To say the last 20 years in top-level US cycling have been interesting would be an understatement. It would be like calling smartphones “cute gizmos' or Facebook “a little trend.” US cycling in the last 20 years has defined the sport, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse.
Professional cycling in the US has gone through booms, busts, trials, tribulations, feasts, and famines. We've been everything from the struggling underdog to the dominant powerhouse in a short period of time. In a way, this is resonant with the spirit of the US: We are an independent and strong willed people who make both enormous strides and enormous errors.
So what's the best way forward for US cycling?
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Cycling in the US is no longer an oddball novelty that booms and busts; it has a certain maturity to it now, and it has scars to show its age. To succeed now, we need evolution, not revolution, and incremental progress. Cycling in the US must define itself and its fan base in its own cultural context, accepting who we are and what we can do. American cycling will continue to grow, but this time around, a bit of modesty might make it all a bit more sustainable. Here are a few ideas on where American cycling is headed, how it can sustain itself, and how it can improve.
Who in the US is a fan?
In the past, road cycling in the United States has always been led by an icon. Whether it was Greg LeMond or Lance Armstrong, the icon of the day was always the focal point that everything had to be built around. Races sprang up due to the icon; new teams emerged due to the icon. American cycling lived and died by the icon. I remember a lady on the side of the road at the 2005 Tour de Georgia saying: “I don't know why they make all these other racers ride along with Lance, makes him harder to see.” She said it as if Lance were the next Forest Gump, cycling his way across the countryside.
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