Ronald Alexander Kiefel (born 11 April 1960 in Denver) is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Kiefel is a seven-time Tour de France

Tour de France

The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...

 racer, Olympic

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 bronze medalist and member of the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame

United States Bicycling Hall of Fame

The United States Bicycling Hall of Fame, located in Davis, California, is a private organization formed to preserve and promote the sport of cycling.-Location:...

.

Kiefel rode for Americanprofessional teams such as 7-Eleven

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...

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

Trofeo Laigueglia

The Trofeo Laigueglia is an early season road bicycle race held annually in Liguria, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been 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 Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi.-Palmarès:...

 and the 1987 Tour of Tuscany.

He became the first American stage winner in a Grand Tour

Grand Tour (cycling)

In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:* Tour de France – Tour of France , held in July* Giro d'Italia – Tour of Italy , held in May...

 when he won stage 15 (from L'Aquila

L'Aquila

L'Aquila is a city and comune in central Italy, both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 73,150 inhabitants, but has a daily presence in the territory of 100,000 people for study, tertiary activities, jobs and tourism...

 to Perugia

Perugia

Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....

) in the 1985

1985 Giro d'Italia

The 1985 Giro d'Italia of cycling was held from 16 May to 9 June 1985, consisting of 22 stages for a total of 3,998 km, ridden at an average speed of 37.89 km/h...

 Giro d’Italia.

He competed in seven Tours de France, and represented the USA at the 1984 Olympic Games

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

, where he came third dal in the team time trial with Roy Knickman

Clarence Knickman

Clarence Knickman is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States, who won the bronze medal in the Men's Team Road Race at the 1984 Summer Olympics...

, Davis Phinney

Davis Phinney

Davis Phinney is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States. He was known as a fast sprinter, and claims to have won the most races in American history. In 1986, he became the first American to win a stage at the Tour de France, while riding on the American-based team 7-Eleven...

, and Andy Weaver

Andrew Weaver

Andrew Teisher Weaver is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States, who won the bronze medal in the Men's Team Road Race at the 1984 Summer Olympics. His winning teammates in Los Angeles, California were Ron Kiefel, Clarence Knickman, and Davis Phinney...

.

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

Wheat Ridge, Colorado

The City of Wheat Ridge is a Home Rule Municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Wheat Ridge is a western suburb of Denver. The Wheat Ridge Municipal Center is approximately west-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver...

, 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 achievements

• Stage 15, Giro d'Italia
  Giro d'Italia
  The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
  
   (1985
  1985 Giro d'Italia
  The 1985 Giro d'Italia of cycling was held from 16 May to 9 June 1985, consisting of 22 stages for a total of 3,998 km, ridden at an average speed of 37.89 km/h...
  
  )
• 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
  1984 Summer Olympics
  The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
  
   - Men's Team Time Trial
• 9th, Los Angeles Summer Olympics - Men’s Individual Road Race

1985

• 1st, Trofeo Laigueglia
  Trofeo Laigueglia
  The Trofeo Laigueglia is an early season road bicycle race held annually in Liguria, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been 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 Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi.-Palmarès:...
  
   (ITA)
• 1st, Stage 15, Giro d'Italia
  1985 Giro d'Italia
  The 1985 Giro d'Italia of cycling was held from 16 May to 9 June 1985, consisting of 22 stages for a total of 3,998 km, ridden at an average speed of 37.89 km/h...
  
   (ITA)
• 1st, Prologue, Coors Classic
  Coors Classic
  The Coors International Bicycle Classic 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 1975...
  
   (USA)

1986

• 1st, Prologue, Coors Classic (USA)
• 1st, Stage 17, Coors Classic (USA)

1987

• 1st, Los Gatos Cat's Hill Classic (USA)

1988

• 1st, Overall, Tour of Tuscany (ITA)
• 1st, U.S. National Cycling Championships - Road Race

1989

• 1st, Stage 10, Tour de Trump (USA)
• 6th, Overall, Tour de Trump (USA)

1990

• 2nd, Stage 10, Tour de Trump (USA)
• 3rd, Stage 8, Tour de France
  1990 Tour de France
  The 1990 Tour de France was the 77th Tour de France, taking place June 30 to July 22, 1990. The total race distance was 21 stages over 3504 km, with riders averaging 38.62 km/h...
  
  

1993

• 1st, Los Gatos Cat's Hill Classic (USA)

Tour de France

• 1986
  1986 Tour de France
  The 1986 Tour de France was the 73rd Tour de France, taking place July 4 to July 27, 1986. The total race distance was 4094 km, distributed over 23 stages and a prologue. It was won by Greg LeMond, the first American to win the Tour...
  
   - 96th
• 1987
  1987 Tour de France
  The 1987 Tour de France was the 74th Tour de France, taking place from July 1 to July 26, 1987. It consisted of 25 stages over 4231 km, ridden at an average speed of 36.645 km/h...
  
   - 82nd
• 1988
  1988 Tour de France
  The 1988 Tour de France was the 75th Tour de France, taking place from July 4 to July 24, 1988. It consisted of 22 stages over 3281 km, ridden at an average speed of 38.909 km/h...
  
   - 69th
• 1989
  1989 Tour de France
  The 1989 Tour de France was the 76th Tour de France, a race of 21 stages and a prologue, over 3285 km in total. In the closest tour in history, Greg LeMond was behind by 50 seconds at the start of the final stage, a time trial into Paris. LeMond rode for an average speed of 54.55 km/h ,...
  
   - 73rd
• 1990
  1990 Tour de France
  The 1990 Tour de France was the 77th Tour de France, taking place June 30 to July 22, 1990. The total race distance was 21 stages over 3504 km, with riders averaging 38.62 km/h...
  
   - 83rd
• 1991
  1991 Tour de France
  The 1991 Tour de France was the 78th Tour de France, taking place July 6 to July 28, 1991. The total race distance was 22 stages over 3914 km, with riders averaging 38.747 km/h.-Stages:-General classification:-External links:* *...
  
  - 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

External links

• Tour de France results