Gregory James LeMond Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
Gregory James "Greg" LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He is also an entrepreneur and anti-doping advocate. LeMond won the World Championship twice and the Tour de France three times. He was born in Lakewood, California, and raised in ranch country on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, near Reno. He is married and has three children with his wife Kathy, with whom he supports a variety of charitable causes and organizations.In 1986, LeMond became the first non-European professional cyclist to win the Tour de France. He is the only American to officially win the Tour—following Floyd Landis's and Lance Armstrong's disqualifications for doping. He was accidentally shot with multiple pellets while hunting in 1987 and missed the next two Tours. He returned to the 1989 Tour, completing an improbable comeback by winning in dramatic fashion on the race's final stage. He successfully defended his title the following year, claiming his third and final Tour victory in 1990, which made LeMond one of only seven riders who have won three or more Tours. He retired from competition in December 1994. He was inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1996.LeMond was the first American to win the elite Road World Championship, the first professional cyclist to sign a million-dollar contract, and the first cyclist to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated when the magazine named him as its Sportsman of the Year in 1989.During his career, LeMond championed several technological advancements in pro cycling, including the introduction of aerodynamic "triathlon" handlebars and carbon fiber bicycle frames, which he later marketed through his company LeMond Bicycles. His other business interests have included restaurants, real estate, and consumer fitness equipment.LeMond is a vocal opponent of performance-enhancing drug use, and at times his commercial ventures have suffered for his anti-doping stance—as in 2001, when he first accused Lance Armstrong of doping and sparked a conflict that led eventually to the dissolution of his Lemond Bikes brand in 2008, which was licensed by Armstrong's primary sponsor Trek Bicycles. As the lone American winner of cycling's most prestigious race, LeMond has not enjoyed the public stature that might be expected of such a figure, but he continues to campaign publicly against doping and ineffective leadership by the UCI, the International Federation for Cycling. In December 2012, LeMond even articulated a willingness to replace the UCI president on an interim basis if called to do so. In December 2013, the LeMond brand was revived, manufactured in partnership with TIME Sport International.
Shortly after winning the 1986 Tour de France, he was injured in a hunting accident in California. His brother-in-law accidentally shot him with the equivalent of 40 shotgun pellets, which lodged in his back, legs, and internal organs. LeMond eventually recovered and went on to win the Tour two more times. He was named Sports Illustrated's "Sportsman of the Year" in 1989.
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He won the 1989 Tour de France by eight seconds, the smallest margin of victory in Tour history, by beating Laurent Fignon in a time trial in the final stage on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
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Three-time winner of the Tour de France: 1986, 1989, 1990.
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The first American to win the Tour de France cycling race. (1986)
Miscellaneous
Title
Year
Status
Character
Vietnam Long Time Coming
1998
Documentary board of director: World TEAM Sports / sponsor: The Vietnam Challenge