Tinker Juarez Announces Split with Cannondale in Now Deleted Social Media Post
Tinker Juarez has announced his split with Cannondale in a now-deleted social media post.
Juarez, a Mountain Bike Hall of Famer, World Cup winner and two-time Olympian, first signed with Cannondale in 1994 as part of the legendary Volvo/Cannondale team and was awarded the Icon Award by the brand in 2005. Juarez still races to this day and won the 60-64 category at this year's Masters World Championships in Pra Loup.
After more than 25 years, it looks like Juarez's time with the brand has come to an end. He said in a now-deleted Facebook post:
"Hi everyone, if you haven't heard or not Cannondale is dropping me because they don't have the budget to keep me on, $25,000 isn't a lot for a cyclist who race almost 50 years and I don't have time to write everything I've done, but I could guarantee I sold more bikes than anyone racing for Cannondale. I gave my life to promote Cannondale and I believe I race as much as your top XC racer and more, so how can you just drop the best Ambassador in the sport. I got this very powerful and touching text from my fan Paul today after my ride. He said, "if Cannondale drops you after all you have done to represent the brand, I will boycott them forever! They should grant you life ambassador status because you are the greatest of all time. You are a legend and inspire me to keep riding. God bless." These words hit me and I am so thankful to Paul for these kind words. I know there are 10,000 people that feel like I do, please post your feeling because it is not fair to be done like this so cold and unexpectedly."
Screenshot: mountainbike.es
Cannondale have responded to Juarez's announcement with an official statement.
"Since the start of the Volvo-Cannondale team in 1994, our riders have inspired a generation of cyclists, and there is no rider more inspirational and aspirational from the early days of mountain bike racing than Tinker Juarez. Through the last 27 years Cannondale has supported Tinker’s journey that included racing at the top of the sport and showcasing cycling in the boom era of mountain bike racing through current day competitions and events.
“Tinker is one of the most recognized cross-country racers the world has known. We have celebrated almost three decades of competition together where he has represented Cannondale and his partners with an inspiring commitment to his craft and his fans. We will always be appreciative of the time we’ve shared with Tinker on two wheels.
“A true legend in the sport, a mountain bike hall of fame member, two-time US Olympic team member, 7x US National Champion (XC & 24-hour solo category), World Cup winner, and Masters World Champion, Tinker has done and won it all.
“To better align with his goals in the coming years, Tinker has decided to seek a different level of support than what Cannondale is offering, from another bike partner. We will forever be one of his biggest fans and grateful for the contributions Tinker has given to Cannondale, the sport of mountain biking and the broader cycling community.
Thank you, Tinker."
We have reached out to Tinker for comment and will continue to update this story as it progresses.
Author Info:
Member since Nov 14, 2018
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Think he needs tips on brand representation from Hans Rey, Fabian Barel, Steve peat, and Cedric Garcia to name just a few
Should bike companies pay people because they are 'legends'?
No, brands shouldn't have to pay based only on past results but Tinker still rides and attends events as a great person to ride with and to those who know him, its an insane to meet him.
Its just business but another example of how ruthless and unforgiving action sports business is... except for the brand execs, managers and agents. Yeah, screw the actual riders who are unreal human beings.
Gotta admit I’m not up to speed with xc and most I know of are still racing.
They actually mentioned Tinker in the XCO commentary as the last US rider to win a world xc event prior to Blevins in snow shoe.
@scott-townes: you want me to use google to educate myself about someone I haven’t heard who considers himself still relevant enough to get a wage from a bike company?
I’m not young in my late 30’s, been in the bike world for 20 years - the chances of someone who got into biking in the past 10 years knowing who this guy is would surely be minimal?
Not everyone is an MTB dinosaur…..
This isn't Tinker's fault so much as it is Cannondale's who really don't promote him. I can't even think of the last time Cannondale did a feature on social media with Tinker.
Tippie on Instagram: 9,500 posts. 117k followers. Posts about product...and Tippie
I wonder, if Tinker spent more time on social promoting product and less time flaming his sponsor, maybe he'd have a job?
And I heard @makripper's kind of a dick.
