 Lopes at the World Championships in Fort William | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Thomas Lopes |
| Nickname | Flyin' Brian |
| Born | September 6, 1971 Mission Viejo, California, United States of America |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Weight | 160 lb (73 kg) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Intense/Maxxis/Pearl Izumi/Lazer/X Fusion |
| Discipline | MTB–Four-cross, Dual Slalom, Enduro, Downhill |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1989–2012 | – |
| Major wins | |
 UCI World Cup (1 Wins) UCI World Championship (1 wins) | |
Brian Thomas Lopes (born September 6, 1971, in Mission Viejo, California) is a professional mountain bike racer who specializes in four-cross. Lopes started riding BMX in his childhood and turned professional at seventeen years old. [1]
California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents, California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 9.7 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second-most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.
Mountain bike racing is the competitive cycle sport discipline of mountain biking held on off-road terrain. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) recognised the discipline relatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned the world championships in Durango, Colorado. The first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series took place in 1988. Its nine-race circuit covered two continents—Europe and North America—and was sponsored by Grundig. Cross-country racing was the only World Cup sport at this time. In 1993, a six-event downhill World Cup was introduced. In 1996, cross-country mountain biking events were added to the Olympic Games. In 2006, cross-country mountain biking events became part of the World Deaf Cycling Championships for the first time in San Francisco, USA.
Four-cross (4X), also called mountain-cross, not to be confused with fourcross, is a relatively new style of mountain bike racing where four bikers race downhill on a prepared, BMX-like track, simply trying to get down first. These bikes are generally either full suspension with 3 to 4 inches of travel, or hardtails, and typically have relatively strong frames. They run a chainguide on front and gears on the back. They have slack head angles, short chainstays and low bottom brackets for good cornering and acceleration. In recent years the tracks raced on have been rougher and less like those used in BMX.
He started mountain biking in 1993 and has since won a total of 18 titles – 9 NORBA National Championships, 6 UCI World Cup wins and 4 UCI World Championship titles. [2] Lopes has also held world records in bunny hopping, in terms of both distance and height. [1]
The Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland.
The bunny hop or bunnyhop, is a bicycle trick that allows the rider to launch their bike into the air as if jumping off a ramp. The pedals on the bicycle seem to stick to the rider's feet as the bike becomes airborne, much like how a skateboard seems to stick to the feet of the skater performing an Ollie. While the bunny hop can be quite challenging to learn, once mastered it opens up a whole new level of riding opportunities for both BMX and mountain bike rider alike.
He was nominated in 2001 for an ESPY "Action sport Athlete of the Year" [3] and won two NEA (World Extreme Sports Award) for "Mountain Biker of the Year" in 2000 & 2001. [4] Lopes has also co-written a book, Mastering Mountain Bike Skills with Lee McCormack. Lopes has also been featured in a videogame; Downhill Domination on the Sony PlayStation 2.
Downhill Domination is a sports racing video game. The game was released for the PlayStation 2.
Sony Corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified business includes consumer and professional electronics, gaming, entertainment and financial services. The company owns the largest music entertainment business in the world, the largest video game console business and one of the largest video game publishing businesses, and is one of the leading manufacturers of electronic products for the consumer and professional markets, and a leading player in the film and television entertainment industry. Sony was ranked 97th on the 2018 Fortune Global 500 list.
The PlayStation 2 is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on March 4, 2000, in North America on October 26, 2000, and in Europe and Australia in November 2000, and is the successor to the PlayStation, as well as the second video game console in the PlayStation brand. As a sixth-generation console, the PS2 competed with Sega's Dreamcast, Nintendo's GameCube, and Microsoft's Xbox.
Lopes is currently sponsored by Ibis Bicycles, Oakley, Lazer, X-Fusion, SRAM, Kenda, Novatec Wheels, WTB, ODI, Magura, Pearl Izumi, Go Pro, HT, KS, Chris King & MRP. [4]
Oakley, Inc., based in Lake Forest, California, and a subsidiary of Italian corporate giant Luxottica based in Milan, designs, develops and manufactures sports performance equipment and lifestyle pieces including sunglasses, sports visors, ski/snowboard goggles, watches, apparel, backpacks, shoes, optical frames, and other accessories. Most items are designed in house at their head office, but some countries hold exclusive designs relevant to their market. Oakley currently holds more than 600 patents for eyewear, materials, and performance gear.
SRAM LLC is a privately owned bicycle component manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, founded in 1987. SRAM is an acronym comprising the names of its founders, Scott, Ray, and Sam,. The company is known for producing cycling components, including some internally developed, such as Grip Shift, EAGLE (1x12), DoubleTap, dedicated 1x11 mountain and road drivetrains and SRAM Red eTap.
On April 13, 2012, Lopes won the first race of the new cross-country eliminator World Cup series in Houffalize, Belgium.
The Cross-country eliminator(XCE) is a new mountain bike race format in which four riders compete against each other in each heat, similar to Four-cross. The two fastest riders get to the next round while the two slower riders are eliminated from the race.
