Flashback Quiz - Answer!

This photo was taken during the 1969 National Track Championships in Encino, CA. The rider on the left is former Junior National Champion Gary Campbell, the rider on the right is 17 year old Jim Ochowicz, later to be on the US Olympic Team in 1972 and 1976. He was the founder of the 7-11 amateur cycling team in 1981 which was turned to a professional squad in 1985. In 1986, 7-11 was the first American team invited to participate in the Tour de France, and in 1988  Andy Hampsten won the Giro d'Italia while riding for 7-11. In the 1990's, team sponsorship was transferred over to Motorola and they were the first Pro team to use radios during races. Lance Armstrong rode for Motorola during his early years as a professional and that team morphed into the US Postal squad. Jim Ochowicz, originally from Michigan, married Olympic speed skater and cyclist Sheila Young and they moved to the Milwaukee area where the 7-11 and Motorola team headquarters were based for years. In 1997, Jim Ochowicz was inducted into the US Cycling Hall of Fame.  Jim's younger brother is Bill Ochowicz, current race promoter of the Tour of America's Dairlyland. So, while much of the cycling news you read about is focused on far reaching parts of the world, and on people you will never see in person, don't forget what impact our own people, right here in the Midwest, have the cycling world abroad.