America's First & Greatest Pro Cycling Team
With the 2023 Tour de France well underway, it's a great time to pick up a copy of Team 7-Eleven: How an Unsung Band of American Cyclists Took on the World and Won, by Geoff Drake and Jim Ochowicz. It is the first book to tell the full story of America's first and greatest pro cycling team.
You could count America’s world-class cyclists on one hand in 1980. Yet within a few short years, the 7-Eleven cycling team launched the superstar careers of Davis Phinney, Ron Kiefel, Andy Hampsten, Bob Roll, and many more. From humble beginnings in a Pennsylvania barn to soaring victories in the French Alps, Team 7-Eleven is the remarkable story of how two cycling fans found one exceptional sponsor and changed the world of cycling forever.
"[Team 7-Eleven's] history is chronicled in great detail. Longtime cycling journo Geoff Drake and Jim Ochowicz...highlight the trials and tribulations of putting the team on an international stage.” — NBC Sports
"A lively, easy read...not only an important piece of cycling history, but a slice of Americana as well." — NYVelocity
"Well-paced and very entertaining.... An excellent addition to the history of the sport." — PezCyclingNews
"Essential history for anyone who has ever swung a leg over the top tube of a racing bike.... Drake serves up fine writing fare by the fork full." — Le Grimpeur
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Geoff Drake is the former editor of Bicycling Magazine and VeloNews, and has covered cycling events worldwide including the Tour de France and Olympic Games. During his tenure at VeloNews, he covered Team 7-Eleven during it most important years. He also writes regularly for national motorcycle magazines and is the author of Smooth Riding, a motorcycling book. He is an avid cyclist, a Category II road racer, and an Ironman triathlete. He lives in Aptos, California. For more, visit www.wriding.com.
Jim Ochowicz is a two-time Olympic cyclist and former speedskater who cofounded the 7-Eleven cycling team in 1981. He managed 7-Eleven through 1990 and its successor, the Motorola Cycling Team, through 1996. He served six years as president of the board of directors of USA Cycling, and is currently the manager of the BMC Racing Team. He was inducted into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1997.
