It seems to me that quite a few MTBers change discipline and go on to become successful on the road as well. Does this change happen much the other way around, i.e. successful roadies becoming successful MTBers? And if not, are there any reasons why? I'm guessing that road racing is better paid than MTBing.
Yep, better paid and more glamorous. I'm struggling to think of any that have gone to MTBs, but I'm sure there are some!
Simoni sort of changed to mtbing but only as a sort of retirement and he's back on the road now
Anybody remember when Cadel Evans was a mountainbiker? (before he was a torn-faced ***t with a stupid dog :-))
He started racing on the road under Volvo colours with the Saeco-cannondale squad, and it took him a while before he wasn't at the centre of every crash.
It looked for a while that the Armstrong guy might move the other way and do distance MTB events.
Er... Cadel was a brilliant mtber
Wasn't denying that clubber, just that its surprising the amount of folk that only think of him as a roadie.
I remember Cadel being world champion.
[i]I'm struggling to think of any that have gone to MTBs, but I'm sure there are some! [/i]
The legend that is John Tomac!
OK so he started out with MTB/BMX and never really quit either of them but he raced (quite succesfully) on road in late 80's/early 90's before going back to concentrate on MTB.
It looks like Jakob Fuglsang, the XC U23 World Champion in 2007, and Fredrik Kessiakoff, former XC World Cup race winner, are making promising starts to their road careers too....
he always did have that horrible hunched up style didn't he...
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And a bum-chin
I still always preferred him to little mig.
But I dunno if he was threatening to 'kill anyone who touched his stupid dog' in them days 😉