# Greg looks happy...



## Alaska Mike (Sep 28, 2008)

Rapha Continental with Greg LeMond | Rapha
...if a little chunky.


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## albert owen (Jul 7, 2008)

So he should. He has been vindicated and resumes his rightful position as America's greatest ever road racer.


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

Alaska Mike said:


> Rapha Continental with Greg LeMond | Rapha
> ...if a little chunky.



Yeah, saw that in another thread about an hour ago  .


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## brady1 (Aug 18, 2011)

albert owen said:


> So he should. He has been vindicated and resumes his rightful position as America's greatest ever road racer.


...and only Tour de France winner.


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## Alaska Mike (Sep 28, 2008)

cda 455 said:


> Yeah, saw that in another thread about an hour ago  .


There isn't anything original on the internet... or RBR.


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## vismitananda (Jan 16, 2011)

brady1 said:


> ...and only Tour de France winner.


Well get over it, that was ages ago.


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## brady1 (Aug 18, 2011)

vismitananda said:


> Well get over it, that was ages ago.


Well...we gotta take what we can get.


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## vismitananda (Jan 16, 2011)

brady1 said:


> Well...we gotta take what we can get.


:thumbsup:


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

albert owen said:


> So he should. He has been vindicated and resumes his rightful position as America's greatest ever road racer.


You guys must not have been into cycling when he was actually racing. He was an embarassment. He was the American that always had an excuse as to why he couldn't win. It was always someone elses fault. I remeber him crying when he had to wait for Hinault, thinking he should have won. The only bigger whiner than him was his annoying wife.


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

spookyload said:


> The only bigger whiner than him was his annoying wife.


She was hilarious, bawling her eyes out because guys were passing her hubby on Alpe d'Huez. 

(I gotta check if that's on youtube, it was classic.)


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

spookyload said:


> You guys must not have been into cycling when he was actually racing. He was an embarassment. He was the American that always had an excuse as to why he couldn't win. It was always someone elses fault. I remeber him crying when he had to wait for Hinault, thinking he should have won. The only bigger whiner than him was his annoying wife.


Fanboys quickly forget little details like this. Even after winning, he wasn't the most friendly guy on the planet.


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## kiwisimon (Oct 30, 2002)

spade2you said:


> Fanboys quickly forget little details like this. Even after winning, he wasn't the most friendly guy on the planet.


he's a cyclist, he won his races and personality is not what he was selling. passion wins more than nice ever will. which tdf winner would you put up as a paragon of character and selflessness?


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

kiwisimon said:


> he's a cyclist, he won his races and personality is not what he was selling. passion wins more than nice ever will. which tdf winner would you put up as a paragon of character and selflessness?


So if Greg does it, it's ok. If Lance does it, he's a horrible person?

Personally, I don't give a flying fornication about a rider's personality. I want to see a bike race, not go on a man date with them.


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

spade2you said:


> he wasn't the most friendly guy on the planet.


Note how many different bike companies he has been partnered with...or shoe companies...none of his business relationships seemed to last very long.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Cinelli 82220 said:


> Note how many different bike companies he has been partnered with...or shoe companies...none of his business relationships seemed to last very long.


Could be that. Could be him wanting more money than they could afford. It's all he said, she said.


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## wesb321 (Oct 1, 2011)

spade2you said:


> Could be that. Could be him wanting more money than they could afford. It's all he said, she said.



I agree. Pro riders change bikes, teams, sunglasses and everything else. I bet 99.99% of the time it is not personal but just business.One contract ends and another begins, why ride for Trek if Cannondale is offering a sweeter deal.. .


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

wesb321 said:


> One contract ends and another begins, why ride for Trek if Cannondale is offering a sweeter deal.. .


When Greg's contracts ended, there was not a sweeter deal to move on to. He has made many times more money suing people than he has in his professional life (much of it from the Yellowstone club deal).


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## kiwisimon (Oct 30, 2002)

spade2you said:


> So if Greg does it, it's ok. If Lance does it, he's a horrible person?


when did GL become a drug cheat?

Armstrong we know did. 

If you don't give a flying frig about personality why mention it?