"My job is riding my bike, and I still have to go to work for eight hours every day, just like you,” Juarez says. “Every year when my contract is up, I don’t know if I’m gonna get another one. I try to train hard every year and try to keep the racing lively and stay busy.”
So it's not like it wasnt aware or that it came as a surprise.
Also, to anyone who wants to taint his character, screw you. You don’t know him. “I heard that he’s a dick because he did x and y”. F off.
In the end of the day hes still racing like a beast just not the media-friendly image sponsors want in this latter stage of career.
"you want me to use google to educate myself about someone I haven’t heard"...Well, yeah. When I want to wade into a discussion about something I'm not up to speed on I do a couple of checks to decide if it's worth it to wade into a discussion or if I'm out of my league / willfully ignorant. It helps keep my downvote stats in check (mostly).
"the chances of someone who got into biking in the past 10 years knowing who this guy is would surely be minimal"...Maybe. But see my first point above. And if you admit to knowing any other early-90's names (Tomac, Overend, Frischknecht, many others) or any other historical mtb personality name (RC, Fisher, Chance, many others), then you may have shot yourself in the foot. I find it hard to believe you wouldn't know any of these names. I'm not a race guy but even I know the name Steve Peat as far as UK DH names go.
"I’m not young in my late 30’s"...What??? Get bent. All 49'rs unite!
Regardless of whether he is a nice guy this would be a business transaction - they pay him to get exposure and he needs to get it for them.
If being a nice guy was enough then I might have had a shot at getting paid to ride a bike, I can be really nice if I am paid enough…
Jason Mcroy was my starting guy, I didn’t pay attention to the XC guys.
Sorry to break it to you but the kids at my local trails are in their early teens, they are the future of the sport not us crusties discussing some old eccentric guy who raced XC double their age ago - I’m old to them, you are ancient.
So did Tinker do something wrong? I don't know him so I won't say anything about his attitude. He got into the sport back when mountainbiking was just mountainbiking and stuck to the discipline we know as XC racing. Out of all mtb disciplines, it may be the hardest to make look exciting in pictures and video. Bart Brentjens has chosen to become a team manager and does a bit of commentating too, so he is still getting international exposure. Tinker has apparently chosen to continue to race XC, which is commendable for a man his age. And whilst this may actually make him more approachable for those at the event, most others around the world don't get to see anything of him. It feels a bit sad in a way. A bit like the artisan woodworker trying to compete with the factory pumping out super accurate furniture at super low prices. This is the athlete who sticks to his old way of representing the brand on the spot whereas nearly everyone else has made the transition to doing so through the internet and reaches a wider audience in this niche sport.
2 years ago a company proposed me a job, for 1.5 years I did my best, and while everything looked bright as I had a positive check-in with my lead and was still being trained to a new software the previous week, when it came to the point of giving me a permanent position, they told me they didn't keep me.
The human resource employee even told me my job was not the problem, it's very good, they just told me they fear I'm too specialized and don't know if they will have much work for me, and fear I may not be as good on other things...
Why didn't they train me to do different things then ?
Because said differently the plan from the beginning was probably to use me for as long as possible for cheap and when it was up to them to take a small bet on me and giving me a fair wage, they kissed me goodbye. And as a human being you feel so betrayed that lashing out on social media is not surprising.
However, speaking of ancient...Mcroy would be older than me if he were still with us. Glad I looked him up because I found this: www.jasonmcroy.com/jmc/the-jmc-story. Helluva story.
Cheers sir, stay well.
If, on the other hand, you are in an age group where you don't think twice about 10K on a new gravel bike. There's a good chance you go to grassroots gravel races and endurance XC and marvel that a guy your age (or older) is still throwing down with guys 1/3 his age, then seeing Tinker (and what he rides) probably is more your jam.
There are few racers from that generation that have name recognition and have kept up the fitness and skills to be relevant when they pull up to the starting line. Tinker is one of those guys. But he's more of a heads-down competitor and hasn't kept up on social media angle so that's probably been to his detriment given what typically is expected from an ambassador these days.
Maybe it was just a rumor at the time, but if true, it was the ultimate badass-ery. Supposedly bought cleats & just ran the climbs (which was the entire course).
The thing I loved about Tinker was that he was a HELL of a bike handler. Came up from BMX & would throw ridiculous whips and do big jumps on a Cannondale with the bars down near the front tire and that drop stem.
