When Uno-X Mobility changed their normal kit in for the iconic 7-Eleven kit for Liège-Bastogne-Liège this year, I went into my attic to find my 7-Eleven Junior Development jersey from 1988 to wear to a watch party at my buddy’s house.
While up there, I found a rack of old jerseys I have kept from my career and wanted to share them with all of you. These are parachutes compared to the skin-tight jerseys riders use these days, but I’m very happy that I kept them.
1992 Spago Rossin: (Santini)
We stood out very easily with this jersey. It was the only time I wore Santini clothing in my career.
This is the jersey from my first professional team. After I did not make the Olympic team in 1992, I was offered a stagiaire role by Mike Neal who ran this team. I got to go to Italy for about a month in the fall and gained valuable experience in the professional peloton and rode with some of my European idols for the first time. We did several one-day races which were a bit over my ability level at the time, but I must have done something right as at the end of the trip I was offered a 1 year professional deal for the 1993 season.
This jersey stuck out with the bright colors, and was very typical of an Italian team back then with as many logos on the jersey as possible. Spago and Rossin were the main sponsors but Brescia Lat, a milk brand in Italy, was supposed to take over the title sponsorship in 1993.
Unfortunately, in the fall of 1992 the Italian stock market crashed. The sponsor pulled out of the deal, which was unbeknownst to me until February of 1993. This meant that I was left without a team that year and had to go to as many races as I can on my own dime.
I blew through my emergency college fund quite quickly due to all the expenses associated with getting to the races all around the country.
I thought that my career was over before it even started.
1994 Chevrolet LA Sheriffs: (Aussie)
I thought this jersey was unique back in the day and sure glad I kept one to remind me of the good times with some great people.
After almost having to quit the sport and find a real job I was offered a last-minute contract by Dave Lettieri and Greg “Sarge” Christopherson, who ran the team. It turned out to be one of the most pivotal moments of my career as I learned a lot about real life from the veteran riders on the squad.
I had a very successful season with this team and learned valuable life lessons that have remained with me ever since. It was unique being sponsored by the LA sheriff department, but we had noticeably less traffic altercations with angry drivers while out training on open roads than ever before.
I was very proud to be a member of this team and quite excited to sign a contract extension, but I had a conversation with one of the older riders after the last race of the year. He told me if I was on this team next year, he would kick me off my bike! At first, I was quite offended because it was a dream team scenario for me and I was very happy there, but he turned to me and said, “you are too talented to race only on the domestic US pro scene. You need to find a way to get to Europe”.
It took me a few days to digest what he had told me but ironically, I got a call from Jim Ochowicz a few weeks later which opened the door for me to go to Europe and race for Team Motorola. That started my European professional career.
1995-1996 Motorola: (Giordana)
This kit was classic and every time I see someone wearing it I give them a high five.
As an American rider it was truly an honor to be part of Motorola. I signed a one-year deal and moved to Lake Como, Italy and lived in a three-bedroom apartment with three other guys. We were all on different race schedules but if we were all in the apartment at the same time I had to sleep on the couch.
1995 was a very difficult season for me as I was not used to the level of the European pro peloton. As a result I often found myself in the gruppetto barely able to finish the races. I would spend months at a time in Europe with very little communication with my family and friends in the States. I would have to write a letter and fax it to my-then girlfriend because I did not have enough money to call internationally.
It was cool living in Lake Como before Hollywood took it over, and I have many great memories from that small apartment downtown.
After the Tour of Switzerland our team manager Jim Ochowitz drove me to the airport. While flying down the Italian motorway from Como to Milano he offered me another one-year deal with a slight raise in salary for the following year. I agreed right away.
The team jersey stayed the same in 1996 and I felt a little more comfortable in the peloton then the year before. I was selected for some bigger races and wound up getting 9th place in the Tour of Spain at the end of the year. That turned out to be very crucial in finding a contract as Motorola was stopping their sponsorship at the end of the season. We were left to our own devices to find another team, and many of us Americans signed with Cofidis.
1997-1998 Cofidis: (Giordana)
As an American, I liked the colors of this jersey. When paired with blue shorts we really stood out.
Signing on a French team was a big shock at first. I knew no French but luckily had a few English-speaking teammates which made the transition a little easier. I struggled mightily the spring of 1997 but then found my rhythm and did a solid Tour de France. I was offered a two-year extension which gave me more stability than I had ever had before.
We kept the same jersey in 1998 which was a big year for me. I won Critérium International in the spring and followed up with a podium finish in the Tour de France during the summer. I really thought that I would have a chance of winning the Tour de France one day, but this turned out to be the last time I would ever see that view from the podium.
1999 Cofidis: (Giordana)
The jersey remained the same except for the fact that we switched from Fondriest bicycles to MBK.
