LeMond’s natural high took him to Tour peak

Greg LeMond knows Lance Armstrong more than most and better than most.

He’s been threatened by him, intimidated by him and embarrassed by him too. Like the time at the Trek bike convention which Armstrong was part owner of, where a powerpoint presentation was delivered to 1,500 retailers and in it were accusations of LeMond “of stealing bikes, being bad for cycling and being a bad business person” because he voiced his concerns about Lance working with Michelle Ferrari. LeMond had a line of bikes and had business interests in Trek too, but they were destroyed because he spoke out. He then had to apologise to Armstrong for doing so. Though he didn’t mean it, it was good for business to do so. And then they came to an out-of-court settlement. All of which took place in his home state of Minnesota, where Trek is based and LeMond lives. He came through it, did Greg, but not before enduring “the worst two years of my life”. It was a slap in the face from America and a dig in the ribs from Lance. Shut the f*** up! was the message.

LeMond cuts a relaxed figure this week. That storm now in the past and the clouds beginning to clear after one of the worst weeks in the sports troubled history.