US road racer Mark Pringle raced a lot on Sekai 5000, made with Ishiwata Alpha tubing - Scary light. Mark did break a few but the sponsors kept 'em coming. He was a really skinny kid back then too.
I'm pretty sure Pringle is still the answer to the trivia question "What American placed highest in the Senior Amateur Men's World Road Race Championships?" His 10th in Venezuela in 1977 just nudges Lance's 11th, 1990 in Japan.
Apologies to non-USA readers, for whom that's a truly trivial trivia question!
Mark Bulgier
Seattle WA USA