In 1986, Greg LeMond became the first American to win the Tour de France, cycling’s most famous race. He was in his mid-twenties and seemed ready to dominate the sport for years. Less than a year later, his career, and very nearly his life, came close to ending.
A champion nearly lost
In the spring of 1987, LeMond was accidentally shot during a turkey hunt in California. He was hit by dozens of shotgun pellets and lost a great deal of blood before he reached emergency care. He survived, but some of the pellets were never removed, and his recovery was long. He missed the Tour that year and the next, and many people assumed his days as a contender were over.
The long road back
LeMond’s return was not a straight line. His early races back were hard, and his results were often discouraging. He joined a smaller team with fewer resources than the powerhouse squads he had ridden for before. He kept training and racing, rebuilding his strength a little at a time.
By the 1989 Tour, he was a contender again, though hardly the favorite. Over three weeks, he and the French star Laurent Fignon traded the lead. Going into the final day, LeMond trailed by 50 seconds.
The final time trial
The last stage was an individual time trial, a race against the clock of roughly 25 kilometers from Versailles into Paris. Erasing a 50-second deficit over that short distance seemed close to impossible.
LeMond had looked for every advantage he could find. He rode with aerodynamic handlebars borrowed from triathlon, which let him hold a lower, more streamlined position, and wore an aerodynamic helmet. The handlebars were still new to road racing, and he was willing to try them. He rode the stage at a blistering pace. When the times were tallied, he had won the Tour de France by eight seconds, still remembered as the narrowest winning margin in the race’s history.
After roughly three weeks and more than 3,000 kilometers of racing, the difference came down to a few seconds.
What small margins teach
LeMond’s victory is often told as the story of one dramatic afternoon. But eight seconds is really a story about accumulation. Every small choice over three weeks, every piece of equipment and every hour of training during the comeback contributed to a margin that thin.
That is encouraging for anyone in the middle of a long recovery:
- Small gains count. A slightly better habit, a little more rest or a modest improvement in your tools may not feel important today. Added together, they can decide the outcome.
- Do not write yourself off early. Many people counted LeMond out after the accident. The race was not over until the final stage.
- Stay open to new approaches. An idea borrowed from another sport made a real difference.
LeMond went on to win the world road race championship later that year and the Tour again in 1990. But the result that endures is the one in Paris: a comeback that began with simply surviving and ended, against long odds, eight seconds ahead.
New messages, real moments from the road, and the All Is Well Project. Follow along and say hello.
The lessons behind everything Chris teaches. Start with three chapters, free.
Turn the lessons into your comeback.
Talk it through free with the Team Dorrity coach, or work with Chris one-on-one in The Better Than Back Experience.