He was an absolute animal on a bike & merciless.
Have a great time!
motocrossactionmag.com/biggest-disaster-in-motocross-history-the-story-behind-the-cannondale
I have run into him in the last 4 years on various MTB races in SoCal. He Is always chill and kind when you approach him before and after a race. At the Grizzly 100 this year in Big Bear, a friend of mine ran up to him to grab a picture... less than 2 minutes before race start. He graciously stepped to the side and got a pic with all of us.
That is not something a dick would do.
Man you guys have some real attachment to this guy, I didn’t know who he was, I imagine that goes for a huge number of people, I’m not sure why that upsets so many like yourself?
Newcomers to the sport won’t know who rat boy is, it’s the reality of things moving on.
@AC1987: it’s a ‘crime’ for a business to make a decision to stop paying someone? How so?
Strange conversation this one.
Yes, I understand the business decision, but it clearly wasn't handled well.
After 27 years with Cannondale, they could have handled the situation by having a sit down meeting hammering out a deal and an announcement that keeps everything positive.
All joking aside, love the classic Klein tubes and paint jobs.
I'm slightly older...
Tinker Juarez
Juliana Furtado
The goddess that is Yeti's Marla Streb (still have a her naked Yeti poster...)
Ned O
Johnny T
bar ends
index shifting
Purple anodized anything
Paul Components, also in purple
Marzocchi, real Marzocchi.. coil sprung, open oil bath.. Posters that couldn't be up on the main walls of the shop! You know what I am talking about....
Zaskar
Xizang if yuo were a baller...
RockShox with canti braces and gold lowers
Manitou with rubber bits inside..
Trek frames with Lugs.. both alum and Carbon.. How sexy was the 8700??
Klein
Panaracers
Smoke / Dart combo
Yo Eddy!
Tripple spoked Spins
Tioga tension disc wheels..
Cook bros cranks..
Sigh.....
Giant ATX 990 "downhill" bike
Sugino cranks
Grip Shift
Sachs Plasma derailleur featuring DI.R.T. technology
Rock Shox Judy DH
first time trying V brakes with canti levers and got faceplanted
Mountain Cycle San Andreas
ZZYZX
it really was a good time
Gravel is like an eternal youth fountain
(Not Tinker though...)
Open polystyrene helmets with lycra cover stretched over them.
Bollé sunglasses
CroMo being a marketing term
I miss the 90’s
As of yesterday, after my 33 mile ride, I've cracked the 1000 mile mark for the year.....no telling what the final tally will be, but the weather for the next week isn't looking particularly inviting......
If he deleted the post, he obviously wrote it in anger and then thought better of making it public.
This isn't making mountain biking a better sport.
As a professional athlete you have a short window to get paid, make the most of it and set yourself up for the future in whatever way you deem best.
I don't care about pro racers and could care less about XC racing but I do know the name Tinker Jaurez and to me that has always gone with Cannondale.
Hope he lands on his feet and continues being a badass...
plus c’dale needs them monies to fund the 50 to 1 crew’s ganja budget. Gots to keep the real talent happy.
also respect to Tinker an absolute OG and hope he scores another ride.
failed-ass opportunity for c’dale to do a vid on tinker sessioning with the 50/1 crew and ratboy doing a marathon race with tinker. Make it fun. I’d watch that shiz.
His post however, was very adolescent and proves the point that he probably needed to be dropped as an ambassador anyway.
If you asked me to name a Cannondale rider, Bryceland is the first I'd think of - even though I don't think he's delivering a great ROI for them.
Bottom line, though - we don't really know what really happened, so it's just all a bunch of internet forum conjecture like Gwin and YT.
I stand with Tinker - let Cannondale continue with Ratboy.
What a brand Cannondale was. Coda. Headshok. Cipo, Tinker, Missy....it shall never be again.
Saw the guy at Snow Summit one day, I was on the lift going up and he was on the fire road riding up with a backpack full of bricks! YES bricks!
Problem IMO is that these guys....ALL of em fail to embrace "social media" and end up being forgotten. This current YT gen has no idea who these people are.
