The Evolution of American Bicycle Racing

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Item # GP-39011  ISBN: 9780762739011




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Lance Armstrong is a household name the world over. But how could a cyclist from the United States so dominate the world's most grueling sporting event—an event Americans weren't even invited to compete in just decades earlier?

In this revolutionary book, Lou Dzierzak explains how key races and landmark events brought American cyclists out of obscurity and made them internationally dominant competitors.

Six-day races, road racing, track racing, and legendary cycling performances at home and abroad—the significant events in the history of American cycling come alive within these pages.

• Discover America's first bicycle racing superstars. Is Lance Armstrong truly the best of all time? Maybe not.
  
  
• Follow the action at key U.S. and international races that paved the way for sponsorship dollars, American pro teams, and dominating American cyclists like Andy Hampsten, Greg LeMond, Lance Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton, and George Hincapie.
  
  
• Witness nearly a century of drugs, doping, and scandals, from cocaine use during the six-day races in the late 1890s, to blood boosting at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, to the scandal-plagued 2006 Tour de France victory by American Floyd Landis.
  
  
• Look to the future as more U.S. stage races develop, Under 23 development teams thrive, and new heroes of American cycling begin to emerge.

Table of Contents

• Comments by John Howard, Wayne Stetina, and Michael Aisner
• Acknowledgments
• Foreword by Phil Liggett
• Introduction
• Timeline
  
  
• PART 1: The Early Years of American Bicycle Racing
• Bicycle Racing's First Stars
  Who Is the Fastest American Cyclist? | Early Heroes | Track Stars | The Six-Day Grind | The Racers Take Control | The World War II Era | The Tour of Somerville | Fitchburg Longsjo Classic
  
  
• PART 2: The Rebirth of American Bicycle Racing
  
• Champions of the Road
  Road Racing Returns to the Front Page | The Business of Cycling | The Growth of International Competition | Americans at the World Championships | The Numbers Skyrocket
  
  
• The New Professionals
  The Shimano Team | The Rebirth of Track Racing | The 1970s Bring Changes | Olympic Dreams on America's Bicentennial | The Rising Stars of the Late '70s
  
  
• The Rise of Sponsorship
  The Decade of Firsts | The Tour of Texas | The Sponsorship Game | Redlands Classic | Tour of the Americas | The Fight for Control of Professional Racing
  
  
• Olympic Dreams Lost and Found
  America's Golden Olympics | Blood Doping Scandal | Back to Reality | The Pursuit of Olympic Gold | Administration and Insurance
  
  
• PART 3: Bicycle Racing in the Modern Era
  
• America's Growing Competitiveness
  The World Takes Notice | Andy Hampsten and 7-Eleven | Hampsten il Conquistatore | Americans in Paris | The Pan American Games Come to Indianapolis | The Pan American Games | America's First Homegrown Racing | The Coors Classic | The "America's Tour"
  
  
• Turning Pro
  Racing for the Stars and Stripes | The CoreStates USPRO Cycling Championship | The USPRO Championships | The Tour de Trump | The Tour DuPont | The Pros in the '90s | The Women's Challenge
  
  
• The Lance Armstrong Era
  A Rising Star at the 1991 National Championships | Corporate Teams | Races of the Early '90s | The Fight for Control of Professional Racing | Americans in the Tour de France | Lance Armstrong's Saga
  
  
• Racing in the New Millenium
  Dark Shadows | Doping, Drugs, and Scandals: Searching for a Competitive Edge | New Sponsors | New Races | New Heroes
  
  
• Afterword by Johnathan Vaughters
• Index

About the Author

Lou Dzierzak is an author, active cyclist, and fan of bicycle racing in all forms.

The Evolution of American Bicycle Racing