Where are they now? Missy Giove

As a new piece to my blog I'd thought about delving into our past and finding out what has happened to bike stars from yester-year.  The years when Mountain Biking started coming of age and the good old Grundig World Cups. There have been many champions to the sport of both downhill and XC but there have been some that stood out more than others and so I'll be delving as deep as I dare and finding out what really happened to them after racing.


Missy Giove

Melissa "Missy" Giove (born 1972) is a former professional downhill mountain biker. Also know as the Missile , Giove was one of mountain-bike racing's first mainstream female superstars with an impressive reseme of achievements as well as her in your face, full on attitude that lit up the womens downhill scene.

Career

She is the American all-time leader in NORBA downhill wins with 14, and is second on the World Cup list with 11. Giove's other accomplishments include three overall NORBA downhill crowns, two World Cup overalls, and the 1994 world championship title. Prior to cycling, Missy was also a nationally ranked downhill skier.

Early in her career, Missy raced for the highly respected boutique Yeti Racing team along with other top downhill racing stars such as Myles Rockwell, Jimmy Deaton, John Tomac, and Johnny O under the management of industry veteran and former owner of Yeti Cycles, John Parker. After establishing herself as the top US women's downhill talent, Missy moved to the larger corporate financed team of Volvo-Cannondale USA cycling team. Together Missy Giove and Myles Rockwell dominated many of the US downhill races under the Cannondale badge in the early 90's. Missy was always known for being colorful and fast talking, and noted for wearing the desiccated body of her deceased pet piranha Gonzo on a necklace when racing, and her dead dogs ashes in her bra.

During her career she raced hard and full on taking on the ethos of riding: "I went fast for maybe 50 yards and then crashed. Then I went 100 yards and crashed. Finally one day I made it across the finish line without crashing. I never got faster, I just made it down farther." This riding was to lead to many hard crashes.  One shattered her Pelvis in six places.  An injury that Doctors had told her she would not fully recover from.  Later while racing she also broke both her legs as well as getting a brain haemorage.

*World Cup Results At Bottom of Page*


What Happened After Racing

She announced her retirement from full-time racing in August 2003, and in March 2004, she appeared in an episode of the cartoon Rocket Power titled "Missile Crisis" (the title referring to her nickname), giving one of the characters a compliment. After retirement she helped finance the travel and fees for several up and coming downhill cyclists.

She retired in 2003. That same year she landed on the cover of Girlfriends magazine for a story promoting the publication’s lesbian athlete hall of fame. On April 25th she will celebrate her 4th wedding anniversary to Kristen Hofheimer Giove.

In June 2009 Giove was arrested in upstate Wilton, New York on charges of conspiring to possess and distribute over 400 pounds of marijuana. Giove has pleaded guilty to the charges and was facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years, a maximum penalty of 40 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $2 million.

On November 23rd, 2011 she was sentenced to the time served, six months of home detention and five years of supervised release. She was reported saying:

"I am extremely sorry and remorseful," Giove said. "I realize I was a role model to certain people. I'm really sorry for making the wrong decisions. I just want to move forward." Giove's attorney, Tim Austin, said head injures both forced his client to retire and sapped her financially, contributing to her decision to traffic marijuana. "Missy's involvement in this does not define who she is," Austin said. "She does not need prison to be rehabilitated."

Back in 2004, Giove was interviewed by competitive cycling journal VeloNews. She was asked what she thought would be her legacy:

“I just always wanted to inspire people not to live their life in fear,” Giove said. “You know what, you’re only here once and that’s it. You better live it up.”



World Cup & World Championships Results


Date             Race                                Venue                   Cat  Sponser                Place  Entr %   Best    

