RANT: "colorado connection"

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 22:12:21 -0000, Bob Schwartz <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Is Andy Hampsten from North Dakota or Tuscany?

I keep getting them mixed up.

But your Italian vacations are cheaper than everyone else's.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

I'd like to see more stories on athletes in supporting roles who might
otherwise be contenders. What makes them tick? What's their motivation?
Do they enter into such roles with long-range plans to emerge as a leader,
or do some see it as a "safe" role they can play for a number of years? And
is it really any different than people who chose a supporting role in
politics, or business, helping others to succeed?

Abt wrote a story in this vein on Eros Poli, I think it's in Season in
Turmoil. Poli spent much of his adult life providing leadouts for Cipo,
even going back to his career as an amateur. My memory of it was that
it was an economic decision for him. He felt he could deliver consistent
top ten finishes but was not capable of many wins. So he was worth more
providing leadouts for a guy that could win lots of races.

You see this less in stage racing. A sprinter and his lead out team will
share the same schedule so it is rare for a top lead out to get to ride
in the absence of his sprinter. In contrast it is very common to see the
top lieutenant in the Tour lead a team in the Vuelta, going back to when
Delgado would lead Banesto in Spain after supporting Indurain in France.
Heras is a more recent example.

Bob Schwartz
[email hidden]

NORTH DAKOTA—Cyclist Andy Hampsten, who grew up in Grand Forks (pop.
49,321), was the first American to win the Tour of Italy (1988) and
placed fourth twice in the Tour de France (1986, 1992).

Who is Andy? - Andy Hampsten was born April 7, 1962 in Columbus, Ohio,
and spent his formative years in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He started
bike racing as an Intermediate (ages 12-14) in 1974, and turned pro in
1985. Most of his first year as a pro was spent racing for Michael
Fatka's American-based Levis/Raleigh team, followed by one year with
the La Vie Claire über team , then several years at Team 7-Eleven,
which later became Team Motorola. His final two years were spent at
Banesto and US Postal Service.

http://www.bikecafe.net/content/askandy.asp

"Carl Sundquist" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Sam" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

As a side note, Colorado College has at least 3 Olympians it can count

among

Quoted message said:

its alumni: Tara Cunningham (weightlifting Gold Medallist in 2000 and
Olympian in 2004), Dede Barry and Alison Dunlap. Not bad for a little
college that is DI in only hockey and women's soccer.

It helps significantly that it is practically in the backyard of the OTC.

Except Alison did not attend school there to be a cyclist. The CC athletes
have no access to the Training Center. Tara may be an exception since she
was first a gymnast who had done some camps at the OTC and later a soccer
player (although soccer has never really had a presence at the COS OTC).

"Carl Sundquist" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Sam" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

As a side note, Colorado College has at least 3 Olympians it can count

among

Quoted message said:

its alumni: Tara Cunningham (weightlifting Gold Medallist in 2000 and
Olympian in 2004), Dede Barry and Alison Dunlap. Not bad for a little
college that is DI in only hockey and women's soccer.

I'll bet more Olympians have attended/graduated from Palmer High School

than

Quoted message said:

any other two schools (elementary, JHS, HS, or college) combined.

Actually I think Steamboat Springs still has the distinction of producing
the most Olympians of any city.

For those who do not know, when juniors have trained at the OTC, they often
attended Palmer High (less than a mile from the OTC). Even then I wonder
how many Olympians went there.

I doubt Palmer would hold up to Stanford or a dozen other colleges (think
about swimming alone). Think about basketball, volleyball, track and field,
rowing, water polo and swimming. I think you overreached on that one.
Going back a few years, the Ivy League produced a lot of Olympians.

It would be interesting to see this. I know many colleges list their
Olympians. Here is just one
http://georgiadogs.collegesports.com/traditions/olympians.html Some of
these athletes represent other countries in the Games. I doubt Palmer can
top even UGA.

(CowPunk) said:

Who is Andy? - Andy Hampsten was born April 7, 1962 in Columbus, Ohio,
and spent his formative years in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He started
bike racing as an Intermediate (ages 12-14) in 1974, and turned pro in
1985. Most of his first year as a pro was spent racing for Michael
Fatka's American-based Levis/Raleigh team, followed by one year with
the La Vie Claire über team , then several years at Team 7-Eleven,
which later became Team Motorola. His final two years were spent at
Banesto and US Postal Service.

Was he ever a teammate of six-time Tour de France winner Lance
Armstrong?

JT

****************************
Remove "remove" to reply
Visit http://www.jt10000.com
****************************

In article <[email hidden]>, Sam

Quoted message said:

"Carl Sundquist" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Sam" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

As a side note, Colorado College has at least 3 Olympians it can count

among

Quoted message said:

its alumni: Tara Cunningham (weightlifting Gold Medallist in 2000 and
Olympian in 2004), Dede Barry and Alison Dunlap. Not bad for a little
college that is DI in only hockey and women's soccer.

I'll bet more Olympians have attended/graduated from Palmer High School

than

Quoted message said:

any other two schools (elementary, JHS, HS, or college) combined.

Actually I think Steamboat Springs still has the distinction of producing
the most Olympians of any city.

