The Comeback
Greg LeMond, the True King of American Cycling, and a Legendary Tour de France
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4.7 • 10 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Greg LeMond was Lance Armstrong before Lance Armstrong . . . the story of a true hero . . . This is a must read if you believe in miracles.”―John Feinstein, New York Times–bestselling author
In July 1986, Greg LeMond stunned the sporting world by becoming the first American to win the Tour de France, the world’s pre-eminent bicycle race, defeating French cycling legend Bernard Hinault. Nine months later, LeMond lay in a hospital bed, his life in peril after a hunting accident, his career as a bicycle racer seemingly over. And yet, barely two years after this crisis, LeMond mounted a comeback almost without parallel in professional sports. In summer 1989, he again won the Tour—arguably the world’s most grueling athletic contest—by the almost impossibly narrow margin of 8 seconds over another French legend, Laurent Fignon. It remains the closest Tour de France in history.
“[A] blend of chaos, kindness and cruelty typifies the scenes that journalist de Visé brings to life in this sympathetic-verging-on-reverential retelling of LeMond’s trailblazing career (first American to enter the tour, first to win it) . . . As an author in quest of his protagonist’s motivation, [de Visé] subjects it to extreme torque.”—The Washington Post
“A great book . . . Well written and thoroughly researched . . . Engrossing and hard to put down. If you’re a Greg LeMond fan, The Comeback is a must read because it’s a detailed accounting of his career and―more importantly―his life and person off the bike. It’s also an important reminder that American cycling did not begin and end with Lance Armstrong.”—PEZ
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this thorough biography, De Vis (Andy and Don) uses Greg Lemond's razor-thin victory over Frenchman Laurent Fignon in the 1989 Tour de France as a framing device to tell the life story of the first great American road cyclist of the modern era. De Vis describes LeMond's childhood in California with a supportive family, which was clouded by years of sexual abuse by a neighbor. He picked up cycling at age 14 in 1974, and by the time he was 17, the international cycling world began taking notice. In 1986, he became the first American to win the Tour de France, defeating Frenchman Bernard Hinault. His opportunity to repeat that feat was cut short when he was accidentally shot by his brother-in-law while hunting in 1987. Two years after his injury, LeMond made his comeback, and De Vis brings that race vividly to life as LeMond and Fignon go neck and neck to the finish line. In LeMond's later career and retirement, he became the "conscience of professional cycling" as the most vocal critic of the sport's doping scandals and Lance Armstrong, whose malice toward LeMond extended for years until his comeuppance. De Vis offers a thrilling read and exciting history for cycling and noncycling fans alike.
