Andrew Hampsten

Andrew Hampsten (born April 7, 1962) is an American former professional road bicycle racer who won the 1988 Giro d'Italia and the Alpe d'Huez stage of the 1992 Tour de France. Between 1986–1994 he finished in the Top 10 of eight Grand Tours.

Racing career Andy Hampsten caught the public eye in 1985, when he won stage 20 of the Giro d'Italia. The following year, he was signed by Bernard Hinault's La Vie Claire team. In his first full season as a pro, 1986, he won the Tour de Suisse and helped his compatriot and team leader Greg LeMond to victory in the Tour de France. He also finished the Tour de France fourth overall and claimed the white jersey of best young rider.

Hampsten repeated his victory in the 1987 Tour de Suisse, this time for the 7-Eleven Cycling Team. He defeated multi-time Tour de France stage winner Peter Winnen by +0:01 and Fabio Parra by +0:07. His greatest moment came in the 1988 Giro d'Italia, on a short stage over the Gavia Pass. Attacking on the climb, Hampsten overcame a severe snowstorm to take the Maglia Rosa, becoming the first American to do so; although he finished second on the stage to Dutchman Erik Breukink, who was considered a main favorite to win the Giro. The conditions during this stage were among the worst in cycling history. During and following this stage numerous cyclists abandoned and several had to be loaded into ambulances and taken to the hospital due to hypothermia-like symptoms. After surviving this Gavia Pass stage, Hampsten was able to successfully defend his lead through the rest of the race, becoming the just the 2nd American to win a cycling Grand Tour and the 1st American to win the Giro d'Italia.

During the 1989 Giro d'Italia Hampsten performed at an elite level among the general classification riders, finishing on the podium in 3rd place overall. He was also among the elite riders for the majority of the 1990 Tour de France.

Hampsten's final highlight came in the 1992 Tour de France when he dropped his breakaway companions to win the stage to Alpe d'Huez. At the finish of the stage he described his elation by saying "for me, it's the world championship to win a stage like this before half a million people. Whenever people back home ask about Alpe d'Huez, I always tell them that other mountains are more difficult to climb but there's nothing like this place for prestige." Having also finished fifth on the alpine stage the previous day he moved from 21st in the overall standings into the top three. He again ultimately finished the race fourth, having lost his third place to Gianni Bugno in the final time trial.

Life after racing Hampsten used to live in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and the bikeway system there has been dedicated as the "Andy Hampsten Bikeway System." Hampsten now lives in Tuscany and Boulder, Colorado. In 1999, Andy Hampsten and his brother Steve started a bicycle company in Seattle, Washington, called Hampsten Cycles. Andy Hampsten also operates a bicycle touring company in Italy called Cinghiale Cycling Tours.

1984 2nd Overall Coors Classic 9th Overall Grand Prix Guillaume Tell 1985 1st Stage 20 Giro d'Italia 2nd Overall Coors Classic 1986

1st Prologue 4th Overall Tour de France

4th Overall Coors Classic 1987

3rd Overall Coors Classic 1st Stages 9 & 12a (ITT) 8th Trofeo Pantalica 1988

1st Stages 12 & 18 (ITT) 1st Stage 3 Paris–Nice 2nd Overall Coors Classic 1st Stage 10a 4th Overall Tour de Romandie 9th Overall Critérium International 1989 1st Subida a Urkiola 1st Schwabenbräu-Cup 1st Stage 2 Tour of the Basque Country 3rd Overall Giro d'Italia 6th Milano–Torino 7th Tre Valli Varesine 8th Clásica de San Sebastián 10th Overall Tour de Trump 1990 1st Subida a Urkiola 3rd Overall Tour de Suisse 1st Stage 7 8th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 9th Overall Tour de Trump 1991 3rd Overall Tour de Suisse

5th Overall Paris–Nice 7th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 8th Overall Tour de France 9th Overall Volta a Catalunya 10th Overall Giro del Trentino 1992

1st Stage 3 4th Overall Tour de France 1st Stage 14 (Alpe d'Huez) 5th Overall Giro d'Italia 5th Coppa Agostoni 6th Giro dell'Emilia 7th Overall Tour Méditerranéen 7th Tre Valli Varesine 10th Coppa Bernocchi 1993

1st Stage 2 2nd Paris–Camembert 3rd Overall Tour de Romandie 3rd Subida a Urkiola 7th Overall Paris–Nice 8th Overall Tour de France 1994 3rd Overall Tour de Romandie 3rd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme 10th Overall Giro d'Italia 1996 6th Overall Tour DuPont

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

+ Legend — Did not compete DNF Did not finish