Ronald Alexander Kiefel (born April 11, 1960) is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States. Kiefel is a seven-time Tour de France racer, Olympic bronze medalist and member of the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame.
 Kiefel and Frankie Andreu (r-l) racing 1991 Thrift Drug Classic for Motorola | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ronald Alexander Kiefel | ||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Wookie[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Born | April 11, 1960 Denver, Colorado, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||
| Current team | Retired | ||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road | ||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | ||||||||||||||
| Rider type | All-rounder | ||||||||||||||
| Professional teams | |||||||||||||||
| 1985–1990 | 7-Eleven | ||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Motorola | ||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Coors Light | ||||||||||||||
| 1995 | Saturn | ||||||||||||||
| Major wins | |||||||||||||||
Grand Tours
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Medal record
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Kiefel rode for American professional teams such as 7-Eleven, Motorola, Coors Light and Saturn. His wins included the 1985 Trofeo Laigueglia and the 1987 Tour of Tuscany.
He became the first American stage winner in a Grand Tour when he won stage 15 (from L'Aquila to Perugia) in the 1985 Giro d'Italia.[2]
He competed in seven Tours de France, and represented the USA at the 1984 Olympic Games, where he won bronze in the team time trial with Roy Knickman, Davis Phinney, and Andy Weaver.[3]
In 1983 Kiefel won the USPRO road championship, the time trial and the team time trial. He was also road champion in 1988. He retired from racing in 1996 and has since commentated on TV and radio for European classics and tours. He is a coach in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, vice president of Wheat Ridge Cyclery, and promotes races and rides.
In 2004, Kiefel was inducted in the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Meegan, at one time hosted a weekly AM radio show.[4]
Major results
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- Stage 15, Giro d'Italia (1985)
- National Road Race Champion (1983, 1988)
- United States National Time Trial Champion (1983)
- United States National Team Time Trial Champion (1983)
- Bronze Medal, Summer Olympics – Men's Team Time Trial (1984)
Year by year
edit- 1980
- 5th, U.S. National Cyclocross Championships[5]
- 1981
- 5th, U.S. National Cyclocross Championships
- 1983
- 1st, U.S. National Cycling Championships – Road Race
- 1st, U.S. National Cycling Championships – Individual Time Trial
- 1st, U.S. National Cycling Championships – Team Time Trial
- 1984
- 3rd, Bronze Medal, Los Angeles Summer Olympics – Men's Team Time Trial
- 9th, Los Angeles Summer Olympics – Men's Individual Road Race
- 1985
- 1st, Trofeo Laigueglia (ITA)
- 1st, Stage 15, Giro d'Italia (ITA)
- 1st, Prologue, Coors Classic (USA)
- 1986
- 1st, Prologue, Coors Classic (USA)
- 1st, Stage 17, Coors Classic (USA)
- 1987
- 1st, Los Gatos Cat's Hill Classic[6] (USA)
- 1988
- 1st, Overall, Tour of Tuscany (ITA)
- 1st, U.S. National Cycling Championships – Road Race
- 1989
- 1st, Stage 10, Tour de Trump (USA)
- 6th, Overall, Tour de Trump (USA)
- 1990
- 2nd, Stage 10, Tour de Trump (USA)
- 3rd, Stage 8, Tour de France
- 1993
- 1st, Los Gatos Cat's Hill Classic (USA)
Tour de France
editTeams
edit- 1985 – 7 Eleven
- 1986 – 7 Eleven
- 1987 – 7 Eleven
- 1988 – 7 Eleven
- 1989 – 7 Eleven
- 1990 – 7 Eleven-Hoonved
- 1991 – Motorola
- 1992 – Motorola
- 1993 – Coors Light
- 1994 – Coors Light
- 1995 – Saturn
References
edit- ^ Vergne, Laurent (July 22, 2015). "Cannibale, Chéri-pipi, Wookie, Andy torticolis… le Top 20 des surnoms mythiques du cyclisme" [Cannibal, Chéri-pipi, Wookie, Andy Torticollis... the Top 20 mythical nicknames of cycling]. Eurosport (in French). Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ An American in Italy cyclingnews.com, May 5, 2009
- ^ "Ron Kiefel Olympic Results". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- ^ "The Keifel Cycling Hour". Archived from the original on September 23, 2004.
- ^ US National Cyclocross Champions 1975–2004
- ^ Cat's Hill Classic Bicycle Race
External links
edit- Ron Kiefel at Cycling Archives (archived)
- Ron Kiefel – official Tour de France results (archive)