It doesn't help that he was with Cannondale. Cannondale has no history of ever "supporting" it's legends.
For example: Specialized and Ned or GT and Hans
May have helped if Tinker when into more of a R&D role for Cannondale or trained upcoming riders??
Remained relevant?
Never met the guy but jus sayin...
What I sensed is that… he doesn’t seem to be good at social media and marketing. Imagine more marketing skills to complement his insane mtb talent, it should probably make a decent profit. But again he just turned 60 this year and one can only change minds a few times in a lifetime.
To everyone else on pinkbike who love what we all love, please try to be kinder and productive in this sport. Thanks!
However, I’ve been involved in many interviews with prospective employees over the years. I can’t think of a single individual who bad-mouthed a previous employer during their interview process and was hired afterwards. It always left a bad taste in our hiring team’s mouth, no matter what the candidate’s credentials were.
I grew up watching Tinker...my 16 year old self made a point to drop everything when he raced in the 1996 olympics on live network TV. He was an inspiration and a rep for the USA.
Years passed and I continued to race more seriously, working myself up to a pro license...I found myself racing head to head against Tinker for the duration of two races (outside of Cali), and had conversations with I'm on multiple occasions. I didn't once get the impression of arrogance from him. He signed a poster that hangs in my garage, he also represented the brand at expos and shops in the week leading up to the races.
Again...this is unfortunate. I hope he lands somewhere that can pay him enough to continue (or I hope he negotiated well and saved $ from the Volvo days). No other brand will have the same level or potential revenue generation with Tinker that Cannondale did. I don't know if Cannondale made ANY effort to grow him as an advocate and employee, unless they tried and it didn't work out the egg is on their face, it would have been to their benefit.
So many ignorant on this forum. if you are a real mountain biker, you know your heroes. Tinker is just such an OG, he obviously sold many more bikes than any of the names I can read there. Come on! The guy started to race in 73 and he still winning endurance races 50 years later! We are not talking about some old burned-out pro!
Cannondale which has lost most of his soul a long time ago anyway just lost what could remain. Loyalty is still a value in my eyes, I expect it from my friends and I'm more likely to give my $$ to company sharing the same values.
Followers/stalkers or youtube ambassadors might be entertaining or even relatable to many but are they inspiring or have any values???? No more Cannondale for me! Long Live Tinker!
Wish Tinker nothing but the best, and hope he can continue competing
The $25k seems interesting to me... that is basically two high-end Cannondale race bikes in today's prices. I'm sure he gets to keep his race bikes and probably sell them at the end of the season to recoup some money. I don't know if travel fees and other were baked into the contract. That stuff can add up.
Ultimately, it seems he's more upset about the way they parted than Cannondale finally cutting him off.
www.instagram.com/p/CSaGkJ9l3B8
25K USD is what nowadays? Peanuts.
Bike brands are such dicks when it comes to pay for racers.
I guess a lot of us would like to be paid for life for doing their favorite hobby. That is not how life works however.
I first met Tinker at a Bmx national in 1984 and asked for an autograph right after a moto. He was gracious & spent time asking how my racing was going. When I started racing mtb in the 90’s we would see him at Norba races and he was exactly the same. Forward to last year in Southern Utah and my wife sees him in a supermarket and asks for a picture. He was the same as always and chatted it up about the race and old school Bmx.
Cannondale & their riders get paid peanuts, I know this for a fact. It would blow your minds to know what some riders get paid. Tinker IS a well known ambassador and draws a crowd at any race he attends. Not everybody is on Social.
Cannondales loss IMO.
He was a legend back in the very, very early days of BMX. Met him once at Mountain Mayhem in Malvern (UK). Was a pleasure to meet him.
And there’s the thing, time. It waits for no man, regardless of his results in life.
But the older we get, the less we mean.. a top 10 in a mid 90s Grundig WC? Awesome
A top 10 in a grand vets national xc ? Still awesome, but not mainstream cycling news.
That’s just life
All the best to him anyways
I know he's a legend of the sport, but planning ahead still needed to happen.
1. Tinker says Canondale ditched him because of budget stuff
2. Canondale says Tinker ditched them because of other vendor : “To better align with his goals in the coming years, Tinker has decided to seek a different level of support than what Cannondale is offering, from another bike partner. We will forever be one of his biggest fans and grateful for the contributions Tinker has given to Cannondale, the sport of mountain biking and the broader cycling community.
