American Greg LeMond, center, winning one of many pro races during his long career.
Graham Watson
American cyclist Greg LeMond is to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. This is one of North America’s two highest civilian honors, with the other being the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
LeMond won the Tour de France three times, in 1986, 1989, and 1990.
The House of Representatives passed a vote on the award on September 19 following the bipartisan bill’s submission by Californian congressman Mike Thompson, a Democrat.
The bill still has to get past the U.S. Senate and then be signed by President Donald Trump, but this is expected to be a formality.
President Trump may remember that LeMond was one of those who competed in his Tour de Trump of 1989, a 10-day 927-mile pro stage race on the U.S. East Coast which finished outside a Trump casino in Atlantic City. This casino was later bankrupted. (“Mr. Trump’s casino business was a protracted failure,” reported the New York Times in 2016.)
LeMond finished way down in the rankings on that race–then and now it was considered a bit of a joke–but his victory in the 1989 Tour de France is the stuff of legends.
After three weeks of racing the gap between leader Laurent Fignon and LeMond on the eve of the final day was 50 seconds. The race into Paris was an individual race against the clock. LeMond won the time trial–using newfangled “aero” handlebars–with a margin of just eight seconds, the smallest overall gap ever between the Tour de France winner and the rider finishing second.
The victory was even more special considering that LeMond had recently recovered from a near-fatal hunting accident.
“I always felt Greg’s achievement was bigger than cycling,” says Daniel de Visé, author of The Comeback, a 2018 biography of LeMond.
“Congressman Thompson first contacted me last October. He had read my book, and he wanted to find a way to recognize Greg as an American hero.”
A statement from Thompson’s office remarked that Lemond was “one of the greatest American athletes in history.”
Pointedly, Thompson stated that LeMond was the “only American to win the Tour de France” and was a champion of “healthy athletics and clean competition,” unsaid digs against disgraced U.S. rider Lance Armstrong who has stripped of his seven Tour de France victories after admitting to having doped during his career.
“I am truly humbled to be recognized by the U.S. House of Representatives,” said LeMond.
“Cycling changed my life for the better. The sport has the potential to help everyone be healthier and more active.”
Other athletes who have been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal include sprinter Jesse Owens and golfers Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.
Rep. Thompson is a senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means.
