Andy Bishop has passed away
Longtime former road and mountain bike pro rider Andy Bishop passed away this week after a battle with stomach cancer. Bishop was among the "second wave" of modern American pros to race in Europe, following early pioneers like Jock Boyer and Greg LeMond. A promising amateur racer, he debuted as a pro in 1988 with the powerhouse PDM team and went on to race for 7-Eleven and Motorola before switching to mountain bikes in the 1990s.
Bishop raced four Tours de France and numerous Monuments, won the 1995 Herald Sun Tour, then a two-week stage race, and competed at the World Mountain Bike Championships. He raced for the influential Gary Fisher off-road team alongside luminaries like 1996 Olympic gold medalist Paola Pezzo and Ryder Hesjedal, who would go on to win the Giro d'Italia.
After his racing career, Bishop settled in Vermont and became a highly respected teacher and coach. Among the athletes he mentored is two-time Olympic mountain biker Lea Davison. Bishop passed away June 2 at home in New Hampshire at the age of 61, surrounded by family. Escape Collective extends its sympathies and condolences to Bishop's family and friends.
