Andy Bishop, a decorated American professional cyclist and beloved Vermont educator, died on Tuesday, 02 June 2026, following a battle with cancer. He was 61.
Born on 26 May 1965 in Tucson, Arizona, Bishop became one of the most well-travelled American road racers of his generation, completing three Tours de France. He rode the 1988 edition with PDM-Ultima-Concorde, the team that won the prestigious team classification that year.
His career highlight came in 1995 when he won the Herald Sun Tour in Australia, also claiming the points classification and a stage victory. He was a teammate of Lance Armstrong during overlapping years in the American peloton, a chapter of the sport now viewed through the complex lens of its doping era.
Long after stepping away from the professional peloton—including stints with PDM (Netherlands), 7-ELEVEN (USA), MOTOROLA (USA), and COORS LIGHT (USA)—he continued to ride in amateur events. He participated in the 2018 Vermont Gran Fondo, placing 145th out of 167 finishers, a result that speaks less to faded form than to a man simply enjoying the ride through his adopted Green Mountain State backyard. He also competed twice in the Lotoja Classic, the gruelling 206-mile road race from Logan, Utah, to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, finishing second in the Tandem category in 2017 and third in 2018.
Bishop moved to Williston, Vermont, in the 1990s and taught mathematics at Harwood Union High School for five years before finishing his career at Hanover High School in New Hampshire, where he also co-coached the Nordic ski team. He also coached national champion mountain biker Lea Davison.
He is survived by his wife, Daria, and children, Summer and Baxter. The cycling world mourns a racer who gave as much to the sport off the bike as he achieved on it.
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