Lemieux was a superstar in the league, recording his
greatest regular season performance in that season.
He scored 85 goals and finished with 199 points. It
was also in that season that Lemieux finally led the
Penguins into the play-offs, although they were even-
tually eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers.
Impact During the 1980’s, Mario Lemieux rose to
prominence as a major star in the NHL, meriting
comparisons to fellow great Wayne Gretzsky. In the
decade’s final full season, he led his team to its first
play-off appearance in seven years. As the 1990’s be-
gan, the team was poised for greatness, and it would
go on to win two Stanley Cup titles before Lemieux’s
career was shortened by a battle with Hodgkin’s lym-
phoma.
Further Reading
Bynum, Mike, et al., eds.Mario Lemieux: Best There
Ever Was. Toronto: Macmillan Canada, 1997.
Christopher, Matt.On the Ice with Mario Lemieux. New
York: Little, Brown, 2002.
McKinley, Michael.The Magnificent One: The Stor y
of Mario Lemieux. New York: Grosset & Dunlap,
2002.
Rossiter, Sean.Mario Lemieux. Vancouver: Greystone
Books, 2001.
Timothy C. Hemmis
See also Gretzky, Wayne; Hockey; Sports.
LeMond, Greg
Identification American professional cyclist and
Tour de France winner in 1986, 1989, and 1990
Born June 26, 1961; Lakewood, California
LeMond garnered more attention for his sport in the United
States and worldwide than anyone else in the 1980’s. He
was an innovator in a sport ruled by tradition.
Greg LeMond established his reputation within the
sport of cycling early in the 1980’s by winning the
World Championships in just his third year as a pro-
fessional in 1983, after finishing second the previous
year. LeMond’s fame centered on his role in two of
the most sensational stories in the history of cycling.
He first came to prominence in the Tour de France
when, in 1985, he assisted his teammate, Bernard
Hinault, to win his fifth Tour de France. At one stage
in the race, it seemed that Hinault was unable to
maintain the pace, and LeMond found himself in
a winning position. On directions from his team,
however, LeMond slowed to a near stop to wait
for Hinault to catch up. As a result of that sacri-
fice, Hinault was able to win the overall race, while
LeMond finished a close second. LeMond reported
that he waited in reliance on a promise from Hinault
and the team that the next year, Hinault would
provide his full support to LeMond. LeMond there-
fore felt betrayed the following year, when the stron-
gest challenge to his race lead came from Hinault.
LeMond held off that challenge, however, and won
his first of three Tours de France. He severed all ties
with Hinault and his former team at the end of the
season.
The second defining challenge of LeMond’s ca-
reer began just two months before the start of the
1987 Tour de France, when he was struck in the chest
by a shotgun blast from his brother-in-law in a hunt-
ing accident. Few expected LeMond ever to race
again, and he missed the 1987 and 1988 racing sea-
sons while he recovered. When he entered the 1989
Tour de France, Lemond was not listed among the fa-
vorites to win. Win he did, however, achieving this
comeback victory in dramatic fashion. He trailed the
race leader, Laurent Fignon, by fifty seconds going
into the final day of the race. LeMond stunned the
hometown crowds by beating the Frenchman by fifty-
eight seconds that day, winning the Tour de France by
the smallest-ever margin of victory: just eight seconds.
Impact Participating as an American in a European-
dominated sport set LeMond apart, and he brought
unprecedented attention to cycling in the United
States. His career was marked by a willingness to ex-
periment in crucial racing situations with innova-
tions in aerodynamic bicycle construction, as well as
a single-minded focus on the Tour de France to the
exclusion of other races. By doing what it took, both
physically and technically, to win cycling’s greatest
race, LeMond revolutionized the sport.
Further Reading
LeMond, Greg, and Kent Gordis.Greg LeMond’s Com-
plete Book of Bicycling. New York: Perigee Books,
1990.
Marks, John. “Se faire naturaliser cycliste: The Tour
and Its Non-French Competitors.” InThe Tour de
France, 1903-2003: A Centur y of Sporting Structures,
Meanings, and Values, edited by Hugh Dauncey
and Geoff Hare. London: Frank Cass, 2003.The Eighties in America LeMond, Greg 581