Thank you, Tinker."
What is true, who ditched who????
Also argument that he sold a lot more bikes than they payed him - that may be true for 90s or maybe early 00's, but for sure not true for last 10-15 years i think. In the end - they for sure wouldn't be paying him if it wasn't for the profit that sponsoring him made
To team riders really sell enough bikes over what the brand would sell otherwise to make up for their sponsorship? Never inspired my choice of brand. Especially when it seems every year each flavor of the month pro is riding for a differnt brand
Who said that? That’s heresy!
“To better align with his goals in the coming years, Tinker has decided to seek a different level of support than what Cannondale is offering, from another bike partner."
His "goal" to "seek a different level of support" was likely "I've brought in truckloads of cash for the company, and would like a larger slice."
It's hard to know what transpired, but I'm more sympathetic to the riders who get shafted after their expiry date has arrived.
He is arguably the most dominant Master's class XC, Marathon, Gravel rider out there, and I don't blame him for wanting to chase as much money as he can before he retires. Unfortunately, Masters class racing doesn't get a lot of press (nor do long distance events), and I think many brands want to get sponsored folks into the spotlight as much as possible.
Ambassadors are paid for their services. So, Cannondale didn't just take advantage of him and drop him.
To be able to get paid and or get free products/gear for doing something you love and are passionate about is something one should be humble and thankful for. Not many people can say the same.
He might have had an opportunity with another brand but that arrogant and pompous post might have made things worse for him even though in his mind he was trying to rally his fans to back him up and apply pressure to Cannondale.
Do you believe he was with Cannondale free of charge? Of course not.
If you worked for a company for 40 years and then they laid you off due to financial stress can you sue them because you worked for them all those years?
This has NOTHING to do with his legacy and yeah I too find it "specially" (SIC) sad when people defend pompous entitled people.
Good luck.
I'm not defending Cannondale I'm defending how business works. Just how old are you?
This is NOT one of them. You're apparently a fan of his and you got butt hurt that one of your riders got dropped. Like many other riders who sponsor a brand have been dropped before. Sponsored athletes jump from one brand to another ALL the time. No different in other sports as well.
His choice to go out the way he did was in fact a childish act. It could have cost him so much more but he chose to delete his post. You can't understand this because you also feel "entitled" that it doesn't matter if a person works for a company and gets paid that they are IMMUNE to being laid off or let go.
From the article and quote from Cannondale because you clearly didn't read that far:
"To better align with his goals in the coming years, Tinker has decided to seek a different level of support than what Cannondale is offering, from another bike partner. We will forever be one of his biggest fans and grateful for the contributions Tinker has given to Cannondale, the sport of mountain biking and the broader cycling community.
Thank you, Tinker."
Tinker went to other brands. He has been trying to make other deals to hop ship. Tinker was hoping for Cannondale to bounce back with a better offer. They didn't. However, Cannondale didn't stoop so low in their response. They were respectful and thanked him as a legend in the MTB race community.
So, in your logic: Tinker can go to court, sue Cannondale because they dropped him due to "not being able to afford what he was asking for" even though ALL the years Tinker was an ambassador he got PAID for his services but this doesn't matter right? Tinker is IMMUNE to being let go and can rightfully force Cannondale to keep him on forever.
It's called a contract. Both parties agree to the contract. Tinker agreed and Cannondale agreed. Tinker worked for Cannondale Cannondale paid him. Contract expires. Cannondale HAS NO RIGHT to renew the contract? Are you some sort of dictator? Don't confuse this as unfair business. The real working issues are kids/adults working in sweatshops for less than $8 a day with long hours and no healthcare. Or corporations forcing their employees to keep working without breaks where they have piss in a bottle.
Also, you should look up the word "entitled" I don't think you seem to understand what it means.
Just assumed he quietly and tactfully faded away like most old pros do. Definitely didn't do the tactfully part...
gropromotions.com/tinker-classic
I'll grant you it's not the huge engagement that some of the Insta and YouTube stars get, but it's not nothing. I would wager that the meaningfulness of the engagement when you ride with a legend is much greater for those who choose to go to the event than the impact from viewing a viral clip on some social media platform.
