Nino Schurter is a Swiss cyclist and member of the Swiss team at the 2008 Summer Olympics where he earned bronze in men’s cross-country. Schurter also went on to secure the silver medal in the 2012 London Olympic Games. Additionally, Nino has won multiple World Championships along with World Cup Overall victories.
Nino started his career as a pro mountain bike rider purely by accident. He grew up, the youngest of three children, in a small village in the Swiss mountains. As a way to train for skiing in the summer, Nino started to mountain bike. At 7 years old, Nino along with his brother Mario started to race. His father was also interested in the sport and their whole family would often spend holidays riding. Nino’s interest in mountain bike riding is combined with his love of adventure, fun and nature.
Scott Sports, Odlo, Cornercard, Honda, Oakley
Bike, Freeride, Freeski, Golf, Technik
Julien Absalon is a French mountain bike racer who is widely considered one of the best riders in the sport’s history. He is certainly one of the most decorated athletes in the sport, winning titles at every level and across the globe. Absalon picked up mountain biking at the age of 14 after his neighbor introduced him to the sport. After experiencing some success as a junior in France, Absalon realized this would eventually become his career. He became the French National Champion during his second year as a junior and he never looked back
Since then, Absalon has dominated the elite UCI Mountain Bike Cross Country scene. Beyond the World Cup circuit, the Frenchman won Olympic gold in both 2004 (Athens) and 2008 (Beijing). Although Olympic glory has opened doors for Absalon and broughy him plenty of attention, he claims that the best thing to come from Mountain Biking in the Olympics has been the attention it has brought to the sport, especially in his home country of France.
BMC, Les Gets, Sidi, Oakley, Pearl Azumi, Bleuforet, Camping Car Plus, Shimano, Aubry Automobiles, Foucaud
Skiing, Motor Sports, Paragliding, All Outdoor Sports, Hanging out with Friends
Jenny Rissveds is a Swedish mountain bike and cyclocross racer,and though she's young in her career, her accolades are already many. She first threw her leg over a bike at the age of four and was in her first mountain bike race by seven. Ever since, she has been traveling around the world, racing just about every weekend and just about every time she crosses a finish line, her stock continues to rise.
Jenny's racing schedule took her international in 2012, and she won her first Elite World Cup race the same year. Proving her skill and dedication, she earned a spot on the SCOTT Odlo MTB Racing Team team, as the only female rider. From there, she continued to compete at the highest level – becoming a three-time champion in mountain biking. At just 22 years old, competing in her first Olympics, Jenny put on a dominating performance in Rio and won a gold medal.
Scott Odlo MTB Racing Team, Thule, Oakley
Shopping, Friends, Music
Catharine Pendrel grew up on a horse farm in Harvey Station, New Brunswick. With an older brother to look up to, Catharine started trying to keep up with the boys at an early age. Now they try to keep up with her!
It was not until she was 16, that her brother introduced her to riding mountain bikes. Inspired by the women trying out for the Canada Summer Games that year (1997), Pendrel decided mountain bike racing was something she’d like to try and within 2 weeks competed in her first event.
Pendrel also began her studies at the University of New Brunswick, took time out to participate in Canada World Youth exchange program to Cuba, and completed her degree in Psychology and Sociology at the University of Victoria (BC) in 2004. In 2004 she joined the national team.
In 2008 Pendrel was invited to join the long coveted Luna Pro team as a professional racer. With their support she scored both her first World Cup podium (Andorra) and then her first World Cup win (Bromont, Canada) leading into the Olympics. In Beijing she finished 4th, 9 seconds off Bronze after 1hr 46minutes of racing.
As the reigning World Champion and World Cup leader in 2012, she was a serious contender for a medal in the London, Olympics. This was not to be the case. After a strong surge to the front early in the race she faded to a disappointing 9th. Inspired by her fans and the challenge she strives for an Olympic success story in Rio in 2016. She started that campaign by winning the 2014 World Championship title in Norway.
Off the bike Catharine is interested in pursuing Physical Therapy or Sports Psychology as a post athletic career. She is conversant in French and Spanish and loves travel (a good thing too!) trying new foods and recipes, volunteers with people with disabilities, and loves living in a winter climate where she can add Nordic skiing to her winter training routine.
Luna, Oakley
Physical Therapy, Sports Psychology, travel, new foods and recipes, volunteering with people with disabilities, Nordic skiing
Greg Minnaar is a three-time Downhill MTB World Champion from Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. He's widely recognized as one of the smoothest and most consistent downhill racers on the professional circuit.
Greg first started racing BMX at 4 years of age. He soon moved over to motocross and raced for 11 years before his parents bought a bicycle shop and his path to DH stardom began. He began getting recognized at the age of 17, racing select World Cups on a local shop team. Greg was initially inspired by the rivalry between Nico Vouilloz and Steve Peat. He eventually earned his way onto the Santa Cruz Syndicate team and was able to ride alongside his childhood heroes.
Minnaar, who currently has 19 World Cup race wins (and counting!), currently races for the Santa Cruz Syndicate based out of Santa Cruz, Calif.
Santa Cruz, Oakley, Fox, ONeal, CrankBrothers, FiveTen, Ergon, Kabuto Helmets, Gamut
Surfing, motocross and stepping off a plane
Rachel Atherton is one of the baddest chicks you’ll ever meet on two wheels. The British downhill mountain biker has been racing bikes since the ripe age of 8, beginning with BMX. She took up mountain biking around age 11 and it’s been all downhill since then (literally).
