Ronald Alexander Kiefel (born April 11, 1960 in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

) is a former professional

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Kiefel is a seven-time

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

racer,

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

bronze medalist and member of the

United States Bicycling Hall of Fame The United States Bicycling Hall of Fame, located in Davis, California, is a private 501c3 non-profit organization formed to preserve and promote the sport of cycling. The organization was founded in 1986 in Somerville, New Jersey and has inducte ...

. Kiefel rode for American professional teams such as

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...

, Motorola, Coors Light and Saturn. His wins included the 1985

Trofeo Laigueglia The Trofeo Laigueglia is an early season road bicycle race held annually in Liguria, Italy. From 2005 to 2014, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is held about ten days after the opening to the Italian season, the Gr ...

and the 1987 Tour of Tuscany. He became the first American stage winner in a

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

when he won stage 15 (from

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valle ...

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

) in the

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Giro d'Italia. 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 Davis Phinney (born July 10, 1959) is a retired professional road bicycle racer from the United States. He won 328 races in the 1980s and 1990s, a record for an American, including two Tour de France stages. He has worked in media since retiring ...

, and Andy Weaver. 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 The City of Wheat Ridge is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Wheat Ridge is located immediately west of Denver and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The ...

, 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.

Major results

* Stage 15, Giro d'Italia (

) *

National Road Race Champion (1983, 1988) * National Time Trial Champion (1983) * National Team Time Trial Champion (1983) * Bronze Medal, Summer Olympics – Men's Team Time Trial (1984)

Year by year

;1980 * 5th, U.S. National Cyclocross Championships ;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,

(ITA) * 1st, Stage 15, Giro d'Italia (ITA) * 1st, Prologue,

Coors Classic The Coors International Bicycle Classic (1980–1988) was a stage race sponsored by the Coors Brewing Company. Coors was the race's second sponsor; the first, Celestial Seasonings, named the race after its premium tea Red Zinger, which began in 1 ...

(USA) ;1986 * 1st, Prologue, Coors Classic (USA) * 1st, Stage 17, Coors Classic (USA) ;1987 * 1st, Los Gatos Cat's Hill ClassicCat's Hill Classic Bicycle Race
/ref> (USA) ;1988 * 1st, Overall, Tour of Tuscany (ITA) * 1st, U.S. National Cycling Championships – Road Race ;1989 * 1st, Stage 10,

Tour de Trump The Tour DuPont was a cycling stage race in the United States held annually between 1989 and 1996, initially called the Tour de Trump in the first two years. It was intended to become a North American cycling event similar in format and prestige ...

(USA) * 6th, Overall, Tour de Trump (USA) ;1990 * 2nd, Stage 10, Tour de Trump (USA) * 3rd, Stage 8,

;1993 * 1st, Los Gatos Cat's Hill Classic (USA)

Tour de France

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

– 96th *

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

– 82nd *

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

– 69th *

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

– 73rd *

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

– 83rd *

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

– 138th

Teams

* 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

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiefel, Ron 1960 births Living people American male cyclists American cycling road race champions Cyclists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in cycling American Giro d'Italia stage winners Sportspeople from Denver Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics