# Missy Giove returns to the World Cup @ Windham!!!



## LarryFahn (Jul 19, 2005)

Missy Giove at the Windham World Cup? - The Hub - Mountain Biking Forums / Message Boards - Vital MTB

Who gives a s#it what wheel size is cool this week? The Missile returns to the track!

F-YEAH!!!

Fahn


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## MOJO K (Jan 26, 2007)

I called around last night and scored a room in Windham for Friday night!!! Oh Hell Yeah!


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

Man - I never liked her back in the day. She won way too much and was way too out there for me. I always disliked C-Dales because of her, and I always pulled for whomever else was contending with her on any given day. 

But like her or hate her (or anywhere in between), she always had everyone's attention. She was incredible for the sport, especially for women's cycling. She was easily as big as the biggest male bikers back then.

I just read the link above, watched the vid, and did some more reading about her. Now I like her. A lot. 

And man - I may be insane but does she ever look pretty in that video. Her eyes, nose, mouth and teeth are all so angular, awesome and really sexy looking. Wow. 

WTF was I thinking back then? Seriously. I deserve a good ass kicking.

All of this brings back such incredible memories of the newly found excitement I had discovered with mountain biking, way back then. And ever since, biking has been such a HUGE part of my life. Thanks Missy. In hindsight, you were a big part of it.

Thanks for posting that OP.

Go Missy. Go big...but not too big...you've got nothing to prove to anybody.


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## LarryFahn (Jul 19, 2005)

Where did you get a room at? I looked online Sunday and there were like 3 rooms left. I found that light tower place though and booked there.


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## MOJO K (Jan 26, 2007)

LarryFahn said:


> Where did you get a room at? I looked online Sunday and there were like 3 rooms left. I found that light tower place though and booked there.


Called up Hammo's Brew Pub/ Lodge. "I suppose you're booked for the weekend, can I get on a cancelation list?" "Sure."" I only need Friday night."" Oh, if you only need Friday we can get you in!"

They just opened last week which is super cool for me. I'll be opening a restaurant in a little ski and bike town in two weeks. We plan on writing the whole thing off as "business and marketing development research". This will be the last week end off for, well, maybe forever...Weather looks perfect.


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## NWS (Jun 30, 2010)

I couldn't tell whether that was an announcement, or just a proposal. Is she really on board, or was that just a "wouldn't it be cool if?"


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## ianjenn (Aug 1, 2004)

YT got her a bike!


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## DHgnaR (Feb 20, 2008)

Edited - Delete.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

ianjenn said:


> YT got her a bike!


Awesome. I wish I could have given her one of mine to use. How cool would that be?

If it's true, new respect for YT.

Ride Magazin - Weltcup Windham mit der Rückkehr einer Legende [10266]


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## LarryFahn (Jul 19, 2005)

Before the race I got to talk to her and get her autograph. She had a hard time doing it since she wrecked yesterday and hurt her wrist. 

During qualifying the announcer stated that she broke the ribbon and that she was done. 

But wait!!! 

They announced that she was red flagged due to a wreck near the finish line. They let her redo her qualifying run!!! 

She couldn't get to the top fast enough, so they had her qualify after the men. 

SHE DID IT! The Missile is qualified for tomorrow's race! I don't give a f+*= if she's dead last. She's a legend and #1 in my book!!! 

Ttyl, Fahn


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

LarryFahn said:


> Before the race I got to talk to her and get her autograph. She had a hard time doing it since she wrecked yesterday and hurt her wrist.
> 
> During qualifying the announcer stated that she broke the ribbon and that she was done.
> 
> ...


Thanks tons for the update. Please post any further developments.

Did you notice whether she was riding a YT?


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## LarryFahn (Jul 19, 2005)

Word is that she is, but I didn't see to be honest.

Edit: apparently she is.


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

Her qualifying run:

Missy Giove Windham World Cup DH run video


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

LarryFahn said:


> Missy Giove at the Windham World Cup? - The Hub - Mountain Biking Forums / Message Boards - Vital MTB
> 
> Who gives a s#it what wheel size is cool this week? The Missile returns to the track!
> 
> ...


Watching that video gave me a great idea for a new sport: Downhill racing on hardtails with 3" travel forks and 71 degree head angles. Now that takes guts!


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

^ thanks for sharing the link to Missy's run... amazing!


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## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

Is she bringing that damn dead fish?


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## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

smilinsteve said:


> Her qualifying run:
> 
> Missy Giove Windham World Cup DH run video


She needs to relax and loosen up a bit, she rides really tight. I gotta say though, she looks a little attractive with long hair.


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## LarryFahn (Jul 19, 2005)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> She needs to relax and loosen up a bit, she rides really tight. I gotta say though, she looks a little attractive with long hair.


