Greg Lemond Radio Interview - Excellent

[Zard]

This is from a posting on slowtwitch.com:

"Bob Babbitt and Huddle radio interview...........it may take a few minutes to download, but worth listening to. LeMond speaks his mind.

Good stuff. "

http://www.competitorradio.com/shows/47Competitors-GregLeMond-08-22-06(1hr12min).mp3

[ada@prorider.or]

its great

its exactly what he says
he only made a mistake to the watts on a climb

i measured him 420 on a climb

[catulle]

Wow...!! Thank you so much...! I heard every minute of it and I truly enjoyed it. I always admired Greg, and I admire him more now.

[stevep]

worth listening to.
anyone into the racing side.
take some time and hear the man.
the best ( so far ) american bike racer.

[Big Dan]

Good stuff.......... :)

[Chris]

What a great interview. I've downloaded all the other cyclists, except Lance, on the archives page. Just in time for my drive to Santa Fe on Friday.

[atmo]

worth listening to.
anyone into the racing side.
take some time and hear the man.
the best ( so far ) american bike racer.


what about amos brumble atmo?

[Fat Robert]

keepin it real

i want to watch the 89 tour dvd now

[Fixed]

thanks for the memories
cheers

[chrisroph]

Excellent interview from a great cyclist and a down to earth person.

[vaxn8r]

I heart Greg. This was a fabulous interview. Kinda long but totally worth every minute. Thanks for linking it Zard.

[BBB]

That was a great link. Thanks.

[Ray]

Interesting numbers based indictment. So if Floyd was doping, why weren't his numbers higher?

Interesting in any case. I posted it to a couple of other forums - it oughta be out there.

-Ray

[stevep]

what about amos brumble atmo?

hes the best rhode island bike racer ever... but on the american scale...hes probably ahead of a lot. good race head on that kid. knows when to fire his gun... and saves his ammo until then.

[atmo]

hes the best rhode island bike racer ever... but on the american scale...hes probably ahead of a lot. good race head on that kid. knows when to fire his gun... and saves his ammo until then.


he'd be nothin' without all that
mentoring from jimmy v atmo.

[stevep]

he'd be nothin' without all that
mentoring from jimmy v atmo.

jimmy v, the bike race character of all time... hes on his way to a 90 day silent yoga retreat in some foreign country that i forget...
90 days silent? jimmy? oye vey!

[mosca]

That 's a great interview. It's so nice to hear him actually speaking at length - it makes me think that the media is mostly responsible for the "sour grapes" spin that seems to be attached to his comments recently. Thanks for the link.

[72gmc]

it was all a good listen, especially the fignon-grabbing-the-motorcycle story...

[Lifelover]

I'm under training :banana:

[OnceFast]

Has Lemond accused Indurain of doping before this interview? If he did, I don't remember it getting much press coverage, but then how many Americans even know who Indurain is.

[atmo]

...but then how many Americans even know who Indurain is.

gene kelly knew atmo.

[swoop]

*

[atmo]

he's singin' indurain.atmo

[shinomaster]

So according to Greg Lemond, it hasn't always been this way. He lost in 1992 because of EPO. Indurain was a farce?
Fstrtnu went to Euope at the wrong time imho.

[David Kirk]

That was a very good way to spend the last 1hr12m.

Thanks so much for the link.

Dave

[Avispa]

With the exception of "...motorpacing at 85 km/h for 1.5 hours..." (85 kilometers/hour = 52.8 miles/hour) and what Cees said.

However, Greg is still the man!

[shinomaster]

Why not that stuff?

[Avispa]

Why not that stuff?

Why?, think about this:

The hour record on a somewhat controlled environment (a velodrome) is 30.88 miles/hr. This means that Greg was going over 20 mph faster! I know, I know, it was motor pacing, but....

The faster you go, the more complicated things get, in the velodrome AND much more when you are motorpacing. When I lived in Europe, I just don't remember seeing or hearing anyone riding or motorpacing an entrie 1.5 hours at close to 53 miles/hr!!! This almost sounds as if he was training for the hour record, which Greg never intended to do.

