Lance Armstrong watchers might be surprised to learn that eight other Americans are riding in the Tour de France 2005 this year.
They're not all riding on Armstrong's Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team either, but spread out over seven teams. In fact, Discovery has just two riders from the US, same as Denmark's Team CSC.
Who was the first US rider in the Tour de France? It was Jonathan “Jock” Boyer of Carmel, Calif., in 1981. The first US team? Oh thank heaven for 7-Eleven, which entered with all US-riders in 1985. Some of those early riders: OLN commentator Bob Roll, Andy Hampsten, Davis Phinney and Eric Heiden.
Since then dozens of US riders have joined the peloton. They've made a huge impact on the Tour in the past 20 years, winning a disproportionate 9 Tour de France championships in that time. Greg LeMond was the first American to win the Tour in 1986 and won twice after that. Of course, we all know Armstrong has won it six times in a row, an unprecedented feat.
The Americans aren't just sought out by the US-based teams anymore. There are American racing for non-US teams all over the peloton in this year's Tour. Here's a list.
Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
Lance Armstrong (team leader)
George Hincapie
Gerolsteiner
Levi Leipheimer (team leader)
Team CSC
Bobby Julich
David Zabriskie
Quick Step
Guido Trenti
Saunier Duval
Chris Horner
Davitamon-Lotto
Fred Rodriguez
Phonak
Floyd Landis
Check here for more links to Tour de France coverage on TV and the Internet.
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