Cycling News had Greg LeMond on the blog roll during the Tour. Great blogs were posted. One of our favorites is below. Check it out.

Data of optimism?
By: Greg LeMond
Published: July 26, 10:05

Good news on this year’s Tour

Hating to be the bearer of bad news too often, I am really happy to be able to see some real positive statistics come out of this year’s Tour de France. The race between Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck was great to watch. Either one could have won this year’s Tour de France. What made the racing so exciting was how close the competition was. Most importantly their rides are believable and fall within the historic norms of athletic ability.

I have been very critical of the sport and, I believe, justifiably so. I am a cyclist who took up cycling by accident. This sport is so exciting, so romantic and so beautiful that I spent half of my life dedicated to it. My only hope is to see cycling right itself and gain back the credibility that any sport needs to thrive.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/blogs/greg-lemond/data-of-optimism

Eight-Year-Old Dispute Between Armstrong, LeMond Could Be Headed to a Courtroom

JUNE 11, 2009; The Wall Street Journal
By REED ALBERGOTTI

In August 2001, former professional cyclist George Mount was about to hop on his bike and embark on a leisurely ride in Northern California with his friend, three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond, when Mr. LeMond got a call on his mobile phone. It was Lance Armstrong, America’s other legendary cyclist.

According to Mr. Mount, Mr. Armstrong had read comments Mr. LeMond had made about him in an article about doping allegations in the Guardian newspaper, where Mr. LeMond was quoted as saying he was “disappointed” with Mr. Armstrong’s association with a controversial Italian doctor.

When Mr. Armstrong was done ripping into Mr. LeMond on the phone that day, Mr. Mount recalled, Mr. LeMond looked “like somebody had walked up and slapped him.”

That moment, now eight years past, proved to be the beginning of what has become one of the most enduring feuds in American sports — one that has spawned personal attacks and a lawsuit. The battle between the two men has been playing out in federal district court in Minnesota, where Mr. LeMond is suing the bicycle maker Trek alleging breach of contract — claiming, in part, that Mr. Armstrong was responsible for Trek’s alleged neglect of Mr. LeMond’s signature line of bikes.

Finish article here.

photo by Associated Press

Running down the strand in Hermosa tonight with the Nike Training Run Crew my wife and I were passed by a gang of bikers complete with mohawks and skate shorts. Crazy thing was they were on elite road bikes – not strand cruisers. One had a sweet Lemond. As they left you could hear them laughing and carrying on. I looked over at my wife and said, “bet they are here for nationals.” We were a quarter of the way through the run and my mind quickly refocused on my breathing. The group pace was ratcheting up and my mind blocked out all competing thoughts. Finished at the Mermaid restaurant with three guys nearly reeling me in with a 39:30. Being close to my fifth hour of training this week I was pleased with my 5 mile time and wondering about tomorrow’s 27 mile road ride. Just as I caught my breath the gang reappeared. I meagerly yelled to them, “you here for nationals?” A bit surprised one of them turned saying “YES”. And they were gone. You can’t hide your shaved legs under skate shorts guys. Go see them in OC this week. They are going to rock.

matt smart
el segundo, ca
outsideallday

Now let’s face it. Greg has been saying and filing (lawsuits) a bit often lately. But I remain a steadfast fan. Now Lemond does not make mountain bikes – where I have decided to focus my funds – so I don’t use one of his cycles but I would if he did. In fact, I would go out of my way to own one.

This past week I headed back to Albuquerque for another meeting and got to run along the flooding Rio Grande. Awesome. The trail was a bit soaked – but the temp was great and I got to hammer with my buddy Corbett. One night in Tucson he and I used up an hour at the local barnes and noble and I found the current copy of Men’s Journal with an extended article on Greg titled “Greg Lemond vs. the World”. The article is not online and the Men’s Journal site is terrible so I found the authors Blog and copied in a few interesting paragraphs from his blog to keep you here with us at outsideallday. The author is Bill Gifford and being an ex journalist myself – I would give him props for staying pretty objective.

The following was written by Gifford and appears under the title “The Rough Ride of Greg LeMond” on his blog at billgifford.com/index.html, “My profile of 3-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond appears in the July issue of Men’s Journal (where I’m now “Editor at Large,” possibly the best job title in all of magazinedom). Anywayyys: I spent a day and a half with Greg and his family last July, during which time we watched Michael Rasmussen’s best and last Tour stage win ever (he got yanked from the race that very day), and talked about many deep subjects, from the sorry state of LeMond’s beloved sport, to his ongoing feud with Lance Armstrong, to his horrifying history of childhood sexual abuse.

When LeMond’s abuse was revealed last year, during the Floyd Landis doping arbitration, I sort of went, “Ah-hahhh….” — it was like the other shoe dropping. Now we know a little more about what makes him tick. Now we know why he could make himself suffer so much that he could win the Tour, against all odds and even against his own teammates, three times. It all made sense to me: His hunger as a young rider, and his anger as a retired athlete, watching Lance Armstrong achieve the record that LeMond still believes could have been his.

Whether you love LeMond or hate him–not many people fall in between the two extremes–you have to admit that what he suffered as a young boy was just wrong. And the damage continued well into his 40s. He told me that he felt his greatest accomplishment, greater than any of his Tour wins, was simply to have pulled his life back together over the past five years.

Bottom line: It’s great to be a champion. But it’s not always so easy to be a former champion.

[Sorry, not available yet online; see the July Men's Journal, on an airport newsstand near you.]”

Bill, thanks for sharing with us cycling fans a bit more about Greg.

Outsidealldayers – go grab a copy of the July issue of Men’s Journal and tell us what you think.

matt smart
contributor, outsideallday

I work out alone so I have been digging into the podcast library on iTunes. This week I found The Competitors Radio Show. Radio hosts Bob Babbitt and Paul Huddle chat with athletes and we get to listen in. Greg LeMond has been in the press a bunch. As you may know Trek is sueing to end their relationship with his cycling company. I have been checking the bike insiders views on this and they are taking LeMond to the mat. Seems like he might be jealous of Lance’s success and wants to bring him down. Crazy? Maybe? More than likely not. Over the course of two days I have listened to Lemond’s interview, one with Betsy Andreu (who seems a bit crazy or passionate) and two with David Walsh (author of From Lance to Landis: Inside the American Doping Controversy at the Tour de France). Now I know Lance is quite the American hero but you should listen to some of the Competitors Radio Show podcasts on cycling and doping.

Matt Smart
outsideallday.com Contributor