We at X-Fusion know Brian is a Legend, he has had an incredible racing career, but we didn't think very many people realized just how long he's been racing and riding bikes. It's been 40 years, and we took the opportunity to sit Brian down and ask him some questions about his career and to reflect a bit on it all. We hoped to show a little bit more of who Brian is and what he's all about.
The story of
#55 is one that came from his childhood, his very fist # plate in fact.
We were surprised by the expanse of his career, but we were also surprised to see the archive of old photos Brian and his family have kept.
One of Brian's fist wins, one of many to come.
SE racing was the team BMX dreams were made, and Brian was just a youngster on a team of superstars.
People often associated Brian with winning, they also associate him with being a fierce competitor, we think this interview shines a more accurate light on what it takes to be a champion, the dedication involved, and who Brian is.
MENTIONS:
@intensecyclesusa
Don't believe me that this happened? I still have the original emails that Lee McCormack exchanged with Blair after he was coached by her and before he wrote the book with Brian, asking Lee for credit for the stuff he learned from here, credit she never got. Shortly after Lee removed any mention of his time with Blair from his website.
Blair Lombardi is still the most over looked contributor to this sport. She coached Missy Giove mid way through her career, around the time she stopped crashing and start winning, even beating AC. Blair also coached Marla Streb, same story there. Don't believe me, go look at historical photos of these two riders and notice how when they start winning how drastic there body position has changed on the bike.
Other notable racer include Jemena Florit, xc racer, Caroline Alexander, and the creator of the best and most copied tire design, the Maxxis Minion DHF, Colin Bailey. Steve Wentz was also a student as was Shaums March, Blairs techniques are all through his programes, which are the basis of the IMBA coaching certs. Other coaches such as Gene Hamilton and Lee McCormack (didn't want to plug Lee here) also use Blairs core principals. All of these people went on to have good results after being coached by Blair. Some even worked with notable Juniors at the time, Steve Smith and Duncan Riffle, both of which are fast in the own rights. Gary Fisher was another student of Blairs.
So why don't we hear about Blair Lombardi? Well it seems the elite racer ego is so fragile that once they start winning the would pretend that THEY "finally put it together" and did not give Blair the recognition she deserved. The only one I ever heard praise Blair was Missy, and Missy was always vocal. Blair was just a humble, gentle lady from Mill Valley CA, the cradle of mountain biking.
Blair wrote a section on technique for the USA CYCLING manual and her information was so good Chris Carmichel called it ground breaking and the most complete body of knowledge to date on the subject.
Blair Lombardi belongs in the Hall of Fame. Her discoveries and techniques can be seen in almost every coaching programe out there, either through direct contact or trickle down effect.
She passed away of brain cancer. Ironic, since she spent so much time studying the brain and not it relates to riding a bike with confidence. Maybe she won't be recognized now....but I hope one day she will be immortalized.
www.inspiredink.com/article.asp?ID=43
Never met Brian but his accomplishments (especially in his forties) give me hope that I have a few more decades of decent riding (I'm older than him, btw).
She wrote her piece for the USA cycling coaches manual back in 2001, the system outlined was what she had been using for close to a decade already. Coached Lee in 2003. Lee writes and releases book soon after. Lee also attended a Shaums March session before writing his book. He was a nobody to cycling till he started collecting other peoples information to assume a new identity for the purpose of becoming somebody on the backs of others.
The point is...you're right it probably wasn't about the money and based on how it went down it was about ego and notatriety. Why not write a book with Blair? The book would have no weight. Would you buy a book about mountain biking if it was written by two semi unknown people? Lee needed a ringer and he found that with Brian. The point is when you learn something from someone and you put it on paper, you should credit your sources...especially if your sources have published papers on the subject as well.
BLAIR LOMBARDI deserves to be in the MTB hall of fame just as much as Brian Lopes does. The fact that everything she did contributed in some way to every single coaching programe out there should be enough reason. Hell we inducted the founders of the MTB and they cobbled together bikes to ride down repack and started what we now love to do. Conversely Blair figured out a proper way of riding a bike that would make you faster and safer in all disciplines of MTB and has never gotten proper recognition for her tireless contribution.
