Terex

"He said when he retires, (he) isn't going to let himself go like Greg LeMond, like 40lbs overweight. Then he said, "I thought about that before I said it""

"Politeness is the art of choosing among your thoughts."
-- Madame de Stael


We can only wonder about what else he was thinking...

va_cyclist

I like pizza and ice cream too. I don't think that's something to hold against someone.

galen_52657

When you think about it, Lance Armstong did win all his TDF's because of drug use.

Not performance drugs, but chemo drugs. If not for the chemo, he would have died.

As it was, when he recoverd and resumed training, Lance had lost a lot of upper-body mass that he never regained, enabling him to climb better.

Before Lance got sick, I never thought he would have a chance at being a world-tour contender. One-day guy, yes but not a tour guy.

teamawe

How does Greg's current weight in any way effect or contribute to that not being a great picture??

Some of you may well be eating your own words (along with pizza and ice cream) when you hit your 50's.

blueorder

hey man!, you can say whatever you want about Greg and Lance but don't be dissin' my pizza and ice cream!...

lala

I like those bars!

sat_cycle

I've read that book cover to cover and I came away with a much different impression I guess.

Just to adress one of your quotes:
Are you a crybaby if you note that a particular course doesn't suit your abilities? I know that after a race, I am always replaying it in my mind seeing where I made my mistakes, how I could have done better. Sometimes though (as Lemond notes) the course just isn't tough enough to break it up and shell guys out the back. Too many guys are able to hang on and suck the wheels of the stronger riders pushing the pace. You could say that that particular course was made for wheelsuckers . . . or you could say that the course wasn't hilly enough to break up the race. Maybe the second viewpoint is a little egocentric but I don't see how it makes you a crybaby.

jbonus

Ah, Greg Lemond. Do you get the feeling he had to try harder than other riders to do what he did? He always suffered so much. Very inspiring.

Totoro

Based on what? Rumor and innuendo?

All he did was criticize Armstrong's decision to consult a doctor known for doping athletes. Armstrong may think he is the best doctor, regardless of what he has done in the past and Lemond may think it is better to avoid such a doctor like the plague, regardless of how good he is. In this case, Lemond was "disappointed" in Armstrong's decision.

I didn't know it was a capital crime to have an opinion. Or that it in any way diminishes his acheivement.

alanbikehouston

I've seen dozens of interviews with REAL champions. And, when they are beaten by a rider (or eight riders) who ran a better race, real champions don't say "the course was too flat", "it was too cold", "it was too rainy", or "my tummy hurt". Champions say "I want to congratulate Lance. He ran a terrific race and he just left me in the dust today...I look forward to trying again in our next race..."

I've read Greg's book cover to cover. His own description of his beliefs and behavior establish Greg as the LEAST "classy" guy to ever win a major race. He often complained his teammates did not like him. But he thought it was THEIR fault.

celticfrost

To some, it is a capital crime if said opinion is somehow percieved as anti-LA.

*rattles the cage a little harder*

Totoro

I've read it too - twice. What you say is only partially true. Sure, he criticizes some of the decisions that forced him to compromise his own position in the TDF. However, he also lauds most of the athletes, managers, and coaches mentioned in the book. If you want me to quote some of these passages, I will. Otherwise, feel free to read it again.

sat_cycle

Being beaten by an opponent who rode a terrific race and left you in the dust is just one possibility in a bike race you didn't win. Others are: having somebody suck your wheel and then sprint you out in the end; having people of lesser ability refuse to work in a break and then turn on the juice when the finish comes up; being outgunned by a team who swamps you in numbers. So to think that the best man always wins in bicycle road racing is pretty naive.

An example of your Lance doing the same thing: read 'Images of a Champion' by Watson and Armstrong . . . at several points Lance explains away his second place finishes by saying that he made stupid mistakes, or that his opponent was wilier than he was. It is clear that he thought he was the better athlete in the back of his mind and that he should have won. But that's just the way it goes in racing . . . both Armstrong and Lemond know that for sure. Explaining what happened doesn't make one any less of a 'real champion' or 'less classy'.

skydive69

Bottom line is that he is a cry baby, and not happy that he is out of the limelight. To the forgiving wag above, apparently you are not privy to all of his denegrating statements, and if I take the time to tell what they were, you will still worship at his alter. Innuendo indeed - if you look up innuendo in the dictionary, I believe the picture of the person depicted at the beginning of the thread will be found. I also have to love the ridiculous statement, "...what if Lemond's accusations are proved to be true (or however it was stated)...?" That type of argument is tendered when one runs out of logic and facts.

