Hearts of Lions: The History of American Bicycle Racing

A significant contribution to American sports history, this study by a former bicycle racer reminds us that, a century ago, bike racing was the major U.S. sport. Stars earned tens of thousands of dollars a year at a time when baseball heroes were making $5000. And some of the nation's greatest technological thinkers were involved in bicycle-making, including Henry Ford and the Wright brothers. Interest in the sport peaked in the 1920s, especially as a result of six-day bike races, held all over the country, but most notably at Madison Square Garden and the Velodrome in Newark, N.J. That interest waned in the Depression and war years, when the focus of bicycle racing shifted to Europe, but the victory of American Greg LeMond in the 1986 Tour de France has revived interest in the sport in this country. Photos. (May)