Motorola dropped their cycling sponsorship at the end of 1996, and Bobby was job hunting again. This time he found a spot on the French team Cofidis with some of his former Motorola teammates. Bobby earned a spot on the team for the 1997 Tour de France. In his first Tour, Bobby started off slow, but by the final week of the Tour he was climbing with the best riders in the mountains, and had four top-ten stage finishes, and ended up 17th overall. Bobby was named VeloNews North American Male Cyclist of the Year
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With a year of European racing under his belt, Bobby had confidence going into the 1996 season. In one of the races at the Olympic Trials, Bobby’s heart rate accelerated way past normal levels. This forced him to drop out of the Olympic trials, and at the time he did not know what was causing the problem. Bobby thought he may have to retire from racing altogether. With the help of doctors at Duke University, who performed surgery on Bobby’s heart to fix an “electrical problem” called Re-entrant Supraventricular Tachycardia (RSVT). Bobby was back on his bike for the Tour of Spain.
Bobby had a break through ride in Spain, holding the mountain climbers jersey for ten stages, and finishing 9th overall, the highest placing ever by an American in the Vuelta. While battling for the mountain climbers jersey, Bobby was litterally body-checked by Russia’s Dimitri Konyshev, and went sprawling into a group of spectators. Bobby got up, dusted himself off, and won the next mountain sprint to hold the jersey for another day. “That could have ended my Vuelta right there. But I got back on the bike and didn’t try to fight with Konyshev or make a big deal. I could tell right away the riders respected me more,” Bobby said in an interview with Outside Magazine. He went on to finish 11th in the 1996 World Road Race Championship later in the year.
America’s top cycling team, Motorola, signed Bobby for 1995. He finally got his chance to race as a pro in Europe, but he had to pay his dues, and spent most of the season working as a helper for the established stars of the team. At the Thrift Drug Classic in Pittsburg, Bobby was the perfect team player as he marked the competition on the steep Mt. Washington climb while his Motorola teammates Andrea Peron, Lance Armstrong, and George Hincapie took the top three places. Bobby finished 9th. At the end of the season he made the trip down under to race in the Australia Commonwealth Bank Classic, where he finished third overall.
As a member of the Chevrolet Team in 1994, Bobby was back in the Tour DuPont, and had his chance to show what he could do against the European pro teams. He made his mark right away by finishing second in the prologue, and he ended up 7th overall, held the climbers jersey, and was again the best young rider. Bobby also finished second in the Corestates Lancaster Classic, another major race on the East Coast.
In 1993, Bobby was set to turn pro with the new Rossin team that would compete in Europe, led by former 7-Eleven team director Mike Neel. Just as the season was to start the sponsor pulled the plug leaving Bobby without a team. Bobby nearly gave up on the sport, but with the encouragement of his friends and family he decided to continue racing as a “free agent.” He ran up traveling expenses on his credit card, and paid his own way into the major races in the United States.
Bobby was able to make some noise at such events as the First Union Grand Prix in Atlanta where he was visible in a number of breakaways. Bobby actually joined a Portuguese team that was coming to the U.S. to compete in the Corestates Series, including the USPRO Championships in Philadelphia. Many cycling fans will remember Lance Armstrong’s one million dollar victory at the USPRO Championships in 1993, but you may not recall that Bobby was one of the last riders to stay with Armstrong on the Manayunk wall before Lance attacked and broke away for the win.
By the end of the season Bobby was deep in debt, but he had raced well enough to get an offer from the Chevrolet team for the next season.
1992 was an Olympic year, and Bobby was one of the stars of the US National team along with Lance Armstrong. Bobby raced the Tour DuPont for the second time, and again he was getting noticed.
Bobby made a long solo breakaway during a mountainous stage four and was named most aggressive rider for the stage. Bobby said “The opportunity presented itself, and I was going for the stage win. I wasn’t going to just go out there and let these pros push us around and not attack them, because we’re strong and we want to go for the stage wins too. We’re not here to just finish the race, we want to win stages. Some guys were yelling at me, saying why did I attack, but that’s what racings all about. Anyone that doesn’t want to win shouldn’t be out here.”
In a high-speed downhill finish into the Homestead Resort on stage 7 of the Tour DuPont, Bobby was just beat at the finish line by professional star Phil Anderson, and finised second, but he was one place ahead of Greg LeMond. Not bad for a 20 year-old amateur. He was even interviewed with Greg LeMond by Phil Liggett at breakfast the next morning. Bobby would go on to finish 10th on G.C.
Following the Tour DuPont Bobby won the Everett Classic, a National Calendar Race in Washington State. He was by far the strongest rider in the field, and had a big enough lead to raise his arms in victory at the finish.
Next up for Bobby was the Olympic Trials. Cycling in the Olympics was still an amateur only event, and Bobby seemed to be a lock for the team that would compete on Barcelona. Problem was, the road team was limited to three members, and one of the three spots was up for grabs at the Trials. Tim Peddie, a virtual unknown, won the Olympic trials, and 1988 Olympian Bob Mionski, and Lance Armstrong were named as the coaches selections. Bobby was selected as an alternate for the team, but did not get to compete in the Olympics. He was disappointed, but looked forward to turning pro.
In 1991 Bobby raced as a member of the US National Team in the Tour DuPont, the biggest stage race in the United States.
Bobby really began to show his potential as a future star when he finished 5th overall against some of the best professional
riders in the World including Greg LeMond, and Eric Breukink. Bobby won the award for the Best Young Rider.
It was evident that Bobby gained a lot of confidence. While lying in 6th place overall after stage 7 of the 1991 Tour DuPont
Bobby said “I’m not worried about the climbing anymore because I know now I can climb with these guys. I proved that
yesterday. I’ve just got to stay up front and not make any mistakes … this is a long race. A lot of people could give up,
and let a break go up the road, so I’ve just got to keep my eyes peeled … my team’s going to help me with that, and I’m not
losing any time. That’s the most important thing.”
As a teenager growing up in Colorado, Bobby was introduced to many outdoor sports. Bobby’s father, Bob Sr. began competing in triathlons, and took young Bobby on bike rides with him. He encouraged Bobby to take up triathlons as well, but Bobby wasn’t as excited about running and swimming. After seeing Greg LeMond in the Tour de France on television, Bobby decided cycling was the sport for him. In 1985, at age 14, Bobby decided to enter the Red Zinger Mini Classic, a stage race in Boulder for junior riders. He quickly revealed his talent by winning his age category.
Bobby went on to win many more races as a junior, including the Junior National Road Race Championship in 1987, and was named as a member of the US Junior National Team. He won the Tour de L’Abitibi, a prestigious junior stage race in Canada in 1988 and 1989, and also competed in the Junior World Championships in Moscow. Bobby graduated from Glenwood Springs High School in 1990, but not before winning the Junior National Cyclo-cross Championship that same year.
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