Lemond versus Fignon 1989 Tour de France finale

Old Ned

Old School Grand Master
Just been given this link on another forum. Excellent coverage of the 'definitive' TT stage of the Tour when technology started to overcome pure athletisism. Interesting frame being used by Fignon with low set seat stays and an 'aero' fillet under the top tube at the seat cluster. Wonder who built it?

http://www.chasinglegends.com/follow/

Item is near the bottom of the page, scroll down to find it.
 
It's to my eternal disappointment that I got into bicyclingeering in the summer of 1989.........just after that tour, so I never saw it. :cry:

The final stage as a time trial, and a French Champoin heading for his third tour victory gets stuffed by an American by Eight Seconds!!!.........and strangely, they've never tried that again!! :p

I think Phil Ligget would die or just simply explode if he had to commentate on that these days.
 
Fignon is very sick, he has a form of cancer and his long hair are long gone .
 
I have it on DVD (you can get quite a few on LoveFilm), this was around when I started watching the TdF. Superb.
 
cchris2lou":1ihgp0h6 said:
Fignon is very sick, he has a form of cancer and his long hair are long gone .

Yes, I know. It's very sad, he was a hero of mine (we both wore glasses while racing) but a lot of the continental 'greats' (eg Bobet, Anquetil) have died early. To much strain on the body - or something else?

I doubt if we'll ever really know.

But Greg's still around. It was a terrific ride by him that year after all his problems - and very little team assistance.
 
Old Ned":14sxcd3t said:
It was a terrific ride by him that year after all his problems - and very little team assistance.

Personally, I dont think physical ability came into it that day. Either lemond was mentally fired-up, with a do-or-die attitude (like the cup tie shockers in football) or fignon simply lost his bottle cos of the pressure. I'm siding towards the latter.
 
I'd say it was a combination of both............certainly Lemond had the attitude and psychological effect of his aero equipment, and indeed Laurent seemed edgy and wound up- standing up in the saddle, but losing a lot of that effort by increasing his wind resistance, instead of keeping his shape and rythmn and winding it up gradually ('course, I can say that with hindsight of twenty years of technical development in TTs).
 
I seam to remember both Lemond and Fingion were both suffering from saddle sores might explain why Fingion looks uncomfortable
 
Apparently they rode around part of the course a couple of years ago laughing and chatting like two old mates.

I hated Lemond in 1989 especially as he won the Worlds as well, despite Fignon's best efforts to get away on the last lap.

I've mellowed a bit now but yes, it's a dreadful shame about the cancer. LF is my favourite conti-pro ever. The way he rode away from Bugno in a Milan-San Remo on the Poggio .... frighteningly strong, as was his 1984 jump to Crans Montana in the Tour! :mrgreen:
 
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