Luther College graduate is taking part in Tour de France

Photo of Matthew Busche by Emily Maye, Trek Factory

2007 Luther College graduate Matthew "Flip" Busche is currently taking part in Riding in his first Tour de France.

Riding for Trek Factory Racing, Busche is already attempting to make his mark on the tour.  Busche, the sole American on the team for 2014, is a proven strong climber.

"It's been so great watching him evolve as a rider but more importantly as a person, and it's been so fun watching his journey to and now in the Tour," said Luther professor of Africana studies and English Novian Whitsitt. Whitsitt helped Busche find a "love for the bike" as Busche says, on the roads of Northeast Iowa.

The two-time All-American in cross country at Luther suffered from tendonitis while running for the Norse and started cycling for rehabilitation. Upon graduating from Luther he began training and in two years jumped from amateur status to Union Cycliste Internationale Continental to UCI World Tour, perhaps the fastest rise ever in professional cycling, according to trekfactoryracing.com.

His main focus at the Tour de France is as a domestique, a rider who works for the benefit of his team and leader, for teammates Fränk Schleck and Haimar Zubeldia. However, if the opportunity arises, he will attempt to win different stages of the race.
 
A native of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, Busche and his wife Lisa (Savre) Busche, Luther class of 2008, live in Brevard, North Carolina.

Follow Busche's perspective of the Tour de France on his blog at http://matthewbusche.blogspot.fr/