Ebook The Comeback Greg LeMond the True King of American Cycling and a Legendary Tour de France Daniel de Vise 9780802147189 Books
Download As PDF : The Comeback Greg LeMond the True King of American Cycling and a Legendary Tour de France Daniel de Vise 9780802147189 Books
A true American hero, Greg LeMond’s career was punctuated by dramatic fame, devastation, and ultimately redemption. In July 1986, LeMond stunned the sporting world by becoming the first American to win the Tour de France, the world’s pre-eminent bicycle race, defeating French cycling legend Bernard Hinault. Nine months later, LeMond lay in a hospital bed, his life in peril after a hunting accident, his career as a bicycle racer seemingly over. And yet, barely two years after this crisis, LeMond mounted a comeback almost without parallel in professional sports, again winning the 1989 Tour―arguably the world’s most grueling athletic contest―by the almost impossibly narrow margin of 8 seconds over another French legend, Laurent Fignon. It remains the closest Tour de France in history. From the heights of global fame, LeMond would then crash during a calamitous confrontation with Lance Armstrong over allegations the latter was doping. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Daniel de Visé reveals the dramatic, ultra-competitive inner world of a sport rarely glimpsed up close, and builds a compelling case for LeMond as its great American hero.
Ebook The Comeback Greg LeMond the True King of American Cycling and a Legendary Tour de France Daniel de Vise 9780802147189 Books
"Text is very well paced, and the account of the 1989 Tour de France final stage is spell binding. Mr. de Vise has thoroughly researched LeMond as well as his rivals of his era. Tragically, the parts regarding Lance Armstrong contribute even further to dulling his shine. I was in rapt attention throughout the book, and I highly suggest it for any cycling enthusiast."
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The Comeback Greg LeMond the True King of American Cycling and a Legendary Tour de France Daniel de Vise 9780802147189 Books Reviews :
The Comeback Greg LeMond the True King of American Cycling and a Legendary Tour de France Daniel de Vise 9780802147189 Books Reviews
- For those of us who actually remember the events in this book from when they happened, you could easily dismiss this as a melodramatic attempt at a memoir from the good old days of “clean†racing. But that would be a mistake. The author does a great job of building back stories for all the main characters and effectively paints a tableau against which the characters play out their drama, both as influencers and influenced.
LeMond and Fignon were exceptional athletes driven by demons of their pasts. The author is careful to never vilify or put either of them on a pedestal. The fact that while both won the TdF and many other races, a scant 8-second gap defined their cycling careers. The author takes us through the trials and tribulations deftly and at the same time shows us that more than just being big engines on two wheel machines, they were also quite human. It is a worthy read for anyone interested in more than how fast, how far or how hard a cyclist can go. - I thought Slaying The Badger would be enough, boy was I wrong. The best book I can compare this to is the short but excellent book by Jon Wertheim on Federer v Nadal called Strokes of Genius. Like that book this goes beyond one match up or one season to give even a long time fan information about cycling and the tour and even Greg that I didn't know. This is one of those rare books I took my time with because I truly didn't want it to end. If you think that reading Slaying the Badger makes this redundant, it doesn't. I give this my highest recommendation and thank the author for his excellent work. I also thank him for reminding people who have a right to be cynical that we do have , or did have, genuine heroic people and Greg Lemond was a freak in many ways, all good. Give him back the '85 tour he gave to Hinault and they both have 4 , give him back the two years lost to being shot and maybe he has 6? Who knows, but he certainly belongs in any serious discussion of the greatest riders ever and he is head , shoulders, knees and toes the greatest the USA has ever had. I really can't discuss the book too much without spoiler alerts so I'll just say if you are curious enough to be reading reviews on it.. you need to read it!
- Finally someone has written a good book about one of America' greatest athletes, cyclist Greg Lemond. Although the title indicates that the book's focus is on Greg's fascinating duel with French cyclist Laurent Fignon in the grueling 3 week 1989 Tour de France, the author gives the reader much more than that. Greg's life story reads like a Greek drama, with amazing highs and dismal lows. We learn about Greg's youth, and development into a cycling prodigy. His early years competing in Europe as one of the few Americans are well described. Greg's successes are mixed with the frustrations of being forced to support legendary French cyclist Bernard Hinault, which cost Greg a probable Tour victory in 1985. Even when Hinault promised to support him in 1986, Greg still had to fight bitter intra-team conflicts to become the first American to win the Tour. Then a hunting accident almost ended Greg's life (and cycling career). His determined comeback against the odds is inspirational. The author provides a compelling account of the 1989 Tour, one the most exciting in history. The final part of the book concerns Greg's later career, where his refusal to take PED's (especially EPO), forced his retirement, His feud with Lance Armstrong becomes a sad commentary on the state of European cycling. Greg was one of the few to speak up against Lance and cheaters in cycling, for which he paid a heavy price, only to be vindicated. Overall, an excellent book about a great athlete who represents courage and determination.
- I am a cycling fan and had the pleasure of meeting Greg and getting my picture taken with him when he was inducted into the Cycling Hall of Fame. The Tour de France is one of the world's most grueling athletic events and thus it has led to the use of performance enhancing drugs from the beginning. On the humorous side there is a famous picture of a few cyclist sharing a cigarette before beginning a challenging climb, believing that smoking opened up their lungs. This book was uncomfortable for me at times as it showed just how human Greg and the other athlete's are. They seem so tough but are just humans trying to do their job. It is a shame that Greg is not among the one's who won 5, as he would likely have done so if he did not give one to Hinault and had not been shot. He did show that it is possible to race clean and win.
- Text is very well paced, and the account of the 1989 Tour de France final stage is spell binding. Mr. de Vise has thoroughly researched LeMond as well as his rivals of his era. Tragically, the parts regarding Lance Armstrong contribute even further to dulling his shine. I was in rapt attention throughout the book, and I highly suggest it for any cycling enthusiast.
- The book intersperses the story of Laurent Fignon throughout the book so you get a good sense of how both men developed leading up to the 1989 tour. It also summarized Lemond's relationship with Armstrong in the last few chapters of the book. Overall a good read covering the last 30 years of cycling. Being the same age as Lemond some of the information I knew, some I had forgotten and a good portion of it was new.
- This is a must read for anyone wanting to know about a critical turning point in cycling. It’s also a perfect book for any Greg Lemond fans out there. Mr. Lemond has a fascinating story. I gave it 4 stars because 3.5 stars want available and I thought 3 stars was a bit too low. I’ve got a library full of cycling books and although I enjoyed this book, it left me wanting even more detail. Two things I found very odd 1) that the author describes Lemond’s pedaling style as ‘ungainly’...I’ve watched all the greats ride and Lemond is clearly one of the most graceful and powerful riders that has pedaled a bicycle. 2) the omission of Hinault as a 5 time winner (noted twice) when recapping the tour’s 5-time winners.
I found ‘Slaying the Badger’ and ‘Kings of the Road’ (Robin Magowan) much better reads. - Enjoyed the summary and additional information about LeMond’s rise and fall, as well as his resurrection as America’s true cycling hero. Bravo!
