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Throwback Thursday

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Throwback Thursday: Mathieu Van Der Poel Wins the Lenzerheide XC World CupRace in 2019

Before he started leading the Tour de France he was winning World Cup mountain bike races.

With Mathieu van der Poel wearing the yellow leader's jersey in the Tour de France for four days in a row this week in 2021, we thought it would be fun to look back at the Lenzerheide, Switzerland World Cup in 2019, where Van…
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Throwback Thursday: Motocross legend Travis Pastrana at Whistler

The year was 2014, and freestyle motocross superstar Travis Pastrana showed up to compete in the Whip Off World Championship at the Whistler Crankworx festival. (Photo: MBA Archives)
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Throwback Thursday: Whistler Bike Park, 12 Years Ago

Bryson Martin, Jr. Crankworx, 2009

Bryson Martin, Jr. takes on one of the manmade sections of trail at Whistler Bike Park during the Crankworx festival in 2009. (Photo: John Ker/MBA)
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Throwback Thursday: Patrick Reynoso, 2014

We're going back to December of 2014 with this photo of Patrick Reynoso riding the S-Works Enduro 650b in the mountains near Pasadena, California. The clouds were starting to lift above the hills, while Patrick was riding with his usual…
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Throwback Thursday: One of the Early “Mullet” Bikes from Back Around 1900

Mixed-wheel sizes have been around a long time

Mixed-wheel sizes have been around a long time
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Throwback Thursday: The Rayvolt Cruzer

We were going through one of our collections of photos from a few years back, and this one caught us by surprise. It's a picture of a Rayvolt Cruzer, a Spanish e-bike that is made to look like a classic motorcycle of the early 1900s. We…
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Throwback Thursday: Hans Rey in the Italian Alps, June 2008

MBA got to travel to Italy for the UCI World Championships in June of 2008 and check out the newest GT bikes while there. The Worlds were held in June that year, which was earlier than normal, because of the Olympics coming up later in…
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Throwback Thursday: Marco Aurelio Fontana at Mont-Sainte-Anne

We're going back around nine years with this photo. That's Marco Aurelio Fontana leaning into an uphill switchback at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec. Marco won the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, England. (Photo by John…
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Throwback Thursday: Whistler, B.C., Summer 2015

Brett Tippie leads Richie Schley on one of their favorite mountain bike trails in Whistler, British Columbia, well outside of the city's famous bike park. Whenever you get a chance to have two legends of the sport take you out and show…
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Throwback Thursday: Kyle Strait, April 2010

We first met Kyle in April of 2001 when he won the Pro Dirt Jumping contest at the Sea Otter Classic at the age of 13
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Throwback Thursday: 13 Years Ago at the Sea Otter

Kirt Voreis versus Steve Peat

Kirt Voreis (left) battles Steve Peat in the round of four during the Sea Otter's dual-slalom competition in April of 2008. Kirt rode without a visor in the race, but we don't know if he lost it, broke it, or simply chose to ride that…
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Throwback Thursday: Aaron Gwin vs. Mick Hannah, Sea Otter Classic, 2010

Monterey, California

If we weren't dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, there's a good chance we'd be at the Sea Otter Classic this time of the year. Here's a shot from April 10, 2010, of Aaron Gwin racing against Australia's Mick Hannah in the event's…
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Throwback Thursday: Travis Brown’s Mixed-Wheel-Size 29/26 Trek

Trek's mullet setup didn't catch on in 2006, which might help explain why the big brands have been slow to jump on the current mixed-wheel bandwagon

America's 1999 XC National Champion and 2000 Olympic team member, Travis Brown, showed us Trek's 29"/26"-mixed-wheel XC bike back in 2006. (Photo: MBA Archives)
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Throwback Thursday: Danny MacAskill, Sea Otter Classic, 2016

Checking out Danny's skills and his bike, five years ago
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Throwback Thursday: 26″ vs. 29″, Hardtail Shootout, March 2011

Our March 2011 issue featured a test of two equally priced bikes, one a 26-inch bike and the other a 29er

Throwback Thursday: Aaron Gwin at Mammoth Mountain, 2012

Throwback Thursday: Aaron Gwin at Mammoth Mountain, September 2018

Aaron Gwin flies down a rocky section of the downhill course at Mammoth Mountain, California, in September of 2018. (Photo by John Ker/Mountain Bike Action)
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Throwback Thursday: Brendan Fairclough, Whistler, B.C.

