This week, I’m devoting the show to frame builder Roland Della Santa who passed away last weekend at the age of 72. Della Santa is most famous for helping to launch Greg LeMond into bike racing; one of the earliest shots of LeMond winning a bike race is of him wearing a Della Santa jersey astride one of the builder’s bikes.
Della Santa was a builder at a crucial time of development for cycling in the U.S. He was both a builder and a racer during the era when the likes of Gary Fisher, Tom Ritchey and George Mount were ascending the ranks. It’s worth noting that he was among the very earliest builders in the U.S. and his bikes and teams were an integral part of the rise of racers and racing in Northern California.
My guests this week are Don Walker of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, longtime friend Jan Johnson, Greg LeMond biographer Daniel de Visé, Gary Fisher (yeah, that Gary Fisher), Della Santa’s assistant Jake Barrett and Olympic Silver Medalist Inga Thompson.
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