John Lieswyn
By John Alsedek
Bicycle racing is a sport that requires, perhaps more than anything
else, perseverance, which is why less than half of all first-year USCF
racers ever renew their licenses. Perseverance is a commodity that Shaklee's
John Lieswyn has in abundance.
From being an up-and-comer with domestic powerhouses Saturn and Coors
Light, to a largely (and unfairly) overlooked member of the U.S. National
Team, to an 18-month retirement, to racing as a free agent, and finally
to finding his niche as co-leader of the Shaklee squad, Lieswyn has
shown the same 'don't give up' attitude off the bike that he has always
shown on it.
He had lived in San Francisco, Venezuela, and Indonesia by the time
he reached high school in Gainesville, FL, as his father worked on subsidiary
mining projects for US Steel. Lieswyn was therefore well-traveled when
he discovered a whole new world in cycling. "I used to commute to high
school on a cheap Raleigh. Some racers saw me riding around all the
time and invited me on the local training rides." It didn't take them
long to realize that Lieswyn was something special.
He began racing while attending the University of Florida where he
completed his Business Degree in 1990, and soon drew the attention of
the Crest amateur team, who signed him for the 1990 season. The team
folded at the end of the year, but his solid results, including a win
in the Tour of the Gila and third overall in the Casper Classic, earned
him a ride on former 7-Eleven director Mike Neel's Spago squad.
He also impressed with his results overseas whilst riding for the
National Team, gaining wins in the Grand Prix of Sydney criteriums,
and a stage of the Commonwealth Bank Classic, as well as fifth overall
in the Regio Tour of Europe. However, perhaps his best-known performance
was in a race he didn't quite win. In the USCF National Road Race, he
turned in the day's most impressive ride. Not at all awed by the hilly
course or stifling heat, Lieswyn attacked with two others who eventually
dropped off the pace, and stayed out front for the next 93 miles, building
a lead as large as 4:55. While he ultimately finished third to a certain
Lance Armstrong, Lieswyn garnered some hard-earned accolades as one
of US cycling's strongmen.
In 1992, he joined the Saturn team and set his sights on making the
Olympic squad headed to Barcelona. Going into the US Olympic Trials/Nationals
as a dark-horse favorite, he helped Saturn win silver in the team time
trial, and worked hard in support of teammate Chann McRae in the National
Road Race. Two days later, it was Lieswyn's turn to shine in the second,
and final road race of the Olympic Trials. He began the decisive break
after just 35 miles and was later joined by an 11-rider chase group.
Lieswyn was the workhorse of the group, whittling it down to just eight.
On the very last climb, he attacked and opened a small gap that he held
until the final kilometer, when he was caught. Relative unknown Tim
Peddie won the ensuing sprint, and the automatic Olympic berth awarded
to the race winner. Lieswyn finished seventh and collapsed by the side
of the road, knowing that he'd lost despite being the strongest man
in the field.
When the Olympic team was selected, Lieswyn's name wasn't on the list.
Instead, the team consisted of Peddie, Lance Armstrong, and Seoul Olympics
fourth-place finisher Bob Mionske. They were relatively unsuccessful
in Barcelona: Armstrong finished 14th, Peddie finished 37th, and Mionske
74th; Peddie and Mionske - both strong road sprinters - were forced
to spend the day doing exactly the sort of work for team leader Lance
Armstrong that Lieswyn would have been perfect for. Still, he finished
off the season on a high note during another Australian trip, winning
another stage of the Commonwealth Bank race and two stages of the Tooheys
Grand Prix criterium series. When offered the chance to turn professional
for Coors Light, he accepted, expecting it to be the logical next step
upward in his career. But things aren't always so logical.
1993 and '94 turned out to be largely lost seasons for Lieswyn. On
the loaded Coors Light squad, he was generally shoehorned into the role
of domestique. On the rare occasions when he did have a chance to ride
for himself, fate intervened, such as in the '94 CoreStates US Professional
Championship, when a miscommunication with teammate Mike Engleman cost
him as shot at the US title. Things went from bad to worse at the Athens
Twilight Criterium that same year, as he was involved in a crash caused
by a drunken spectator - a crash that sidelined him with two compressed
vertebrae. The injury, combined with his paucity of results the previous
two seasons, made it tough for him to get a new contract when Coors
Light ceased sponsorship at the end of 1994. He ended up riding for
the US National Team, and quietly put together one of his finest seasons,
only no one heard about it back in the States.
A fall European tour showed Lieswyn at his best: given the opportunity
to ride longer, harder races that better suited his strengths, he won
a stage against Euro pros in the Regio Tour, as well as a seventh overall
in the Tour Poitou-Charentes and third in a mountain stage of the pro-am
Tour of Poland. As a result, he earned a spot on the Worlds team headed
to Colombia, but was thwarted by a bout of food poisoning the night
before the road race. Combined with the lack of opportunities on domestic
teams, it was the last straw for Lieswyn: "Without a team to pay my
salary, I couldn't afford to keep doing it. Cycling on the national
team while paying a mortgage and student loans...I was deep in debt."
So he decided to retire, to settle down with his college sweetheart
and new wife, Dawn, and to take a $60,000/year position as finance manager
at an Asheville, NC auto dealership. His life in cycling was over...or
so he thought.
1996 came and went, with Lieswyn using his bike for commuting, but
little else- until he got a call from Saturn rider Fred Rodriguez, who
invited him to a training camp ride in Greenville, SC. Lieswyn went,
and quickly realized how much he missed the sport. He resumed training,
renewed his racing license, and spent the 1997 season racing as a free
agent for a variety of domestic squads. By mid-season, his form returned,
and he began to get results: a stage win and fifth overall in the Killington
Stage Race, a stage in the Tour of Ohio, and second in the USCF National
Road Race (a teammate won). He capped off the season with a stage win
and second overall in the Tour of Guatemala. He found a steady ride
with the Gomart team for 1998, and continued his comeback in solid fashion,
winning ten races and finishing in the top ten overall in events such
as the Tour of Mendoza (Argentina), the Tour de 'Toona, and the Cascade
Classic.
Finally, in 1999, he consummated a deal that had been talked about
for several years, and joined the Shaklee professional squad. Besides
giving him the team support to perform well: eleven victories, plus
two near-wins in the Herald Sun Tour, Shaklee has proven to be a good
fit for Lieswyn: "I love racing with those guys...I also enjoy promoting
a product I can believe in, unlike Coors Light. Shaklee distributors
are some of the most supportive and enthusiastic fans I've ever met."
(Note: Shaklee is a vitamin and nutritional supplement company that
distributes through local dealers, rather than through national chain
stores)
So what does the 31-year old Lieswyn hope to accomplish in 2000? He
has two specific goals: winning the Olympic Trials and the US Professional
Criterium Championship. He decided on the criterium title almost by
default: "Philly (the US pro road race) has gotten too hard for a domestic-based
pro to win, so I have to reset my sights," but he feels the hilly circuit
near Chicago, IL will suit him. As for the other? Well, just to say
look out for Lieswyn in Melbourne...
|