LeMond thumped a giant gear to win the stage and the 1989 Tour.
#Lemond team z vetements trial
Going into the final stage, a 24.5 km time trial into Paris, Fignon had a 50 second lead. They were almost identical in ability, Fignon a slightly better climber, LeMond the superior time trialist. In the 1989 Tour Fignon and LeMond brawled day after day. Unlike almost everyone else, LeMond included, Guimard expected LeMond to be a serious challenger in the Tour. That ride astounded two-time Tour and 1989 Giro winner Laurent Fignon and his manager Guimard. The first hint that his comeback might be successful was his second place in the final time trial of the 1989 Giro d'Italia. In fact, LeMond was never the same rider again. The near-fatal accidental shotgun blast left LeMond unable to compete at a high level until 1989. LeMond was badly wounded in a hunting accident in the spring of 1987. LeMond's physical superiority finally won out, but beating Hinault was no easy thing. Between LeMond's bad luck, his flat-footed tactical awareness and Hinault's constant attacks, LeMond's 1986 Tour was was one of racing's most exciting ever.
After LeMond had made the sacrifice of a lifetime and allowed Hinault to win his fifth Tour Hinault promised to help LeMond win the Tour in 1986. In fact, Hinault was several minutes behind and never caught the LeMond group. In a still really unexplained episode, LeMond was told to wait for Hinault, who was said to be less than a minute back. While Hinault was being left behind, LeMond was away with Stephen Roche. Hinault crashed part way through the Tour was was dropped in stage 17. That meant he was still second banana, this time to Hinault. LeMond switched teams in 1985, riding with Bernard Hinault for Bernard Tapie's La Vie Claire squad. Despite his domestique duties, he came in third and won the best young rider's white jersey.
That he had a talent for stage racing showed when LeMond rode his first Tour de France in 1984 in support of Laurent Fignon. The next year LeMond won the first of his two rainbow jerseys with a perfectly timed breakaway. A review of the race shows Boyer had no chance of staying away. LeMond, like the other Americans at the race, paid his own own expenses and rode for himself. LeMond, who came in second, insists the Americans did not ride the Worlds as a team. But Boyer was bitter, saying he would have won had LeMond not chased him down. Before the sprint ramped up LeMond went after him, but Giuseppe Saronni was on song and no one was going to beat him that day ( Sean Kelly said he couldn't even hold Saronni's wheel in the sprint). Fellow American John Boyer took a flyer near the end of the race. LeMond ran into his big first controversy at the 1982 World Road Championships in Goodwood England.
#Lemond team z vetements professional
He signed his first professional contract with Cyrille Guimard to ride for the Renault-Elf squad in 1981. While still a junior he regularly raced against and beat senior men. LeMond was twice Junior American Road Champion and 1979 Junior World Road Champion. He was also one of the most skilled and daring descenders the sport has ever seen.Īlmost from the moment Greg LeMond first turned a bicycle pedal he began winning races, becoming America's dominant intermediate and then junior rider. He could climb with the best, roll the big gear, and sprint. His VO2 Max of 92.5 remains one of the highest scores ever attained.
Greg LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is the only American to have won the Tour de France and is easily the most physically talented rider since Fausto Coppi. Major wins and high placings | Teams | Photos | Owen Mulholland tell the stories of the 1985 Tour de France | 1986 Tour de France BikeRaceInfo interview with Greg LeMond | THE COMEBACK: Greg LeMond, The True King of American Cycling, and a Legendary Tour de France book excerpt
0 kommentar(er)
