Sport's Defining Moments 9: The great American cyclist
You know the one. The guy who took the tour, traditionally the exclusive preserve of Europeans, by storm, whose career was shocking interrupted by a life-threatening event only for him to make a triumphant comeback, who stands for everything good about his sport ... oh, no, not that guy, of course not that guy. The one great American cyclist, Greg LeMond.
There are others who have won more Tours, not even counting the now-expunged Armstrong - Hinault, Indurain, Anquetil, and the one usually considered the greatest, Eddy Merckx, but I hope history will put LeMond, winner of three Tours, right up there with them.
First of all, as a trailblazer - he was the first (and still only one of two) non-European to win the Tour. Secondly, he could well have won more but was required, early on, to ride for Hinault, which he certainly did more loyally than Hinault did for him (or than Froome did for Wiggins). Thirdly, he had to miss two Tours after being shot in a hunting accident which almost killed him, and recovered to win the Tour in the most dramatic of circumstances.. Fourthly, his time-trialling performances have been deemed, physiologically, in retrospect, pretty much the most outstanding in cycling history. Fifthly, he was clean. As definitely as definitely gets. When Lance Armstrong blackmailed him by telling him he was going to spread the word that LeMond was a doper if LeMond didn't apologise to him for suggesting he might have, LeMond replied "if it's ever said that I've doped, I will know it has come from you" ... Sixthly, and along the same lines, he is a man who has endured slander and blackmail and threat and revelation of childhood secrets, and ridicule and financial ruin, simply for standing up for what is right.
Cycling has endured the most severe blackening of its name and LeMond is now, pretty much, the last good man standing from those dark ages.
Oh, that America/The World/Cycling chose Armstrong over him for so many years, it does not reflect well on us.
LeMond's most famous Tour triumph was probably 1989, his first back after that hunting accident. No one had particularly high hopes for him that year. He'd burst on the scene was the first great American hope in the mid-80s - he's ridden for Hinault in 84, getting 3rd place himself, and then again in 85, when he was almost certainly the stronger rider, finishing 2nd.
So, to repay the loyalty shown, Hinault said he'd help LeMond win it in '86. Except he didn't. He attacked relentlessly and was the greatest test to his team mate. Eventually LeMond came good to register the first non-European triumph.
Amazingly, Hinault's win in 1985 is the last for a Frenchman, though only just. 1989's tour was an incredible battle between LeMond and Laurent Fignon, which went this way and that. Fignon looked to have stolen it with a lead of almost a minute leading into the final stage. Unusually, though, the last stage was a time trial and LeMond rode one of the greatest single rides in history to win by 8 seconds, the Tour's closest ever margin.
Generally this is seen as one of the greatest ever Tours, and it's significance should not be underestimated. Doping of various sorts has probably always gone on in cycling, but it was at this time that EPO (blood doping) came in and both LeMond and Fignon have said that they basically lost their careers as a consequence. Cycling went from a sport with a bit of dodginess to an enormous, mass-scale fraud (albeit a thrilling fraud). LeMond stands now almost as a beacon during those dark years, a reminder of what cycling still could be and is beginning to be again.
You'll never eliminate cheating from any sport, but it's no good when there's a sport which no clean guy has even a chance in. What hope then?
So LeMond was the great American cyclist. Maybe his successor, with his extensive criminal network, has ensured there won't be too many more great ones for a while. Who'd want to get involved with that racket? Well, Greg LeMond took the racket on, and he won.
There are others who have won more Tours, not even counting the now-expunged Armstrong - Hinault, Indurain, Anquetil, and the one usually considered the greatest, Eddy Merckx, but I hope history will put LeMond, winner of three Tours, right up there with them.
First of all, as a trailblazer - he was the first (and still only one of two) non-European to win the Tour. Secondly, he could well have won more but was required, early on, to ride for Hinault, which he certainly did more loyally than Hinault did for him (or than Froome did for Wiggins). Thirdly, he had to miss two Tours after being shot in a hunting accident which almost killed him, and recovered to win the Tour in the most dramatic of circumstances.. Fourthly, his time-trialling performances have been deemed, physiologically, in retrospect, pretty much the most outstanding in cycling history. Fifthly, he was clean. As definitely as definitely gets. When Lance Armstrong blackmailed him by telling him he was going to spread the word that LeMond was a doper if LeMond didn't apologise to him for suggesting he might have, LeMond replied "if it's ever said that I've doped, I will know it has come from you" ... Sixthly, and along the same lines, he is a man who has endured slander and blackmail and threat and revelation of childhood secrets, and ridicule and financial ruin, simply for standing up for what is right.
Cycling has endured the most severe blackening of its name and LeMond is now, pretty much, the last good man standing from those dark ages.
Oh, that America/The World/Cycling chose Armstrong over him for so many years, it does not reflect well on us.
LeMond's most famous Tour triumph was probably 1989, his first back after that hunting accident. No one had particularly high hopes for him that year. He'd burst on the scene was the first great American hope in the mid-80s - he's ridden for Hinault in 84, getting 3rd place himself, and then again in 85, when he was almost certainly the stronger rider, finishing 2nd.
So, to repay the loyalty shown, Hinault said he'd help LeMond win it in '86. Except he didn't. He attacked relentlessly and was the greatest test to his team mate. Eventually LeMond came good to register the first non-European triumph.
Amazingly, Hinault's win in 1985 is the last for a Frenchman, though only just. 1989's tour was an incredible battle between LeMond and Laurent Fignon, which went this way and that. Fignon looked to have stolen it with a lead of almost a minute leading into the final stage. Unusually, though, the last stage was a time trial and LeMond rode one of the greatest single rides in history to win by 8 seconds, the Tour's closest ever margin.
Generally this is seen as one of the greatest ever Tours, and it's significance should not be underestimated. Doping of various sorts has probably always gone on in cycling, but it was at this time that EPO (blood doping) came in and both LeMond and Fignon have said that they basically lost their careers as a consequence. Cycling went from a sport with a bit of dodginess to an enormous, mass-scale fraud (albeit a thrilling fraud). LeMond stands now almost as a beacon during those dark years, a reminder of what cycling still could be and is beginning to be again.
You'll never eliminate cheating from any sport, but it's no good when there's a sport which no clean guy has even a chance in. What hope then?
So LeMond was the great American cyclist. Maybe his successor, with his extensive criminal network, has ensured there won't be too many more great ones for a while. Who'd want to get involved with that racket? Well, Greg LeMond took the racket on, and he won.
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