It is my pleasure to submit a formal nomination that Tom Rogers to be inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame under Racing History.
Tom’s history in the world of Mountain Bike Racing runs deep and was widely varied. As a DH rider Tom scored a national win in 1991 at Durango. In 2000, Tom showed his versatility by not only winning the Pro Hill Climb, but also the Rigid Class on the Kamikaze DH event at Mammoth. In fact, Tom’s history with Mammoth is in itself impressive considering he raced there for 10 years in a row.
To me Tom Rogers is among the forgotten Pro riders of old who were so much more than single event specialists. At the 1990 World Championships, Tom placed 8th in the Pro XC race, 8th in the Pro DH race, and 3rd in the Pro Hill climb!
Everyone remembers Overend and Tomac, but perhaps forgot that Tom Rogers raced head-to-head with these guys on a number of occasions. At a World Cup in France back in 1991, Tom placed 2nd to Tomac. That same year, Tom placed 2nd to Overend at the Deer Valley World Cup while placing 1st in the Pro Hill climb and 6th in the Pro DH on the same weekend.
Even as late in his racing career as 1997, Tom placed 8th overall in the Vet Worlds in Germany, and who could forget that Tom was the Canadian Log Pull Champion in 1988!
During his 20+ year career, Tom has also been active in developing bicycle product & technology. In addition to being one of the first riders to race on SPD pedals (back in 1988), Tom was a Shimano Skunk Rider for nearly a decade from the late 1980’s thru mid 1990’s. Tom was also one of the very first riders to race with front suspension in XC racing during 1989 and 1990. The field of suspension technology in particular is the area where Tom has most made his mark and extended his time in the MTB racing circle. Tom worked for Answer Products from 1998-2002 and was integral in the development of suspension technologies such as Lock-Out and TPC+. Following the sale of Answer Products to Hayes back in 2003, Tom stayed in Valencia and found a solid home at Marzocchi where he has been an active team member to develop numerous products including the ROCO rear shock line.
Although I knew his name from reading race results years before we met, I was fortunate enough to work with Tom back in 2000 at Answer Products. During my time in Valencia, Tom and I logged some fun rides together, but I was always blown away and afraid to join in at what Tom referred to as his “epic rides”. These were super extra long all day rides that Tom did on a regular basis years before 24 Hour and 100 Mile events became popular. Among my favorite Tom stories is one where he set out in his vehicle for a weekend of camping, rock climbing, and a bit of riding on his single speed mountain bike. Along the way, Tom’s vehicle broke down out in the middle of nowhere. So Tom loaded up his back pack with supplies and jumped on the single speed to log in mega-miles over the course of the next few days – on a single speed! To me, this story in particular sums up the incredible spirit that burns inside Tom Rogers. This is a man who has earned a place in Mountain Bike History from his dedication to the sport when it was young and his continued devotion to using his wealth of knowledge to improve mountain bike products for generations to come.
Sincerely,
Marty Mares
CEO Genuine Innovations