Brendog showed off his style at the Whip-Off World Championships in Canada in August of 2014

Brendan "Brendog" Fairclough demonstrated his incredible bike-handling skills for the crowd at Whistler's Crankworx Festival a little over 6-1/2 years ago. (Photo by John Ker/Mountain Bike Action)
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Throwback Thursday: Mastering the Skills, Ray’s MTB, January 2009

This guy was helping his little kid get in a ride on one of the trickier sections at Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo: JK/MBA)
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Throwback Thursday: 10 Tips for Mountain Bike Couples and Long-Lasting Relationships—November 1986

Kevin Norton and Chris Culver shared these tips in our November 1986 issue of Mountain Bike Action

Kevin Norton was one of the top stars in mountain biking in 1987, when he and Chris Culver shared their tips for going on mountain bike rides with other people.
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Throwback Thursday: MBA January 2001—The U.S. National Championships

The top riders in America 20 years ago: John Tomac, Tinker Juarez, Leigh Donovan, Eric Carter, Missy Giove and many more

Our January 2001 issue included our coverage of the NORBA National Championships, held at Mammoth Mountain, California, at the end of the 2000 race season. Take a look at how our story looked. If you click on the pages to enlarge them on…
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Throwback Thursday: The 2010 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships

Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada

We're going back to the 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, with this photo. It now looks like we'll have to wait until at least 2022 to see a major UCI race at MSA again. The UCI canceled the World…
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Throwback Thursday: Test Riding a 26″/24″ Mixed-Wheel Intense, June 19, 2002

Mixed-Wheel (a.k.a. "mullet") Bikes Have Been Around for Years, As in This 26"/24"-Wheeled Intense Bike from 19 Years Ago

Click the link below to continue reading the full story from 2002: https://mbaction.com/inside-the-new-intense-vpp-prototypes-june-19/
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Throwback Thursday: One of the Weirdest Bikes We’ve Ever Seen—Crested Butte, Colorado, 2010

Bike designers are always coming up with ideas that are supposed to make their bikes work better. They come up with changes to the frames, the drivetrains, the suspension systems, the wheels and anything else they can imagine changing.…
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Defining Moments of 2020: The Cancellation of the Vail Lake UCI Race, March 15, 2020

Vincent Thiboutot of the Pivot Cycles On the Edge Team from Quebec, Canada, flies over one of the jumps at the Vail Lake RV Resort in Temecula, California, on March 15, 2020. (Photo by John Ker/MBA) This past year has probably been…
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Throwback Thursday: The World’s First Full-Suspension Bicycle, circa 1888

Ahead of its time

The world's first suspension bike arrived in 1885, but it was discontinued three years later. The arrival of inflatable, air-filled, pneumatic tires in 1888 made the first suspension bike obsolete.
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Throwback Thursday: The 1996 National Champions

25 Years Ago: It all came down to the final race of the year, at Mammoth Mountain, California

It all came down to the final race of the year at Mammoth Mountain, California
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Throwback Thursday: 30 Years Ago in MBA

Ned Overend, Susan DeMattei, Dave Wiens and more

Our December 1990 issue featured coverage of the NORBA National Championships final race, at Mammoth Mountain, California. That's Bryson Martin on the cover of the issue. He was one of our test riders in those days. He's the founder and…
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Throwback Thursday: Kirt Voreis and Steve Peat, April 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're going back to April 19, 2008, with this one. It was one of the coldest dual slalom races we've ever seen at the Sea Otter, but the action was as hot as usual. That's Kirt Voreis on the inside line and Steve Peat on the outside…
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Throwback Thursday: Greg Minnaar vs. Dan Atherton, 2008

12 Years Ago at the Sea Otter
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