LEMOND FAILS TO WIN FOURTH TOUR

Greg LeMond took up cycling at 14 and began logging an impressive record when he was 20. At 25, he won the 1986 Tour de France. But shortly after his spectacular victory he was accidentally shot on a hunting trip.He was not even considered a contender for the 1989 Tour, but I was amazed at his resolve to win. I had come to know LeMond when he was racing in France in the mid-1980s, and ABC Sports was televising the Tour that year. I was even more amazed when, three weeks and some 2,500 miles later, having gone into the final day 50 seconds behind, LeMond roared up the Champs Elysees to win by eight seconds, the narrowest margin of victory in the history of the Tour. LeMond won a third time last year and was a favorite this year. But he failed. Climbing into the Pyrenees, he lost power and the leader's yellow jersey to Spaniard Miguel Indurain, who went on to win the Tour. But despite the fact he knew he couldn't win, in the last three stages of the race LeMond burst out of the group time after time to pick up seconds and finally minutes and end up seventh overall. "As long as I'm racing," LeMond told the Associated Press, m going to come every time to the Tour with the intention of winning it."