Canadian Cycling Hall of Fame inducts Tour de France yellow jersey wearer Alex Stieda
Stieda was the first North American to wear the yellow jersey at the Tour de France
Thirty years ago, Alex Stieda became the first North American to wear the yellow jersey at the Tour de France. The Vancouver native got in a breakaway on the first stage of the 1986 Tour. With the time bonuses he’d picked up, he earned the maillot jaune. Stieda also captured to multi-coloured jersey, the red sprint jersey which was the sprint jersey at the time, the king of the mountain classification jersey and the young riders jersey with the effort in his first and only participating in the Tour. It was Stieda’s first year riding professionally with the Seven-11 team. Since retiring he has gone on to contribute to the founding of the Tour of Alberta in 2013, continuing to enrich the sport in Canada.
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On Oct. 1, Stieda was inducted into the Canadian Cycling Hall of Fame. He cites Canadian cycling legend and 2015 inductee Jocelyn Lovell as a big influence. Lovell offered guidance to Stieda and other young riders at the 1979 junior world championships. Marc Lamay, another 2015 inductee and founder of the Tour de l’Abitibi, is also someone who had a positive effect on Stieda as a young rider.
