Team 7 – Eleven
How an Unsung Band of American Cyclists Took on the World – and Won
VeloPress

Geoff Drake
with Jim Ochowicz

Billed as the story of the great American cycling team and how they “took on the world….and won,” this is more aptly put as the story of Jim Ochowicz, the mastermind behind the great American cycling team, and how he won. The book is written by Geoff Drake “with” Mr. Ochowicz, so it makes sense that he is a focal point. Fair enough, he does deserve the lion’s share of the credit, as he had a lot to do with whatever popularity cycling has achieved in the US. Certainly, Greg LeMond was bringing attention to the sport contemporaneously, but he was racing for a foreign team and was basically an American admitted into the European peloton. 7-11, however, was an unapologetically American squad (dynamically, if not down to each and every racer) storming the foreign soil as a unit.

The team was formed in 1981 by Jim Ochowicz, a speed skater and bike racer, who had been persuaded to manage the Olympic speed skating team that featured Eric Heiden, The story of 7 -11’s success cannot be told without Heiden, who, while far from their best or most successful rider, was integral to the formation of the team. The title of the book, as well as being a bit clunky, is a bit misleading in this. Far from unsung, Heiden brought the notoriety needed to pitch the idea to sponsors. An extremely successful and popular Olympian speed skater, Heiden was Ochowicz’s ace in the hole, so to speak. Amateur cycling in general in the US in 1981 was in decent straits, with the Coors Tour of Colorado and a number of other high profile crits across the country. It was into this landscape that Ochowicz decided to launch a team, with the plan all along being to have this be a pro team, and have this team compete in Europe, at the Grand Tours. It is for this ambitious vision that Ochowicz deserves a great deal of credit. This, along with 7-11’s sponsorship (fortuitously coupled with the timing of the Olympics being held in the US) was the driving force to legitimizing US cycling.

The 7-11 team is important to the history of cycling in this country on a number of levels, not the least of which is what they spawned, what the team morphed into, and what the people involved continued on to do. For example, the team became Motorola, which introduced race radios to the pro peloton, which has indelibly changed the nature of the races themselves. Also, Mr. Ochowicz could be the subject of a book himself, as he has been the president of USA cycling, and is now manager of the BMC squad. As is true with most who have been in the sport for this long, he hasn’t avoided the doping accusations that haunt cycling. The book could have benefited from some more in depth analyses of the pro cycling environment, warts and all.

The book is a lively, easy read, along the lines of “Inside the Postal Bus.” It is written in a conversational style, which relies a bit too heavily on hyperbole. It IS an amazing story, the reader doesn’t need to be continually reminded of this. I personally would have loved more interviews, more quotes, more technical information, and, given all that the team has gone on to do individually, a more comprehensive “where are they now.” The bulk of the quotations are from only a couple riders and are of the “it was a crazy time” variety. Reminds me of the story of the 1986 Mets in this regard. After the umpteenth “man, we were out of our minds” quote by Dykstra, or Hernandez, my interest started to wane a bit. More showing, and less telling would have helped this read, As it is, it is still quite enjoyable. It is a well deserved testament to the enormity of Jim Ochowicz’s achievement, and an overdue look at the constructing of the first American team to compete overseas. The kit is iconic, the team was featured in “American Flyers” and at this point are not only an important piece of cycling history, but a slice of Americana as well. Much like Occupy Wall Street, it may not be the exact thing I want, but I’m just happy that it’s being talked about. VeloPress has put out a number of worthwhile offerings this year. Go out and pick up a copy and (along with a Garmin 500, a Swrve Milwaukee Hoodie, some Outlier clothes, a new piece of something Rapha) you’ll have a happy cyclist on your hands.

Next week’s review:
Graeme Obree “Training Manual”