# Andrew Hampsten

Andrew Hampsten (born April 7, 1962) is an American former professional road bicycle racer who won the 1988 Giro d'Italia and the Alpe d'Huez 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 following year, he was signed by Bernard Hinault's La Vie Claire team. In his first full season as a pro, 1986, he won the Tour de Suisse and helped his compatriot and team leader Greg LeMond 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, this time for the 7-Eleven Cycling Team. He defeated multi-time Tour de France stage winner Peter Winnen by +0:01 and Fabio Parra by +0:07. His greatest moment came in the 1988 Giro d'Italia, on a short stage over the Gavia Pass. Attacking on the climb Hampsten overcame a severe snowstorm to take the Maglia Rosa, becoming the first American to do so; although he finished second on the stage to Dutchman Erik Breukink, 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 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.
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 in the final time trial.

## Life after racing

Hampsten used to live in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and the 40-mile (64 km) bikeway system there has been dedicated as the "Andy Hampsten Bikeway System." Hampsten now lives in Tuscany and Boulder, Colorado. 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 Giro d'Italia
    2nd Overall Coors Classic

#### 1986

    1st Overall Tour de Suisse
       1st Prologue
    4th Overall Tour de France
       1st Young rider classification
    4th Overall Coors Classic

#### 1987

    1st Overall Tour de Suisse
    3rd Overall Coors Classic
       1st Stages 9 & 12a (ITT)
    8th Trofeo Pantalica

#### 1988

    1st Overall Giro d'Italia
       1st Mountains classification
       1st Combination classification
       1st Stages 12 & 18 (ITT)
    1st Stage 3 Paris–Nice
    2nd Overall Coors Classic
       1st Stage 10a
    4th Overall Tour de Romandie
    9th Overall Critérium International

#### 1989

    1st Subida a Urkiola
    1st Schwabenbräu-Cup
    1st Stage 2 Tour of the Basque Country
    3rd Overall Giro d'Italia
    6th Milano–Torino
    7th Tre Valli Varesine
    8th Clásica de San Sebastián
    10th Overall Tour de Trump

#### 1990

    1st Subida a Urkiola
    3rd Overall Tour de Suisse
       1st Stage 7
    8th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    9th Overall Tour de Trump

#### 1991

    3rd Overall Tour de Suisse
       1st Mountains classification
    5th Overall Paris–Nice
    7th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    8th Overall Tour de France
    9th Overall Volta a Catalunya
    10th Overall Giro del Trentino

#### 1992

    1st Overall Tour de Romandie
       1st Stage 3
    4th Overall Tour de France
       1st Stage 14 (Alpe d'Huez)
    5th Overall Giro d'Italia
    5th Coppa Agostoni
    6th Giro dell'Emilia
    7th Overall Tour Méditerranéen
    7th Tre Valli Varesine
    10th Coppa Bernocchi

#### 1993

    1st Overall Tour of Galicia
       1st Stage 2
    2nd Paris–Camembert
    3rd Overall Tour de Romandie
    3rd Subida a Urkiola
    7th Overall Paris–Nice
    8th Overall Tour de France

#### 1994

    3rd Overall Tour de Romandie
    3rd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
    10th Overall Giro d'Italia

#### 1996

    6th Overall Tour DuPont

### Grand Tour general classification results timeline

| Grand Tour | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 |
| / Vuelta a España | did not contest during his career | did not contest during his career | did not contest during his career | did not contest during his career | did not contest during his career | did not contest during his career | did not contest during his career | did not contest during his career | did not contest during his career | did not contest during his career | did not contest during his career |
| Giro d'Italia | 20 | — | — | 1 | 3 | — | — | 5 | 14 | 10 | 58 |
| Tour de France | — | 4 | 16 | 15 | 22 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 8 | — | — |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DNF | Did not finish |