Address: 1966 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Fairfax, CA 94930 - The Museum is open 11am - 5pm, Thursday through Sunday.

Dave Cullinan

Dave Cullinan – photo courtesy BMX Society

It sounds cliché. In fact, it sounds so cliché to almost come across as sounding trite… but Dave Cullinan gave his heart to the sport of mountain biking. And not just once.

It all started in the late ’80s when the BMX rider burst onto the dual slalom and downhill racing scene with a level of confidence, style, and determination that immediately put him on the race-winning radar.

Dave Cullinan- 1992 Downhill World Champion – Photo by Tom Moran

With a growing tally of NORBA National wins under his belt, it was Dave’s unthinkable performance at the 1992 World Championships in Bromont, Canada that his showstopping style hit a new high. As one racer after another rode up and over a massive ramp jump, “Cully” instead leaped over the structure to go on and win the rainbow jersey.

Unfortunately, on a downhill practice run at the 1993 World Championships in Metabief, France, Dave suffered an injury that would have consequential effects not just on his professional career, but his life. Unbeknownst to him at the time, he’d torn his aorta and it wasn’t until months later when the injury caught up with him resulting in an emergency run to the hospital for open-heart surgery.

Despite bouncing back and forth from the races to the hospital to undergo a series of additional heart surgeries, “Cully” never lost his passion and enthusiasm for the sport. He continued racing and winning.

Race historians, as well as World Champions like Leigh Donovan and Brian Lopes, credit Cullinan as the pioneer rider who not only blazed the trail for so many other BMX riders to follow, but also for the role he played in evolving much of the suspension, pedal, and drivetrain technology enjoyed by so many mountain bikers today.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Explore Other Inductees

Brian Skinner

In 2000, Brian Skinner was named the 13th most significant person in Mountain Bike history by Mountain Bike magazine. His involvement in shaping the sport, developing product and promoting racing and fun are all factors that garnered him that honor.

...

Otis Guy

Web Site: www.otisguycycles.com Otis Guy-Class of 1993 Bio Since he took the training wheels off his 20-inch Schwinn 1958, Otis Guy has spent much of his life on the pedals. He started racing road bikes in 1970, helping found Velo ...

Charlie Litsky

Charlie Litsky: Litsky was an absolute freak for cycling as well as the man behind the Tomac PR machine in the early ’90s. How internationally renowned was the always-hyper, Brooklyn-born bike freak? Valentino Campagnolo once said that dealing with Charlie ...

John Finley Scott

This nomination, written by Charlie Kelly, dated April 18th 1989 was submitted to Carole Bauer, who was curator of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame at that time. I (Kay Cook) chose to re-submit this nomination for placement on the ...

Keizo Shimano

Every shift, each pedal stroke, every dusty smiling face at the run out of a descent on a mountain bike is a tribute to Keizo Shimano. A man whose brilliance questioned the status quo at every step. He studied ceaselessly, ...

Ignaz & Frank Schwinn

SCHWINN made their contributions to mountain biking long before the mountain bike movement of the past 25 years. Ignaz began producing his bicycles in 1895 and worked at the company he founded, Arnold, Schwinn in Chicago, until his death in ...