Forester Athletic Hall of Fame
Inducted 2008
Robbie Ventura '94

Robbie Ventura grew up in Kenosha , Wisconsin . He played youth hockey for the Deerfield Falcons and began racing bicycles as a form of cross-training. After graduating from Tremper High School in 1989, he spent a year playing for the United States Hockey League team in Dubuque , Iowa .

Ventura entered Lake Forest College in the fall of 1990 and played on the Forester hockey team that went 18-6-2 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament that winter. He scored eight goals in both his freshman and sophomore seasons before suffering a shoulder injury as a junior that ended his playing career. Ventura continued cycling and was named to the All-American Collegiate Cycling Team in 1992 and 1993. He also won the 1993 Men's Miss & Out National Collegiate Track Cycling Championship and competed in the 1993 World Track Cycling Championships in Norway . The double-major in business and psychology was a member of the College's Phi Pi Epsilon fraternity and graduated with honors in 1994.

Ventura raced professionally for 12 years, including four seasons alongside Lance Armstrong on the Tour De France winning U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team. He recorded more than 70 career victories and was a member of the U.S. World Team. Among his triumphs were a pair of first-place finishes in the world famous El Tour de Tucson and the 2008 event was dedicated to him. He added the completion of the Ironman Canada Triathlon to his list of athletic accomplishments in August of 2008.

Ventura served as a motivational speaker for numerous community, school, and professional events and as a television commentator during the Tour De France. He has also been an honorary chairman of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. He founded Vision Quest Coaching in 2000 and has worked with hundreds of professional and amateur cyclists and tri-athletes.

He and his wife Lori have four children – Luna, Enzo, Luci and Rocky.


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