LeMond, Gregory J.
Cycling
b. June 26, 1961, Lakewood, CA
Skiing was originally LeMond's sport, but he got interested in bicycle racing when the course of a road race happened to go past his family home. Two years later, he had to get special permission to enter the Tour of Fresno because he was only sixteen. He finished in second place, just six seconds behind the winner.
In 1979, LeMond became the first road racer ever to win three medals at the junior world championships, taking a gold in the 120-kilometer road race, a silver in the 3,000-meter pursuit race, and a bronze in the team 70-kilometer time trial.
The following year, LeMond joined the Renault-Gitane team in Europe. His French teammate, Bernard Hinault, predicted shortly afterward, "Greg will be the next champion after me." LeMond got his first major victory in 1983, a 169-mile race in Switzerland, winning by a margin of 1 minute, 11 seconds. He won the world professional road racing championship later that year.
LeMond joined the La Vie Claire team in 1985, finishing second to Hinault in the Tour de France, and in 1986 he became the first American to win the race, beating Hinault by more than 3 minutes.
Less than a year later, LeMond was nearly killed in a hunting accident when 60 shotgun pellets entered his body, two of them lodging in the lining of his heart. Though he eventually recovered, it was generally thought that his cycling career was over.
After months of rehabilitation, though, LeMond not only returned to racing, he won the Tour de France again in 1989. He also won the world professional road racing championship for a second time and was named sportsman of the year by Sports Illustrated. In 1990, LeMond won the Tour de France for the third time and the second year in a row.