99 was a great year for DH thats for sure. there were a lot of companies with big teams and most brands had a flagship dh bike.
Volvo cannondale was a great team but around 99 they had dh bikes and technology that was team only and never made it to the market place. on the other hand GT, Giant, Specialized, Schwinn, Intense etc had for sale to the public, bikes that were pretty much what the pros were racing in the world cup.
Love the Sunn Nico had. He was running 5 to 6 inches travel mainly 5 when most other pros were running 6 or 7+
So many legendary riders and bike around 99 which I guess is a result of the big money in the sport at the time