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

Cinelli 82220 said:


> Note how many different bike companies he has been partnered with...or shoe companies...none of his business relationships seemed to last very long.


Haven't you heard yet...that was Lances fault too.


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## vismitananda (Jan 16, 2011)

Mates don't turn this into another hotspot, w/ those fancy comment about who's better or w/c is w/c.

Greg just wanted to share his nice experience w/ the team. Let's just respect the ride.


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## Doctor Falsetti (Sep 24, 2010)

spookyload said:


> You guys must not have been into cycling when he was actually racing. He was an embarassment. He was the American that always had an excuse as to why he couldn't win. It was always someone elses fault. I remeber him crying when he had to wait for Hinault, thinking he should have won. The only bigger whiner than him was his annoying wife.


Nonsense. 

Greg was mad because he was lied to.......Yes, I was racing at the time


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## Doctor Falsetti (Sep 24, 2010)

spade2you said:


> Fanboys quickly forget little details like this. Even after winning, he wasn't the most friendly guy on the planet.


More nonsense.

Funny how Greg had a reputation as one of the friendliest, most open guys in the sport....until Armstrong hired a PR firm to smear him.


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## wesb321 (Oct 1, 2011)

davidka said:


> When Greg's contracts ended, there was not a sweeter deal to move on to. He has made many times more money suing people than he has in his professional life (much of it from the Yellowstone club deal).



I was generalizing here. Do you know how many seasons he lasted after his TDF win?


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

Doctor Falsetti said:


> More nonsense.
> 
> Funny how Greg had a reputation as one of the friendliest, most open guys in the sport....until Armstrong hired a PR firm to smear him.


Agree with both your posts and was probably out of line with my own. Hinault conned him...LeMond did have a rep as a really friendly and humble guy. In all the times I saw him on TV in his racing days I never heard him badmouth anyone. I think he was just inept as a businessman, trusting his father to handle his business affairs when he should have got expert help instead.

There was a Procycling or Cycle Sport interview a few years ago, he seemed like an unbelievably nice guy but almost hopelessly disorganised.

Good taste in bikes though


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

FoghornLeghorn said:


> But you of course posted this....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I've watched many TdFs and he was not always approachable or pleasant. If you have a problem with this statement, I suggest you watch them again. Again, I don't give a hoot if he was a nice guy or trying to hit people with a sledge hammer. Saying that he was always gracious and pleasant is wishful thinking. 

Lance was initially under suspicion for beating known dopers. Didn't Greg do exactly that when he beat the likes of Fignon and Delgado? At best, I'll give him a _maybe_ for being clean. 

As for being the strongest, Big Mig made quick work of him. ...but Big Mig was a nice guy, so it's ok. :thumbsup:

I


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## metoou2 (Mar 18, 2009)

Would appreciate some comments about the timing of Mr. Lemond's public outcry regarding PED's and cheaters.

From the few articles I've read it leads the reader to believe that Greg didn't become vocal about PED use and cheaters until he was de-throned as America's only TDF winner. That he was very aware of the severely negative health effects and the growing use of EPO showing up in the early 90's. And at that time, Leond never made public comments about cheaters. 

I seem to recall a story about one of his former teammates using too much EPO and dying from cardiac arrest. Yet, during that time period Greg wasn't going public with his outrage. 

I realize there is a ton of misleading info out there to be sure. I didn't follow racing during his time and have no first hand info with which to form an opinion.


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## Henry Chinaski (Feb 3, 2004)

Doctor Falsetti said:


> Nonsense.
> 
> Greg was mad because he was lied to.......Yes, I was racing at the time


Agreed, and I was racing at the time, too. Always been a fan of Lemond. So when does he get the apology from Trek?


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## mariomal99 (Mar 4, 2012)

They all cheaters.

Its not possible to win the the Tour, Giro or Vuelta without doping.


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## Doctor Falsetti (Sep 24, 2010)

metoou2 said:


> Would appreciate some comments about the timing of Mr. Lemond's public outcry regarding PED's and cheaters.
> 
> From the few articles I've read it leads the reader to believe that Greg didn't become vocal about PED use and cheaters until he was de-throned as America's only TDF winner. That he was very aware of the severely negative health effects and the growing use of EPO showing up in the early 90's. And at that time, Leond never made public comments about cheaters.
> 
> ...


