Andrew Hampsten (born April 7, 1962) is an American 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 com ...

who won the 1988 Giro d'Italia and the

Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in Southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the central French Western Alps, in the Communes of France, commune of Huez, which is part of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-R ...

stage of the 1992 Tour de France. Between 1986–1994 he finished in the Top 10 of eight Grand Tours.

Racing career

Andy Hampsten caught the public eye in 1985, when he won stage 20 of the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

. The following year, he was signed by

Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In ...

's La Vie Claire team. In his first full season as a pro, 1986, he won the

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse () is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France, which is on the calend ...

and helped his compatriot and team leader

Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France thrice and the UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, Road Race World Championship twice, becoming t ...

to victory in the Tour de France. He also finished the Tour de France fourth overall and claimed the white jersey of best young rider. Hampsten repeated his victory in the

1987 Tour de Suisse The 1987 Tour de Suisse was the 51st edition of the Tour de Suisse cycle race and was held from 16 June to 25 June 1987. The race started in Affoltern am Albis and finished in Zürich. The race was won by Andrew Hampsten of the 7-Eleven team. ...

, this time for the

7-Eleven Cycling Team The 7-Eleven Cycling Team, later the Motorola Cycling Team, was a professional cycling team founded in the U.S. in 1981 by Jim Ochowicz, a former U.S. Olympic cyclist. The team lasted 16 years, under the sponsorship of 7-Eleven through 1990 and t ...

. He defeated multi-time Tour de France stage winner

Peter Winnen Peter Johannes Gertrudis Winnen (born 5 September 1957) is a Dutch former road racing cyclist. He competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics in road racing and finished in 26th place. After the Games he turned professional in 1981. Among his 14 vict ...

by +0:01 and

Fabio Parra Fabio Enrique Parra Pinto (born November 22, 1959, in Sogamoso, Boyacá) is a retired Colombian road racing cyclist. Parra was successful as an amateur in Colombia, winning the ''Novatos'' classification for new riders or riders riding their ...

by +0:07. His greatest moment came in the 1988 Giro d'Italia, on a short stage over the

Gavia Pass Gavia Pass () (el. 2621 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Italian Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): ...

. Attacking on the climb Hampsten overcame a severe snowstorm to take the

Maglia Rosa The general classification in the Giro d'Italia is the most important classification of the Giro d'Italia, which determines who is the overall winner. It is therefore considered more important than secondary classifications as the points classif ...

, becoming the first American to do so; although he finished second on the stage to Dutchman

Erik Breukink Erik Breukink (born 1 April 1964) is a former Dutch professional road racing cyclist. In 1988, Breukink won the youth competition in the Tour de France. In 1990, finished 3rd in the 1990 Tour de France. Most recently, he served as the manager of ...

, who was considered a main favorite to win the Giro. The conditions during this stage were among the worst in cycling history. During and following this stage numerous cyclists abandoned and several had to be loaded into ambulances and taken to the hospital due to hypothermia like symptoms. After surviving this Gavia Pass stage, Hampsten was able to successfully defend his lead through the rest of the race, becoming the just the 2nd American to win a cycling Grand Tour and the 1st American to win the Giro d'Italia. During the

1989 Giro d'Italia The 1989 Giro d'Italia was the 72nd edition of the race. It started off in Taormina on 21 May with a flat stage that ended in Catania. The race concluded in Florence with a individual time trial on 11 June. Twenty-two teams entered the race ...

Hampsten performed at an elite level among the general classification riders finishing on the podium in 3rd place overall. He was also among the elite riders for the majority of the

1990 Tour de France The 1990 Tour de France was the 77th edition of the Tour de France, one of Cycle sport, cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It took place between 30 June and 22 July 1990. The race consisted of 21 stages and a prologue. American Greg L ...

. Hampsten's final highlight came in the 1992 Tour de France when he dropped his breakaway companions to win the stage to Alpe d'Huez. He again finished the race fourth, having lost his third place to

Gianni Bugno Gianni Bugno (; born 14 February 1964) is a retired Italy, Italian professional road racing cyclist. Biography Bugno was a versatile rider, able to do well in different types of races. He won numerous stages in the Tour de France, and the Mi ...

in the final time trial.

Life after racing

Hampsten used to live in

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...

, and the bikeway system there has been dedicated as the "Andy Hampsten Bikeway System." Hampsten now lives in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

and

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

. In 1999, Andy Hampsten and his brother Steve started a bicycle company in Seattle, Washington, called Hampsten Cycles. Andy Hampsten also operates a bicycle touring company in Italy called Cinghiale Cycling Tours.

