If we're just talking about XC racing, bikes haven't really changed much at all in a long time. Look at a 1995 Trek 9900 OCLV:

http://www.bikepedia.com/quickbike/B...9900&Type=bike

and compare it to a 2012 Elite 9.9 SSL:

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...lite_9_9_ssl/#

Sure, forks are better now. And disk brakes are an improvement on Vs (although IMO not as much of an improvement as most people claim). But the basic picture of an XC race bike isn't much different now than it was then. (I couldn't find a geometry chart for the 9900, but I would be most surprised if it were any different from the 70/73 angles which are now standard. Anybody know?)

Anyway, if you put Julien Absalon on a cherry 1995 OCLV, he would probaby still win.

Freeride bikes are another matter, and fer sher the technology has advanced an incredible amount on that end. People are doing stuff that would have been unheard of in 1995. Yet with all of those technological advances, people are going back to rigid singlespeeds. Go figure.

Diversity is good!