Nope, Greg has been vocal about doping for decades. It was one of the reasons he broke his contract with PDM because they tried to push him to dope

Los Angeles Times: Archives - Drug Use Said to Concern LeMond Attorney Claims Dutch Team Wanted Cyclist to Try Testosterone



> the cyclist was believed to be out of the contract before this year because of his philosophical differences with the team's officials regarding banned substances.
> 
> Stanko said LeMond worried that PDM officials would not take no for an answer, believing they might try to put an anabolic steroid into his drink.


He spoke out on the negative effect doping doctors like Ferrari were having on the sport in 1998, long before Lance won a Tour
Once Was King: An interview with Greg LeMond

the Italians have changed the sport in a really bad way. It has become much more medical........



> you have to understand the doping mentality. I don't think there's a rider in the peloton that prefers to take drugs. It's simply what doing to keep up with competition, and if they think everyone's getting away with it, they feel like they need to use it, too. Half of these guys haven't finished high school, have a wife and three kids at home, and if they don't perform, they won't get paid.





> I like the American attitude, but it doesn't really bite into the reality of situation. I know my old teammate, Eric Boyer, retired because he didn't want to touch the stuff, and I know many other people who made it through clean, such as Andy Hampsten and Steve Bauer. Every rider on La Vie Claire was clean, that was Paul Keochli's big deal to make sure he had a clean team.





> I do know in the early '90s there was a huge movement in Italy. Riders that had been racing for six or seven years were suddenly riding really well. To me, that looks a little suspicious. The drug issue is something I often thought about during my career. Toward the end, I always wondered, 'Is everyone taking drugs, while I stay clean, causing me to perform so poorly?'





> One thing I do know is that a teammate of mine went to an Italian team and he died of a heart attack a year later.


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## Doctor Falsetti (Sep 24, 2010)

mariomal99 said:


> They all cheaters.
> 
> Its not possible to win the the Tour, Giro or Vuelta without doping.


In the 80's it was possible to ride, and win, clean. The drugs at the time enabled a rider to race 250 days a year but did little to increase output. 

Here is what Vaughters said about the different eras



> I think it's very hard to quantify the differences things like cortisone and testosterone make. Both were available and used in the 1980's, but yet i don't think were overly effective. Even if they did help, it wasn't to the degree that a clean rider could not win, which is what happens with o2 vector doping.
> 
> With both test and cortisone, it probably varies from athlete to athlete. Am athlete with low natural testosterone would probably benefit quite a bit from supplemental. Conversely, someone with high test probably would not. Using it to the point of actually gaining muscle mass is a mixed bag too. More muscle, more weight.
> 
> ...


Here is what Andy Hampsten said when Greg spoke out about doping 10 years ago

G


> Greg has put himself into personal and business difficulties by speaking out and getting involved with the issue of drugs in today's cycling. Voluntarily placing himself in this position shows me honesty and bravery far beyond what most of us could muster. Lemond could instead follow the cycling world's expectations for past champions and sit around "a fumer le pipe" ('chilling' in cycling slang) in silence. But, his legitimate concern for the health and lives of today’s athletes and future riders drives him to do what he can to return cycling to a healthy level. I want to see the same.* Since the early 90s both doping and the medical excesses placed upon riders’ health have gotten out of control.*
> 
> 
> Like Greg, I too saw what I believe were the effects of EPO when it entered pro cycling in the early 90s. In the first years it grew from a few individuals reaping obscene wins from exploiting its “benefits,” to entire teams relying on it, essentially forcing all but the most gifted racers to either use EPO to keep their place in cycling, quit, or become just another obscure rider in the group.
> ...



People who pretend that everyone doped ignore the people in the know like Laurent Fignon who said it was possible to win clean in the 80s even though he doped himself.

Like Willy Voet who said there were clean top riders like Charly Mottet despite naming countless people who did dope.

