It’s Thursday – and time for another blast of classic mountain bike Nostalgia.
Just over two decades ago, Eurosport had live coverage of the Grundig Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup. Nevegal in Italy isn’t a track we see anything of these days, but it was a staple of the downhill diet in the 90s.
Spanish commentary does nothing to stem the nostalgia. Peaty on a GT working those elastomers like nothing else, Francois Gachet before he snapped his leg, Shaun Palmer at his best, Anne-Caro, Katja Repo and co. hammering a dusty Italian hillside.
We’re going to spend the next few weeks revisiting some of the classics that make mountain biking what it is today. Stuff from the you-kids-don’t-know-you’re-born, it-wasn’t-like-that-in-my-day golden era of mountain biking. Sure, all the bikes were crap, head angles were over vertical and decent, accessible riding was a gleam in Rowan’s Sorrell’s eye but …. the golden sheen of nostalgia can’t be defeated.
