Greatest Mountain Bikers from Your Country of All Time

[badboyberty]

Time to get this discussion out of the Professional Road forum.

Any care to come up with a list of the five greatest MTB riders from there country of all time. XCO, XCM, DH, 4X, DS... all included.

I'll start with Australia. Please feel free to disagree with my picks...

1. Sam Hill
2. Cadel Evans
3. Craig Gordon
4. Paul Rowney
5. Adam Hansen

 

[Greyhound Velo]

1) Joe Breeze
2) Tom Ritchey
3) Gary Fisher
4) Charlie Cunningham
5) Charlie Kelly

I know this isn't really what you had in mind, but if it weren't for these five guys (among several others) mountain biking as we know it wouldn't exist. Gotta give credit to the inventors of the sport.

 

[flyor64]

1) Joe Breeze
2) Tom Ritchey
3) Gary Fisher
4) Charlie Cunningham
5) Charlie Kelly

I know this isn't really what you had in mind, but if it weren't for these five guys (among several others) mountain biking as we know it wouldn't exist. Gotta give credit to the inventors of the sport.

big +1...and that ingenuity was quite obviously appreciated by more than just the US...

As for riders in the US, my votes:

Ned Overend
John Tomac
Eric Carter
Juli Furtado
Tinker Juarez

For my adopted Norway (any Norwegians on the site, feel free to correct/add ):

Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå
Rune Høydahl
Lene Byberg
Rune Monstad

 

[Master50]

Alison Sydor, Roland Green, Geoff Kabush, Marie Helen Premont Katharine Pendrel, Ryder Hesjedal*

*He became a roadie before he achieved MTB greatness but was on track.

 

[skippy254]

flyor64's

Ned Overend
John Tomac
Eric Carter
Juli Furtado
Tinker Juarez

flyor64's is a very good list
but I would add Lopes to this list and probably subtract Juarez. He is incredible.

Also speaking of incredible do a youtube search on trials rider Danny MacAskill. This guy is unreal.

 

[flyor64]

...but I would add Lopes to this list and probably subtract Juarez. He is incredible.

Also speaking of incredible do a youtube search on trials rider Danny MacAskill. This guy is unreal.

Completely agree...Lopez is amazing...MacAskill is just sick, but he's a brit isn't he?

Still wouldn't pull Tinker off my list tho...he's still out there killin' it...12 hour, 24 hour, 100 miler events...and I've been told he's completely approachable and a laid back guy.

 

[Chops McGraw]

1. Sam Hill
2. Cadel Evans
3. Craig Gordon
4. Paul Rowney
5. Adam Hansen

Sam and Cadel at the top is spot on, but Adam Hansen is no MTBr. He may have won a road race on dirt (the Croc Trophy) twice, but thats it. He's even admitted himself he's a roadie.

I think you could throw in: Trent Low and Lisa Mathison (our only XC world champs); Chris Jongerwaard (controversial, but has more national titles than most); Sid Taberlay (our most recent XC world cup podium placer); James Williamson and Jason English (both have won the 24hr worlds, but weren't part of a movie); Nathan Rennie (a tool, but a long-term world cup campaigner with an overall title to his name and a former Jnr World Champ) and Johnny Waddell (DH legend, come back kid and general hard nut).

 

[Ride24]

CX:
Allison Dunlap
Ned Overend
Tinker
John Tomac
Travis Brown

Gravity:
Brian Lopes
Jill Kintner
Missy Giove
Shaun Palmer
Eric Carter

 

[St. Elia]

I think you have to put tomac in both categories as he won both worlds, or am I wrong?

+1 on the originators and the Canadian list!!

 

[nightfend]

Julie Furtado

 

[flyor64]

Julie Furtado

Not sure if you are just seconding a vote here or correcting my post...

Just in case

http://sports.jrank.org/pages/1577/Furtado-Juli.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juli_Furtado

Regardless, she is a great mountain biker!

 

[nightfend]

No I just picked her because she is amazing. When I had just started racing in the 90's, I watched her dominate the women's mountain bike races. Pretty impressive stuff. Similar to how Katie Compton dominates cyclocross now.

 

[pedaling squares]

Alison Sydor, Roland Green, Geoff Kabush, Marie Helen Premont Katharine Pendrel, Ryder Hesjedal*

*He became a roadie before he achieved MTB greatness but was on track.

+1 on your choices. I'd add Seamus McGrath too. Ryder might not have stayed with MTB for long, but his accomplishments at such a young age showed that he was going to be a dominant force for a long time. He's not doing too badly on the skinnies though.

 

[windnwheels]

Top 5 Nzers...

Jon Hume 7 times NZ XC Champ
Kathy Lynch..won everything + Olympic Repo
John Kirkcaldie, NZ DH legend...US champ too
Kashi Luechs, NZ XC Olympic Rep, multiple XC Champ still going!
Cameron Cole, Ex mighty 11 Bmxer! Worlds junior DH champ 06..watch this space...