John Tomac

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John Tomac

John Tomac (born November 3, 1967 in Owosso , Michigan / USA ) is a former racing cyclist who was one of the most successful and well-known athletes in the early days of mountain biking . He was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 1991.

Career

Tomac is considered one of the most versatile cyclists , because he was able to achieve success with the racing bike , with the BMX , as well as in the three most popular mountain bike disciplines cross country , downhill and dual slalom. The US magazine "Velo News" voted him the world's best all-rounder in 1988. Tomac competed in his first BMX race at the age of seven . At the age of 16 he won the US BMX Championship in 1984. The following year he spent his only year as a BMX professional , because in 1986 he switched to the mountain bike camp, where he had two important onesWon competitions . The importance it has for the still young sport was already evident: In 1987, his sponsor Mongoose brought the first “John Tomac Bike” onto the market. In the same year he won three national cross-country races, among other things .

In 1988 Tomac showed his versatility: He won the series of the North American Mountain Bike Association NORBA by collecting the most points in the disciplines of cross country , downhill and slalom. In addition, he was American master on the road in the criterion discipline and in mountain bike cross-country. He also won the American and unofficial world championships in the mountain bike discipline dual slalom.

In 1989 he showed himself for the first time in European competitions, where he won both the German and the European championship in cross country . In order to be successful in several disciplines and on both continents in the future , he signed two professional contracts in 1990 (mountain bike: Yeti, street: 7-11) and moved his main residence to Belgium . His appearance at the first official world championships in Durango (Colorado) that same year caused a sensation when he completed the downhill discipline with a racing bike handlebar and finished fourth. At the same time, he was one of the first to rely on a suspension fork - the suspension has been standard for years - on downhills only full suspension is used.

1991 was his most successful year: At the Mountain Bike World Championships , which were held for the first time in Europe , he won in the cross country discipline and came second in downhill . Because of these successes, from then on he concentrated exclusively on mountain bike races. However, while the specialization in sport continued to increase and there were hardly any drivers who were successful in several disciplines, Tomac continued to compete in cross-country, downhill and dual slalom, where he continued to be among the world's best in the following years. Injuries set him back in 1998 and 1999, and he retired from his official career in 2000.

In 2004, he suddenly appeared at the legendary Kamikaze Downhill in Mammoth Mountain, California and won at the age of 37. He was able to repeat this success the following year.

Tomac Bicycles

In January 1998 Tomac founded the brand "Tomac Bicycles" together with Doug Bradbury, who had supported him as the founder of Manitou suspension forks since the 1980s . Tomac first acted as a test driver and team manager and is still involved in product development and marketing today .

Tomac 00Buckshot

Significant successes

BMX

  • 1st place US Championship BMX (Cruiser Class) 1984

Street

Mountain bike

  • 1st place UCI World Cup overall ranking 1990, 1991
  • 2nd place UCI World Cup overall ranking 1992
  • 2nd place UCI World Cup overall ranking Downhill 1993, 1996
  • 1st place NORBA overall ranking 1988, 1989
  • 1st place NORBA Downhill Championship 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997
  • 1st place NORBA Cross-Country Championship 1996
  • 1st place NORBA Dual Slalom Championship 1988
  • 1st place NORBA Championship Cross-Country 1988
  • 1st place Mammoth Kamikaze Downhill 2004, 2005
  • 1st place European Championship Cross-Country 1989
  • 1st place German Championship Cross-Country 1989

Professional teams

  • 1985-1989 Mongoose
  • 1990–1991 Yeti Cycles (MTB)
  • 1989–1991 7-11 Pro team (street)
  • 1991 Motorola (street)
  • 1991–1997 Tioga / Raleigh Cycles (MTB)
  • 1997 Giant Bicycles / Answer Manitou (MTB)
  • 1998-2005 Tomac Racing (MTB)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Tomac, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johnny t
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd November 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH Owosso , Michigan , USA