BTW, the Vespas of those days were not incredibly fast (and didn't have exceptional engines either!). Most had top speeds of 60 to 65 mph, so to run them at 53 for that long would have been hard. How often or how long can you run a vehicle of this kind near top speed without breaking down? Let alone a rider motorpacing.

But, then again, we are talking about good old Greg.... :D

[OnceFast]

If he was riding on a 55/11 at 53mph he'd be spinning at 130+ rpm for those 1.5 hrs. That's pretty impressive.

[stevep]

With the exception of "...motorpacing at 85 km/h for 1.5 hours..." (85 kilometer/hour = 52.8 mile/hour) and what Cees said.

However, Greg is still the man!

my guess. hes added 1.5 mph for each year that he has been retired.
pacing at 50+ mph makes no sense no matter what/who/how it could be done.
it would also be incredibly unsafe for that long a period.
probably hit that speed once or twice...but predominately the useful range is 28-32mph... i'll give him a few mph more but i cant buy 50+. no way

[Climb01742]

not unless he was on the salt flats. didn't someone set some insane bike speed record (john howard?) with a whacked out bike on the salt flats drafting inches behind a vehicle?

[Avispa]

it would also be incredibly unsafe for that long a period.
probably hit that speed once or twice...but predominately the useful range is 28-32mph... i'll give him a few mph more [and for how long?] but i cant buy 50+. no way

Word!

Hey Steve,

Looks like you and I know some things... ;)

[David Kirk]

not unless he was on the salt flats. didn't someone set some insane bike speed record (john howard?) with a whacked out bike on the salt flats drafting inches behind a vehicle?

I don't recall the exact numbers but I recall he went well over 100mph....something in the 130 range as I recall.

The amazing thing was that on one of his first runs he flatted at over 100mph and didn't go down. Pretty impressive.

Dave

[Avispa]

I just have to wonder how fast can someone really go and for how long using a "normal" road bike, "normal' cycling clothes, no helmet and a motorcycle as the pulling vehicle...

Look at the bike and clothing John Howard used, and the comments: http://www.canosoarus.com/08LSRbicycle/LSR%20Bike01.htm

[Fat Robert]

the indurain thing is juicy

i've heard a cat who saw him up close and personal like say he was the same size in 89 that he was in 91...that it wasn't weight loss after 89...maybe...

i could see the motorpace thing -- not a constant speed for that 1.5 hours...but holding 400-ish watts while sitting behind a scooter would be pretty freaking fast....

[Archibald]

Has Lemond accused Indurain of doping before this interview? If he did, I don't remember it getting much press coverage, but then how many Americans even know who Indurain is.
Greg Lemond: The only clean rider to ever win the Tour de France.

Must be time to once again dust off this gold nugget:

Minneapolis, MN -- Greg Lemond today released a statement that said he has, reluctantly and with great sadness, been forced to add the 2006 Tour de France to the long list of tours that he should have won. Lemond initially believed, and was even quoted in an earlier interview as saying, that this was the first clean Tour de France in many years. However, in light of the recent positive doping test of tour winner Floyd Landis, Lemond has concluded that, in all likelihood, he himself should have won the tour this year.

This brings the total number of Tours de France That Lemond Should Have Won (TDFTLSHW) to 167. Lemond first won the tour in 1986. However, as he has explained many times over the years since, he should have won the Tour in 1985, but was lied to by Bernard Hinault and cheated out of the race victory. Lemond next should have won the Tour in 1987 and 1988, but was incapacitated by a shotgun blast from his brother-in-law. While the incident was ruled an accident by the police, Lemond believes that his brother-in-law was working with Hinault and a young Texan by the name of Lance Armstrong to remove him from the sport.

Lemond came back to win the Tour in 1989 and 1990, but lost in 1991 due to the fact that, as incredible as it may sound, every other rider in the Tour de France besides Lemond was taking performance enhancing drugs. Lemond believes these drugs were supplied by Bernard Hinault, who realized that if nothing were done, Lemond would continue to win the Tour for the next 50 years. The drug-tainted Tour would continue through 2005, including the reign of Lance Armstrong. In the absence of doping, Lemond clearly would have won the Tour from 1991 to 2005, bringing the total number of TDFTLSHW to 21.

