Cup event in May.
After starting near the back of the pack, Pidcock surged to the front and won by 20 seconds, well ahead of the silver-medalist, Mathias Flückiger of Switzerland.
After injuring his collarbone in early June during training, the U23 world champion has made a remarkable recovery.
2: Neff Brushes off Setbacks
To paraphrase, “I have one goal in mind, and that is to win the gold medal.” The ambitious goals that Jolanda Neff has set for herself have been public knowledge for the past two years.
Not everything went smoothly on her way to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. In a December 2019 incident in North Carolina, the 2017 world champion injured his spleen and collapsed a lung. If the Olympics were held in 2020, the injury would have severely diminished her chances of winning a medal.
The Swiss rider fractured her hand just before the Olympics, but she still managed to come in sixth in Rio and won big in Tokyo.
The worst thing that could happen is that I wake up from a dream and it was all a nightmare. I wanted to go out there and have fun today, and that’s exactly what I did,” Neff said after the race.
3: Impressive Swiss Riders
In the women’s competition, Switzerland swept the medals thanks to Jolanda Neff, Sina Frei, and Linda Indergand.
A nation hasn’t swept the podium in a cycling event since Switzerland in 1904, and it had been since 1936 that Switzerland swept the top three positions at the Summer Olympics.
With two silver medals already from the World Championships, Mathias Flückiger won yesterday’s men’s race to add to his collection.
Results showed that Switzerland continued its dominance of the sport, and with four medals, Switzerland became the most successful country in Olympic mountain biking history, surpassing France (10 medals against six).
