Photographer Fred Kornahrens has an invaluable collection of photographs documenting cyclocross back in the 1970s. When he’s not on his bike or renting CXM camera lenses to cover events like Nationals, Kornahrens takes the time to scan and share his images of cyclocross stars and racing from NorCal decades ago.
Most recently, he shared some great images from the 1977 Endspurt cyclocross race in Pacifica on the Dino Ride Facebook group.
Today, for Throwback Thursday, we’re shining the spotlight on a few of Kornahrens images below.
Old-timers will spot living cyclocross legends like Laurence Malone, Gary Fisher, Fritz Liedl and Clark Natwick in his scans of old film photographs, while newer racers might marvel at how racers dealt with metal toe clips and friction barcon shifters, and the minimal braking of Mafac wide-profile cantilever brakes and minimal protection of leather hairnets and cycling caps.
However, other than these material changes, the essence of the sport was the same. Promoters took advantage of available offroad terrain, racers battled for the holeshot, hopped barriers, put on a show, and wowed fans.
We’re grateful for photographers like Kornahrens who have both documented and resurfaced an important era of American cyclocross. Enjoy a few of Kornahrens’ recently-shared images below:
Enjoy this ride down memory lane? Keep pedaling with our extensive Throwback Thursday archive.