Going back before 1985, Lemond believes that in all likelihood, he would have won the Tour de France each year since his birth in 1961 if a) he had known about it and b) he had not had the small stature and limited leg length common to children between the ages of 0 and 10. As Lemond explains, clearly it would be unfair to him to discount the Tour wins he should have achieved were he only able to reach the pedals of his bicycle. This brings the TDFTLSHW to 45.

While Lemond concedes that some may believe him to be "stretching it" by including in his TDFTLSHW years from Tours before his birth, he claims that if one is to think about it logically, the only possible conclusion is that the greatest bike rider in the history of the Tour would absolutely have won the Tour since its inception in 1903, if only he had been alive at that time. It was not Greg Lemond's fault that his parents were not alive and able to conceive him in time to ride the initial Tour in 1903; thus, it would be unfair to strip him of the Tour wins that he rightly should have been awarded.

Note that there have been 11 years since its creation in 1903 that the Tour de France was not held due to the two World Wars. Clearly, stopping the Tour due to worldwide war would have been unfair to Greg Lemond, had he been alive, and would have in all likelihood, been a move orchestrated by Bernard Hinault, had he himself been alive, to keep Lemond from winning the tour. Thus, Lemond believes that these years should also be included in the TDFTLSHW, giving him a total of 103 wins.

Finally, Lemond explains that he has included the years between the invention of the bicycle to the first Tour de France (1839 to 1903) in the TDFTLSHW. Had the French had the foresight to create the Tour de France in a more timely manner, Lemond would have definitely won it each and every year, again assuming he had been alive (see above). Obviously Lemond cannot be blaimed for the shortsightedness and general ineptitude of the French, and therefore the victory from the Tours de France that should have been held in these years must be credited to Lemond, bringing the final tally of TDFTLSHW to 167.

Note that while Lemond has not yet been able to rationalize including years before the invention of the bicycle in the TDFTLSHW, he has created a company to pursue such an effort. The company is hard at work on a rationalization and hopes to produce one for him within the year.

[J.Greene]

Greg Lemond: The only clean rider to ever win the Tour de France.

Must be time to once again dust off this gold nugget:


Archie,
I get your point, but did you listen to the interview?

JG

[Archibald]

Archie,
I get your point, but did you listen to the interview?

JG
Yes. No. Maybe. OK, I admit that I couldn't get through more than about 30-minutes of it. I just couldn't sit through more than a hour of that. :beer:

[atmo]

Yes. No. Maybe. OK, I admit that I couldn't get through more than about 30-minutes of it. I just couldn't sit through more than a hour of that. :beer:
then listen to the last hour atmo.

[catulle]

then listen to the last hour atmo.

You're sowing in the sea (old Spanish proverb).

[Archibald]

then listen to the last hour atmo.
Technically, it'd be the last 42 minutes of it. I was being too optomistic saying I couldn't listen to an hour, I actually don't think I'd make it past 20 minutes -- tops -- before spewing vomit between my tightly clenched fingers. Everybody cheated except Lemond; Fignon held onto a motorcycle to keep up with him, even Indurain cheated but Lemond never, ever, even heard of doping. It all came after him...except for all those guys before him. He competed in a bubble of purity and morality and had that shotgun blast not penetrated that bubble, he would of continued winning tours until he keeled over dead. Did that cover the last 30-minutes? :)

[atmo]

i'll have to get back to you on that atmo.

[sjbraun]

So I know Greg is known to be a very nice guy. I've seen him sit patiently through autograph sessions at the LBS, taking the time to make a little small talk with everyone. Certainly, very few "stars" would act similarly.
But this constant whining about how "clean" he was back in the day seems just a bit disingenuous. Back in the day there was no testing and more importantly in 2006, there are no samples from back in the day to contradict Mr Clean's claims.
I'd rather Greg had just kept his mouth shut instead of continuing with such self-serving criticisms of the modern peloton.