It's a different kind of marketing, and brands need to decide what is important to them, but something like that Tinker Classic is the sort of event that would be likely to make me want to buy a particular bike. Then again, I hope I've still got a lot of years left in my mtb journey, but your point about age might be relevant here.
That was a long way to say, it looks like he has been doing what he can.
Edit: I'm not an Instagram sort, myself, so I just found this: www.instagram.com/tinker.juarez/?hl=en
17K followers and over 1000 posts, with lots of pictures of Cannondale bikes and apparel
I wonder how many people would be willing to put their money where their mouth is and "crowdfund" Tinker?
When you are in the public eye, it's best to take a moment, reread what you want to say, have your spouse review it for you, and sleep on it a day before responding.
That said, these are business decisions, just like any proper employment situation, and you aren't 'owed' anything. If you bring in more than you cost, most employers will keep you. Pretty simple.
That said if the gig only pays $25K/ year as Tinker claimed it's not much of a loss anyways. Part time job at Home Depot will make up that and still allow plenty of ride time.
Sounds like Cannondale want everyone to be at the 50to1 type level of promotion.
But even then they don't have a good history with keeping sponsored riders who ARE at that level - Phil Gaimon?
Amateur
Two Wheeler's BMX: 1974
Bicycle Motocross News Team (Test Rider/Racer): Late 1974-November 1975
Kawasaki Motors: November 1975-Early 1976
National Bicycle Association: Early 1976-Mid 1976
Mongoose (BMX Products): Mid 1976-February 14, 1982. Tinker would turn professional with this sponsor.
Professional
Mongoose: 1976-February 14, 1982. He was sponsorless for approximately three months after his separation from Mongoose.
JMC (Jim Melton Cyclery) Racing Equipment: Mid May 1982-December 1982.
Bandito Racing: January 1983-Early February 1985
ODI (Ornate Design, Inc.): April 13, 1985 – April 14, 1985.[6] Seemed to have been a one weekend sponsorship since "ODI" does not appear next to Juarez's name in the BMX Plus! race results after this weekend. This company first started out making Christmas ornaments but switched to making bicycle grips and later grips for power tools as well as BMX and skateboarding accessories.[7]
Maximum: Early July 1985-
Career bicycle motocross titles
Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in italics. "Defunct" refers to the fact of that sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his/her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Series and one off Championships are also listed in block.
Amateur
National Bicycle Association (NBA)
1975 14 & Over Novice Western States Champion
1975 14 & Over Intermediate Grandnational Champion #2 (Jeff Bottema was the winner of the first Main[8]). This was the first ever BMX Grandnational Championship.
1976 15 Expert Winternational Champion
1976 14-15 Expert Western States Champion
1976 15 Expert California State Champion
National Bicycle League (NBL)
None
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
None
United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
None
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)
Professional
National Bicycle Association (NBA)
None
National Bicycle League (NBL)
None
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
1982 Pro Cruiser 2nd Place Jag World Champion (ABA sanctioned)
United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
None
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)
None
Independent Events and Series
1983 "A" Pro Second Place and Pro Cruiser Third Place Jag BMX World Super Bowl Championship Champion
Freestyle BMX
In April 1980, Tinker was named the first King of the Skateparks by Bicycle Motocross Action magazine.[9] He even graced the April 1980 cover of the magazine, making it one of the first pure freestyle magazine covers by a BMX magazine. Although no contest was ever held, it was a general declaration for his highly advanced maneuvers that no one were matching at the time.
Career BMX accolades
He was Bicycle Motocross Action's very first star interview in their first issue (December 1976/January 1977).[1]
He was one of the founding members of the Professional Racing Organization (PRO), the first attempt at a BMX racer's guild in 1977.[10]
He is a 1993 inductee into the ABA BMX Hall of Fame.
Sub discipline: Cross Country (XC), Endurance
First race result:
Sanctioning Body:
Turned Professional: 1989
Ned Overend, John Tomac and Tinker Juarez Compete in the Cindy Whitehead Desert Classic, Palm Springs, California, 1989 - Photo by Patty Mooney
Retired:
Factory and corporate sponsors
Amateur
General Bicycles (General Bicycle & Moped Company): March 1988 – 1989 Juarez would turn pro with this sponsor.
