The US Bicycling Hall of Fame has announced six new inductees who will become members of the US Bicycling Hall of Fame (USBHOF) on October 20 during ceremonies in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Many-time national champion Dale Stetina; women's road racing legend Nancy Burghart Haviland; 1930s six-day racing legend Cecil Yates; Olympian and Tour de France team manager Tom Schuler; BMX racing pioneer Bernie Anderson; and former United States Cycling Federation and US Olympic team official William Lambart will all be honoured with induction later this year.
Phil Liggett, known as the international voice of cycling, will be on hand to speak at the ceremony which will be conducted with partner the International Cycling Center (ICC) of Allentown, Pennsylvania. While there, Liggett will receive the ICC's Lifetime Achievement Award. He has worked as a television commentator since 1978 and received Emmy nominations for his astute and informative coverage of the Tour de France. He has also covered seven summer and four winter Olympic Games commenting on everything from ski jumping to speed skating.
A goal of the USBHOF is to preserve the history of bicycle racing as well as promote cycling in all forms. All inductees have raced their way into cycling's record books or helped promote the sport.
Stetina, of Boulder Colorado, won more than 200 domestic and international races during the 1970s and 1980s. He won national championships in road, track and time-trial races and was a member of the 1976 and 1980 U.S. Olympic teams. He also competed in Mexico and Costa Rica and was the record holder of the grueling Mt. Washington Hill Climb event for 20 years.
Nancy Burghart Haviland, now of Warren, Maine, dominated women's cycling during the 1960s when she won eight national championships. Burghart not only dominated road events but won numerous sprint and pursuit championships, displaying her versatility as a consummate competitor.
The later six-day racing legend Cecil Yates won 19 six-day events of the 81 he competed in during the 1930s and 1940s. He was a fixture at pre- and post-World War II six-day events in New York's Madison Square Garden as well as such cities as Chicago, Cleveland and Buffalo. Yates was born in Thurber, Texas and raised in Chicago.
Tom Schuler achieved as much off the bike as on it. The Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, resident won more than 100 career victories during his career beginning in 1970. An active coach and team organizer, her was co-founder and charter member of the 7-Eleven Cycling team and assistant director of the Motorola Cycling team. He was also director sportif for Team Saturn from 1991-2003. He now heads his own sports management company. During his career, he has helped produce 32 Olympians, multiple national and world champions, and six Olympic medalists.
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San Antonio native Bernie Anderson is best known for his efforts to promote the popularity and expansion of BMX racing throughout the US. First introduced to BMX in 1977, he started four state-of-the art BMX tracks in southwest Texas and promoted the popularity of the sport at every level. Anderson helped found the American Bicycle Association, ABA BMX, which now sanctions more than 11,000 events a year with a membership of 40,000 riders. He has been instrumental in helping BMX gain stature to the point where it will become an Olympic event in 2008.
William Lambart, of Hilton Head, South Carolina, served cycling through its various organizing, officiating, and sanctioning bodies for decades After competing for the legendary New York City-based German Bicycle Sports Club form 1950-1962, Lambert contributed to committees and boards of directors for such groups as the American Bicycle League, the United States Cycling Federation, and numerous international governing bodies. As a designated international commissarie, he has officiated cycling events at the Olympic Games, the Pan American Games and various World Championships. He remains actively int he world of international officiating today.
The USBHOF has previously recognized more than 100 cycling greats. The organization's collection is temporarily housed in storage, but it will soon move to a new Central Jersey location.