[swoop]

hey arch, angry much? i tend to think greg has it right. he sounds good and like he's taking the right meds. regardless if it's this emotional maybe it's a sign to stay out of it. the likelyhood that indurain was juiced is pretty high (pun intended).

greg is a good guy. he wrestles with some things... but his heart is in the right place.
you have to remember that guys were trying to sabotage his bike and his bottles back in the day. they didn't want him there. and in a less globalized world.. the euro sensibility was different from the american one that he represented.

but yeah, take a breath.. go weld something or go for a spin. it's just a guy that was an amazing bike racer. and yeah i do think he can hold between 45 and 50 behind a vespa. you guys ever seen a derny race or motorpaced?
it's not impossible to see those speeds.

[William]

i could see the motorpace thing -- not a constant speed for that 1.5 hours...but holding 400-ish watts while sitting behind a scooter would be pretty freaking fast....


WORD!! (well, I find the 1.5 hours thing a little hard to swallow). I've hit 58 - 59 mph motorpacing behind a Jeep Cherokee. We started of with the group behind as the Cherokee gradually increased speed. We be jokeying for position trying not to get sucked out of the back. I was the last one on before I just couldn't hold the pace and got sucked out of the bubble. If I could do it. I know Greg could do it.


William

Did to Roy.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
Did to.
:D

[Zard]

Technically, it'd be the last 42 minutes of it. I was being too optomistic saying I couldn't listen to an hour, I actually don't think I'd make it past 20 minutes -- tops -- before spewing vomit between my tightly clenched fingers. Everybody cheated except Lemond; Fignon held onto a motorcycle to keep up with him, even Indurain cheated but Lemond never, ever, even heard of doping. It all came after him...except for all those guys before him. He competed in a bubble of purity and morality and had that shotgun blast not penetrated that bubble, he would of continued winning tours until he keeled over dead. Did that cover the last 30-minutes? :)

Er...no. Too bad you didn't hear the interview the rest of us did. I don't think anyone here is saying Lemond is a saint or has not made mistakes but kind of sounds like you are permanently predisposed not to hear what he has to say.

Again, too bad cause the interview covered alot of topics that media starved cycle racing fans dig on- especially cause we just don't get to hear things from the "inside" like we do with our other sports. I thought everyone would enjoy it as I did. Sorry it didn't work out for you.

[J.Greene]

Yes. No. Maybe. OK, I admit that I couldn't get through more than about 30-minutes of it. I just couldn't sit through more than a hour of that. :beer:

Actually I'm pretty cool with your opinion. I feel the same about that cheatin bast%^$ LA as you do Greg, so I can't get bent out of shape.

JG

[catulle]

Actually I'm pretty cool with your opinion. I feel the same about that cheatin bast%^$ LA as you do Greg, so I can't get bent out of shape.
JG

.

[Archibald]

hey arch, angry much? i tend to think greg has it right. he sounds good and like he's taking the right meds. regardless if it's this emotional maybe it's a sign to stay out of it. the likelyhood that indurain was juiced is pretty high (pun intended).

greg is a good guy. he wrestles with some things... but his heart is in the right place.
you have to remember that guys were trying to sabotage his bike and his bottles back in the day. they didn't want him there. and in a less globalized world.. the euro sensibility was different from the american one that he represented.

but yeah, take a breath.. go weld something or go for a spin. it's just a guy that was an amazing bike racer. and yeah i do think he can hold between 45 and 50 behind a vespa. you guys ever seen a derny race or motorpaced?
it's not impossible to see those speeds.
Who said anything about being angry? Not I. Did you not see my little happy face? I was LOL when I wrote that. Look, it's my opinion, if because my opinion differs from yours you assume I'm angry, I can't help you with that, but maybe you should take your own advice. See bigger happy face, still not angry. :D

[Archibald]

Er...no. Too bad you didn't hear the interview the rest of us did. I don't think anyone here is saying Lemond is a saint or has not made mistakes but kind of sounds like you are permanently predisposed not to hear what he has to say.

