Zapata "Zap" Espinoza was Editor of Mountain Bike Action from 1986 to 1993 (he is now Editor of our sister publication, Road Bike Action). One of the most important events he covered during that time was the 1990 Durango World Championships. Zap put together a five-part series on the event and included lots of interviews from the athletes and the people who supported them. The series has already run on
mbaction.com, but it is so interesting that we post the entire series again in case you missed it the first time. Below is the first in the series and under the story are links to the four other parts.
THE 1990 DURANGO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - PART ONE
By Zapata Espinoza
It's not overstating the facts to say that the Durango World Championships in 1990 was the "Woodstock" moment of the early days of mountain bike racing. It was the most anticipated event on the mountain bike calendar and, as expected, it proved to be a history making event - one that is being celebrated next weekend at the 20th anniversary of the UCI World Championships held at Mt. St. Anne, Montreal.
To celebrate the historical significance of the Durango Worlds - in terms of racing, culture and technology, I decided to take a look back at the story I wrote in Mountain Bike Action. Has it really been 20 years?! Just looking over the words and photos sent me into a sentimental spiral. It's not that the racing was any better back then, but it was different, it was special....well, actually, it was better!
In the coming days I'll be looking back at some of the people (including Ned, John Parker, Paul Turner, Greg Herbold, Travis Brown, Wayne Stetina, and Gary Fisher) and the products that made the event special. This is Part One of my Durango World Championship remembrance - if, like me, you were lucky enough to be there, you well remember what a blast it was.
For some reason we avoided a race shot and ran with a nice John Kelly shot of a Serotta T-Max in sunset repose. The January '91 issue was chock full of mountain bike goodness that not only included the Durango worlds held the previous September, but also the latest in bike tech as seen at the fall bike shows in Cologne, Germany and Anaheim, California. Tech highlights from the shows included a smattering of rear suspension bikes from Scott and Moots the new metal matrix M2 Specialized Stumpjumper, and a lightweight saddle with titanium rails from Selle Italia that would change the world - the famous Flite.
There was a host of new technology breaking out at Durango. One was the Gary Fisher RS-1 rear suspension bike that was designed by On Any Sunday star and Mountain Bike Hall of Famer, Mert Lawwill (the sticker on the swingarm has Mert's last name misspelled). Mert didn't make it to Durango, but we caught up with him and Gary at the Interbike trade show in Anaheim after wards where I got to try the bike for the first time in a hotel parking lot in the shadow of the Matterhorn Mountain at nearby Disneyland. It was the best two inches of rear wheel travel available at the time.
Taking a decidedly different approach to a rear suspension design was the Cannondale SE2000 which I got to ride briefly on the World's course. Unlike the elastomer springs used on the Fisher RS-1, the Cannondale used a real coil sprung shock from Works Performance. How new was the whole concept of suspension? The Cannondale was only rear suspended, using a Girvin Flexstem up front. What no one understood at the time was the effect that the high pivot would have on the suspension and overall ride quality - not good.
There have been plenty of great mountain bike events over the years, but the 1990 UCI World Championships in Durango, Colorado remains the best ever - if only because it was the first ever. Just as plenty of people look back at Woodstock as a high water mark for the '60's rock & roll scene, the Durango Worlds will forever retain a place in fat tire infamy for everything that took place. The huge handmade banner didn't last the weekend as some SoCal racers (doubling as thieves) made-off with it (rumors abound that it still awaits freedom from the dark recesses of a beach town garage - 20 years later it's time to give it back you guys). In the lower right corner top British rider Tim Gould leads John Tomac. Durango's own Lisa Muhich rounded out the page with her gold medal XC ride.
Easily less than a third of all the Pro riders (at best) were running with the then revolutionary (and controversial) front suspension from either Rock Shox or Manitou. On this page we featured SoCal Junior Scot Furry on his Klein, Mountain Bike Hall of Famer Mike Kloser who was one of the many riders competing in both the XC and DH (and despite being an avowed XC rider his best score was 2nd in the DH!). The lower left was a shot of Juli Furtado winning her XC title aboard her Yeti C-26. Though the team was sponsored by Campagnolo, the Italian parts were pretty janky and Shimano made a move the night before the race to swap out the entire drivetrain (look for the true account in Part Three). For team owner John Parker it was a big gamble, but one that paid off. Lastly, "The Captain" himself was mobbed following his historic win.
In the upper right corner is one of my best (and luckiest) photos I ever took. It was the downhill race and I had propped myself against a tree and decided to wait for John Tomac. Soon enough I hear a strange, echoing noise. It was odd. I looked skyward expecting to see an airplane. Soon enough I realized what the sound was - it was exactly what I was waiting for - Johnny T! The echoing sound was from his Tioga tension disc slamming down the steep descent. Tomac was barely in control has he desperately sought to gain control of his Yeti C-26 that was bucking him down the double track. With all of his weight biased forward in his drop bars, Tomac was getting the rodeo ride of a lifetime. In a flash and with a giant whooshing sound he flew by me swapping side to side. With my old Nikon FE2 I had but one chance to get a shot - and I nailed it! Next to Tomac was a shot of Swiss DH ace Phillipe Perakis on the crazy Cilo with the AZT suspension. Phillipe was one of the nicest riders on the circuit and a true pioneer with suspension - his next Cilo used the AZT on the rear as well. Lower left was my pal Dave Cullinan in the Saturday night dual slalom where the BMX rider was able to deny Greg Herbold what would've been a second gold medal to accompany the one he won two days later in the DH.
This was it - the Battle of the Bulge, Gettysburg, and the Peloponnesian War all rolled into a single event. Our Ned Overend versus their Thomas Friscknecht. I shot this photo a bit further up the monstrous hill after Frishi had quit carrying his bike up the climb ala cyclocross style and had remounted to (vainly) keep up with "The Captain". The roar of the cheering crowd echoed through the valley and it gives me goosebumps still just thinking about it. Now 55 years old, Overend is still schooling the kids having recently won the Singlespeed National Championships. Look for Ned's own account in the upcoming Part Four.
The (other) local boy does good. Of the hundreds of thousands of photos I've shot over the years, this one of Travis Brown finishing tenth (and top privateer) has remained one of my all-time faves, especially because it includes the town sheriff cheering him on. Prior to the Durango race Travis was an up & coming Expert class rider and used the inaugural Worlds (and his Trek 8000) to showcase his talent on the world stage. The full page photo helped get Travis added recognition and a sponsored ride with Manitou bicycles. In 1994, Trek would come back calling and offer the handsome lad a full factory backed ride when they belatedly formed their first Pro mountain bike team. The original "Rocket Boys" trio (including Josh Ivey and Don Myrah) would later become the Trek/Volkswagen team - the most enduring and successful team on the NORBA/UCI circuit. Travis still pulls checks from Trek, now as a full-time R&D rider.
As was our annual routine, the MBA Wrecking Crew would gather up all the latest bikes and head to Moab, Utah for the annual Fat Tire Festival for a week of hardcore testing and photo shoots. For that issue Pat Carrigan snapped a very casually dressed Richard Storino on the Slickrock Trail aboard the latest Richard Cunningham built Mantis X-frame. Of course, the contents of that February '91 issue is worth its own look-back - so stay tuned.
Want to read more of Zap's exclusive interviews and see more amazing photos from the 1990 Durango Worlds?Part two, John Tomac, Gary Fisher, Wayne Stetina, Paul Turner & Travis Brown click here.Part three, The Furtado/Campagnolo Scandal, click here.Part four, The Captain Speaks, click here.Part five, Greg Helbold remembers, click here.