An Evening with Greg LeMond

JV knows cork rot when he sees it.

JV is on the economy, justifies every dollar spent...
BMC is a rich mans plaything, like Stapleton, SKY, Katusha, Astana, and most of Italy...

torelli's bill mcgann reads the nyvc website.

btw, jv should lose those cheesy sideburns. he's mixing his metaphors - dandy meets squiggy (lavern and shirley).

No, will probably carry those secrets until the next time I get buzzed...

will you be carrying those secrets to the grave as well?

Robin Williams has become the Eddie Murphy of comedians. But that's not important right now.

Schmalz: you really did your homework for this event. IMPRESSIVE roster of factoids and info to help spur the dialogue!

He hasn't been funny since "Death to Smoochy".

What happens in the dinner stays in the dinner, I will say we did end up closing the restaurant with Greg.

Any good stuff come out then? Not all of use could afford $200 to get in.

Great event, but c'mon Schmaltz. You had everybody at my table cringing with every lame joke that Lemond more than half the time didn't even hear. At least when Robin Williams interrupts Lance it's Robin Williams and Lance. No question you're a funny guy, but stop trying so hard.

What about that Eustice story, with him in attendance no less. Sweet.

When I asked his thoughts on BMC, dapper Don Vaughters put the price for Evan's move to BMC at 2M euros in contract extraction fees to Silence and 2M euros in salary. (That's 6m US dollars if you're counting) He also ventured that based on their signings, BMC likely had a larger budget than Garmin at this point. That's a lot of bike frames.

and don't forget the 'burns! They were as flawless as always...

i was very impressed with jv's snappy attire. he managed to pull off an orange tie with dark grey & brown paisleys, a brown vest, a navy blue pinstriped suit, a white & blue hankie in the breast pocket, and a blue & white checkered spread collar shirt. while the combo managed to trigger a brief blephorospasm in my eyes, it was a sight to behold nonetheless.

I don't think Greg's being too out of bounds there, there have been threats to "destroy" him.

the event was awesome, and for a good cause. really enjoyed hearing greg, and dan did a great job at moving it along. it got a little weird when greg made reference to"evidence" that will be presented if he were to die prematurely. say what? greg does himself a disservice when he starts foaming at the mouth.

He's a good guy and I think we were all a bit giddy. Thanks for the great event.

If you want to contribute to I Challenge Myself go here:

http://www.ichallengemyself.org/HOWYOUCANHELP.asp

Thanks again to Greg for donating his time to the event. He's also working with Ana and donating some LeMond exercise cycles.

Yes, a certain passionate fan held on to the mic a bit too long. However, he really does have his heart in the right place...so I think cutting him some slack with his puppy dog love is appropriate. We're not all as eloquent as Schmalz or Lemond, etc.

Equally important is the charity at hand. Really great to see this get some momentum and hopefully change a few lives for the better. If we get more juniors out of I Challenge Myself,that would be icing on the cake.

that event was awesome. and let's not forget the cause (i challenge myself)!

kudos to the organizers. and schmalz is gettin' good at being the interviewer/host! what's next, versus? "hello, this is dan schmalz reporting live from mont ventoooooooo!"

Greg was very gracious to but I do wish there was more "good times" and less trash talking about Argentin, Boyer, Hinault, UCI, Giro (helmets) etc...what's done is done, and for the future to improve from the sports current state of drugs emporium something more constructive has to be done. Or start a new "clean pro cycling" (CPL v. UCI) but that never works...

Closest thing to clean pro cycling we have is Slipstream (even if JV dabbled), and still there is a tampering battle for their best rider...

I may have missed it, but was there any comment on Oscar Pereiro's out of competition test in a Spanish restaurant's hallway leading to the bathroom in full view of the other patrons...?

Enjoy the ride,
hipster "performance" fixie or tri "tech" geek!

Easy, just an enthusiastic fan...

Seriously, WTF was up with that weirdo blabbermouth? I felt like we lost about 30 minutes of actual Q&A thanks to Hoggy McMicrophone.

And Kathy Lemond is looking good.

I agree with the other posters - Greg is gracious and engaging and definitely not the bitter retired pro he's made out to be. He obviously loves the sport and speaks his mind when he sees it dragged into controversy over and over again. I think he should be the next UCI president - but if he was, would he still dis-band it? lol.

He was a big motivation for me to get into racing around 1990 as he was for so many others.

Also great job by Dan to keep things moving along and not dwell on Greg's feuds with Lance, Floyd, et. al.

Amazing night. Greg is about as real as they get. Gracious does not begin to describe him.

Thank you for pulling this off! NYC cycling got a real treat last night.

Meyer is racing at this weekend’s Perth GP before heading to the International Cycling Union (UCI) Track World Cup’s second round in Melbourne later this month.

Kudos to all the NY velocity guys who put this together. Yes, JV was there. I didn't see him decanting anything, but I left kinda early.

I'm really glad I went to this event. Greg Lemond is not the bitter ex racer he is made out to be. He is someone passionate about the sport and sees it going down the gutter.
He spoke about his days racing in the Tdf. He went over how he won the world championship at Chambery. At the end of the event he signed jerseys, magazines, newspapers and pretty much anything you put in front of him. I was impressed. I don't think anyone was disappointed.

Next time someone should take the mic away from that guy who kept babbling on and on without really asking a question. He wasted a lot of time and said nothing. Greg was very good at trying to get a question from his rambling speech to that he could answer it.

Lastly, Dan did a good job too.

Will JV be decanting at the LeMond venue?

Garmin guy is Travis Meyer. He is here with his brother (also Garmin rider) Cameron Meyer doing a promo for the team. Both will be riding tonight at 7 pm from the Boathouse.

