Chapeau!

Whatever the outcome maybe of the forthcoming investigations into the Lance Armstrong saga, it is too bad that LeMond won't be remembered for being a great cyclist, but instead as a great whiner & in the process turned into a pathetic curmudgeon. He’s been bested & ousted from his perch as the best cyclist ever to come out from America - deal with it.

While Greg throws insult after insult, hoping for it to stick to something, Lance is able to remain calm and let Greg lose his reputation. Lance keeps the higher ground and doesn't in dignify himself with a fight. If they both got into it verbally, nobody would look good.

With the same amount of proof that has been brought to light against Lance, I charge LeMond of doping as well.


- Explain, how in the course of a couple of days, mid 1989, he could go from being shelled out the back at even dropped by the sprinters in the mountains of the Giro to finishing on the podium during the final time trial - and then going onto win the Tour and the Worlds. Seeing Greg go up the final climb in the worlds just made a complete mockery of everyone in the race. An impressive piece of big gear climbing. The first half of the season is a complete disaster for Greg with many races not even finished and then "oh, I have an iron deficiency". I almost remember Greg almost quiting pro cycling during the early part of 1989 and his mystery overnight "recovery" from aenemia by vitamin B12 and iron shots from his soigneur, Otto, and coming back into form. Having suffered from aenemia and gone through similar 'shots' I know, like many others, that you don't just recover mystically overnight, or even over a few days... If Greg was given something, knowingly or not, for anemia and the resulting low hematocrit and hgb and it worked really fast - it certainly wasn't "iron shots". I could think of something that was out in the pro peloton that'd fit a rapid increase of performance. When you're dropped on all the mountain stages and do very poorly in the prologue and the first time trial of the Giro but 'mystically' come back for a podium finish in the final time trial then something, somewhere happened. So what did miraculously turn his form around overnight & what did he take?. I claim EPO. When you're talking about quitting the sport you know things are really bad.

- Gregs' increase in performance from a few shots of vitamins and iron in the hiney does not compute. Insinuate from that what you will... EPO might take weeks but there's always transfusions...

- And for someone who rides as hard as Greg, I don’t buy it for one second he rode it as training, look at his resume pre ’89, riding hard in every event.

- Whatever happened to the LeMond line of bicycles? That's right. It was sold to Trek which later became a sponsor of and exclusive builder for the United States Postal squad. As I recall that team had a fairly good American rider on it and soon after it began its association with U.S. Postal the LeMond line of bicycles practically disappeared off the face of the planet. I wonder if Mr. LeMond finds that annoying? Answer: YES! He sued Trek in 2008 and Trek counter-sued to sever the business relationship with LeMond because nobody wants to buy a bike with that mewling turds name painted on it. Yet another reason for LeMond's hatred of his better and his desire to see druggie Floyd succeed in destroying Armstrong? Get a life Greg, you use to be just irrelevant but now most American cycling fans think your a pathetic desperate loser.

- In his the book "Bad Blood", he seems to indicate he left the Tour because he could not keep up with the r-EPO era cyclists. Didn’t stop him challenging the dopers of Fignon &co of ’89 & ’90. The drug testing starts advancing & its suddenly “he could not keep up with the r-EPO era cyclists of ’94. BS.

- I remember one exchange between Greg and Lance when Lance said something like the following to Greg: "How is it that you have the fastest time trial ever in the Tour de France?" Greg didn't have much of a response. It's a good question though since if everyone was doping at the time and Greg's time trial was still faster, he's either genetically from another planet or he was also doping when he rode that time trial.

- He beat a man (Fignon) who has since admitted to doping in 1989. He had the fastest time trial of that length or greater for many years (including all the years he claimed were full of dopers) DESPITE the fact that if you watch it, he's rocking all over the place and very un-aero and using a flexier bike than today. He made up 58 seconds on Laurent Fignon (confessed doper), ultimately winning the race by 8 seconds. YEAH RIGHT.

- Were Fignon ('89) and Chiapucci ('90) denied their rightful place as winners of the Tour de France in 1989 and 1990 by an EPO doper? You need to answer these questions Mr. LeMond.

One big piece of "evidence" he gives for proving he was dope free and others doped was how just one year after he won the Tour de France, suddenly he was finishing in the pack and beaten by others he'd beaten his whole career. But, in 1990 Lemond won with an average speed of 38.621 kph. The next year, the Big Mig won at an avg speed of 38.747 kph. That's a 0.3% difference. 1/3 of a percent.

- As well, his claim that him finishing 7th the next year, and thus was beaten by dopers, doesn't hold up. If Big Mig was a doper, then wouldn't Lemond's claim also hold true for him? But Big Mig won 5 years in a row and then the next year was 11th, even bigger of a drop off than Lemond.

LeMond portrays himself as Mr. squeaky clean but like so many other riders, hes dirty as the next rider, make no quarms about it. So look on the bright side -- at least someone is "probing" Armstrong – unfortunately it's not you!.

Garthr

Weak case.

. . . . And the beauty of it is ....You Will NEVER know !!

daytonian

https://velocitynation.com/content/in...chael-ashenden

Namenda

They were both doping, too. So it doesn't really matter, does it?

