From iconic teams, such as Symmetrics and SpiderTech, to Europe, and then back to North America
Recently, Ryan Anderson announced his retirement from pro cycling. He’s been at it since 2008. In that time, he might not have risen to the same heights as say his frequent teammate Svein Tuft or some of his contemporaries, such as David Veilleux or Hugo Houle. But Anderson is the last of a certain generation of pro road cyclist. He’s been on all the influential Canadian road outfits of the past 15 years including Symmetrics, SpiderTech and Rally Cycling. Technically, Rally is registered in Minneapolis, but there’s always so many Canadians on that team, both on the racing side and on the management side, that it gets honorary citizenship.
Anderson got his start daydreaming his way through mountain bike races in his home province of Alberta. Then he moved to banging bars on the road. Later he worked as hard as he could to get to Europe to race against the sport’s best.
He’s seen a lot during the past 13 years. Teams and races have come and gone. As Anderson takes his leave from racing, he looks back at people and events that shaped him and that continue to shape road cycling today.