Guest Columnist Sal Ruibal

Brian Lopes had a stellar July. We weren't sure we could come up with the superlatives appropriate to Brian's excellent month, so we asked Brian's long time friend and most excellent writer Sal Ruibal to pen a quick update for us. Here you go and thanks, Sal.

Brian Lopes: The Cycleborg

By Sal Ruibal

Brian Lopes may well be the world’s best all-around cyclist.

His palmares are rock-hard and bulletproof, with more mountain bike world championships (4), World Cup championships (6) and national titles (9) than most continents.

Lopes’ power output, honed by years of high-rev, head-to-head dual slalom and bikercross racing, is in the same range as Tour de France sprinters.

But over the last couple of years, he’s been messing with the space-time continuum by defying the aging process. 

How else to explain his recent run of top-level wins: BC Bike Race, 12th overall, 2nd Final Stage; Crankworx Whistler, won Dirt Crit, 2nd Air DH on A-Line, won Enduro; Crankworx Colorado, won dual slalom and Air DH.

Brian at the Crankworx Air DH 2011

Lopes has become a Cycleborg, the perfect meshing of the ideal human cyclist with the ideal machine for winning races, having more fun and extending the concept of continuous progression: The Ibis Mojo line.

When Lopes linked up with Ibis, the transformation began. Not one to hold back his opinions on any subject, Lopes activated his reptilian brain and began bombarding Ibis engineers with tweaks and mind-missiles aimed at melding carbon fiber with muscle and bone.

When others ask, “Why?,” Lopes says, “Why the fuck not?” 

“I needed a bike that could handle everything,” he says. “There are a lot of different types of mountain biking, all different styles on different terrain. I needed a bike that could be great at everything. The Mojo does that while also being really beautiful.”

His bike-handling skills are unmatched. He has learned the Jedi mind-tricks that allow him to ride across vertical walls, bunny-hop over picnic tables and see lines that only Picasso could draw while also kicking ass in flahout road races.

In the Mojo, Lopes saw an intelligent machine to match his physical skills and athletic aggression. When he throws his right leg over the saddle, he becomes part of the machine, feeling all the bumpers, always playing clean.

Lopes earned his awesome reputation by dominating the UCI World Cup circuits, battling the clock on downhill runs and bashing opponents on the dual-slalom and four-cross courses.

But to succeed in the brave new world of freeride and online video, Lopes had to tap into his creative side.

His favorite Dr. Seuss quote sums up his attitude about moving into an arena where speed is just one part of the winning equation, a place where expression is valued as much sheer velocity: “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter won’t mind.”

That he chose to ride the Ibis Mojo SL, SL-R and HD bikes is a testament to the evolution of the brand.

“It’s like driving a Ferrari,” he says. “People love to see it, its really eye-catching. But it’s not a Lamborghini, which is a cool car but doesn’t have the racing heritage.”

Ibis has always been a “cool” brand, but the creation of the carbon Mojo line has vaulted Ibis into the realm of industrial artistry, a tool for both expression and explosion.

For Brian Lopes the Cycleborg, the Mojo is the ultimate realization of those concepts and the future of the sport.