John Tomac
Encyclopedia
John Tomac is a retired professional cyclist who competed in multiple disciplines in road racing
and mountain biking
during a successful senior career that spanned twenty years. He is regarded as a mountain biking icon and was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame
in 1991. He is a true all-rounder, having won major national and international titles in four disciplines.
events in and around Michigan in 1975 and continued competing in this discipline into his teenage years. By then, he had achieved title winning success at State and Regional level. In 1984, at the age of sixteen, Tomac won the National Cruiser Class title with the factory Mongoose
team. He turned professional in 1985 and spent his last year of BMX competition contesting events as a privateer
.
, and left BMX competition in favour of mountain bike racing. He continued to ride for Mongoose. By the autumn of that year, he had won his first two major mountain bike events: the Ross Fat Tire Stage Race in Massachusetts
and the Supercross Mountain Bike Exhibition race held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
. Mongoose marketed a Tomac Signature Edition model in 1987, which reflected his increasing profile within mountain biking culture. Tomac achieved a few more notable wins during that year, including a second win in the Fat Tire Stage Race and three National XC Series rounds.
In 1987, John Tomac appeared in one of the first instructional mountain biking videos ever produced, entitled "The Great Mountain Biking Video," produced by New & Unique Videos of San Diego, California.
1988 brought Tomac national title-winning success. By achieving the highest combined points total from the National Off-Road Bicycle Association's (NORBA) Cross-country
, Downhill
and Dual Slalom championships, Tomac won the overall title of NORBA World Champion. He was ranked in first place in the Cross-country and Dual Slalom disciplines. The "World" status was a misnomer, however, as the NORBA championships were held only in the United States
. The first true World Championships for XC
and DH
, sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale
, were held in Durango
, Colorado
, in 1990 where John placed 4th in the downhill. John is well remembered for riding road style drop bars on his Yeti mountainbike at this race which was a noticeable deviation from the other riders. This equipment decision was influenced by his recent experience riding for the 7-11 road cycling team in Europe where he was under contract. Tomac's results and rapid rise to prominence earned recognition from U.S. cycling magazine Velo News, which voted him the world's best all-round rider of 1988.
Tomac retained his overall NORBA title in 1989, and also won the NORBA DH Championship for the first time. In a season in which he competed at the highest level on both sides of the Atlantic, he added the German
and Europe
an XC titles to his collection. In 1990, he joined Yeti Cycles' factory MTB team and the 7-11 road team, embarking on a busy program of events in Europe and the U.S. To facilitate his road racing career, Tomac based himself in Belgium
, and regularly traveled between the two continents to compete in major road and mountain events. Although he failed to win any of the three individual NORBA series, he won the overall NORBA title for the third year in succession.
1991 saw a change of teams: from Yeti to Raleigh and from 7-11 to Motorola. A stronger mountain bike season culminated in UCI World Championship success in Ciocco, Italy
, with Gold in XC and Silver in DH. In addition to that, Tomac won two events on his way to the UCI XC World Cup
title, and added a second NORBA DH title to his 1989 win. The following year, he finished in fifth place at the DH World Championship held in Bromont
, Canada
, and had to settle for second place behind Switzerland
's Thomas Frischknecht
in the XC World Cup rankings (though there were two event wins again). An accident in which Tomac struck an errant spectator in the final event at Mount Snow
, Vermont
, prevented him from outscoring his rival and retaining the title.
In 1993, Tomac was the runner-up to Germany's Jürgen Beneke in the inaugural UCI Downhill World Cup and lost out to Frischknecht again in the XC rankings. This was to be the last season in which Tomac would finish in the top three in the World Cup, but he continued to achieve notable results in the World Championships. In 1997, five years after his last World Championship medal, he finished second in the downhill event at Château-d'Oex in Switzerland
.
Between 1994 and 1997, Tomac would win three more NORBA titles – two in DH and one in XC – as well as some notable individual events such as the Sea Otter Classic
and Cactus Cup. He officially announced his retirement from racing at the Sea Otter Classic in 2000, but would later make an occasional return to competition. In 2004, at the age of 37, he won the famous Kamikaze Downhill held at Mammoth Mountain
, California
. Then, for good measure, he returned in 2005 and won it again.
. He was the 1988 USCF National Criterium
Champion and was part of the winning team in the USCF National Team Time Trial Championship in 1989. Tomac spent much of 1990 competing in European events with the Motorola team. Although he failed to win any major road titles in a season in which he entered more than 100 road and mountain events, his schedule included the Ronde van Vlaanderen, the Giro d'Italia
and the Paris–Roubaix. Tomac ended his participation in pro-level road racing at the close of the 1991 season, choosing instead to focus on his mountain biking career.
bikes later that year. Tomac spent the 1998 season competing on his new prototype design in DH events.
The brand name was later acquired by American Bicycle Group, which in turn sold it to Joel Smith, formerly a brand manager at Answer Products, in June 2006. He relocated the company to Nebraska
and set in place plans to relaunch the Tomac brand with a new model range in 2007. Tomac and Bradbury remain actively involved in the company and the design of its products.