Career achievements

Major results

Source: ;1984 : 2nd Overall Coors Classic : 9th Overall Grand Prix Guillaume Tell ;1985 : 1st Stage 20

: 2nd Overall Coors Classic ;1986 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Prologue : 4th Overall

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

::1st

Young rider classification Young rider classification () in a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, is an award for the current leader by overall time for riders below the age of twenty-six years ...

: 4th Overall Coors Classic ;1987 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

: 3rd Overall Coors Classic ::1st Stages 9 & 12a ( ITT) : 8th Trofeo Pantalica ;1988 : 1st Jersey pink

Overall

::1st

Mountains classification ::1st Jersey blue

Combination classification ::1st Stages 12 & 18 ( ITT) : 1st Stage 3

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the ...

: 2nd Overall Coors Classic ::1st Stage 10a : 4th Overall

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

: 9th Overall

Critérium International The Critérium International was a two-day Stage (bicycle race), bicycle stage race held in France every spring from 1932 until 2016, typically the last weekend of March. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in ...

;1989 : 1st

Subida a Urkiola Subida a Urkiola is a one-day cycling race in Durango, Biscay in the Basque Country whose starts in Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

: 1st Schwabenbräu-Cup : 1st Stage 2

Tour of the Basque Country The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: ''Itzulia Basque Country'') is an annual road cycling stage race held in the Spanish Basque Country in April. It is one of the races that make up the UCI World Tour calendar. As the Basque Country is ...

: 3rd Overall

: 6th

Milano–Torino Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876 making it the oldest classic race in the world. The ...

: 7th

Tre Valli Varesine The Tre Valli Varesine is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Varese, Italy. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2021 it joined the UCI ProSeries calendar after being cancelled in 2020. A ...

: 8th

Clásica de San Sebastián The Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa — Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián (San Sebastián Classic) is a one-day professional men's bicycle road race in northern Spain that has been held every summer since 1981 in San Sebastián. It is the m ...

: 10th Overall Tour de Trump ;1990 : 1st

: 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 7 : 8th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 9th Overall Tour de Trump ;1991 : 3rd Overall

::1st

Mountains classification : 5th Overall

: 7th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 8th Overall

: 9th Overall

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; Tour of Catalonia, ) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of the Basque Country. The race has had ...

: 10th Overall

Giro del Trentino The Tour of the Alps is an annual professional cycling stage race in Italy and Austria. First held in 1962, it was named Giro del Trentino () until 2016, and run over four stages in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region of Italy. In 2015, th ...

;1992 : 1st Jersey green

Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 4th Overall

::1st Stage 14 (

) : 5th Overall

: 5th

Coppa Agostoni The Coppa Ugo Agostoni is a classic cycle races, semi classic European Road bicycle racing, bicycle race held in Lissone, Italy. The race is held in memory of Italian cyclist Ugo Agostoni, winner of prestigious classic Milan–San Remo, killed du ...

: 6th

Giro dell'Emilia The Giro dell'Emilia is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. First run in 1909, the race is considered a classic cycle race, and is traditionally grouped with the Giro del Piemonte and Giro di Lombard ...

: 7th Overall

Tour Méditerranéen Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

: 7th

: 10th

Coppa Bernocchi The Coppa Bernocchi is a European Road bicycle racing, bicycle race held in Legnano, Italy. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organised as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, before joining the UCI ProSeries in 2020. In 1 ...

;1993 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Tour of Galicia The Tour of Galicia (; ) is an annual cycling race held in Galicia, Spain. It was first held in 1933 and was held a further five times between 1934 and 1984. The tour did not take place from the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, until ...

::1st Stage 2 : 2nd

Paris–Camembert Paris–Camembert (also Paris–Camembert Trophée Lepetit or Paris–Camembert Lepetit) is a semi classic held annually in April. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The route of the race has varied over t ...

: 3rd Overall

: 3rd

: 7th Overall

: 8th Overall

;1994 : 3rd Overall

: 3rd Overall

Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme The Catalan Cycling Week (''Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme'' in Catalan language, Catalan) was a stage race, multi-stage road bicycle race held in Catalonia, Spain. Held annually from 1963 until 2005, it was run as a 2.HC race on the UCI Europe Tour ...

: 10th Overall

;1996 : 6th Overall

Tour DuPont 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 prestig ...

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

Hampsten CyclesBike touring company Hampsten runsStory and interview with Hampsten about his 1988 Giro win.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hampsten, Andrew 1962 births Living people American male cyclists American Giro d'Italia stage winners American Tour de France stage winners Sportspeople from Grand Forks, North Dakota Giro d'Italia winners Sportspeople from Columbus, Ohio Tour de Suisse stage winners Cyclists from Ohio Cyclists from Boulder, Colorado 20th-century American sportsmen