Steve Bauer

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Steven Todd Bauer (born June 12, 1959 in St. Catharines, Ontario) is a former professional road bicycle racer from Canada.

Bauer joined the Canadian national cycling team in 1977, competing in team pursuit. He would remain on the national team for seven years, winning the national road race championship in 1981, 1982, and 1983, competing in the Commonwealth Games (1978, 1982), the Pan American Games (1979) and capping his amateur career with a silver medal in the men's cycling road race at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Bauer turned professional following the Olympics, and in his second professional race, won the bronze medal at the World Cycling Championship road race in Barcelona.

Between 1985 and 1995, he competed in 11 Tour de France competitions. He finished fourth in the 1988 Tour de France, winning the first leg and wearing the yellow jersey for five days, becoming the second Canadian ever to wear the jersey. The first was Alex Stieda in 1986. He wore the yellow jersey for nine legs of the 1990 Tour de France, finishing the competiton in 27th place.

At the 1988 world championship, Bauer collided with Belgian competitor Claude Criquielion as they were sprinting for a gold medal finish. Bauer was disqualified and Criquielion sued Bauer for assault, asking for $1.5 million in damages in a case that dragged through the courts for more than three years before the judge ruled in Bauer's favor. In 1989 Bauer won the Züri-Metzgete.

In 1994, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (civil division) for having "paved the way for Canada's coming generations of cycling enthusiasts". ^[1]

With professionals allowed in the Olympics, Bauer became a member of the Canadian team for the 1996 Summer Olympics, finishing 41st in the road race. He announced his retirement later that year at age 37. The following year, he co-founded Steve Bauer Bike Tours Inc.

[edit] Tour de France

Participated in 11 Tours
Won the first stage of the 1988 Tour.
14 days in Yellow Jersey.

Year of Tour and Overall Classification

• 1985 10th Wore White Jersey for most of the Tour. 6th fastest in individual time trials
• 1986 23rd
• 1987 74th
• 1988 4th Stage 1 Victory from Pontchateau to Machecoul and 5 days in Yellow Jersey
• 1989 15th
• 1990 27th Led the Tour, 9 consecutive days in Yellow Jersey
• 1991 97th
• 1993 101st
• 1995 101st

[edit] External links

• Steve Bauer Bike Tours