Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961 in Lakewood, California) is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States and a three-time winner of theTour de France. He was born in Lakewood, California[1] and raised in Reno,Nevada.[2]
In 1986, LeMond became the first American and the first non-European cyclist to win the Tour de France.[3] The following year he was shot and seriously injured in a hunting accident. He was able to return to the Tour in 1989, winning it dramatically in its final stage. He won again for the third time the following year in 1990. He is one of only nine cyclists to have won the Tour three or more times.
Racing Career
Early career
Greg LeMond was a standout junior rider who quickly established himself as one of the most talented cyclists in the professional circuit.[5] After his initial success on the junior circuit he began competing against older, more seasoned competitors. He gained the attention of the US Cycling Federation's national team, riding for them at the 1979 Junior World Championships held in Argentina.[6] There he won gold, silver and bronze medals, the highlight being his spectacular victory in the road race. He was selected for the 1980 U.S. Olympic cycling team, the youngest ever, at 18, to make the U.S. team;[7] however, the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow prevented him from competing there.[6]
With the guidance of Cyrille Guimard he joined the professional European peloton, first racing with Union Sportive de Creteil. He won a stage in the demanding Circuit des Ardennes, coming in third overall and proving to himself that he could compete with the best riders in the world. In 1981 he began riding for Renault-Elf-Gitane.
He placed second at the 1982 World Cycling Championship. The following year he won the World Championship outright, becoming the first American rider to do so.[8] His overall strength, climbing ability, and capability to ride a fast time trial made him an excellent prospect for the more demanding Grand Tours.
Major tours
LeMond rode his first Tour de France in 1984, finishing third in support of team leader Laurent Fignon, and winning the young rider classification. The following year he was brought across to La Vie Claire to ride in support of team captain Bernard Hinault who had regained his form and was attempting to win his fifth Tour. Hinault led through the early mountain stages, but suffered a crash and came into difficulty. At this point it was clear that LeMond was an elite rider capable of winning the Tour in his own right. However, the managers of his La Vie Claire team ordered the 24-year-old LeMond to ride in support of Hinault.[9] Instead of staying in the lead group and riding to win, LeMond let the leaders pull away and dropped back to aid Hinault. Hinault won the 1985 Tour, with LeMond finishing second, 1:42 behind. LeMond was clearly frustrated by the events, and later revealed that team management and his own coach Paul Koechli had misled him as to how far back Hinault had dropped during the crucial mountain stage. Regardless, he rode as the dutiful lieutenant, and his aid was crucial to enabling Hinault to gain his fifth Tour victory.
The following year in the 1986 Tour, LeMond was made co-leader of the La Vie Claire team alongside Hinault, with Hinault publicly promising to ride in support of LeMond to repay LeMond for the work he had done in 1985.[10][11] What he did not say was that the help was contingent upon LeMond demonstrating that he was clearly the better rider. Hinault was in superb form, and had the chance to win an unprecedented sixth Tour. In Stage 12, the first mountain stage of the race in the Pyrenees, Hinault attacked the lead group and built up an overall lead. By the end of Stage 12, Hinault had a five-minute lead over LeMond and the other top riders. He claimed he was trying to draw out LeMond's rivals, but none of these attacks were planned with LeMond. He was clearly willing to ride aggressively and take advantage of the opportunities presented. LeMond was never in trouble, except by his own teammate. The following day Hinault broke away again early but was caught and then dropped by LeMond on the final climb of Stage 13, allowing LeMond to gain back four and a half minutes. The next three stages brought the Tour to the Alps. On Stage 17 LeMond and Urs Zimmermann dropped Hinault from the leading group, and the end of the day saw LeMond pulling on the yellow jersey of race leader, the first time it had ever been worn by an American rider.[12] The following day in the Alps saw Hinault attack again early on the first climb, but he was pulled back. Attempting an escape on the descent, he was unable to separate himself from LeMond. The two La Vie Claire team leaders continued to pull away as they ascended the next col, and maintained the gap as they reached the base of the final climb, the vaunted Alpe d'Huez. They put on a showcase of strength and form through the twenty-one switchbacks, cresting the summit together. LeMond put an arm around Hinault and gave him a smile and the stage win in a show of unity,[13] but the infighting was not over. Hinault attacked again on Stage 19 and had to be brought back by teammates Andy Hampsten andSteve Bauer. Commenting on the team situation prior to the final individual time trial at Stage 20, LeMond offered the following with a wry smile:
"He's attacked me from the beginning of the Tour De France. He's never helped me once, and I don't feel confident at all with him."[14]
LeMond had to keep his eye on his teammate and rival throughout the race. Hinault rode aggressively and repeatedly attacked, and the division created in the La Vie Claire team was unmistakable.[15] LeMond would keep the yellow jersey to the end of the race and win his first Tour, but he felt betrayed by Hinault and the La Vie Claire team leadership, declaring that "[Hinault] hasn't helped me one iota.... I have no respect for him anymore.... I know I'll never be friends with him again after this race. Not the way he's treated me."[16] LeMond later stated the 1986 Tour was the most difficult and stressful race of his career.
