Bobby Lea

  
  


Date of Birth: October 17, 1983
Height: 6’2”/1.88m.
Weight: 170lbs./77kg./12.2st.
Place of Birth: Easton, Maryland
Hometown: Topton, Pennsylvania
Residence: Topton, Pennsylvania
Team: Pure Energy Cycling-ProAirHFA
Education: Pennsylvania State University, B.S. Business Management

Olympic/World Championship Experience

  • 16th place — 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing, China - Madison
  • 17th place — 2012 UCI Track World Championships, Melbourne, Australia - Omnium
  • 20th place — 2011 UCI Track World Championships, Apeldoorn, Netherlands - Omnium
  • 11th place — 2011 UCI Track World Championships, Apeldoorn, Netherlands - Scratch
  • 7th place — 2008 UCI Track World Championships, Manchester, Great Britain - Omnium

Career Highlights

  • 1st place — 2014 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships - Madison, Individual Pursuit, International Omnium
  • 7th place — 2011-12 UCI Track World Cup, Beijing, China - Omnium
  • 14th place — 2011-12 UCI Track World Cup, Astana, Kazakhstan - Madison
  • 15th place — 2011-12 UCI Track World Cup, Astana, Kazakhstan - Omnium
  • 19th place — 2010-11 UCI Track World Cup, Manchester, Great Britain - Omnium
  • 14th place — 2010-11 UCI Track World Cup, Beijing, China - Omnium
  • 2nd place — 2008-09 UCI Track World Cup, Copenhagen, Denmark - Madison

Points of Interest

  • Bobby’s brother Syd, who suffered brain damage from a lack of oxygen at birth, is also a competitive cyclist and five-time Special Olympics gold medalist.
  • In 2007 Bobby underwent successful surgery to correct problems with the arteries in his legs and has since recovered to find success at the international level, winning a World Cup silver medal in the madison with Colby Pearce in Copenhagen in February of 2008.

Personal

As an endurance track cyclist, Bobby Lea credits his stamina and tactical sense to his training and competition on the road where his skill set tran

slates to track’s mass start endurance events – the points race, scratch race and Madison. He has accumulated over 40 national championships, primarily as a track rider, since starting in the sport at four years of age.

Lea finished 16th in the Madison as the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, and hasn't stopped working toward making the 2012 Olympic team. He's collected four national championships since the Beijing Olympic Games, including winning gold in the Individual Pursuit and the Omnium at the 2011 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships. Since his former event, the Madison, was eliminated from the Olympic Games, he has focused on the omnium, best described as track cycling’s ‘decathlon. Lea has also registered strong results at the UCI Track World Cups, placing in the top 15 in three different world cup events.

With parents who have been racing bikes for more than 30 years, Lea entered his first competitive cycling event when he was just four years old, but didn’t focus on the sport seriously until he won his first national title in 1997 at the age of 13. His career continued to progress and he went on to compete for the Penn State Cycling Team while earning his degree in Business Management. Collectively, Lea has won 30 collegiate national titles on the road and in various individual and team track events. Since graduating Penn State, Lea has been competing professionally on the road with various U.S.-based pro cycling teams and has captured eight more national titles on the track.

As a cycling fan growing up in the 1980’s and ‘90’s, Bobby lists American cycling legend Greg LeMond as one of his earlier influences as well as his parents and brother, who supported his pursuit of a career in professional cycling since the beginning.

Philanthropically, Bobby is an Olympic Ambassador for Best Buddies International and the Let's Move Campaign.

 

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