Now when you do meet him in person, he is very personable. He has stayed in the very house from which I type this (my fiance's B&B in St. Petersburg, FL). He even gave her an autographed cap for her son who is a pro triathlete. That being said, he is still an ahole!

alanbikehouston

Except for his father and his wife, sooner or later in Greg's book, Greg tells us he is "smarter", or "better", or "faster" than anyone else in the world of cycling.

About his first "champion" team leader Laurent Fignon. Did Fignon BEAT Greg in the Tour de France? No. Greg says "I was forced to shadow Laurent Fignon in the Tour..."

The excuses roll on. He finished fourth, not first, in the 1984 Paris-Roubaix. Why only fourth? "It was the muddiest Paris-Roubaix of recent memory." As always, the mud was only on Greg's section of the road. In 1983, he simply quit Paris-Roubaix. His bike kept slipping in the mud...the winner somehow overcame that problem.

In the TDF, Greg's coach, Paul Koechi, asked Greg to NOT pull Stephen Roche to the front of the race, and help Roche to first or second. Greg was ordered to slow down to avoid helping Roche. His response to being asked to help his team? At the end of that stage: "I was in tears...I sat and cried while my coach...tried to explain..." Where did Greg get his reputation for being a whiny crybaby? Duh....

Was he proud of his teammate Hinault's victory? Well, Hinault did not win the Tour de France. It was a gift from Greg: "Hinault wouldn't have won without my help...."

And Greg had GREAT respect for the rules. As a "junior", he was under a rule that the maximum allowed gear was a 52 x 15. The officials did not have time to get do and count teeth. So, they would revolve the crank 360 degrees and measure the distance the bike rolled to verify you were obeying the 52 x 15 rule. But, Greg heard a rumor that you could sneak by the officials using a 53 x 15. As he proudly writes in his book, he jumped through this loophole and "it did pass!". What kind of guy cheats and then BRAGS about it?

I guess there is a "class" of cyclist who thinks "If you cheat, and don't get caught, you are NOT really just a sleezy scum-sucking cheater. The great "hero", Greg LeMond.

Your hero. Not mine.

skydive69

So true, in road races often the best man does not necessarily win. I ran a road race last month that I happened to win, but no one would work, so I just slowed the pace, and took it home in the last quarter mile of a 20K RR. I was lucky to be able to hold off all of the non-workers at the end, but it usually does not work that way if you get stuck with all the work load. It was a frustrating experience to do hard pulls, pull over, and no one would come forth. That is why my favorite competitive event is the TT - the race of truth! When you win a TT, you are usually the best man (that day).

sat_cycle

lol, the gearing restrictions for Juniors are based on gear inches, hence why they revolve the crank around and measure how far your wheel travels. If the restrictions were really on the gears themselves as you say, then they would just look at the gears and see if you were legal. Using a 53 tooth gear was enough to meet the requirements that everybody was using it . . . if the officials accepted it then it wasn't cheeting, duh.

All these quotes are taken out of context or just plain misrepresented in your personal vendetta against GL. Not that I care about his rep really, it's just that such brazen misinformation bothers me. You clearly don't understand much about racing or racing regulations to name two things.

RacerX

yeah, winning the TDF while wearing the WC jersey. He's a real loser.

get over yourselves, gossip is for women's tea parties.

Feltup

I said he sucks, not a loser. He won and did an awesome job as an American rider, but he is now a suck.

baj32161

I give up!

Trsnrtr

My all time favorite picture of Greg leMond was taken immediately after the finish of the '86 or '85 Paris-Roubaix and was a close-up of his face smiling and wearing a hairnet helmet. His face was totally covered with mud except for his eyes and his teeth.

oldspark

I'm a a-hole too-I guess that's why I like him.

Sincitycycler

Make a nice big-assed seat bag. I love mine!

mrballistic

i'm not sure how he could feel that he's out of the limelight. ride for about 10 minutes here in portland and you'll see his name on at least 3 bikes. i see more lemonds out here than specialized bikes and bianchis combined.

DXchulo

I like this picture better: