Bernard Hinault is a grumpy, bitter, old prick. He's come out recently with some harsh comments on the state of Pro cycling, doping, and has made some specific comments about both Mellow Johnny and Greg Lemond.What pissed me off the most were his backhanded compliments and criticisms of Lemond. Everyone knows that team politics in 1985 gave Hinault the win at the Tour even though Lemond was stronger. And in 1986, when Hinault said he would work "for" Lemond to pay him back, he did the opposite. Lemond had to reel back twelve minutes and make Hinault crack in the mountains to get his first Tour win. Shut up, old man!
Mongo has just learned that Laurent Fignon is in the advanced stages of cancer. He is a two time Tour winner and was the victim in perhaps the most dramatic Tour of all time. Fignon was beaten on the final stage of the 1989 Tour by Greg Lemond...and lost the race to him by eight seconds.
Though I never liked his smug "Frenchness", he was the villain to my hero. Greg Lemond got me excited about pro cycling, in many ways, because of Laurent Fignon. I wish him well on his final climb.
(Photos:VeloNews)
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