Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127771
f/ .IN R IE Bernie Schreiber TE V W B y M artin Bela ir Photos b y L en W eed 6 ernie Schreiber . To many, that na mes conjures up many fond memories. Memories of the kid from La Crescenta, Ca lifornia, who grew up to become America's first - and only - Trials World Champion. In fact, he was the first American to win an off-road World Championsh ip, period. From early on, Schreiber displaye d an uncanny ability to take on the most demandi ng sections wi th few reservations. Those who we re fortuna te enough to be around durin g those ea rly yea rs knew th at they were see ing somet hing special. . Growi ng up i n La Crescen ta, Schreiber had wo rld-class terrain in the form of Big Tujunga Canyon, part of the Angel es Crest Na tional Forest just eas t of Los Angeles. His early style was loose and aggressi ve. As he developed into a champion , he kept the looseness and never let himself be buried under the machine-like preci sion typical of many . top riders. His was a more human style, where the struggle was more ap parent and the su ccesses more rewarding . It was easy to see that he was havi ng fun. By the time he turned 18 - the FIM minimum at tha t time for World Champio ns hip Trials - he was m ore th an ready to take on the world. In his World Rou nd debu t In Bel g iu m in 1977, he p laced a n amazi ng fifth. At th e very next round he placed a "world rocking" third. No one had ever blasted to the top of the trials scene like Schreiber did. You were supposed to be an apprentice an d work you r wa y up through the ranks. Schreiber became trials' first wonder boy. Sch reiber ' s st yle differed from the Europeans' no t only vis ibly, bu t audibly. Trad itionally, trials riders used only as mu ch th ro ttl e as need ed , bu t not Schreiber . Revs poured out of his Bultaco as if it were a Pursan g and not a Sherp a T. Th e British p ress dubbed h im "Barging Bernie" for his straightforwa rd rid ing style . In his first year, he finished seve nth overall, even though he rode only nine of the 12 events. The 1978 season saw him score his first World Round win - after onl y 12 starts - in France. He followed it up with a very popular win at the next event in Spai n . A few weeks later, Schreiber came back to the Sta tes and did w hat many dream of but very few accomplish - he won a Wo rld Round at home. "I remember Pennsylvania like it was yes- (Left) Bern ie Schreiber In act ion at the 1980 Scottish Six Days Trial. It was one of his last rides aboard a factory Bultaco. terd ay," says Schre iber, who returned to Europe and won the next even t in Italy and went on to finish third overall in his firs t fu ll year on th e World Cham pionship Series. In 1979, Schreiber won th e World . Championship by dethroning three-time World Champion Yrjo Vesterinin of Finland. Schreiber h ad given himself a deadline of becoming Wor ld Champion by the age of 22, and he was two years ahead of schedule, with enough you th and talent to win at lea s t two more titles . But then, the strike-torn Bultaco factory closed its doors and left Schreiber without a ride . He was hired by tr ials ne w com e r lta ljet, w ho p r omi se d to buil d him a bike "jus t like" his beloved Bultaco. In 1980, on a bike that w as in essence a Bultaco d ressed in Italjet colors, he wo n a record six events, bu t two mechanical failures robbed him of what woul d h a ve been h is second Wo r ld Championship. In 1981 things got worse, as his bike became more an Italjet an d less a Bultaco - heavier and less powerful. Saddled with this less-th an-sa tisfactory mou nt, he sank to sixth and failed to win even one even t. In 1982 he signed wit h SWM and immed iately shot back into second for two con secu tive yea rs, but by now Belgium's Ed dy Leju ne was in control. Try as he m igh t, Schreiber cou ld not beat the Belgian . Today, Schreiber lives in the town of Albertville, France, nestled in the French Alps; w ith his wife, Yannick, and their two d au gh ters, Jessica, 9, and Beverl y, 6. Schreiber is the International Marketin g Ma n a g er for Answer Pro ducts in Europe, and his position keeps him very involved in the ever-growing mou ntainbike industry. Now a family man nearing 40, Schreiber is no t really one to reminisce, but to us he will always be the kid who went to Europe an d stood the worl d on its ear.