Dan Bockenstedt was born in Dubuque, Iowa on March 1, 1968. When he was 13, he bought his first ‘racing bike' (a blue Raleigh Grand Prix) with money he saved. With the encouragement of a friend, Paul Pinder, Dan started racing in the summer of 1982 and rode well, including winning the Intermediate District Road Race at Hesper, Iowa. He started attending weekly time trials held by the Dubuque Bike Race Club that same summer and regularly turned in better times than most racers in the club. Much to the surprise of the Category 2 & 3 riders in the club, Dan was able to stick with the group on hard training rides around the area on his heavy bike with touring shoes.

His first taste of stage racing came in the summer of 1983 when he entered the Pepsi-Lowenbrau Race Series in Wisconsin as an intermediate and was contending for the series lead when he fell and broke his collar bone. As a junior, Dan was successful in many state and regional level races. He recognized as a 14 year-old that careful planning and methodical training were key elements to success on the bike. In 1985, through regional qualifiers races, he was able to take part in the Junior Worlds selection camp at the Olympic Training Center (OTC). At the OTC, he was given access to personalized planning for training and racing by the national coaching staff.

In 1986 he put this information to good use in his last year as a junior by winning numerous races, including winning the Memorial Day Weekend Series. This regional junior qualifying race series again gave Dan the opportunity to compete at the Junior Worlds trials selection camp at the OTC. However, he narrowly missed selection for the Worlds team for the second year in a row. That year he would race the junior races as a nearly automatic top three finisher. In 1986 he would often ride the junior race in criteriums and then hop right back on his bike to ride in the Pro, Cat 1,2 event. Even in National Calendar races he could be seen in breakaways in Pro, 1,2 races with such notable international pros of the day as Jeff Bradley and Tom Schuler (7-Eleven).

That fall, he entered the University of Iowa for classes, in part understanding that he would have the opportunity to train in a hotbed of national caliber cyclists that were attracted to the Iowa City area. In early 1987, as a first year Senior Dan was invited to the Olympic Training Center for the first of many winter camps he would attend. He returned to Iowa for spring racing in 1987 and after the Memorial Day race series moved to Estes Park, Colorado to live and train in the mountains.

He raced in Colorado most of that summer, including The Munsingwear Classic in Crested Butte. At that time, The Munsingwear Classic was on the International Calendar and attracted domestic and international pro teams, including a squad from Toshiba-Look (La Vie Claire the year before). Thanks to some bad luck on the part of a couple French riders on the Toshiba-Look team catching the flu, and because of Dan's reputation, he was able to realize the dream of riding as part of a professional European squad (as a first year Senior). Although not feeling healthy himself, Dan rode well at Munsingwear on the Toshiba-Look squad and contributed to the team's success at key points in the stage race…only finding out later he had mononucleosis at the time.

In 1988, he rode for AmPro cycles of Niles, IL, a squad with international talent, including Tom Rokowski, National Pursuit Team member, a former Junior Polish National Champion, Walter Stopa a rider who had defected from the Polish National Team during the Tour of Spain the year before (in 1987 there were still two years left in the Cold War), and several other riders of regional talent. This squad rode well together and Dan competed again in the National Championships road race in Spokane with three other team members that year.

In 1989 he rode for Sidi-Turin and in 1990 joined The Ordinary Racing Team of Iowa City, which became a regional powerhouse. As a part of this team, Dan rode, and performed well in, many national calendar races. In 1991 as a member of The Ordinary Racing Team he rode the Grand Prix du Bois in Ontario, Canada . In this race considered by many to be the toughest stage race in North America he contended for the King of the Mountains classification. Dan also raced in the NCAA National Track Championships in 1991 for the University of Iowa with a close friend and teammate, Lowell Kellogg where they placed 8th and 13th, respectively in the points race.

Dan continued to stay involved in racing through the early and mid-1990's as a Category 1 racer, although he rode fewer national calendar events after 1992. He enjoyed riding with others and was always willing to share his knowledge of science-based training methods and tactics in a thoughtful and positive manner with those who were interested.

Dan demonstrated exceptional all-around riding skills and was particularly noted for his climbing strength, time trialing, and ability to thrive in races of attrition. Although gifted physically, Dan was also known for his tactical prowess, aggressive style, and the seeming ‘Jedi mind-trick' ability to slip out of the pack and up the road…unnoticed. He had a remarkably good sense of humor, a must in the cycling skills tool box for getting through those long rides/races. Most importantly, he was an outstanding human being.

Dan was tragically killed in September 1997. It was and continues to be a deep loss to the cycling community and all those who knew him. From 1998 to 2001, The American Bicycle Racing Association memorialized him through the Dan Bockenstedt Road Race held at the Badger Army Ammunition plant each spring (the aftermath of September 11, 2001 closed that race venue). The Senior 1,2 race at the Iowa State Road Race Championship is also named in his honor with the Dan Bockenstedt Cup awarded to the top Senior Men's finisher each year. Both of these courses are fitting tributes to Dan in that they require climbing, tactics, the ability to endure attrition, and a pretty darn good sense of humor, although not in equal parts.

Requiescat in pace, Daniel

Text by Dan's brother Paul. 2004