Alex Stieda, Canadian legend.

Alex Stieda is a Canadian cycling legend. He was a hockey player first. To keep up his fitness in the off season he turned to riding a bike. He bought a $20 bike and started doing long rides. Simply by chance a neighbor who was involved in cycling suggested he race a local 10 mile time trial. Each week Stieda says he just continued to get faster and faster. Then someone suggested he try track racing. Once he got on a velodrome it was a match made in heaven. A short time after that he was winning national championships on the track. He even went to junior worlds soon after. Moving up to the seniors racing he eventually was chosen to ride for the national team and train for the 1984 Olympics. Before doing the Olympics he would race a season in Belgium and join the coveted 7-Eleven amateur team. He says racing the Olympics was a huge disappointment. Instead of going pro he decided to race one more year as an amateur. Alex Stieda would turn pro for the 7-Eleven team in 1986. He would ride the tour and claim not one but five different jerseys including the yellow jersey. He would finish that tour in 120th place. Here's the thing, Alex chose to race the rest of his career predominantly in North America after that season. He says he realized he wasn't built for that type of racing. Stieda says racing in North America was fun. He won stages in the Coors Classic, Tour of Texas, and multiple big time crits. Alex would eventually retire at the young age of 31. He would become a sales rep for Softride, help organize the Tour of Alberta, and beat prostate cancer. He recently qualified and competed in the Grand Fondo Worlds.