Accident and recovery
Disaster struck LeMond while turkey-hunting in California, April 20, 1987, when his brother-in-law accidentally discharged his shotgun within a few feet from LeMond, striking him in the back with over 40 pellets and nearly killing him.[17] The 1987 Tour de France was just two months away. He would spend the rest of his career with 37 shotgun pellets remaining in his body, two resting in the lining surrounding his heart. LeMond missed the following two Tours while recovering. During this period he was also beset by other physical ailments, suffering appendicitis that required surgical intervention. Subsequently trying to push his return to cycling too quickly, he developed tendinitis in his knee and had to spend more time in recovery.
Return to elite level
After struggling in the Paris-Nice race and failing to find his form, he informed his wife Kathy that he had decided to quit racing following the1989 Tour de France.[3] LeMond rode the 1989 Giro d'Italia as preparation for the Tour to follow, but was consistently dropped on the climbs and was not considered a contender coming into the Tour.[18][19] LeMond's own most optimistic hope was to finish his final Tour in the top 20.[3] With the pressure off, LeMond rode more easily, and surprised observers with a excellent prologue where he finished fourth out of 198 riders. Buoyed by this, he seemed to ride into form over the course of the first week's flat stages, and was on form by the time the Tour reached the mountains. The overall lead changed back and forth between LeMond and former teammate and rival Laurent Fignon. Coming out of the mountains, Fignon had won the battle and held a 50 second lead going into the final stage time trial. Fignon had won the Tour twice before in 1983 and 1984, and was known as an extremely capable time trialist. It seemed almost impossible for LeMond to make up 50 seconds over a 25 kilometer course, which would require LeMond to gain two seconds per kilometer on one of the fastest time trialists in the world.[3][18][20] LeMond rode the time trial using an aero helmet and innovative aero bars, which kept his body in a more aerodynamic position than that of the traditional time trial equipment. Instructing his support car not to give him his split times,[3][18] he rode flat out and finished in a record pace to beat Fignon by 58 seconds and claim his second Tour de France victory. As LeMond rejoiced in victory on the Champs-Élysées, Fignon sat in shock and wept.[3] The final margin of victory of eight seconds was the closest in the Tour's history.[21][22] LeMond's average speed in the time trial, 54.545 km/h, was the fastest in Tour de France stage history; since then, only the 1994 prologue[23] andDavid Zabriskie's 2005 time trial performance has been faster.[24]
LeMond's return to the top of the sport was confirmed several weeks later with his second World Championship, again beating Fignon and outsprinting Dimitri Konyshev and Sean Kelly at the line. He was named Sports Illustrated magazine's 1989 "Sportsman of the Year", the first cyclist to receive the honor.[25]
LeMond won the Tour for the third time in 1990. This time riding on the much stronger "Z" team, LeMond would get help in controlling the race. An oddity of this tour was a first day breakaway that gained over ten minutes on the field. The break had no major riders in it, and as Team Z had a rider in the bunch, they did not ride the break down. The break did contain a young Italian rider by the name of Claudio Chiappucci, then at the start of his career and relatively unknown. The break's 10 minutes 35 second gain on the field resulted in the leader's yellow jersey being passed between members of the opening day break until arriving at last on the capable shoulders of Chiappucci. Chiappucci rode an inspired race, and did not give up the yellow jersey until the final individual time trial. LeMond ended up finishing the time trial more than two minutes up on Chiappucci, gaining at last the leader's yellow jersey which he wore down the Champs-Élysées. That year's Tour was won without the leader taking a single stage of the race.
LeMond also competed in the 1991, 1992, and 1994 Tours, placing seventh overall in 1991 and withdrawing in 1992 and 1994.
In 1992, LeMond became the first American to win the Tour DuPont, a short-lived American answer to the Tour de France that took place from 1991 to 1996. LeMond won the prologue in record time and it was his first American win since the mid-1980s. The 1992 Tour DuPont victory was Greg LeMond's last major win of his career.
 LeMond at the start of the last stage in the 1990 Tour de France. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gregory James LeMond | ||
| Nickname | LeMondster | ||
| Born | June 26, 1961 Lakewood, California | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Retired | ||
| Discipline | Road | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
| Rider type | All-Rounder | ||
| Professional team(s) | |||
| 1981–1983 1984 1985–1986 1987 1988 1989 1990–1992 1993–1994 | Renault-Elf-Gitane Renault La Vie Claire Toshiba-Look PDM ADR Z Gan | ||
| Major wins | |||
| |||
| Infobox last updated on October 8, 2011 | |||
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