With yet another spectacular weekend planned for the Paris-Bercy SX, we have dug through the record books to determine the best riders ever at the legendary European Supercross. Here's our list of the best ever in Paris.
10. Jeff Emig -- Emig won the 1997 King of Bercy crown by taking two out of six main events, pairing it up with his 1990 and 1991 Prince of Bercy titles in the 125 class.
9. James Stewart -- Stewart coulda' shoulda' woulda' had two King of Bercy titles after dominating the 2008 event (winning every main event) and winning all of the early races in 2009. But an illness on the last night of the '09 event led him to drop out, and Justin Brayton snagged the King of Bercy title.
McGrath was not only the King of Supercross, but the King of Bercy.
Photo: Moto Verte
8. Larry Ward -- The record book says Big Bird has just one King of Bercy crown, in 1998, but he spent nearly a decade at the front of the pack at this race, with a ton of main event wins and overall podiums. Larry always seemed to go to another level during the off-season European races.
7. Andrew Short -- In 2002, the event switched to 250Fs, and Grant Langston won the King of Bercy title on a KTM. But the most dominant rider of the 250F era here was Andrew Short, who dominated the 2004 and 2005 editions of the race.
6. David Bailey -- Bailey actually won the first Bercy event, which was run in March of 1984. He also won the 1986 edition.
Rick Johnson (front) and JMB (rear) were two of the greatest in the history of Bercy.
Photo: Moto Verte
5. Rick Johnson -- Similar his 1980's rival Jeff Ward, RJ was always in the hunt of King of Bercy crowns, but he only grabbed two during his long reign at the top of the sport (and Ward only won one, in 1988). RJ took the 1987 event, and also the 1989 win despite nursing a sore wrist that eventually led to his retirement.
4. Jeremy McGrath -- Not a shock that the King of Supercross was King of Bercy, although it's a bit of a surprise that McGrath only won two crowns here (he has seven AMA Supercross Championships). However, he dominated the 1999 event, also, winning five of six main events. A mechanical problem in the other race cost him a third KoB crown.
3. Johnny O'Mara -- The O'Show won the first Bercy SX in the traditional November date, in 1984. He then won the 1985 event, too, making him the first-two-time King of Bercy. Riders like O'Mara, Johnson and Bailey helped put this event on the map, not only with their riding, but with the wild and crazy opening ceremony introductions.
The GOAT of Bercy, David Vuillemin.
Photo: Moto Verte
2. Jean Michel-Bayle -- JMB's two King of Bercy crowns tie him in the record books with the O'Mara, Johnson, Bailey, Short and McGrath. But Bayle's wins loomed extra large, as he was the first non-American to win the event in 1990. He followed that up with the 1991 win. Bayle proved to a generation of French riders that the Americans could be beaten in supercross, and that changed the sport forever.
1. David Vuillemin -- No doubt about this one. DV has a whopping four King of Bercy crowns, double anyone else. And some of his performances here were crazy dominant, as he swept all six main events in 2000 and 2001. That's 12 in a row! He looked set for a fifth KoB in 2006 as he won three of four races, but a mechanical problem knocked him out of the other race, leading Christophe Pourcel to take the weekend title. No matter, DV is easily the best ever at his home race.