Keeping mind that when she retired, she retired! In one of her interviews she said that she only rode a bike like 10 times since then- all of which have been rentals.

There's a shot in that video (and others) that show her riding a rooty section and then hitting a stacked log drop. In the video it looks sooooo easy! In all the videos it looks easy. But i think its about an 8' drop and 40' gap.









Fahn


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

Thanks again LarryFahn for starting this post

Missy is a survivor and an inspiration to all to never give up.


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## MOJO K (Jan 26, 2007)

I got to see her at qualifying at Peaty's plunge. About 20 minutes later I got to meet her down in the lot. Besides not riding much, she had never been on 27.5 wheels before and had only gotten the bike a day before . Said she was," just trying to get down the hill", and she has more to give today. 

Oh, and she's completely sweet, and let me get a picture with her.Yes, she's more beautiful now than ever.


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## shwinn8 (Feb 25, 2006)

She just needs some weed


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## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

LarryFahn said:


> Keeping mind that when she retired, she retired! In one of her interviews she said that she only rode a bike like 10 times since then- all of which have been rentals.
> 
> There's a shot in that video (and others) that show her riding a rooty section and then hitting a stacked log drop. In the video it looks sooooo easy! In all the videos it looks easy. But i think its about an 8' drop and 40' gap.
> 
> ...


I kinda thought that was that case. Wait till she gets it all back, she'll be pretty good.

But, how do you go from being one of the best at something to not having anything to do with it anymore?


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## Barman1 (Jan 8, 2014)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> I kinda thought that was that case. Wait till she gets it all back, she'll be pretty good.
> 
> But, how do you go from being one of the best at something to not having anything to do with it anymore?


Burn. Out.


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## squareback (Sep 19, 2011)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> But, how do you go from being one of the best at something to not having anything to do with it anymore?


Spend some time under house arrest after throwing your friends under the bus.....


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

This is a happy upbeat thread. Not in any way, shape or form trying to be an a-hole, but could you maybe start a new one if you don't want to contribute to the enthusiasm at this one?


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## LarryFahn (Jul 19, 2005)

Gwin*for the*win!!!! . 3.5 second GWINNNN!


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## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

squareback said:


> Spend some time under house arrest after throwing your friends under the bus.....


Oh, I see. Let's hear more details.


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## LarryFahn (Jul 19, 2005)

Missy wrecked during her run, but still finished 16th! That tells me that pro women aren't that great, or that she still rips! I think it's the later one! If you've never saw the WC in person, you just won't get it. Women, Junior and Men, first or last place, can ALL rip better than us. Keep in mind that she wrecked on Thursdays practice and hurt her wrist pretty bad. I got a selfie with her after the race and she told me that she wrecked during her race run too. I asked "did you finish?" She said enthusiastically "Hell yeah!". I said to her that's all that matters to us! FKNA!!!


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## MOJO K (Jan 26, 2007)

When she first came of track, she was pretty unhappy saying her run was an embarrassment. I got her a beer, talked for a moment, and got to stand next to her watching Rachel come down the hill. She can absolutely still kill it out there, and I know she kind of misses the scene. She just loves her sport. 

How awesome would Missy be sitting next to Rob Warner in the booth.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

MOJO K said:


> When she first came of track, she was pretty unhappy saying her run was an embarrassment. I got her a beer, talked for a moment, and got to stand next to her watching Rachel come down the hill. She can absolutely still kill it out there, and I know she kind of misses the scene. She just loves her sport.
> 
> How awesome would Missy be sitting next to Rob Warner in the booth.


She'd have to watch the f bombs. Lol.

How can that be an embarrassment? What about finishers 17 and on, who are likely half her age, out there every day and are sponsored big time? I am shocked Missy finished 16th. I had googled it earlier and thought it was a misprint or that I was mis-reading the standings.

To me it is nothing less than incredible. She should be ecstatic. And YT is to be commended.

Thanks to you and Larry Fahn for giving us the inside scoop. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts. You guys are so fortunate to have met her.


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## Mudguard (Apr 14, 2009)

MOJO K said:


> How awesome would Missy be sitting next to Rob Warner in the booth.


Ugh. I couldn't think of anything worse. Like, Like, F this, F that. Man. 
Stick to riding bikes. Or whatever she does now.


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## MOJO K (Jan 26, 2007)

Mudguard25 said:


> Ugh. I couldn't think of anything worse. Like, Like, F this, F that. Man.
> Stick to riding bikes. Or whatever she does now.


Rob Warner isn't exactly a portrait of refinement, you know. If he can clean it up, there's no reason Missy can't.


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## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

If Missy and Palmer ever had a kid it would be named Aaron Gwin and he would be raised by adopted parents because the biological parents would be too busy getting poop faced. 
Oh wait......


