This weekend’s World Cup at Windham sees the return of Missy Giove.
Do you know the legendary Missy “the Missile” Giove? Here’s a quick history lesson just in case. Pay attention at the back!
It’s hard to put into a succinct, web-friendly post how big a spot Missy Giove holds in the history books ofย mountain bike downhill racing. In her time Missy “the Missile” Giove was (and seemingly still is!) an ultra-cool, bad-ass, punk-rock spirit in a World of lycra and taking-it-too-seriously. She was both a rebel and a poster-girl for World Cup downhill.
Missy is a US downhill racer that was on the scene from the early 90’s till her retirement in 2003. She’s currently having a bit of a come back and raced her first DH in 12 years at theย ProGRT at Snowshoe in the US this year and will race this weekend’s World Cup at Windham.
A few things set Missyย out from the crowd during her time at the top of Downhill. Her racing was – of course – the main one. As dominant as Anne-Caroline Chausson was at the time (and she really was incredible) Missy could give her a run for her money on her day. She consistently scored top results from 1992 to 2003 with wins at Vail, Mont-Saint-Anne, Kaprun and Big Bear World Cups and loads of podiums alongside. Her career saw her raced on two of the biggest teams downhill has ever seen – Volvo Cannondale and Global Racing. In her day she was a genuine super-star of downhill.
Missy stood out for her unique style and personality.ย She was openly gay, she was loud, she was opinionated and she was a total contrast to her quiet, professional, low-key competitors. Much like Shaun Palmer she was a breath of fresh air to the stuffiness of cycling. She even wore a dead piranha on a chain round her neck! Some people loved her, some people hated her, some people just didn’t get her – it was great.
Missy’s retirement came after a spot of trouble with the law and she was arrested in 2009 and charged with drugs offences. I don’t want that to be the closing note of this whistle-stop introduction to Missy the Missile though. The thing that’s stuck in my mind isย that after over a decade of not racing, after some quite likely tough times and some years away from DH she just turned up and qualified for a World Cup. Her first World Cup and her second race since 2003. That’s incredible! I can’t wait to see how she gets on in her race run. Good luck Missy!
