Here is Thomas Frischknect on his first day in America, March 1990. As the team manager, I had all his new Team Ritchey bikes and kit laid out and ready for him. As soon as Thomas saw all the swag he jumped into his kit and posed for this shot like a pig in shit. From his perspective he’s thinking, “Me? Man, I’m just a kid from a village in Switzerland. This is fucking awesome, man! California and these Ritchey bikes!!!” (Humble as always.)
The backstory begins with the second shot, taken in Sardinia with the British National Team in late 1988. This is where Don Myrah and I met Thomas and his family. Don and I had been racing all around Switzerland in the previous months but never really connected with him other than an occasional “hello,” so this was the first time that we really got to hang out and we ended up becoming fast friends.
It was around this time that we got word the UCI was going to sanction mountain biking as world cup and world championship sport, and having raced against these guys, I figured that the best off-road racers on a global level would emerge from the ranks of the Euro cross scene. Thomas was already Jr. World Champion so, following the rainbow, Don and I suggested that he come to America to race for Ritchey. To my surprise I received a hand written letter from Thomas a few months later taking me up on the offer.
The twist in the plot is that by the time Thomas was coming over, Don had won the (unofficial, ‘89) World Championship in Mammoth for Ritchey and became the hottest property in the sport. Sadly, Tom could not afford to pay Don what he wanted, so he left the team. This put me in a bind with our sponsors who all expected Don to be on the squad. But, I explained/pleaded, that I had this new kid from Switzerland who was going to be “really good”. The rest is history.
L to R in the second shot are: Stuart Marshall (who would become Jr. World cross champion), Glen Coltman, Steve Barnes, Super Frisch, Dave McLaughlin, Fred Salmon, coach Bob Thom and Don Myrah Jr.