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## MOJO K (Jan 26, 2007)

*Acouple pics*


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## IPunchCholla (Dec 8, 2013)

The pic of her qualifying run on Pinkbike, in a sweatshirt and jeans, is pure awesome. 

On her race run, she got loose (and her feet were off?) Before the road gap I think. I was shocked she didn't come rag-dolling off the bike, but she held it together. An amazing story. Hope she sticks with it. This 43 year old would be rooting for her every time.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

IPunchCholla said:


> The pic of her qualifying run on Pinkbike, in a sweatshirt and jeans, is pure awesome...











The caption below that pic reads:

"14 years without a bike and Cameron Zink hooks 90s downhill superstar, Missy Giove, up with a YT to race at Windham. One huge petition to get around her lack of points later and she is riding the track blind, in jeans, without a track walk. Yes, she crashed plenty this week, but she made the cut for 17th today!"

Incredible pics MOJO K. Thanks for posting those. Man, are you fortunate.

Other web pics:





























Smokin hot (no pun intended).

I wish so much we could somehow congratulate her and tell her how many of us were totally dialled on her, and her alone. What an awesome unfolding of events.


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

MOJO K said:


> She can absolutely still kill it out there, and I know she kind of misses the scene. She just loves her sport.


Something just isn't adding up for me. I'm sure she loves her sport. How could she not? But 14 years without a bike? And still riding like that? I can't imagine her staying off a bike that long.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

smilinsteve said:


> Something just isn't adding up for me. I'm sure she loves her sport. How could she not? But 14 years without a bike? And still riding like that? I can't imagine her staying off a bike that long.


She may have forgotten about any training she was doing (lol) but I thought she said she has ridden 2x a year on a rental since her last win at Grouse BC in 2003. But yeah - maybe she has been in hiding, training like a crazed animal, and this is all part of an elaborate publicity stunt for her and YT. Who knows. Either way, I feel like I'm a winner. And so is she. And so is YT. So all good.

I actually hope your hunch is right and she has been training. All the better for a possible comeback. She sure looks like she's in shape. Christ - she looks ripped. Shredded. I so hope this is just the beginning of more things to come, and that she can somehow lock something down with YT.

I am going to try to convey my thoughts to YT...

*******

Here's a GREAT article:

The Life & Times of Missy Giove | Higher Ground

Note that she mentioned commenting with Rob Warner:

"I'd also love to jump in the commentary box with Rob Warner sometime and get him going on a good rant!"

So many incredible quotes from this article but the final paragraph sums up so beautifully where we were, and where we are:

"*After letting Missy's truly cosmic stories percolate through my brain one question lingered, 'where have the big personalities gone?' Who exudes this calibre of star power, charisma and flair these days? Nowadays most of the key players are pretty tame. Enthusiasts get riled up by riders who drift once in a while or throw whips into a race run. Online pontificators carry on banter over who's cooler based off of whether a racer uses clips or flats, but there aren't any true enigmas like we once had. This shouldn't come off as cynical, but just an observation about where things could be headed. We've seen some class acts come and go, Peaty and Cedric Gracia are still adding more zest to the sport than most of the young guns. Chris Kovarik, Sam Hill, Nathan Rennie and others were hectic, wild guys in their heyday, but none of them, nor anyone else for that matter, can even carry Missy's bags in terms of personality, she was a rock star in the sport.After parting ways and getting on the plane it dawned on me&#8230; is this sport getting watered down by gluten free diets, concerns over who has more Twitter followers, and 33lb carbon bikes being heated in tents before race runs? Are the 'gonzo' days really over? While we've seen some amazing advancements that allow us all to have more fun and go faster, a lot of these changes may be for the worse. They could serve as a distraction from what really matters - idols that stir the pot, take huge risks and captivate fans. One thing is certain, it's imperative that we continue to see some raw energy and attitude if we want this sport to continue flourishing."*


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## NWS (Jun 30, 2010)

This is like seeing Schwarzenegger in a new Terminator movie, but without CGI. Fxxking amazing. Bravo!


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## MOJO K (Jan 26, 2007)

mtnbkrmike said:


> She may have forgotten about any training she was doing (lol) but I thought she said she has ridden 2x a year on a rental since her last win at Grouse BC in 2003. But yeah - maybe she has been in hiding, training like a crazed animal, and this is all part of an elaborate publicity stunt for her and YT. Who knows. Either way, I feel like I'm a winner. And so is she. And so is YT. So all good.
> 
> I actually hope your hunch is right and she has been training. All the better for a possible comeback. She sure looks like she's in shape. Christ - she looks ripped. Shredded.
> 
> ...


