Where Have You Gone...Andy Hampsten?

Not literally... I'm pretty sure he's alive and well, running a bike company with his brother in a small, high-altitude town out west in Calizonaradogon. Maybe it's New Jersey? Anyway... My sentiment is more about lamenting a simpler, more exciting time in bike racing.

I am a fan of professional cycling in the same way that I'm a fan of NFL Football. I know the league, I follow the teams, and I have my favorite players. I'm as disturbed about the state of cycling as I am about the beaching of my beloved Miami Dolphins. Obviously, there are a few slight differences worth mentioning. Cycling today is full of cheaters, liars, greedy bastards, and the French... The Dolphins get the #1 pick in the draft!

I remember when America was the "scrappy little mutt" of international racing. Most people forget how, not too long ago, the good ol' USA was treated like a rented mule by the peleton. Two American cyclists, the Han Solo and Luke Skywalker of scrappy, slapped the smug off the face of those bastards and scared the no deodorant wearing crowd back to their 17th century plumbing and bitterness. Before Armstrong's seven wins and Landis's disgrace, there was Greg LeMond and Andy Hampsten.

Three Tour de France wins, a Giro d'Italia win, three Tour de Suisse wins, and a couple of World Championships. Between 1986 and 1992, these two ballers were goin' old school when it was still new school, and showin' Alpe d'Huez what was up, yo!