Laurent Fignon, a French bike racing legend died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. Fignon was only 50 years old.
Fignon twice won the Tour de France but was defeated by American rival Greg LeMond in arguably the event's greatest race. The gargantuan battle between Fignon and LeMond in the 1989 Tour de France produced the narrowest winning result in the history of the world's most famous cycling race: 8 seconds.
David Lappartient, president of the French Cycling Federation said that Fignon , “…was a great champion who used a combination of talent and will to win the Tour de France twice." David added that Fignon, “…had an iron will, and was also a very intelligent man."
Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour champion who himself battled cancer, wrote "Allez Laurent!!!" (Let's Go Laurent!!!) on his Twitter feed late Monday -- a sign that he was aware of Fignon's condition.
Born Aug. 12, 1960, the blond, bespectacled Fignon excelled at sports as a child and took up cycling because his friends did -- initially against the wishes of his parents, who disliked the fact that amateur cycling races took place on Sundays, which they considered to be a day for family activities.
Despite his reputation for being well-read and his nickname "The Professor," Fignon dropped out of college. He competed in cycle races while completing his army service.
Fignon won the Tour on his first attempt in 1983 in just his second year as a professional, seizing the opportunity presented by the absence of four-time winner and defending champion Bernard Hinault. He also won in 1984.
In 2006, Fignon opened a hotel complex in the foothills of the Pyrenees as the Centre Laurent Fignon, offering enthusiastic amateur cyclists guided rides up the Col du Tourmalet and other famed Tour de France climbs.
Fignon – The Legend - Part 1 (From a French television documentary shown in the 2007 tour de France)
Fignon – The Legend – Part 2
Historical Note:
The final stage of the 1989 Tour de France was a time-trial. In a time-trial, the bike riders race individually against the clock. In the final stage of the 1989 Tour, the riders had to complete a 25-mile course from Versailles to Paris.
In the closest Tour in history, American Greg LeMond was behind by 50 seconds on the final ride into Paris. In that time trial LeMond put his bike in a huge 55 x 12 gear (that is a 52 tooth front chainring and a 12 tooth rear cog) and rode it 54.545 km/h (34.52 mph), the second fastest time trial ever ridden in the Tour de France. LeMond also used what was, at that time, a new invention: the time-trial (or aerodynamic) handlebars. He made up 58 seconds on Laurent Fignon, ultimately winning the race by 8 seconds. Since 1989, there has not been another individual time trial to finish the Tour de France.
Here is a video clip from the last stage of the 1989 Tour:
1989 TdF final stage
Allez Fignon. Merci infiniment des mémoires merveilleuses!
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