Many will start fast, few will finish strong.
— Gary Ryan Blair
Many people consider the 1989 Tour de France not just the most competitive edition of the race, but also the greatest.
It was an epic comeback story for the ages as never before, and never since, had the world’s premier bike event been decided in its final moments.
Here’s the backstory.
Gregory James LeMond is a living legend in American cycling, though his brand is even more recognised and revered outside the States. He remains the only American to win the Tour de France, and he did that on three occasions.
His story is one of humble beginnings and overcoming adversity. First, he had to break through and prove himself in Europe, something no American cyclist had done before. He battled his teammate and five-time Tour winner Bernard Hinault, along with the French cycling establishment, to claim his first Tour victory.
Then he was the tragic victim of a hunting accident that left him fighting for his life. But he fought back and won two more Tours in 1989 and 1990.
The Tour de France is one of the toughest and most gruelling races in the world. In 1989, 138 racers took 21 days to cover more than 2,000 miles.
Going into the final leg on the final day, US cyclist Greg LeMond was 50 seconds behind the leader, Laurent Fignon. Fifty seconds was considered by experts to be an insurmountable lead.
The distance of the final leg, from Versailles to Paris, was only 24.5 kilometres. The course was slightly downhill, the stage was considered too short, and the time to make up was thought to be too great.
It was viewed by everyone as absolutely impossible to overcome. Everyone except Greg LeMond.
It would have been easy for LeMond to give up, to listen to the voices of doubt, to surrender the idea of winning and simply settle for second place.
Instead, LeMond did just the opposite. He believed he could win, took on the impossible challenge and rode the race of his life. He chose to dig deep and finish strong.
LeMond not only overcame the 50-second difference, he went on to win the Tour de France with an eight-second lead.
By choosing to finish strong, he silenced his critics and rewrote his own legend with a heroic comeback and a magnificent finish.
While he danced in victory on the Champs-Élysées, his defeated competitor sat and wept.
The original article was written and published by Gary Ryan Blair on Medium.
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