Again, too bad cause the interview covered alot of topics that media starved cycle racing fans dig on- especially cause we just don't get to hear things from the "inside" like we do with our other sports. I thought everyone would enjoy it as I did. Sorry it didn't work out for you.
Zard, don't take it personal; I feel the same way about long Armstrong interviews if it makes you feel any better. Some people don't like Guiness, I love it; I don't hold it against them.

[Archibald]

Actually I'm pretty cool with your opinion. I feel the same about that cheatin bast%^$ LA as you do Greg, so I can't get bent out of shape.

JG
See, common ground! :beer:

[vaxn8r]

See, common ground! :beer:
How Do you form an opinion on an interview, post your opinion, and then admit you didn't listen to the interview, but maintain your opinion about it anyway?

I think I lost myself there but still trying to understand it all. :) There, posting that makes all warm fuzzy's for everyone. No hard feelings since I'm LOL.

[vaxn8r]

EPO wasn't invented when Greg was in his prime. HGH was only available from about 1990 and on. Nobody used insulin. Steroids were available but not the designer water soluble ones which are so easy to abuse today. So, yeah, stuff was probably available but nothing compared to the explosion of possibilities that were heralded in with the early 90's. Greg has a legit point.

[Frank]

This is from a posting on slowtwitch.com:

"Bob Babbitt and Huddle radio interview...........it may take a few minutes to download, but worth listening to. LeMond speaks his mind.

Good stuff. "

http://www.competitorradio.com/shows/47Competitors-GregLeMond-08-22-06(1hr12min).mp3

I listened to the entire interview and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks for the link.

[Archibald]

How Do you form an opinion on an interview, post your opinion, and then admit you didn't listen to the interview, but maintain your opinion about it anyway?

I think I lost myself there but still trying to understand it all. :) There, posting that makes all warm fuzzy's for everyone. No hard feelings since I'm LOL.
Easy. It's just like all opinions on who dopes and who doesn't. It's preconceived.

With who dopes and who doesn't, we form opinion in the absence of hard evidence. With Greg, I based my opinion on what I've heard him say before. It's like the Pres. I don't need to hear another of his speeches to form an opinion on him; that has been established long ago.

I didn't witness a resurrection. He's not saying anything I haven't heard before, well except maybe for the Indurain part, and it's always the same, "everybody cheated but me." Just my opinion. You don't have to agree with me.

Here, have a banana. :banana:

[shinomaster]

Easy. It's just like all opinions on who dopes and who doesn't. It's preconceived.

With who dopes and who doesn't, we form opinion in the absence of hard evidence. With Greg, I based my opinion on what I've heard him say before. It's like the Pres. I don't need to hear another of his speeches to form an opinion on him; that has been established long ago.

I didn't witness a resurrection. He's not saying anything I haven't heard before, well except maybe for the Indurain part, and it's always the same, "everybody cheated but me." Just my opinion. You don't have to agree with me.

Here, have a banana. :banana:

Dude...first..you are a total, obtuse clown.
Second, this interview is very enlightening, and it's not about sour grapes. It explaines how athletes have increased performance through the use of drugs, if you believe Lemond, and there seems to be no reason not to unless you are still in denial.

[vaxn8r]

...I didn't witness a resurrection. He's not saying anything I haven't heard before, well except maybe for the Indurain part, and it's always the same, "everybody cheated but me." Just my opinion. You don't have to agree with me.

Here, have a banana. :banana:
That's not what he's saying.

EPO wasn't invented when Greg was in his prime. HGH was only available from about 1990 and on. Nobody used insulin. Steroids were available but not the designer water soluble ones which are so easy to abuse today. So, yeah, stuff was probably available but nothing compared to the explosion of possibilities that were heralded in with the early 90's. Greg has a legit point.

These are facts.

[Archibald]

Dude...first..you are a total obtuse ***-clown.
Second, this interview is very enlightening, and it's not about sour grapes. It explaines how atletes have incresed performance through the use of drugs. If you believe Lemond, and there seems to be no reason not to unless you are still in denial.
Obtuse is an ***-clown? You know this for fact?