Like Paul Koechli, who ran a clean team in Helvetia/La Suiise without any needles and said LeMond won the Tour clean. Before people say that was because he was his manager, Koechli never said Hinault won the tour clean and he was his manager too. Bernard Tapie, owner of the team said the only guys he knew that definitely didn't dope were LeMond and Bauer, not Hinault, not Bernard.

Like Peter Winnen who says it was possible to win clean in the 80s but everything changed with EPO.


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## rydbyk (Feb 17, 2010)

LeMond road bikes again. He should strike while the iron is hot. Modern day carbon frames with the LeMond logo will sell like hot cakes.

Maybe YOU don't want one....maybe I don't want one, but they would sell I predict.

The LeMond name is coming back into fashion it seems.

Maybe he can't legally us his name on a frame after what happened with Trek?


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## mpre53 (Oct 25, 2011)

Cinelli 82220 said:


> There was a Procycling or Cycle Sport interview a few years ago, he seemed like an unbelievably nice guy but almost hopelessly disorganised.


He was diagnosed with ADHD in his youth, and may still have it. I've heard him lose his train of thought in the middle of a talk, too. So what?


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## Doctor Falsetti (Sep 24, 2010)

Interesting take on the smearing of Greg and his resurgence in popularity



> it seems odd to me that none of the people with a prominent profile in the sport who voiced such distaste for LeMond have apologized. Perhaps they have spoken to him in private, but a slight acknowledgement of this in public could go a long way


Cycling Inquisition: Reassessing LeMond, rethinking cycling icons


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## culdeus (May 5, 2005)

rydbyk said:


> LeMond road bikes again. He should strike while the iron is hot. Modern day carbon frames with the LeMond logo will sell like hot cakes.
> 
> Maybe YOU don't want one....maybe I don't want one, but they would sell I predict.
> 
> ...


Trek changes the madone brand to lemond and I will buy one. Or two even.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

Maybe he's smiling because he got away with doping for all those years.




Just kidding. The guy seems OK, despite being a bit whiny. My first "real" road bike was a LeMond Zurich, like this: 










It was a great bike.


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## EWT (Jul 3, 2011)

I saw that the other day - very cool article. I've never ridden that far up into the Sierras, but it is on the calendar for next year.


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## burgrat (Nov 18, 2005)

Doctor Falsetti said:


> More nonsense.
> 
> Funny how Greg had a reputation as one of the friendliest, most open guys in the sport....until Armstrong hired a PR firm to smear him.


I have met him several times in my life and he has been very friendly each time.


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

Doctor Falsetti said:


> Nonsense.
> 
> Greg was mad because he was lied to.......Yes, I was racing at the time


I was racing too at the time. Bottom line...Lemond was super domestique for Hinault to win his 5th tour if he liked it or not. He wasn't lied to, he just wanted to change the deal after the stage started. That was his job, do it and STFU. Just like Froome waiting for Wiggins this year. He knew his job and did it.

This is a pleasant change. For as much as you live your life to prove how Lance is the devil, you seem to be a fairly big Lemond fanboy. Good to see you defending someone for a change.


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## rydbyk (Feb 17, 2010)

culdeus said:


> Trek changes the madone brand to lemond and I will buy one. Or two even.


They should re-label every bike they have on the market with the LeMond name imo..


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

They did that and they are long gone, while Trek still exists. Trek can say what they want in public, but in private, without USPS Trek is a small bike company still. Lance and USPS put Trek on the map and made it a brand people want. It was headed down the Raleigh rode till 1998.


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

Doctor Falsetti said:


> Interesting take on the smearing of Greg and his resurgence in popularity
> 
> 
> 
> Cycling Inquisition: Reassessing LeMond, rethinking cycling icons



Wow; Laurent Fignon, the bigot :eek6: !!


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

I just realized this thread of Greg doesn't have the appropriate pics of him:


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## goloso (Feb 4, 2004)

spade2you said:


> I'm not defending Lance one bit. I do find it a bit strange that he had the ability to win the TdF and be some sort of doping mastermind. He had to have had some immense from several people.