I dunno. Sacramento has had several cyclists, many swimmers, and a
runner or two in the Olympics during the last 15-20 years.

-WG

"warren" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Sam

Quoted message said:

Actually I think Steamboat Springs still has the distinction of

producing

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the most Olympians of any city.

I dunno. Sacramento has had several cyclists, many swimmers, and a
runner or two in the Olympics during the last 15-20 years.

-WG

Not exactly an answer, but according to

http://www.usoc.org/13220.htm

Colorado has produced 104 Olympic athletes and California has had 1,000. No
details about cities from my quick glance. Nor does it define what it means
to be "from" a certain state--I would assume residence. Interestingly, the
ratio is not far off that of the general population of the two states.

Univ. of Texas has produced a lot of
olympic swimmers, as well as track
and field athletes. IMHO though,
I would put my money on a school from
Florida for producing the most
olympic athletes.

Quoted message said:

Was he ever a teammate of six-time Tour de France winner Lance
Armstrong?

No.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/teamprofiles/2000/usps00.shtml

"Five riders left the team, to be replaced by a mix of young Americans
and seasoned Europeans, who were lured to the Postal team by the
opportunity to ride for themselves. Replacing Hampsten as team leader
was former Tour DuPont winner Viatcheslav Ekimov, a professional's
professional who was a threat in virtually any race, as he was to
prove over the next several months. While other new recruits, such as
Adriano Baffi and George Hincapie, picked up stage wins in events such
as Paris-Nice and Setmana Catalane, it was Ekimov who was the team's
all-star through the first half of the season.

Among his numerous top-ten finishes were: fourth overall in
Paris-Nice, where he whomped former Giro winner Evgeny Berzin to win
the final time trial; third place and a stage win in the Setmana
Catalane; and tenth in the Tour of Flanders. Ekimov clinched the
team's wild-card entry in the '97 Tour with a bravura performance in
the Dauphine Libere. Despite never having been known as an outstanding
climber in the high mountains, 'Eki' led the Dauphine from Stage 2 to
Stage Six, ultimately placing eighth overall, and winning two stages
for good measure. Unfortunately, his efforts in the early season left
him at less than 100% for the Tour, which proved to be a learning
experience for the Postal squad.

In the Tour, their top GC rider was fifteenth-placed Jean-Cyril Robin,
but perhaps their best performer was the veteran Baffi, who had three
top-ten finishes and was part of a courageous three-man break during
Stage 7 that lasted 178 km before being caught near the finish. What
they learned from their experience was, among other things, that Robin
was a good climber, but was more of a follower, and was not the
potential Tour challenger that they needed. As the team finished out
the season, they found the answer to their greatest need, even if they
didn't realize it at the time, when they signed a rider from their
past: Lance Armstrong.

Armstrong, whose successful battle with cancer has been deservedly so,
well-documented, was a rider without a team in late '97. After missing
the entire season, he was unceremoniously dumped by his French
sponsor, Cofidis, and was basically 'persona non grata' among the
world's teams. He finally signed with the Postal team for a fraction
of his previous salary, and went into the 1998 season with absolutely
no idea of what to expect. As it turned out, Armstrong wasn't the only
one who didn't know what would come next. "

Quoted message said:

DeDe has lived in Boulder for a while and attended Colorado College. Give
you 3 guesses on what state Colorado College is in.

Not everybody has 50K/yr for college?

Ask Andy?
[email hidden]

John Forrest Tomlinson said:

(CowPunk) said:

Who is Andy? - Andy Hampsten was born April 7, 1962 in Columbus, Ohio,
and spent his formative years in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He started
bike racing as an Intermediate (ages 12-14) in 1974, and turned pro in
1985. Most of his first year as a pro was spent racing for Michael
Fatka's American-based Levis/Raleigh team, followed by one year with
the La Vie Claire über team , then several years at Team 7-Eleven,
which later became Team Motorola. His final two years were spent at
Banesto and US Postal Service.

Was he ever a teammate of six-time Tour de France winner Lance
Armstrong?

JT

****************************
Remove "remove" to reply
Visit http://www.jt10000.com
****************************

On 08/20/2004 04:16 PM, in article
[email hidden], "John Forrest Tomlinson"

Quoted message said:

(CowPunk) said:

Who is Andy? - Andy Hampsten was born April 7, 1962 in Columbus, Ohio,
and spent his formative years in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He started
bike racing as an Intermediate (ages 12-14) in 1974, and turned pro in
1985. Most of his first year as a pro was spent racing for Michael
Fatka's American-based Levis/Raleigh team, followed by one year with
the La Vie Claire über team , then several years at Team 7-Eleven,
which later became Team Motorola. His final two years were spent at
Banesto and US Postal Service.

Was he ever a teammate of six-time Tour de France winner Lance
Armstrong?

1992 (post-Olympics) - 1994, both riders were at Motorola.

--
Steven L. Sheffield
stevens at veloworks dot com
veloworks at worldnet dot ay tea tee dot net
bellum pax est libertas servitus est ignoratio vis est
ess ay ell tea ell ay kay ee sea eye tee why you ti ay aitch
aitch tee tea pea colon [for word] slash [four ward] slash double-you
double-yew double-ewe dot veloworks dot com [four word] slash