My Heroes Have Not Always Been Cowboys

I’m definitely not one for being purely a fan of celebrities (OK, those of you who know me, one exception: Olivia Newton-John in the final scene of Grease – wow – but I digress).  But there have been a couple of people I’ve admired over the years who have accomplished great things and have also had their moment in the spotlight.  Of course there’s Lance, the shining moment for me being atop the final podium on the Champs Elysees in 199. That was the date I think millions of people with cancer “came out of the closet” and embraced being a survivor and no longer a victim.  A great moment for sure...

But the one person I’ve always really admired, and not so much for what he accomplished, but for his incredible work ethic, is Eric Heiden.  Many of you will recall this American icon of speed skating and his five gold medals in the 1980 Olympics.  I remember watching a documentary on his training process and what it took to be the best in the world in a sport that his home country could hardly care less about, save for a couple of weeks every four years.  But Eric’s story goes on a lot further.  After skating he was a pro cyclist  on the ground breaking American 7-Eleven team, then went to medical school, serving after as a team physician for many years / sports before finally following in his father’s footsteps and is a respected orthopedic surgeon to this day.  Talk about over achieving.

But today on a much smaller stage in a smaller spotlight another athlete who accomplished a great feat. Testicular cancer survivor / Team RadioShack rider Markel Irizar won the overall title at the Spanish Ruta del Sol race today.  I got to hang out with Markel quite a bit at the Tour Down Under recently, and I'm happy to say he’s a great guy and always looking for ways to give back.  And as you can see by the smile on his face he’s a very positive guy with a lot of talent on the bike.  A good guy to look up to.

So cheers to the men and women that give us hope and inspiration for leading by example.  We need more folks like this, not only for us to look up to, but to point our young people towards.  Who are the folks you look up to, and more importantly, why?  Ciao for now – Cb…