Steve Larsen, husband, father of five, business owner, triathlete, and road, mountain, track, and talented cyclocross racer died yesterday during a running workout at the track. Larsen lived in Bend, Ore.
Larsen was a gifted athlete that mastered any sport he tried. He raced alongside Lance Armstrong on Team Motorola, competing at major races including the Giro d’Italia but later switched to mountain biking, winning the NORBA national title in 1998 and 2000 and narrowly missing the 2000 U.S. Olympic team in a controversial team selection.
But throughout his career, he showed his strength at cyclocross and left his mark. His first race was at the national championships in 1986 in Santa Cruz where he finished third in the junior race behind Daryl Price and Frank McCormack. He would also go on to finish second twelve years later at the 1998 National Championships at Fort Devens, Mass. behind Frank McCormack again and ahead of U23 Jonathan Page. Larsen’s career included Supercup wins under his self-created L.L. Bean / Mongoose solo team. His legacy even extends to cyclocross equipment, with the Maxxix Larsen Mimo ‘cross tire being a popular mud ‘cross tire.
He later went on to compete in Xterra off-road triathlons as well as Ironman events, winning the 2001 Lake Placid Ironman, finishing 9th in the Ironman World Championships in 2001 after setting the fastest bike split, and taking the 2003 Xterra title.
He’s reported to be the only athlete to compete in four cycling (road, track, mountain bike and cyclocross) and two triathlon world championships (Xterra and Ironman).
We’ll miss you Steve.
