Neighborhood cheers on Decatur cyclist in Tour de France

DECATUR, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Hundreds of small, orange, construction flags line Ponce de Leon Place and many of them read, "Go Joey!"

Neighbors have decked out the street where Joey Rosskopf, 29, grew up to show their support as the elite cyclist competes in the Tour de France.

"There are four Americans in the Tour de France and one of them grew up across the street from me.  So, it's a big deal and I thought that we needed to make a big deal of it," said Wynn Teale. 

Teale and his wife Lynn decided they wanted to decorate their yard to cheer on Rosskopf. 

"His team's colors are orange and we tried to think of something we could put out that would last a month," Teale explained. "We went to Lowe's and got a bunch of orange flags."

The Teales even put extra flags in a bucket on their lawn and offered them up to neighbors.  The display quickly took over the entire street with an estimated 700 flags.

"All these people have just seen him since he was young riding his bike and it's just really exciting that a lot of them are still here to follow his journey when he gets to go to the [Tour de France] which is the ultimate goal," said Anna Rosskopf, Joey's sister. 

Those who know Rosskopf well said he is humble and does not seek out the spotlight.

"He'll probably cringe a little bit," laughed childhood friend Nathan Tavel of the neighborhood display.  "It would be a mix of laugh and 'y'all are nuts.'" 

Rosskopf did exceptionally well in Friday's time trials, finishing 10th and his neighbors and friends have made a point to watch every moment. 

"It's been really exciting to see Joey do so well," said Kristen Tavel. 

The Tour de France wraps up on Sunday. Tavel said the neighborhood will likely add more decorations to welcome the Rosskopfs home.