Well, let’s look at another way he improved his performance, technological innovation. Both LA and the teams spent a lot on a sophisticated tech improvement program. They tested everything and gathered tons of data which they used to optimize his position, reduce (or rather most effectively use) equipment weight and worked relentlessly on aerodynamics. I'm not sure that he pioneered it, but he was certainly in the vanguard of wind tunnel testing. Whether it was tweaking his bike or position, selecting aero TT gear or the proper tires to run on a given day, he hired experts and let them do their jobs.

Why would his medical program be any different?


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

I posted these before, but from an old magazine I have


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## Alaska Mike (Sep 28, 2008)

Really? A thread about a ride with one guy nobody has any real, credible evidence of doping on gets moved to the doping forum?

He may not be the best businessman or public speaker, but he deserves much better than this.

Here, the kid in this Rapha video has an exercise-induced hallucination of a yellow jersey wearer cheering him on up a steep hill. Better check him for PEDs...


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

Alaska Mike said:


> Really? A thread about a ride with one guy nobody has any real, credible evidence of doping on gets moved to the doping forum?
> 
> He may not be the best businessman or public speaker, but he deserves much better than this.
> 
> Here, the kid in this Rapha video has an exercise-induced hallucination of a yellow jersey wearer cheering him on up a steep hill. Better check him for PEDs...



Where did it get moved from?


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## 1spd (Jun 14, 2012)

Back in the early 90's, maybe 91 I got stationed in DC. I was riding/racing back then and went it to a lbs and saw the frame. I had to have it! A Lemond Team Z edition Columbus Max tubed frame. I paid almost $1800 for that frame back then. It was new old stock just hanging there. I built it up with all my old Campy Super Record parts and even slapped some Delta brakes on it. I vowed never to sell it and I didn't. Instead, the barracks had a rash of break-ins and it was stolen. I contacted all the local shops, put up pictures in their stores and it was never found! I then found a lower model that was Columbus SLX but in all red. I still have a picture of it on my wall in the basement.

I rode that bike down town one day with some friends to watch the Tour DuPont time trial. We were standing at a point where we could see the riders going out and coming back in. Some guy tapped me on my shoulder and asked if he could get by (there was a gate about 5 feet away from us that race officials were using to access the course). I turned around, made eye contact with the guy who was checking out my bike. He then asked me how I liked it and noted that I had built it up really nice. Sure enough as I stood there jaw dropped along with my buddies, I have actually having a conversation with Greg Lemond who was simply trying to cut thru the crowd to get back over to his team bus or whatever. He actually chatted with me for about 5 minutes about the frame and what not and eventually darted out as a crowd started to gather once they realized who he was. Pretty cool guy if you ask me.

I remember getting a set of those Scott aero bars when they came out and slapped them on my TT bike as well as a pair of Scott clip ons for my regular bike if I didn't feel like riding the TT bike if the course was a little more hilly. Great stuff. Man, I miss the Good Ol' Days!


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## rydbyk (Feb 17, 2010)

spookyload said:


> They did that and they are long gone, while Trek still exists. Trek can say what they want in public, but in private, without USPS Trek is a small bike company still. Lance and USPS put Trek on the map and made it a brand people want. It was headed down the Raleigh rode till 1998.


I am assuming that you are not clear on the LeMond/Trek fallout.


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## ultimobici (Jul 16, 2005)

cda 455 said:


> Wow; Laurent Fignon, the bigot :eek6: !!


Nothing like slagging off a man after he's dead and it is no longer slander, eh? I've read Fignon's book and he made no comment about Colombian's handing out the coke at races in Europe. Fignon may have been prejudiced, but he wasn't a coward like the author of that rag of a blog.


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## Alaska Mike (Sep 28, 2008)

cda 455 said:


> Where did it get moved from?


Pro Cycling.


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## pedalruns (Dec 18, 2002)

culdeus said:


> Trek changes the madone brand to lemond and I will buy one. Or two even.


I would too!! I would actually love to find a Lemond Poprod in my size. 


Great read on the original post! 


Long live Lemond, the ONLY American Tour winner! And I freely admit to being a Lemond Fanboy... or girl in my case!