Professional
General Bicycles: March 1988 – 1989
Klein Bicycles: 1990-1993
Volvo/Cannondale Bicycle Corporation: 1994-December 2002
Siemens Mobile/Cannondale: January 28, 2003[11]-December 2003
Mona Vie: January 2004-December 2005
Mona Vie/Cannondale: January 2006–Present
MTB major career achievements
Amateur
Professional
National Off-Road Bicycle Association (NORBA)
1994, 1995, 1998 United States NORBA Cross-Country Champion
2001 National Champion
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 United States National Champion, 24-Hour Solo Category
1995 1st (Gold Medal) – Pan American Games
1998 1st – National Cycling Association Cross-Country Finals
Career MTB accolades
Tinker Juarez appeared in two of the first instructional mountain biking videos ever produced: The Great Mountain Biking Video released in 1988, and "Ultimate Mountain Biking: Advanced Techniques & Winning Strategies" released in 1989 by New & Unique Videos of San Diego, California.
Juarez was selected as a member of the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics.
He was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 2001.
Cannondale awarded Tinker its 'Icon Award' in 2005 for his contribution to the sport.
MTB magazine covers
Mountain Bike Action:
Ultra-Endurance racing career
In 2005, Tinker began training for long-distance road racing events. He won the Heart of the South, which is a 500-mile (800 km) race, and finished second place at the 2005 edition of the Furnace Creek 508, a grueling 508-mile (818 km) course that covers 35,000 feet (11,000 m) of cumulative elevation gain and passes through Death Valley. His podium finishes qualified Tinker for the 2006 Race Across America (RAAM), the annual transcontinental bicycle race from the west coast to the east coast of the United States. He came in third in the Men's Solo Enduro division of the RAAM endurance road race on June 22, 2006, completing the three thousand mile race which started in 2006 from Oceanside, California and finishing in Atlantic City, New Jersey. His finishing time was 10 days, 22 hours and 21 minutes.[12] Started Racing: 2005 at 44 years of age.
First race result:
Sanctioning Body:
Retired: Still Active.
Factory and corporate sponsors
Professional teams
Siemens Mobile/Cannondale: January 28, 2003[11]-December 2005
Cannondale: January 2006–October 2021
Ultra-Endurance road biking career achievements
3rd – Race Across America, Men's Solo - Enduro Category
1st – Heart of the South (500 miles)
2nd – Furnace Creak 508 (508 miles)
1st (Gold Medal) – Pan American Games (1995)
1st – NORBA Iron Horse Classic
1993
1st UCI Grundig World Cup win at Mont St. Anne, Quebec Canada
1994
NCS National Cross-Country Champion
Silver Medal – Mountain Bike World Championships (Cross Country)
1995
NCS National Cross-Country Champion
Gold Medal – Pan American Games
1996
United States Olympic Team Member
1998
NCS National Cross-Country Champion
1st – NCA Cross-Country Finals
2nd – NCS Cross-Country; Red Wing
3rd overall – Tour of the Rockies
1999
5th overall – NORBA Short Track
9th overall – NORBA Cross-Country
2000
United States Olympic Team Member
5th – NORBA Cross-Country, Mt. Snow
7th – NORBA Cross-Country, Mammoth and Crystal Mountain
10th – World Cup XC, Mazatlan
2001
NORBA National Champion, 24-Hour Solo Category
Inductee – Mountain Bike Hall of Fame
1st – Gorge Games - 24 Hour Solo Race
1st – 24 Hours of Adrenaline - Laguna Seca
1st – 24 Hour US National Championships
5th – Mount Snow NORBA Cross Country Finals
6th – Deer Valley NORBA Cross Country Finals
2002
NORBA National Champion, 24-Hour Solo Category
24 Hour National Champion
1st – Gorge Games - 24 Hour Solo Race
1st – 24 Hours of Adrenaline - Winter Park
1st – 24 Hours of Adrenaline - Laguna Seca
1st – 24 Hours of 9 Mile
1st – 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo
2003
NORBA National Champion, 24-Hour Solo Category
1st – Solo 24 hours of Laguna Seca (National Championship)
1st – Solo 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo
1st – Solo 24 hours of Temecula
1st – Solo 24 hours of Moab, Utah
1st – Epic 75 at Big Bear
1st – Solo 12 hours of Humboldt
