Mike Neel competed in the road race at the 1976 Olympics, but he won three US titles on the track, the 1971 and 1973 individual pursuit, and the 1973 10-mile scratch race. Neel did win the 1974 Tour of the Sierras in California. After the 1976 Olympics Neel turned professional and raced in Italy for a lesser team, Magniflex. He competed at the 1976 World Professional Road Race Championship in Ostuni, Italy, placing 10th, an unheard of performance for an American racer in that era. Neel only competed in Europe through 1977, returning to the United States to coach and manage cyclists and cycling teams. He coached the 1978-79 US Cycling Federation road team, and later managed Andy Hampsten when he won the 1987 Tour de Suisse and the 1988 Giro d’Italia. Neel later coached the Timex-Saeco Women’s pro team in the 1990s.
United States