Edward “Eddie B” Borysewicz has passed away. The Polish coach died at the age of 81 on November 17, 2020 in a hospital in Drezdenko, in Lubuskie Province.
“Eddie B” is one of the most important cycling coaches in the history of the 20th century. In the first half of the 1970s he trained the Polish national team of juniors, and in 1977-1987 he was the coach of the US Olympic team.
He raised Mieczysław Nowicki, winner of the silver and bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Montreal (1976). As a US national team coach, he introduced the Americans to the world stage, preparing the men’s and women’s squad for numerous world championships and the Games in Los Angeles (1984). Among his students and discoveries are such cyclists as the three-time winner of the Tour de France (1986, 1989, 1990) Greg Lemond, the winner of the Giro d’Italia (1988) Andy Hampsten, Jeff Bradley and Lance Armstrong.
His career in the US squad ended in 1987, after the scandal surrounding the disclosure of blood transfusions by American cyclists. This method was not officially prohibited at that time. According to the information disclosed by the media and the later confessions of the team members, a third of the cycling Olympic team decided to use the blood doping option. Borysewicz, who, together with Edward Burk and Dr. Herman Falsetti, was to supervise the preparations, maintained that everything was done within the framework of the applicable regulations and on the basis of reliable medical information.
Borysewicz was elected to the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1996 in the Contributor category. More biographical information can be found here.
Borysewicz in the late 1980s and early 1990s was behind the Montgomery / Subaru band, which later turned into the US Postal team. In 1990-91 this formation included the young Lance Armstrong, who would later be a seven-time Tour de France winner. Borysewicz did not train Armstrong in his heyday, while the Texan in 2012 was disqualified for life for many years of doping. The American pleaded guilty to fraud a year later.
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