This sport will stay in its infancy until we realize and recognize the little people behind the scenes that move it forward with big ideas and concepts. Thats how it got its start but I fear it has lost its way with all the idolizing of its star riders, 10k+ bikes and big corporations pushing the little guys around. Its heart used to be made of fun, adventure and dicovery....now look at it. Sure the bikes are better but at what cost and to whom was/is the real cost?
Another thing, people throw the word "bible" around way too much and forget that even the new testament had one central character.
stop drinking the red koolaid and wake up soon.
Yes Blair's system for skill developement was complete.
No she was not as fast as Brian, making that comparison is ridiculous, but let me ask question of how many hands-on titles does Brian have through other riders/students....of all the coaches I think Blair and Shaums can check that box, Shaums coached Stevie Smith and Duncan Riffle, there were others but these two went the furthest.
Another coach who was coached by Blair is Kat Sweet...I can see Blairs teaching in her programe.
I feel that you should credit your teachers, btw...grade school teachers don't get paid by their students directly in the public system. Thats just a bad strawman arguement.
I remember teachers and credit my teachers...perhaps I have a better moral compass then the average person or any sociopath.
If we live by your assessment of how people should be credited.....we had better shut down the MTB hall of fame. Because all of those people have someone to credit too.
You can do what you like and use your concience as a guide, however guided or misguided it may or may not be. Mine is clear and I choose to live everyday that way.
What people seam to be misunderstanding here is that it is a matter of due process and professional courtesy in academia and publishing to a acknowledge the work of your predecessors if only to give root to the ideas you put forward. To completely omit mention of a clearly influential figure in your area is disrespectful.
People borrow theories all the time and that is fine, the norm in fact, but it's how you go about that which is important.
They switch lanes, gate drops....Before Shaums was completely out of the starting gate, Lopes, was almost to the first flag/turn. Rocket launched! The crowd got quiet he was going so fast. Shaums sort of laughed it off. Crazy watching Brian destroy a slalom course. Really wish that style of racing would make a solid World Cup level comeback.
Seeing those 4X photos really reminded me of how much Lopes always wanted to win races, but he had fun doing it and fun riding the tracks. Now, while he didn't always bring me meals like my wife Leigh did haha, Lopes was always very appreciative and thankful of the hard work that I put in to make sure he was ready to win and be prepared, despite the years of poking fun at him the internet has had. At the end of the day, his job was to win bike races, I don't think anyone did it better.
It is a shame, that when he moved on to a new team in 99', his DH hopes and dreams were over, he is such a great DH rider, and could have achieved much more in DH, but, the team focus was to win 4X titles and so it went-but, USA did lose a chance to have another great american downhiller. It was the beginning of an era where the greats stopped racing both DH and Slalom/4X/2X and began focusing on one or the other, world cup venues getting split up and the beginning of real fragmentation of the sport.
Only thing that pisses me off about him, is how fit he still is-thats why I look forward to getting an electric assist bike so I can go on some MTB missions with him, (I need a Levo).
But this is what I know about Brian the mtb racer.
1. He was and still is really good on a bike.
2. His input/ R&D on the Mojo HD made the iconic bike legendary.
3. The video of him riding at the bmx track with NFL Rams helmet on his head is awesome.
Especially if someone else just asked you to movd
How did joking with my friend about not liking to pedal make me an as*hole?
"He's goal oriented and you were in his way of that." What do you mean?
To this day, his natural talent on a bike still shines.. Combined with his desire to win, he's always going to be fast on a bike...
I'd never seen Pro DH handling skills before - was...seriously impressive.
Anyway, when he was pushing his DH bike back up Telonics I gave him a compliment and asked how he was doing and he said "Lovely" - but was because he wasn't enjoying having to push back up the trail! So I wouldn't consider that rude at all.
I've bought some items in the past, online from him - including the book, and he has always been super polite as was his wife.
Respect to all his accomplishments in the sport.
Much respect for u and still remember a shot
Of u blastn an air on hardtail(Gt ad from 95-97) it inspired me to get alot better. Thank you.