I have mentioned this before, but in the mid-80s, I was attending an Army school at Ft Leavenworth KS. We had an Army Major, mid-30s at the time, who told of riding the Tour de France in the late 70s while he was stationed in Germany. He said that he rode under an alias as he wanted to be able to ride sanctioned USCF events upon his return to stateside and riding on a professional team was not acceptable by the USCF. He was very sensitive about this for several reasons, not the least of which was the ethical considerations given his military position. This was a couple of years after Jacque Boyer became the "first" American to ride in the Tour de France and several of us were trying to get this Major to go public with his accomplishment. I always wondered whether this was really true as I find it implausible that he could have found the time to train, let alone race at that level, while also holding down a full-time Army position. I also wonder whether other riders may have ridden under aliases, creating a difficulty for the researcher who is trying to establish credentials based on records that are very old. Lou Deeter, Orlando FL
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