Since it’s a quiet day on the Tour front, I thought I would point out a really great article over at Men’s Journal about the trials and tribulations of Greg LeMond over the past few years.
LeMond, who was the first American to ever win the Tour, has been quite outspoken in recent years about the amount of doping that goes on in cycling. He contends that it has pervaded every level of the sport and has even called out Lance Armstrong, essentially accusing the 7 time Tour winner of doping.
LeMond’s detractors say that he is simply jealous of the success of Armstrong and other riders, who have in a sense stolen his thunder. While competing, Lance was the most tested athlete in the world, and he never failed a single test, although rumors and innuendo have dogged him in recent years.
This article is quite a candid look at LeMond and the controversy that has surrounded him in recent years, some of which has been down right strange. He’s currently locked in a legal battle with Trek Bikes, who promoted the LeMond brand of bikes, with both sides suing one another. Trek claims that LeMond hurt his own brand by being so out spoken about Armstrong and doping in general, while LeMond alleges breach of contract as Trek moved to promote Lance more fully.
It’s quite a tale to be sure. It involves drugs, backdoor deals, and family secrets. Quite the soap opera, and a good read. It’s too bad that America’s top two cyclists had to come down to this though.
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LeMond was great, tks for the story on him, you’ve done a lot of history and research on him, are you into biking?
Yep! Definitely into cycling. I grew up idolizing Greg and still think he’s one of the best riders ever. It’s a shame that there has to be a bit of a feud between him and Lance, but LeMond will always be the first American to win the Tour and the guy to really bring attention to the sport of cycling in the States.