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## Mudguard (Apr 14, 2009)

I'm curious how she was able to race in the first place? I see she raced in Snowshoe in July. What is the criteria for getting into a World Cup Race? Does this mean Vouilloz could race if he wanted to?
As for 
_ is this sport getting watered down by gluten free diets, concerns over who has more Twitter followers, and 33lb carbon bikes being heated in tents before race runs? Are the 'gonzo' days really over? While we've seen some amazing advancements that allow us all to have more fun and go faster, a lot of these changes may be for the worse. They could serve as a distraction from what really matters - idols that stir the pot, take huge risks and captivate fans. One thing is certain, it's imperative that we continue to see some raw energy and attitude if we want this sport to continue flourishing."_

I don't see how it's watered down? I think the reality is that it is a professional sport, there may not be the uber dollars thrown at like the nineties, but I think the riders are quicker on average.

And I think it's harder for "loose" riders to win. Bryceland has a pretty big personality, but he rides very clean (and doesn't seem to pedal much). Sam Hill is still injured so you never know, but I guess it's like a lot of (motor) sport where smooth is fast.

I guess times have changed, if you were Nike (or in Missy's case Reebok) would you want her selling your products? Mind you Nike still throw a boat load of money at Tiger Woods.

Nonetheless it was an interesting day. Felt a bit like the US Masters where the old former winners trot out.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

NWS said:


> This is like seeing Schwarzenegger in a new Terminator movie, but without CGI. Fxxking amazing. Bravo!


Yeah. That, with a little Happy Gilmore thrown in. Lol.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

Mudguard25 said:


> I'm curious how she was able to race in the first place? I see she raced in Snowshoe in July. What is the criteria for getting into a World Cup Race? Does this mean Vouilloz could race if he wanted to?
> As for
> _ is this sport getting watered down by gluten free diets, concerns over who has more Twitter followers, and 33lb carbon bikes being heated in tents before race runs? Are the 'gonzo' days really over? While we've seen some amazing advancements that allow us all to have more fun and go faster, a lot of these changes may be for the worse. They could serve as a distraction from what really matters - idols that stir the pot, take huge risks and captivate fans. One thing is certain, it's imperative that we continue to see some raw energy and attitude if we want this sport to continue flourishing."_
> 
> ...


As to how she was able to race in the first place, as mentioned above, "One huge petition to get around her lack of points later and she is riding the track blind, in jeans, without a track walk." Apparently, some group petitioned her in (it is not clear who), despite her lack of points. Just like what happened at Crankwork last year for 15 year old Finn Iles (who was under the mandatory age of 16) and who ended up winning the Whip Off competition.

As for a then and now comparison, I don't know what it's like for others but for me, I have little to no interest in the race scene now, despite being into biking 100,000x more now than back in the Missy days (when I was just getting into it). Yet, back in the Missy days, I was all over the race scene. I knew all the riders, who they rode for, and I had my list of heroes and villains. To me, it is very clinical and sterile now. Technical. I couldn't care less about it. The biggest controversy now is the WCI or whoever they are not acknowledging the Santa Cruz Syndicate. Now that is some riveting stuff right there...ooooooooo... It would be great to have someone shake things up. Just like Happy Gilmore (lol). Or McEnroe. Like I said though, that is my take. I'm sure others feel much differently.

As for whether I would want her selling my products, that is a big risk. But not much bigger than when she was affiliated with Volvo-C-Dale. Relatively speaking, she was likely way more over the top then, than now. Things were much more conservative then.

I thank Cameron Zink and YT for giving her a chance in obvious times of adversity for her. Everyone deserves a break. As far as I'm concerned, she killed it, and YT's stock went WAY up in my mind (and hopefully in the minds of others as well). It was risky for YT but I think it paid off big time. It certainly did not hurt them.


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## MOJO K (Jan 26, 2007)

I don't know the rule for getting in the race. I kind of think any former winner of the overall or world championship who can pass the physical and doping test should get a qualifying run anytime they want.


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## Mudguard (Apr 14, 2009)

mtnbkrmike said:


> As for a then and now comparison, I don't know what it's like for others but for me, I have little to no interest in the race scene now, despite being into biking 100,000x more now than back in the Missy days (when I was just getting into it). Yet, back in the Missy days, I was all over the race scene. I knew all the riders, who they rode for, and I had my list of heroes and villains. To me, it is very clinical and sterile now. Technical. I couldn't care less about it.


I think Downhill has the potential to be even bigger now. It's much more accessible. When I started riding, race results were just time sheets on the internet.
Now I can watch Redbulltv where ever, live. And that's much easier than a subscription to cable tv for a kid to watch.


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## Carraig042 (Nov 12, 2009)

I have seen her a couple times in the past few years in person, she is incredible to be around. The first time she was on her old Foes bike and the other a rental. 

Cam Zink and YT really stepped it up! Glad to be riding one myself now.

-Brett


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