I had big expectations and pressure due to my podium result the previous year at the Tour de France, but I wasn’t successful in dealing with that pressure and did not perform well. Frank Vandenbroucke had joined the team and was winning some of the biggest races and I was barely able to finish them. I crashed out of the Tour during the stage 8 time trial in Metz which compounded the mental struggles I was having at the time.
Three years was enough for me at Cofidis, and I felt like I needed a new start on a different team.
2000-2001 Credit Agricole: (Nalini)
Another classic French kit which I liked very much, just wish I rode a bit faster when wearing it.
I arrived at our first training camp in January 2000 already at my Tour de France weight. I had trained extremely hard over the winter and in hindsight, I realized that I was severely overtrained. I had big expectations for myself but when results do not match expectations, confidence crumbles. I had the worst Tour de France of my career and was a year to forget for sure.
The 2001 season was a little bit better as I got a few minor results and started to enjoy the sport again. My best memory wearing this jersey was winning the Tour de France team time trial in the 2001 Tour de France. We started last due to Stuart O’Grady being in the yellow jersey and had the best splits all the way through to the finish. We wound up winning that day by over a minute and a half to 2nd place.
I was not offered a contract extension, so I had to scramble to find a new team.
2002-2003 Team Telekom: (Adidas but made by Nalini)
There was a big change from green to pink and I was called a lot of names from drivers while sporting this kit in the States. It was one of the most iconic kits at the time, but things did not work out for me on this team.
By this point I had given up the ghost of returning to the Tour de France podium but wanted to be part of a competitive team with a leader capable of winning the Tour de France. I signed for Team Telekom in a domestique role for Jan Ullrich. Unfortunately, he had to leave the team before the season even started, so I never actually got to race with him.
Both seasons on the team I had very few personal results as I was often working for team leaders like Eric Zabel or Alexander Vinokurov. I wanted to continue racing but there was no interest from any teams at the end of the year. For a few months, I thought that my final race at the World Championships in Hamilton Canada in 2003 would be my last of my career, but was thrown a lifeline by Bjarne Riis.
2004-2005 Team CSC: (Giordana)
These jerseys looked awesome. I think that “abdominal muscles” on the jersey was a cool touch. We got a new Italian sponsor Nobili in mid 2005 which was faucet fixture company, if I remember correctly.
By the end of the first meeting in the winter of 2003 I knew that I had found my dream team. For the first time in a long time someone believed in my abilities, which in turn allowed me to believe in myself again. I was able to finish third in Paris-Nice in 2004, but more important to me personally was winning the time trial in Pays Basque that year.
Finally winning a race again felt good and I wanted more. Getting a silver medal in the Olympic time trial was another bonus and gave me some incredible memories that a very select few ever experience.
2005 was the most successful season of my career. It felt like every time I threw my leg over the top tube of my bicycle, I felt great. I won Criterium International, Paris-Nice, and Eneco Tour that year and finished ranked 5th in the World.
2006-2007 Team CSC (Descente)
Even though we changed clothing sponsors, the design stayed similar. I think that the details made the design pop even more than with Giordana. In 2006 we had a new pinstripe design and in 2007 we traded for more of a honeycomb look while keeping the abdominal muscle look from 2004.
2006 got off to a very good start for me in the races even though I knew I did not have the same solid training base as the previous years. I finished third in the Tour of California and won the prologue of Paris-Nice, but then I fell apart for a few months. I had switched to more of a domestique role for Ivan Basso’s bid to win the Giro/Tour double, but didn’t feel the same hunger as in previous years.
Ivan did win the Giro but then wound up having to leave the Tour before it started. I was riding well but then crashed again in the time trial and wound up in the hospital. Turned out that was the last Tour de France of my career.
I was not prepared for the 2007 season, and it was immediately apparent to me that I was no longer able or willing to make the sacrifices that it takes to be at the highest level in cycling. I had no real results to speak of and was not selected to ride the Tour de France but couldn’t yet face the reality of retirement. I was talked into signing a 1-year extension by my teammates to try to win the Tour de France all together one last time, but looking back, I probably should have retired.
2008 Team CSC: (Craft)
I was not a big fan of this kit as it had too much white compared to previous years. The scribble pattern on the front and back of this jersey are the signatures of all the members of the team. Cool detail in theory but I didn’t really like it. The race number in this photo is from the last race I ever finished in the professional peloton.
I knew in February that I had made a mistake by signing on for another year. I no longer had the morale to put in the hard training like in the past and began to think of my wife and two daughters much more than ever while hurling down dangerous descents. I was feeling the fear for the first time in my career and knew it was time to stop. My last race was the Tour de Suisse in June.
My teammates did wind up winning the Tour de France that year, but I was not part of the squad.