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## OldEndicottHiway (Jul 16, 2007)

I'm glad for Greg. I imagine he is sleeping well.  

I was a googly, bike-crazy, wide-eyed, shy 18 year old girl just beginning to tinker with the idea of racing back in the 80's. My first ever "organized event" I rode in, was a citizen's race in Seattle in which Greg participated in as a celebrity-guest. I remember being nervous as hell but so excited to do the ride and to maybe meet him. 

He hung around after the event signing things for people, and was very patient, professional, and cordial with everyone (even though he was crashed early on by some fred way too eager to impress). 

I got my event cap signed, and to this day is the only thing I ever had signed by a cycling celebrity or even cared about having signed. It was stolen some years back.


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## LookDave (Sep 29, 2007)

Alaska Mike said:


> Really? A thread about a ride with one guy nobody has any real, credible evidence of doping on gets moved to the doping forum?
> 
> He may not be the best businessman or public speaker, but he deserves much better than this.
> 
> Here, the kid in this Rapha video has an exercise-induced hallucination of a yellow jersey wearer cheering him on up a steep hill. Better check him for PEDs...


Thanks - absolutely agree.


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## aptivaboy (Nov 21, 2009)

His last Tour was 1994. He didn't finish.


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## vismitananda (Jan 16, 2011)

1spd said:


> Back in the early 90's, maybe 91 I got stationed in DC. I was riding/racing back then and went it to a lbs and saw the frame. I had to have it! A Lemond Team Z edition Columbus Max tubed frame. I paid almost $1800 for that frame back then. It was new old stock just hanging there. I built it up with all my old Campy Super Record parts and even slapped some Delta brakes on it. I vowed never to sell it and I didn't. Instead, the barracks had a rash of break-ins and it was stolen. I contacted all the local shops, put up pictures in their stores and it was never found! I then found a lower model that was Columbus SLX but in all red. I still have a picture of it on my wall in the basement.
> 
> I rode that bike down town one day with some friends to watch the Tour DuPont time trial. We were standing at a point where we could see the riders going out and coming back in. Some guy tapped me on my shoulder and asked if he could get by (there was a gate about 5 feet away from us that race officials were using to access the course). I turned around, made eye contact with the guy who was checking out my bike. He then asked me how I liked it and noted that I had built it up really nice. Sure enough as I stood there jaw dropped along with my buddies, I have actually having a conversation with Greg Lemond who was simply trying to cut thru the crowd to get back over to his team bus or whatever. He actually chatted with me for about 5 minutes about the frame and what not and eventually darted out as a crowd started to gather once they realized who he was. Pretty cool guy if you ask me.
> 
> I remember getting a set of those Scott aero bars when they came out and slapped them on my TT bike as well as a pair of Scott clip ons for my regular bike if I didn't feel like riding the TT bike if the course was a little more hilly. Great stuff. Man, I miss the Good Ol' Days!


Cool! :thumbsup:


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## metoou2 (Mar 18, 2009)

If a ground swell of support is building for Greg and he hopes to capitalize, it would be highly advisable for him to hire a P.R. / publicist type individual. If he currently has such an employee, they would be advised to ask Greg to consult with them before he fires off anymore 'open letters'. Nothing particularly wrong with what he has to say, but it could use some better spin.

The same can be said for the position of personal business manger. If companies come to his doorstep wanting to put his name on their latest bike, let the business rep. work the details. I've never seen any glowing reports describing Greg's business acumen.
And if he currently has such a person, then I feel he's made a wise choice.

Wasn't his Dad his former business manager at some point?


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## mpre53 (Oct 25, 2011)

metoou2 said:


> Wasn't his Dad his former business manager at some point?


I think "mis-manager" might be a more accurate term for his dad. Although there are three sides to every story---your side, my side, and the truth. The last being somewhere in the middle in most cases.


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## metoou2 (Mar 18, 2009)

Doesn't Greg currently have his name on some trainers?


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

metoou2 said:


> Doesn't Greg currently have his name on some trainers?




Yeah, he used to own his own line of trainers but he sold the business I believe in the last 12 months.


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