McQueen – King of The Icons

Hollywood legend Steve McQueen has been voted the most iconic biker of all time, according to a MCN London Motorcycle Show survey in conjunction with Yahoo! Cars.

The 1960s all-action film star took one in every four of the 2254 votes registered on yahoo.co.uk. McQueen, who died of lung cancer in 1980, saw off a list of motorcycle racing legends, actors and stunt riders in the New Year poll.

In second place was double grand prix world champion and 70s sex symbol, Barry Sheene, closely followed by seven-time MotoGP champion, Valentino Rossi. Daredevil, Evel Knieval, famous for his spectacular bone-breaking crashes was ranked fourth while Marlon Brando, star of one of the quintessential biking films, The Wild Ones, managed seventh.

Languishing at the back of the table, scoring only 2 per cent of the votes each, were Mission Impossible actor Tom Cruise and Long Way Round star Ewan McGregor. Both are well known for their love of riding motorcycles, on and off screen.

As well as being a successful racer, McQueen preferred to do many of his own film stunts. His most notorious motorcycle moment came from a sequence in the film The Great Escape where, as a prisoner of war, his character’s escape was foiled by one last jump over a barbed wire fence. The BBC recently mimicked this stunt as part of its Christmas schedule.

The survey is a revealing insight to the biker’s mind. Despite numerous celebrities currently riding motorcycles, a 44-year-old image of McQueen sat on a Triumph is instantly recognisable by many generations, rivalling that of The Beatles on the Abbey Road zebra crossing.

Bike fans should head to the MCN London Motorcycle Show at ExCeL on February 1-4 2007 to see breath-taking stunt action, the very latest new motorcycles, new product launches, hundreds of bike accessories along with a chance to meet celebrity riders and, of course, the MCN babes.

Entry costs £13 in advance or £16 on the door. To book tickets in advance, visit londonmotorcycleshow.com.

The top ten most iconic bikers of all time
As voted by users of Yahoo! Cars (http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/)

1. Steve McQueen
1960s Hollywood actor and racer 25%

2. Barry Sheene
1977-78 World 500GP champion 21%

3. Valentino Rossi
Seven times MotoGP champion 21%

4. Evel Knievel
World’s most famous stunt rider 10%

5. Joey Dunlop
One of the Isle of Man’s greatest riders 8%

6. Mike Hailwood
Briton. Considered to be the ‘greatest motorcycle racer ever 6%

7. Marlon Brando
Hollywood actor, star of biker gang movie ‘The Wild Ones’ 3%

8. Mick Doohan
World 500GP champion 1994-1998 2%

9. Tom Cruise
Hollywood actor, starred in Top Gun 2%

10. Ewan McGregor
Hollywood actor, starred in Star Wars. 2%