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Greg Lemond Biography
Greg Lemond
Greg Lemond was the first American to win the Tour de France and went onto win the race a total of 3 times. He might have won it more, had it not been for a near fatal shooting accident which sidelined him for two years.
Greg Lemond was born June 26, 1961 in Lakewood California. His first passion was for skiing, but aged 13, he switched to cycling where he displayed prodigious talent.
In 1979 he won gold in the World Junior road race championship and was picked for the US Olympic squad of 1980, (although the US were to boycott the event)
With the support of Cyrille Guimard, Greg took a big jump and entered the European professional cycling scene. By 1981 he was racing for the Renault-Elf-Gitane team. Just two years after making his professional debut, he won gold in the World road race championship, aged only 22.
In his first Tour de France in 1984, Lemond finished 3rd and won the white jersey as best young rider. In 1985, Lemond found himself on the same team as French superstar Bernard Hinault. Lemond was under team orders to ride in support of Hinault. Even though at times Lemond appeared the stronger, Hinault was crowned winner for the 5th time, with Lemond 1 min 42seconds back in second place.
In the 1986 Tour, Hinault promised to ride for Lemond in gratitude for Lemond’s sacrifices the previous year. However, Hinault built up a lead of over 5 minutes over Lemond, before Hinault lost ground on one stage enabling Lemond to take over the yellow jersey. In the stage to Alpe d’Huez both riders crossed the line together – suggesting unity, though Lemond felt Hinault had been riding for himself and Lemond had only won, because he was stronger than Hinault.
In April 1987, Lemond was badly injured in a shooting accident, whilst shooting Turkey in US. This put him out of the next two Tour’s.
When he returned to the Tour in 1989, Lemond still had 27 shotgun pellets in his body (including 2 in the lining of his heart). The race proved to be an epic battle between French star – Laurent Fignon and the American, Greg Lemond, on his comeback. Heading into the final stage – a time trial in Paris, Lemond stood 50 seconds behind Lemond. Using time trial aero bars, (then a novelty in pro cycling) Lemond succeeded in overturning Fignon’s advantage, winning the Tour with the smallest ever margin of 8 seconds. Lemond was ecstatic, Fignon wept openly on the Champs Elysees.
Later that year, Lemond completed his remarkable comeback with his second world road race championship. Lemond was awarded the Sports Illustrated magazine sportsman of the year – the first cyclist to receive the award. It was testimony to how much Lemond had raised the profile of cycling in America.
In 1990, Lemond won the Tour for the third time, beating Claudio Chiappucci, despite never winning a stage.
Lemond later lamented the fact his shooting accident prevented him winning the Tour 5 times. But, he remains one of only 8 cyclists to win the tour more than 3 times.
Lemond retired from racing in 1994, as his performance slowly deteriorated. He blamed his poor performance on overtraining; at this time there were also increased mutterings about the new wonder drug – EPO. Something Lemond later said he could never contemplate taking.
After his racing career finished, he concentrated on his bike business. – Lemond Bikes. However, the initial business didn’t succed due to a combination of poor management and lack of investment. His line of bikes was taken over by Trek, who continue to sell Lemond bikes today.
Doping Controversies
In 2001, Lemond noted his disappointment that Lance Armstrong was visiting doctor Michael Ferrari. Michael Ferrari had a reputation for condoning and administering doping products. For example, Ferrari ‘helped’ the Gewiss team in the early 1990s He was later tried and convicted of sporting fraud in 2004 (http://www.velonews.com/article/7047)
However, Armstrong was furious at the insinuations and demanded an apology through Trek. Reluctantly Lemond gave into Trek’s demands for an apology, although he wept as he read it out.
Lemond and Flloyd Landis
After Flloyd Landis’ postive dope test during the 2006 Tour de France, Lemond was asked for his opinion, in which he gave no support for Landis’ excuses.
This led to a phone call between Flloyd Landis and Greg Lemond in which they discussed the issue of doping and Lemond’s ’secret’ Lemond’s ’secret’ here was his painful childhood experience of being sexually abused by a family friend.
Before the trial of Floyd Landis, Lemond was called on his mobile phone by Will Geoghegan, the lawyer of Landis. In this call, Geoghegan threatened to reveal Lemond’s secret of sexual abuse if he didn’t support Landis. Lemond brought the mobile phone call to the attention of the judge and Geoghegan was sacked by Landis, although it appears Landis was in the same room as Geoghegan when the call was made.
Landis almost made a veiled threat in an online posting on the Daily Peloton forum.
Since September 2007, Greg Lemond has become a founding board member of 1in6.org an organisation seeking to help people who experienced sexual abuse in their childhood. In an interview after the Flloyd Landis trial, Lemond spoke of the difficulties coming to terms with his past.
“There was a part of me with a hole that I could never fill and it almost destroyed me, but I have been able to work through a lot of those difficulties and it feels so empowering now that nobody can hold anything over me. I don’t give a shit what people say, because it really doesn’t matter. My life is about my wife, my kids and the few friends that I have.”
LeMond interview with Paul Kimmage. at Times
Related
Doping in Professional cycling
Greg Lemond optimistic about future of pro cycling