13th Jul 2003	2003 Tissot World Cup #4	Grouse Mountain	Elite		5th	23	82%	2:20.55
8th Sep 2002	2002 Tissot World Cup #6	Les Gets	Elite	GLOBAL RACING	-	40	0%
1st Sep 2002	UCI - World Champs '02	Kaprun	Elite		3rd	39	95%	5:56.14
14th Jul 2002	2002 Tissot World Cup #5	Telluride, CO	Elite	GLOBAL RACING	4th	27	88%	2:22.80
30th Jun '02	2002 Tissot World Cup #3	Mont-Sainte-Anne	Elite	GLOBAL RACING	12th	27	58%	6:31.93
9th Jun 2002	2002 Tissot World Cup #2	Maribor	Elite	GLOBAL RACING	26th	37	31%	4:07.41
2nd Jun 2002	2002 Tissot World Cup #1	Fort William	Elite	GLOBAL RACING	5th	35	88%	6:00.17
16th Sep '01	UCI - World Champs '01	Vail	Elite		-	29	0%
26th Aug '01	2001 Tissot World Cup #8	Mont-Sainte-Anne	Elite	GLOBAL RACING	4th	34	91%	5:47.85
12th Aug '01	2001 Tissot World Cup #7	Kaprun	Elite	GLOBAL RACING	5th	45	91%	7:20.20
5th Aug 2001	2001 Tissot World Cup #6	Leysin	Elite	GLOBAL RACING	6th	35	85%	6:54.18
29th Jul 2001	2001 Tissot World Cup #5	Arai Mountain	Elite	GLOBAL RACING	2nd	19	94%	4:54.34
15th Jul 2001	2001 Tissot World Cup #4	Durango	Elite	GLOBAL RACING	3rd	25	92%	4:07.55
8th Jul 2001	2001 Tissot World Cup #3	Grouse Mountain	Elite	GLOBAL RACING	2nd	37	97%	2:09.75
17th Jun '01	2001 Tissot World Cup #2	Vars	Elite	GLOBAL RACING	3rd	38	95%	3:51.95
10th Jun '01	2001 Tissot World Cup #1	Maribor	Elite	GLOBAL RACING	3rd	42	95%	3:23.55
27th Aug '00	2000 Tissot World Cup #8	Leysin	Elite	Azonic / Foes	4th	33	91%	8:12.41
13th Aug '00	2000 Tissot World Cup #7	Kaprun	Elite	Azonic / Foes	2nd	38	97%	6:23.47
23rd Jul 2000	2000 Tissot World Cup #6	Arai Mountain	Elite	Azonic / Foes	2nd	16	93%	5:45.42
16th Jul 2000	2000 Tissot World Cup #5	Vail	Elite	Azonic / Foes	2nd	26	96%	5:00.48
2nd Jul 2000	2000 Tissot World Cup #4	Mont-Sainte-Anne	Elite	Azonic / Foes	1st	30	100%	5:27.99
11th Jun '00	UCI - World Champs '00	Sierra Nevada	Elite		9th	35	76%	4:31.84
3rd Jun 2000	2000 Tissot World Cup #3	Maribor	Elite	Azonic / FOCUS	3rd	36	94%	4:34.62
28th May '00	2000 Tissot World Cup #2	Cortina d'Ampezzo	Elite	Azonic / FOCUS	2nd	42	98%	3:41.57
21st May '00	2000 Tissot World Cup #1	Les Gets	Elite	Azonic / FOCUS	3rd	30	93%	3:16.19
18th Sep '99	UCI - World Champs '99	Åre	Elite		23rd	38	41%	7:06.54
15th Aug '99	1999 Diesel World Cup #8	Kaprun	Elite	Azonic / Foes	9th	29	71%	7:55.10
8th Aug 1999	1999 Diesel World Cup #7	Bromont	Elite		4th	24	87%	5:46.08
1st Aug 1999	1999 Diesel World Cup #6	Mont-Sainte-Anne	Elite		2nd	30	97%	5:20.55
11th Jul 1999	1999 Diesel World Cup #5	Squaw Valley, CA	Elite		6th	27	81%	5:18.21
27th Jun '99	1999 Diesel World Cup #4	Big Bear Lake, CA	Elite		1st	29	100%	4:10.49
6th Jun 1999	1999 Diesel World Cup #3	Nevegal	Elite	Azonic / Foes	2nd	30	97%	5:00.35
30th May '99	1999 Diesel World Cup #2	Maribor	Elite	Azonic / Foes	10th	30	69%	5:22.09
23rd May '99	1999 Diesel World Cup #1	Les Gets	Elite	Azonic / Foes	2nd	30	97%	8:17.97
20th Sep '98	UCI - World Champs '98	Mont-Sainte-Anne	Elite		28th	45	39%	6:25.23
30th Aug '98	1998 Grundig World Cup #8	Arai Mountain	Elite		7th	17	63%	8:13.12
16th Aug '98	1998 Grundig World Cup #7	Kaprun	Elite	Cannondale / VOLVO	3rd	25	92%	5:26.70
9th Aug '98	1998 Grundig World Cup #6	Sierra Nevada	Elite	Cannondale / VOLVO	16th	25	38%	5:30.66
28th Jul 1998	1998 Grundig World Cup #5	Snoqualmie Pass	Elite		3rd	25	92%	4:52.05
21st Jun 1998	1998 Grundig World Cup #4	Big Bear Lake	Elite		2nd	25	96%	4:53.35
31st May '98	1998 Grundig World Cup #3	Les Gets	Elite	Cannondale / VOLVO	3rd	25	92%	6:50.25
24th May '98	1998 Grundig World Cup #2	Nevegal	Elite	Cannondale / VOLVO	3rd	25	92%	6:42.47
5th Apr 1998	1998 Grundig World Cup #1	Stellenbosch	Elite		4th	25	88%	4:54.71
21st Sep 1997	UCI - World Champs '97	Château d'Oex	Elite	Cannondale/VOLVO	43rd	49	13%	9:38.87
15th Aug '97	1997 Grundig World Cup #6	Kaprun	Elite	Cannondale / VOLVO	1st	25	100%	4:37.22
6th Jul 1997	1997 Grundig World Cup #5	Massanutten, VA	Elite	Cannondale / VOLVO	3rd	25	92%	5:07.20
29th Jun 1997	1997 Grundig World Cup #4	Mont-Sainte-Anne	Elite	Cannondale / VOLVO	1st	25	100%	6:09.20
1st Jun 1997	1997 Grundig World Cup #3	Sierra Nevada	Elite	Cannondale / VOLVO	2nd	25	96%	4:51.42
25th May 1997	1997 Grundig World Cup #2	Nevegal	Elite	Cannondale / VOLVO	3rd	25	92%	6:29.52
18th May 1997	1997 Grundig World Cup #1	Stellenbosch, RSA	Elite	Cannondale / VOLVO	2nd	18	94%	5:30.37
22nd Sep 1996	UCI - World Championships '96	Cairns	Elite	Volvo-Cannondale	3rd	20	89%	5:31.37
23rd Sep 1995	UCI - World Championships '95	Kirchzarten	Elite		4th	20	84%	6:54.00

     

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