John Tomac

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

Career

Tomac is considered one of the most versatile cyclist because he was able to achieve success on the road bike, the BMX, and in the three most popular mountain bike disciplines, cross country, downhill and dual slalom. The U.S. magazine "Velo News" chose him in 1988 to the world's best all-rounder. At the age of seven years denied Tomac his first BMX race. As a 16 - year-old he won the 1984 U.S. BMX Championship. The following year he spent his only year as a BMX pro, because in 1986 he moved to the mountain camp where he won two important competitions. The importance it has for the fledgling sport was already evident now: His sponsor Mongoose brought in 1987, the first " John Tomac Bike" on the market. In the same year he won, among others, three national cross-country race.

1988 Tomac showed his versatility: he won the series of 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 champion on the road in the discipline criterion and in mountain bike cross-country. He also won the American and unofficial world championship in mountain bike dual slalom discipline.

In 1989 he appeared for the first time in European competitions, where he won both the German as well as in the European Championship in Cross Country. In order to be successful in the future in several disciplines and on both continents, he signed in 1990 two professional contracts ( Mountain bike: Yeti, Street: 7-11) and moved his main residence to Belgium. For his appearance caused a stir at the first official world championships in the same year in Durango (Colorado), when he graduated from the downhill discipline with a road handlebar and after all, took fourth place. At the same time he was one of the first to put on a fork - for years is the standard suspension - Downhill is driven only full suspension.

1991 was his most successful year: For the first time staged in Europe Mountain Bike World Championships, he won in the discipline of cross country and was second in the downhill. Due to this success, he focused now on exclusively on a mountain bike race. However, while the specialization in sports always continued to increase and there were hardly any drivers that were successful in several disciplines, Tomac launched further in cross-country, downhill and dual slalom, where he still counted in the following years a world leader. In the years 1998 and 1999 injuries threw him back, and he ended his official career in 2000.

In 2004 he suddenly appeared at the legendary Kamikaze Downhill in Mammoth Mountain, California and won a 37- year-old. He repeated the following year 's success.

Tomac Bicycles

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

Major Achievements

BMX

Road

Mountain bike

Professional teams

Cycle sport Racing bicycle Downhill mountain biking German champions List of bicycle brands and manufacturing companies UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships Miguel Martinez (cyclist) Owosso, Michigan

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