Road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
and mountain biking
Mountain bike racing
The Union Cycliste Internationale recognised the sport of mountain bike racing relatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned the world championships in Purgatory, Colorado. The first mountain biking world cup series took place in 1991. Its nine-race circuit covered two continents—Europe and North...
during a successful senior career that spanned twenty years. He is regarded as a mountain biking icon and was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame
Mountain Bike Hall of Fame
The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Crested Butte Colorado. The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in 1988 to chronicle the history of mountain biking....
in 1991. He is a true all-rounder, having won major national and international titles in four disciplines.
Early career
John Tomac first participated in cycle racing at the age of seven. He began to enter BMXBMX racing
BMX racing is a type of off-road bicycle racing. The format of BMX was derived from motocross racing. BMX bicycle races are sprint races on purpose-built off-road single-lap race tracks. The track usually small a starting gate for up to eight racers, a groomed, serpentine, dirt race course made of...
events in and around Michigan in 1975 and continued competing in this discipline into his teenage years. By then, he had achieved title winning success at State and Regional level. In 1984, at the age of sixteen, Tomac won the National Cruiser Class title with the factory Mongoose
Mongoose (bicycles)
Mongoose is a brand name of performance bicycles originally designed, manufactured, and sold by BMX Products, Inc. Mongoose merged in 2001 with Pacific Cycle, a subsidiary of Dorel Industries. It produces several models of BMX, mountain bikes, and street bicycles, making ample use of light weight...
team. He turned professional in 1985 and spent his last year of BMX competition contesting events as a privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
.
Mountain biking
In 1986, Tomac made two significant decisions: he relocated to Southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, and left BMX competition in favour of mountain bike racing. He continued to ride for Mongoose. By the autumn of that year, he had won his first two major mountain bike events: the Ross Fat Tire Stage Race in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and the Supercross Mountain Bike Exhibition race held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
. Mongoose marketed a Tomac Signature Edition model in 1987, which reflected his increasing profile within mountain biking culture. Tomac achieved a few more notable wins during that year, including a second win in the Fat Tire Stage Race and three National XC Series rounds.
In 1987, John Tomac appeared in one of the first instructional mountain biking videos ever produced, entitled "The Great Mountain Biking Video," produced by New & Unique Videos of San Diego, California.
1988 brought Tomac national title-winning success. By achieving the highest combined points total from the National Off-Road Bicycle Association's (NORBA) Cross-country
Cross-country cycling
Cross-country cycling is the most common discipline of mountain biking. While less publicized than downhill cycling as it is more difficult to televise, it garners the highest levels of participation both recreationally and competitively....
, Downhill
Downhill cycling
Downhill biking is a gravity-assisted time trial mountain biking event. Riders race against the clock, usually starting at intervals of 30 seconds , on courses which typically take two to five minutes to complete. Riders come from all around the world. Riders are timed with equipment similar to...
and Dual Slalom championships, Tomac won the overall title of NORBA World Champion. He was ranked in first place in the Cross-country and Dual Slalom disciplines. The "World" status was a misnomer, however, as the NORBA championships were held only in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The first true World Championships for XC
Cross-country cycling
Cross-country cycling is the most common discipline of mountain biking. While less publicized than downhill cycling as it is more difficult to televise, it garners the highest levels of participation both recreationally and competitively....
and DH
Downhill cycling
Downhill biking is a gravity-assisted time trial mountain biking event. Riders race against the clock, usually starting at intervals of 30 seconds , on courses which typically take two to five minutes to complete. Riders come from all around the world. Riders are timed with equipment similar to...
, sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....
, were held in Durango
Durango, Colorado
The City of Durango is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau said that the city population was 16,887 in 2010 census.-History:...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, in 1990 where John placed 4th in the downhill. John is well remembered for riding road style drop bars on his Yeti mountainbike at this race which was a noticeable deviation from the other riders. This equipment decision was influenced by his recent experience riding for the 7-11 road cycling team in Europe where he was under contract. Tomac's results and rapid rise to prominence earned recognition from U.S. cycling magazine Velo News, which voted him the world's best all-round rider of 1988.
Tomac retained his overall NORBA title in 1989, and also won the NORBA DH Championship for the first time. In a season in which he competed at the highest level on both sides of the Atlantic, he added the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an XC titles to his collection. In 1990, he joined Yeti Cycles' factory MTB team and the 7-11 road team, embarking on a busy program of events in Europe and the U.S. To facilitate his road racing career, Tomac based himself in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and regularly traveled between the two continents to compete in major road and mountain events. Although he failed to win any of the three individual NORBA series, he won the overall NORBA title for the third year in succession.
