Greg LeMond
Infobox last updated on June 2, 2013 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 win the Tour. 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.