I know Lemond's argument: if they rode faster than me, they doped. No-one could ever train better or produce more watts than he. Lemond is Zeus. He's the father and the son. Hell, he is all the Olympians rolled into one dayglo lycra bike kit! He is the prototypical racer and can never be surpassed! Yes, forget that he can't get his own numbers right, I must believe Lemond, and there seems to be no reason not to unless I am still in denial. :rolleyes:

[Archibald]

These are facts.
I don't disagree with the "facts" but what was available wasn't being tested for. Remember how Moser set the hour record in '84?

The point is that doping products were readily available and being used, and if you believe Voet, prevelantly during Lemond's career. In addition, what was available wasn't being tested for. Lemond says he rode clean and that they weren't available. Obviously many in this thread believe him. Armstrong, who's career flourished in the post '98/Festina era also says he rode clean. In addition, he's been tested many, many, times. No-one believes him. Armstrong's a prick and he pisses people off. No getting around that, but it doesn't make him any less believable unless you're predisposed to believe one way or another from the get-go.

Edit: For the more pugilistic Lemond fans, if you want to beat up on me and expect a response, it will have to wait till Tues.

[Zard]

Zard, don't take it personal; I feel the same way about long Armstrong interviews if it makes you feel any better. Some people don't like Guiness, I love it; I don't hold it against them.

Not taking it personal and certainly wouldn't hold it against you since I don't know you. Genuinely sorry that it didn't work for you or that it was making you ill to your stomach...(your words) Seriously, are there any cyclists you do like or do they all make you ill?

I just thought people would find it interesting...not the holy gospel.

If you have a link to a long Armstrong interview I would love to hear it or a link to any interview of any cyclist. They are hard to come by. I would love to hear an interview of Floyd Landis....remember him?Anybody remember him?He's already dropped off the map.

Anyway, I love to hear, read, and see these types of things..doesn't matter who it is that's doing the talking. I like cycle racing and the people involved therein in all of its forms: The good, the bad and the ugly.

[shinomaster]

I agree...Lemond has a bit of an ego....I remember him complaining about the train ride to the tour being tiring..
The interview still is very interesting...

[Fat Robert]

I don't disagree with the "facts" but what was available wasn't being tested for. Remember how Moser set the hour record in '84?

The point is that doping products were readily available and being used, and if you believe Voet, prevelantly during Lemond's career. In addition, what was available wasn't being tested for. Lemond says he rode clean and that they weren't available.

lemond's story is that it was available to riders at gan, rmo and castorama insofar as private individuals could work with doctors, but not available insofar as teams had organized doping regimes -- that was going on with the spanish and italian teams. so, maybe....

lemond wasn't the only clean* rider, by any means -- hampsten and mottet were two major tour riders who, by all accounts, were clean. lemond has an ego, and i couldn't find a record of a gan rider who went to mercatone uno in 1994...so there may be inconsistencies in that story.... but he's not the only one who claims that the epo/hgh/testosterone program was well in place by 1992-93.

i am inclined to believe a lot of what he says about watts jumping so high in the last 10 years. maybe someone like hampsten or bauer could explain it to all of us (but of course, that's not happening), but I have a hard time buying that training techniques changed *that* radically between 1986-2000, or radically enough to produce huge jumps in power outputs in riders who were already highy conditioned. the media and rider story is that euros just did miles, miles, miles, and then the hr-based training was the big revolution that produced instant records, and then power-based training went even beyond that. maybe so. but the benefits of a fine-tuned training program with a srm are not going to take a pro who trains "traditionally" and increase his sustainable power by 25%.

anyway, a cool max frame is still on my personal wishlist, if some dude ever gets back into that game....


* ok, so it wasn't being tested for. it was still dirty.

[nicrump]

but he's not the only one who claims that the epo/hgh/testosterone program was well in place by 1992-93.



gewiss-ballan

[wasfast]

Greg says a teammate of his died from a heart attack (states this in the interview). Any idea who it was?

[Kines]

good stuff.

I mostly missed out on the LeMond-on-Armstrong stuff. Anyone have links to interviews or transcripts?

KN