1991 saw a change of teams: from Yeti to Raleigh and from 7-11 to Motorola. A stronger mountain bike season culminated in UCI World Championship success in Ciocco, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, with Gold in XC and Silver in DH. In addition to that, Tomac won two events on his way to the UCI XC World Cup
Mountain Bike World Cup
The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup is a multi-round mountain bike racing series that is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale. The first World Cup series – which was composed of cross-country events – was held in 1989. The Downhill World Cup was inaugurated two years later, and the Dual...
title, and added a second NORBA DH title to his 1989 win. The following year, he finished in fifth place at the DH World Championship held in Bromont
Bromont, Quebec
Bromont is a city in southwestern Quebec in Canada, 75 kilometres east of Montreal on Autoroute 10, bordering the Eastern Townships at the base of Mount Brome . The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 6,049....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and had to settle for second place behind Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
's Thomas Frischknecht
Thomas Frischknecht
Thomas Frischknecht is a Swiss mountain bike and cyclo-cross racer, often called Europe's Elder Statesman of mountain biking, because of his extraordinarily long career at the top level of the sport...
in the XC World Cup rankings (though there were two event wins again). An accident in which Tomac struck an errant spectator in the final event at Mount Snow
Mount Snow
Mount Snow is a mountain and ski area in southern Vermont located in the Green Mountains. It is Vermont's closest big mountain to many Northeast metropolitan areas. It was cohost of the first Extreme Games in 1995 and host of the Winter X-Games in 2000 and 2001...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, prevented him from outscoring his rival and retaining the title.
In 1993, Tomac was the runner-up to Germany's Jürgen Beneke in the inaugural UCI Downhill World Cup and lost out to Frischknecht again in the XC rankings. This was to be the last season in which Tomac would finish in the top three in the World Cup, but he continued to achieve notable results in the World Championships. In 1997, five years after his last World Championship medal, he finished second in the downhill event at Château-d'Oex in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Between 1994 and 1997, Tomac would win three more NORBA titles – two in DH and one in XC – as well as some notable individual events such as the Sea Otter Classic
Sea Otter Classic
Sea Otter Classic is a bicycling and outdoor life sports festival and trade show held on the former Fort Ord in Monterey, California since 1990. The classic is named in honor of the sea otter, an indigenous mammal which flourishes on the neighboring Pacific Coast.The Sea Otter Classic offers...
and Cactus Cup. He officially announced his retirement from racing at the Sea Otter Classic in 2000, but would later make an occasional return to competition. In 2004, at the age of 37, he won the famous Kamikaze Downhill held at Mammoth Mountain
Mammoth Mountain
Mammoth Mountain is a lava dome complex west of the town of Mammoth Lakes, California in the Inyo National Forest of Madera County and Mono County. It is home to a large ski area on the Mono County side....
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Then, for good measure, he returned in 2005 and won it again.
| Major MTB results by year | |
|---|---|
| 1988 | NORBA Overall Champion NORBA National XC Champion NORBA National Dual Slalom Champion |
| 1989 | NORBA Overall Champion NORBA National Dual Slalom Champion German XC Champion European XC Champion |
| 1990 | NORBA Overall Champion |
| 1991 | Gold medal - XC World Championship Silver medal - DH World Championship XC World Cup champion NORBA National DH Champion |
| 1992 | Second place in XC World Cup |
| 1993 | Second place in XC World Cup Second place in DH World Cup |
| 1994 | NORBA National DH Champion Cactus Cup winner Sea Otter Stage winner |
| 1996 | NORBA National XC Champion |
| 1997 | Silver medal - DH World Championship |
| 2004 | Mammoth Kamikaze winner |
| 2005 | Mammoth Kamikaze winner |
Road racing
From 1988 to 1991, Tomac dovetailed professional programs in both mountain biking and road racingRoad bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
. He was the 1988 USCF National Criterium
Criterium
A criterium, or crit, is a bike race held on a short course , often run on closed-off city center streets....
Champion and was part of the winning team in the USCF National Team Time Trial Championship in 1989. Tomac spent much of 1990 competing in European events with the Motorola team. Although he failed to win any major road titles in a season in which he entered more than 100 road and mountain events, his schedule included the Ronde van Vlaanderen, the Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
and the Paris–Roubaix. Tomac ended his participation in pro-level road racing at the close of the 1991 season, choosing instead to focus on his mountain biking career.
| Major road results by year | |
|---|---|
| 1988 | USCF National Criterium Champion |
| 1989 | USCF National Team Time Trial Champion |
Team ownership
In January 1998, John Tomac entered into a business partnership with Manitou founder and suspension engineer Doug Bradbury, whom Tomac had known since the 1980s. Together, they founded Tomac Bicycles, and launched a range of three full suspensionBicycle suspension
A bicycle suspension is the system or systems used to suspend the rider and all or part of the bicycle in order to protect them from the roughness of the terrain over which they travel...
bikes later that year. Tomac spent the 1998 season competing on his new prototype design in DH events.
The brand name was later acquired by American Bicycle Group, which in turn sold it to Joel Smith, formerly a brand manager at Answer Products, in June 2006. He relocated the company to Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
and set in place plans to relaunch the Tomac brand with a new model range in 2007. Tomac and Bradbury remain actively involved in the company and the design of its products.
Family
John Tomac has a son, Eli who is an up and coming pro motocross rider in the US 250 lites class riding for the Geico Powersports Honda factory racing team. Eli is noted for being the first true rookie pro ever to win a pro motocross debut at Hangtown raceway on 5/23/10 under John's guidance.Primary sources
- John Tomac's History tomac.com
- MTB Hall of Fame mtnbikehalloffame.com