The great champion Laurent Fignon recently passed away after a long battle with cancer. I always had great admiration for him. It’s unfortunate that he may be best remembered for his ‘loss’ to Greg LeMond by 8 seconds in the tightest Tour de France in history as opposed to the two Tours that he did will – and win with panache.
It was his loss to LeMond that cemented my respect for Fignon and the grace in which he handled it. I don’t recall him ever making excuses or saying a bad word about LeMond. That was not the way he worked. IMO, the sign of a true Champion.
Velonews has a very nice homage to him along with some photos of Laurent during his racing career. He was a beautiful rider and that can even been seen in still photograghs. I’m sure if you search YouTube you will find video of his beautiful pedaling style and his warm smile. You can find it here – http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/08/news/racers-french-leaders-pay-tribute-to-laurent-fignon_137504
All hail Fignon.
Dave
