HEROES

BERNARD KERR

Hailing from Surrey, Bernard proves you don’t need mountains to be an incredible mountain biker. Jump spots and 30-second downhills will suffice, if you’ve got bags of natural talent and mates like Brendan Fairclough and Olly Wilkins to spur you on. On top of his ability to go fast, with several DH World Cup and World Championships podiums to his name, Bernard is an incredible bike handler, able to throw it sideways off anything. Three Red Bull Hardline wins – including this year’s victory – tell you all you need to know about his fearless commitment on a bike.

JULIANA FURTADO

New York-born Furtado started her sporting career as a teenage ski star. A knee injury forced her to switch to cycling in 1989, and in her first year she became the US national road race champion. Introduced to mountain biking, Juli won the first XC World Champs in 1990 and added the downhill title to her tally in 1992. She remained at the forefront of the sport throughout the early 1990s, racing alongside the likes of Alison Sydor and Paola Pezzo. Lately she’s been focused on building the Juliana women’s bike brand.

JOSH BRYCELAND

WORLD CUP WINNER TO CHILLED PINNER

In many ways ‘Ratboy’ embodies the true spirit of mountain biking, in that it’s all about having fun. Initially rising to fame as a protégé of Steve Peat, Bryceland hung up his boots as a downhiller at the peak of his career, two years after winning the World Cup overall. He’s since been taking life at a more relaxed pace, hanging out with his pals in the 50to01 crew, floating around on his canal boat and growing his own food – he’s even bought a tractor! There’s no questioning the Rat’s ability and style on a bike – you only have to watch one of the many videos that 50to01 turn out to see the creativity of the stuff he spends his time digging and riding these days.

“IT’S DEFFO JMC FOR ME. HE PAVED THE WAY FOR US AND SHOWED US HOW TO BE MORE PROFESSIONAL THAN WE WERE. HAHA! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S BEEN 26 YEARS. I’VE WORN A FEW HORNS OUT GIVING HIM A HOOT EVERY TIME I PASS HIS MEMORIAL ON THE WAY TO MANCHESTER AND BACK. A MORE MODERN›DAY HERO WOULD BE STEVIE SMITH › HE LIVED LIFE TO THE FULLEST AND HAD A LOT OF FUN WHEREVER HE WENT.”

JASON MCROY

THE UK’S FIRST FACTORY DH RACER

JMC was a pioneer of UK MTB racing, blazing a trail that riders like Steve Peat and Rob Warner followed. Competing in both XC and DH, he made it onto the British team for the 1991 World Champs (alongside his pal Dave Hemming, the first Brit to win a Worlds DH medal) and in ’92 rode for Team MBUK.But’93was his breakthrough year, when he hit the world circuit as a privateer, with his dad Jim supporting. A second-place finish at California’s infamous Kamikaze Downhill led to a deal with Specialized, making him the first UK downhiller with ‘factory’ sponsorship. In ’95 Jason featured in the seminal UK MTB video Dirt.He was shortlisted for the British track-racing team for the 1996 Olympics, but tragically in August 1995 his Harley-Davidson motorcycle was hit by a lorry, and British mountain biking lost one of its first, and greatest, heroes.

DANNY HART

PERHAPS THE GREATEST RACE RUN EVER

World Champs-winning run in Champéry, Switzerland, in 2011 is one of those MTB moments that’ll stay imprinted in our memories forever.“How does he sit down with balls that big?” screamed Rob Warner in the commentary box as Hart drifted his way down the rain-ravaged course to an 11-second winning margin. The then 19-year-old