Racing with her two older brothers (Gee and Dan) for GT Factory Racing, Atherton has collected a plethora of her sport’s biggest titles. 2008 was a huge year for her as she “won the double,” dominating both the World Cup overall and the UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Championships.
In 2012, Atherton returned to the top of her sport winning both the British National and World Championships titles. This was a feat she repeated in 2013, along with the overall World Cup title, once more.
When she isn’t riding Rachel loves yoga and relaxing with her dog, Angus.
Trek, Red Bull, Jeep, Silverline, Shimano, IXS, Fox, Oakley, Bontrager, GoPro, Bell, Pro, Muc-Off, Stages, Hope, Douche-Bags
Yoga, Rock Climbing, Riding Moto, SUP, Walking her Dog (Angus)
Gee Atherton, who rides for GT Factory Racing, is one of the most consistently successful mountain-bikers of all time, as well as one of the most progressive and spectacular. He won his first Downhill World Cup in 2004 aged just nineteen and has finished in the top five of the Downhill World Series every year since. He has been Downhill World Champion, Downhill World Cup Series Champion, Downhill European Champion and four times British National Downhill Champion.
The sheer force with which Gee attacks every race sets him apart. It also contributes to some of the spectacular crashes which periodically set the internet alight and test his legendary toughness to the limit. But it's not just Downhill where Gee excels, he has a 4X World Cup win to his credit and has twice set the freeride community alight with breath-takingly creative and daring performances at Red Bull Rampage. He earned 2nd place in 2004 and 2010 and crashed dramatically in 2012 as he attempted an untested and highly technical canyon leap.
The middle Atherton is a popular and approachable ambassador for the sport of mountain-biking. His balls-out racing style and dramatic pursuits at events such as Red Bull Fox Hunt draw the crowds but you can also find him happily promoting his sport on Top Gear, the Cycle Show or kids TV.
Trek, Red Bull, Jeep, Silverline, Shimano, IXS, Fox, Oakley, Bontrager, GoPro, Bell, Pro, Muc-Off, Stages, Hope, Douche-Bags
Riding Moto, BMX, Driving his Rallycar
Cam Zink is a freeride mountain bike rider who is best known for his crazy stunts, whether in competition at events like Red Bull Rampage or on his own for world record breaking dirt jump attempts.
The Reno, Nevada native has placed himself in an upper echelon of freeride mountain bikers with his performances at Red Red Bull Rampage, among others, including his win in 2010 and his monster 78-foot step-down backflip off the Oakley Icon Sender in Virgin, Utah in 2013. Previously, Zink had also enjoyed success as the 2010 Freestyle Mountain Bike World Tour champion.
In 2014 Zink brought mountain biking to the main stage when he succeeded in his attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest dirt to dirt mountain bike jump (100 feet). The event aired on live national television as a part of ESPN's "World Of X Games" series. Zink stuck the landing perfectly after launching himself off of the 15-foot-high dirt jump at Mammoth Mountain in California.
When he is not hurling himself off of mountain sides on his mountain bike, Zink can be found spending time with his finance Amanda and baby girl Ayla.
Monster, YT Industries, Novatec, Troy Lee Designs, Oakley, Rock Shox, sram, Osiris, Kenda, Deity, Sensus, Contour Camera, SDG
Moto, surf, video games, beer pong
From the first time his father took him to a BMX track in 1975, he was addicted to two wheels. Brian Lopes has had an unprecedented 20-year career as a professional cyclist, having been labeled “undisputedly the best all-around world-class cycling athlete” by USA Today. Having raced BMX for most of his childhood, Brian started his bike racing at the tender age of 4, turning Pro at the age of 17 and competing in the BMX circuit for seven years before channeling his efforts in 1993 to the mountain bike. Lopes' first MTB race earned him fifth place and a name in the sport. He then went straight on to win a Norba National, and never looked back.
His winning race resume made the Lopes name one of the most recognizable names in the sport of cycling; known for flawless style and winning results, he is an inspiration to bikers and action sport enthusiasts around the world. Nominated in 2001 for the “Action sport Athlete of the Year” ESPY, he won two NEA (World Extreme Sports Award) for “Mountain Biker of the Year” and was featured in SONY PlayStation “Downhill Domination” as himself. In 2008 was inducted into the Mountain Bike and BMX Hall of Fame.
Intense, Maxxis, Oakley, X-Fusion, Pearl Izumi, Lazer, Factor, GoPro, Magura, KS, WTB, ODI, HT, KMC, Shimano, Wheycoco
Riding Motocross and Trails
Kurt Sorge is a freeride mountain biker out of Nelson, British Columbia in Canada. He rides for Giant Bicycles and is a big mountain rider that likes to go big and ride big lines.
Sorge's most notable accomplishment came in 2012 when he took home the top prize at the Red Bull Rampage in Virgin, Utah. He was also second in the event in 2008.
The Canadian cites bike handling skills, vision and picking a good line as the three necessities for any freeride mountain biker to be successful in a competition such as Rampage.
"Bike handling skills have to be number one, if you can't make it to the bottom then you have no chance. Vision: you have to be able to pick a line that’s going to work for you, one that is creative, progressive and works with your style of riding. You have to pick a line that can win. Flow and style: if you’re making your line look good that’s what it’s all about."
Rockstar Energy Drink, Giant Bicycles, Under Armour, Giro, Teva, Oakley, Sram
Sled, Dirt bike, Snowboard, Surf, Chill
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