USAZorro

Chapeau,

I am presuming that this text comes from a source somewhere. Please attribute it properly, and provide a link. If you're taking a sentence or two from a source, nobody especially cares, but for a full page - we have to insist that this be done.

Thanks,

Z

bellweatherman

What a load of BS. I can't believe I read that crap. All of it, not most, ALL of it was pure opinion. There are so many lies written by this new user that I don't even know where to start. Purely just a piece written to distract from the heat that Armstrong is getting. Armstrong's PR firm focuses on an enemy to distort and sway opinion. Pathetic and disgusting.

TomT74

Chapeau is sock puppet for somebody. Absolute garbage.

Phantoj

Hmm, attack Lemond when you're in hot water... that worked out really well for Floyd, too...

Caretaker

You obviously havn't a clue. What has the average speed in the TdF of 1990 to do with the average speed in 1991? Are you not aware that the course in the TdF changes from year to year. Also the weather changes and the tactics of teams change. Even the countries it's held in change.

JoelS

I love how someone will create a sock puppet to say something controversial. They're obviously too cowardly to post it under their own, regular screen name.

Hezz

Although you make 1 good point it is not enough to be fully substantiated. Considering that measurements showed Lemond as having probably more genetic gifts than Armstrong it is quite possible that the 89 Giro he went into it unfit but improved near the end of the race.

Unfortunately, the general feeling of your article is that of a rant to defend your idol. I understand. I have been there. But since we can't really prove anything from 1 incident we have to look at patterns of probabilities. This is were Lance really fails the test. There are just too many incidents which add up to 1 large probability.

Besides, the current investigation is on Armstrong and the current cycling generation. You may have a point about Lemond but you continually seem to be diverting responsibility away from Armstrong. Such tactics are almost always the course of the guilty. Try to make yourself or your idol seem less guilty by putting more blame on others.

Chapeau!

Truth hurt?.

In denial?.

Chapeau!

Speculation.

JoelS

So was your entire rant.

Keith99

Lemond was well known for starting the season out of shape and overweight. So notorious for it taht in some circles he was nicknamed 'Fat Greggy'.

It seems the unknown writer who wrote the piece was unaware of this, or intentionally ignoring it, either way it leads me to discount anything he or the sockpuppet plagerizing him says.

Voodoo76

Lamb Chop,

If we want to talk about disturbing patterns Armstrong: DNF, DNF, 36th, DNF, 7 wins

Lemond (and most other winners in the last 50 years): 3rd (or some form of top 10 finish), 2nd, 3 wins

Lets hear that tale about Lances body changing, bla bla bla... I want to make sure I understand the latest LA talking points.

Keith99

Just to add a few points ragarding Lemond's final stage TT. It was short, downhill and with a tailwind. All lead to high speeds. For several years it has NOT been the fastest not prologue TT. Id have to check but it may never have been the fastest counting the prologue. It was also a rarity, a TT where the 2 top riders were both willing to take any risk. Normally there is at least some caution in the corners and fear of blowing up. Not that race.

Chapeau!

He made up 58 seconds on Laurent Fignon (confessed doper), ultimately winning the race by 8 seconds DESPITE the fact that if you watch it, he's rocking all over the place and very un-aero and using a flexier bike than today. YEAH RIGHT. Everyone was doping at the time and Greg's time trial was still faster, he's either genetically from another planet or he was also doping when he rode that time trial. LeMond was charged or take a walk.

Hezz

Yes, although this approach would seem crazy by today's standards. It was quite common among some of the riders in past generations. Especially before the advent of EPO. Clean riders could still compete in multi-day events since stimulants were mostly used only for single day events and criteriums. And steroids were mostly used for recovery and pain relief. A clean guy could still stay in the mix he just hurt more and suffered more than the PED users.

Voodoo76

Have you looked at Larry's setup or position in that time trial? Have you ridden an older TT bike? (flex isn't an issue) Rocking? Your basing your case on rocking?

Hezz

If Lemond was charged would it make Armstrong less guilty? I support your contention that Lemond is from another planet genetically. Now everyone in Europe may have been doping at the time but the Americans? It may have taken them a little time to get into the loop so to speak and some historical evidence supports this. Most likely the American doping programs were very unsophisticated or non existent at that time. Otherwise Armstrong would have been tearing up Europe pre-cancer. Because he seemed to have the potential to do it. But, he needed an expert in Dr. Ferrari to teach him how to dope and train with PED's.

Voodoo76

Dont forget the rocking. Lemond rocked!

MarkSch

Remember also that Lemond in 89 was essentially the first in the TdF peloton to use aero bars.....what do modern day analyses say that's worth time wise in a TT of that distance?

1slowbastard

You do realize that Fignon was also using a "flexier bike than today"?

rogwilco

Before EPO all doping was amateur hour imo and I'm not sure if EPO was alread ubiquitous in cycling in 1990; blood doping was known already at the time but I also doubt if it was used much outside really professional doping programs like in East-Germany and stuff like that - it takes quite a bit of expertise and equipment to do it right and manage the risks.

Of course the whole rant loses any shred of credibility once you claim Fignon and Chiapucci were clean and would have been the rightful winners.