2nd – Solo 12 hours of Razorback
1st – Solo 12 horas MTB Sampa Bikers (Itupeva, São Paulo, Brazil)
2nd – Solo 24 hours of Mtn Whistle (World Championships)
2004
NORBA National Champion, 24-Hour Solo Category
2nd – Solo 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo
3rd overall (1st, masters) – La Ruta de los Conquistadores (Costa Rica)
2005
NORBA National Champion, 24-Hour Solo Category
1st – Heart of the South (500 mile road race)
2nd – Furnace Creak 508 (508 mile road race)
1st – Solo 24 Hours of Mountain Mayhem (Eastnor, England)
1st – Solo 24 hours of Temecula (Temecula, California)
1st – Solo 24 Hours of Mohican Wilderness (Glenmont, Ohio)
1st – Solo 12 hours of Razorback (Reddick, Florida)
3rd – Solo 12 hours of Humboldt
1st – Solo 12 Horas MTB Sampa Bikers (Itupeva, São Paulo, Brazil)
2006
3rd – Race Across America, Men's Solo - Enduro Category
1st – Solo 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo
2007
3rd – Wilderness 101 Endurance Mt. bike race
2009
1st – Tahoe Sierra 100 (Soda Springs, California)
2010
1st – Master world Championship, Camboriu, Brazil
2018
1st – Maah Daah Hey 100 (Medora, North Dakota)
Notes
Tinker: Age group wins on free bikes from C’dale and blazin’ huge joints.Who cares?
I think Cipollini sold more Cannondale in his 5 years on Saeco than Tinker ever did...by a lot. Sorry pal.
I'd be more sympathetic if not for the post that sounds more like a petulant child than a senior adult.
Mountain biking is so cool.
Just from a business area cannondale is moving focus to the fun crowd not racing so an image redo. And the 90’s vibe is not mountain biking today the spandex is going away for most unless racing so this makes 100% business sense
you all suck wind.
" I'm not God but pretty close"
This hits oh so good, on a few levels.
If you are such a great brand ambassador someone will pick you up.
His post was not the wisest thing he's ever done but I get his frustration. He's been with them a long long time and people tend to expect loyalty at that point. He's probably had better offers over the years but turned them down for brand loyalty. But in todays landscape there's a good chance that the people currently in the marketing department see more value in a kid posting a crap ton on IG with mad followers than a guy that rarely posts that's winning races is.
Either way, I'm sure this puts a big big damper in his income. Between the cash and the bikes the dude was probably getting $45-50k a year from them. Add that in with other sponsors and what not... big loss. Dudes probably pissed, hurt, and freaking out. I'm sure anything else he gets will not be quite so lucrative. I'm guessing they offered to keep him in but drop his pay to $5-10k and he probably said no. So they dumped him. I'm guessing that's the source of his and CDale's posts. Last paragraph on the Cdale post was a really nice way of saying... he didn't like our terms so he "left"
Either way... not a has been.
His job it’s to sell bikes for cannondale and honestly if I was new to the sport / young I think he would actually put me off due to his very ‘unique’ style.
In honesty Cannondales other rider being bryceland isn’t much better nowadays.
Honestly it's tough to say. This is new territory for the MTB industry. It's not like there's a ton of 90 year old former pros floating around.
And I think certain people are in unique positions. Example... Wade Simmons. That dude will probably get paid or at least supported by someone until he decides to stop creating content.
I think Tinker becomes maybe more irrelevant when he stops racing as he's not a content creator. But he does have value in other ways. You can still use him in marketing materials in certain ways. You can still use him on education videos. Historical pieces. Etc. So I'd say he only becomes a has been as you're saying when he stops racing. But that doesn't necessarily mean he has no value. So should he get paid and/or supported until he's ancient.... who knows. Maybe. Probably not. But depends on what he does moving forward.
Coreha clans . Also he’s in he’s 50’s and mtb hx isn’t exactly well documented or required to get into the sport.