Everyone Rides: Former Tour de France winner opens up about his frustrations with Lance Armstrong


Greg LeMond, the first — and, officially, only — American to win the Tour de France, said he is finally willing to meet with Lance Armstrong — only if lawyers and stenographers are in the room.

"(Armstrong) attempted to contact me before his Oprah Winfrey (interview)," said LeMond, who won Tour titles in 1986, 1989 and 1990. "But I know who he is and (an apology attempt) wasn't sincere. It was more to benefit him.

"I would love to sit with him in a room but I'd like to do it where there is a deposition because we still need to understand what he did to my business and the whole other side of my life."

In 2001, during the midst of Armstrong's seven Tour victories (of which he has been stripped), LeMond, who made an appearance at JetBlue Park for the 10th annual Everyone Rides fundraiser on Sunday, was one of the first to accuse Armstrong of using performance-enhancing drugs.

As he did with anyone who accused him of cheating, Armstrong attacked LeMond in the press, the courtroom and the boardroom. Armstrong called LeMond a "whiner" who was jealous of his success, badmouthing him to anyone who would listen within and outside the cycling world.

The duo were also business partners before Armstrong's bike sponsor, Trek, dropped LeMond's brand-name bikes after licensing them for 13 years. The move potentially cost LeMond tens of millions of dollars. A nasty legal battle ensued.

In a January interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong admitted to years of doping, including during all his Tour de France wins. He was stripped of his titles and banned from the sport for life.

The only other American to win the event, Floyd Landis in 2006, was also stripped of his title for using performance-enhancing drugs.

Cycling's credibility suffered significantly in the fallout. LeMond feels it is something that will ultimately benefit the sport.

"There were a lot of people during that period that discovered cycling, and were motivated by Armstrong to get in," said LeMond. "Some were probably shattered after he was caught and got out of the sport. I think many, though, discovered all the benefits of the sport outside of watching Lance race.

"It's a fascinating sport and will come back and be credible once the changes take place. We needed an Armstrong to actually fall to have a wakeup call. The sport will thrive again."

The sport was thriving on Sunday at Everyone Rides, which raised more than $100,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County. According to the event's chairman, Matt McCain, nearly 1,000 cyclists participated on Sunday.

LeMond, who retired in 1994, went to the Tour de France this year. He was surprised by the enthusiasm he found.

"I went there this year thinking it would be down, and it was up. People are not happy that there had been so much cheating. They are also more educated that it's just not the athletes, it's the governing body.

"The system is disgusting and criminal and that had to change. I pushed for changes for quite a few years. That's happening. I knew what was going on and I knew it was going to implode. Cycling officials didn't address the problem and it hurt the sport. Now they are having to face it. It's better sooner than later."

As for accepting an Armstrong apology in the future?

"I would love to talk but there needs to be a sincere and honest dialogue," he said. "It needs to be from the heart. I don't know, we'll see."