He was a hotshot junior, Cat1 who now does Gimbels. Lives in the metro area and wheres a full Garmin Kit and rides a felt. Could be him or Salon who was on Mengoni and then VMG Garmin.

There's a Garmin sponsor who lives in Tribeca and would show up at Cadence events every once in a while. Scot Somethingorother. He's kind of short and built like a wrestler.

Any professional cyclists that leave the sport not bitter?

The party is tonight, Thursday November 5th.

Anyone have details on the festivities? Seriously, I'm sure this comment will bring out the trolls, just wanted to get a scoop on the night. Sorry I missed it, it was for a good cause and what better chance to chat with GL?

Anyone know if there is a Garmin rider in NYC this week? A rider in full Garmin kit, definitely not a rec rider who purchased it online, was ripping out laps this morning in CP. Just curious...

yo quiero taco bell.

he likes mexicutioner

Greg LeMond likes to party

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJSgzHTRg38&feature=related

the best single day ride by an American,
Chambery...period.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oon45kkLzsQ

I have long believed that Greg LeMond is the most physically talented rider since Fausto Coppi. The easy mastery he displayed from his first racing days made his natural ability clear. He could do more than just kick out watts in staggering quantities (big numbers for his time, but more about this in the interview), he was one of his generation's finest bike handlers. In short, he was a complete rider, one of the finest in cycling history.

I can understand how some people, reading some of the interviews he has given in the last few years, might see a disagreeable personality. Nothing can be further from the truth. I think this is due to the limitations of the purely written word as well as a reluctance on the public's part to accept what he has had to say. His public utterances about the current state of cycling have caused more than a little cognitive dissonance in American cycling fans. Moreover, an interview often fails to convey the speaker's delivery and thoughtful charm. I think this is the case with Greg. I've never talked to anyone who has met Greg who was not left with the memory of having spent time with a person they genuinely liked and impressed by his intellectual grasp of all aspects of the sport.

...i see i have been reunited w/ my subversive "anthony drainhole" nyvelocity avatar whereas i was saddled last post w/ "guccio lorica" making me feel like i was the italian cousin of the dr seuss-ian "the lorax"...

...green eggs & ham, sam, ain't what i am...

...well, except for my soft spot for toto...

...w/ love, bgw

...the great american cycling dichotomy...

...unless the tiger has changed his stripes, greg IS bitter & mores the shame because he truly IS a great cycling champion...he IS that american inspiration where none had gone before & he IS worthy of forever being held in high esteem...

...as far as the trek debacle, he made his own bed & has had to lie in it when he might have benefited long into the future but for his insistence...while i can applaud any man who stands by his convictions, were facts to be presented rather than supposition, greg would have built a beter case for himself...

...but hey...$35 bucks a pop to hear a legend speak ???...not bad, especially if he takes the time to regal folks w/ the rich tapestry of his experiences & not demonize others...

...w/ love, bgw...

...CAPTCHA question: "What is the 5th word in this list: Toto loves ham for breakfast.:"...
...sheesh !!!...that should read:- "what are the two most important words in this list ???"...& the obvious answer would be "toto" & "ham"...

I like GL. but you're "if not for" list is a bit suspect. For one thing it includes an intra team war. He certainly played a part in this for one thing, and for another, this goes on with a lot of teams, it is no * in his career. Second point is that everyone, ok, most, have a "if not for" list, just usually not as exotic as hunting accident. LA certainly has something which one could argue hindered his racing ability.

was here for the marathon, took a ride on river rd with BSNYC, i am pretty sure he won't be at this event.

LA was recently spotted on river road. Does anyone know if he bought tickets for the event? If he did, I know I would not want to miss the event.

Yes, GL does come off as bitter and unlikeable. He was a great athlete who had his career cut short. But lately all we see is an old man trying to make the current hotshot look bad by bringing up unsubstantiated allegations. Unless he has some definite proof of LA doping, it is best for him to keep quiet.

This is really amazing, it just goes to show the credibility that NYVC has built up and the charity look really worthy too.

Even if I believed LA was clean I would still like GL more, he was an all around more impressive cyclist.

Lemond is a huge reason for my 20+ year (and very unrequited) love affair with this sport. Got my first real bike in 1986, right after his first Tour win. In 1989 I vividly remember watching ABC's Sunday afternoon Tour coverage* -- the only coverage an American could get, save the AP daily recaps in the newspaper. Still perhaps the most exciting finish of any sporting event ever.

He was a true pioneer, and one of the most naturally gifted athletes the cycling has ever seen. If not for his hunting accident (which stole away two full years of his absolute physical prime), his 1985 intra-team war with Hinault, his timing regarding the intro of EPO, etc., he'd have very likely been at least a 5-time winner, if not a 7-timer. And perhaps he'd be slightly less marginalized by Lance, Inc. People call him "bitter." I don't agree with the characterization, but, really: Can anyone blame him?

Anyway, who cares. Thanks to those who are bringing him to town. I can't wait to meet him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ylfo9HmhZI

...doesn't really interest me. I look forward to a chance to meet one of the men who helped me decide to become a cyclist many years ago. In the 80's Greg was THE man. I'll never forget that and want to shake his hand.

Does it come with Hater-Hots and a bottomless glass of Haterade?

This look like a great chance to hear what he has to say. Even when he is angry he is interesting.

Greg bitter? And Paul Kimmage is bitter, too.

I suppose LeMond might be bitter about Trek coercing him into his retraction concerning LAs use (or not) of PEDs.

You did not complete the sentence. "Greg is to bitter what you are to ..."

Greg is to bitter. No thanks

We'll take his $35, no prob. Forgot to mention, Schmalz to moderate.

Will Lance be in the audience asking questions?

Wow guys, this is awesome, should make for an interesting evening for sure.

Nice work.