Greg LeMond accuses Lance Armstrong of paying the UCI : 'Very bitter taste in my mouth'

In the interview, LeMond discusses his entire career. The American won the Tour de France in 1986, 1989, and 1990, but ultimately retired relatively early in 1994 at the age of 33. “Look, I’m sure that if I had used EPO, I would have won the Tour more often. Very easily, in fact,” he says.

"When I finished seventh in 1991, it completely shattered my morale," he says, referring to the beginning of the EPO era. “You see riders you wouldn’t expect—who suddenly pull away from you. That was a very difficult period. For me, it left a very bitter taste in my mouth about cycling.”

LeMond retired in 1994, just a few months after Armstrong became world champion in Oslo. “No, I didn’t really have any doubts about him back then,” he begins his story. “When he won the Tour de France in 1999, I thought: he’s lost a lot of weight, which is normal in itself, and he underwent those blood tests afterward.”

"But the problem was that my mechanic, who had also worked for him before, told me everything in 2000," LeMond continues his story. “Once I had all that information, I thought: What is he actually doing? It’s highly likely that he paid the UCI. People were already saying back then that they had paid the UCI.”

"I thought: it's all the same—everyone uses performance-enhancing drugs, and everyone's on the same level. That's what you say in situations like that. But if you pay the UCI and then aren't tested, that's not right," said LeMond, who is critical of Armstrong's character.

"It was mainly about how he treated people, because he treated me terribly for a very long time. I still remember the day he treated Pantani that way on Mont Ventoux. His attitude toward other riders—that really made me furious," said LeMond.

The three-time Tour winner was publicly berated by Armstrong on several occasions. “He was pulling strings behind the scenes everywhere; it seemed like he wanted to destroy me. He’s done things I can’t even talk about publicly because they affect my family, but one day I’ll reveal them. What he got up to about seven or eight years ago borders on the insane.”

What would LeMond do now if he ran into Armstrong? “I don’t even want to talk to him, because he’s a bad person. He and Johan Bruyneel—they’re two assholes. Bruyneel is such a jerk, too. Everyone says he’s always got something to say about me and tries to spread rumors. It just never stops with them.”

"I actually never talk about Lance Armstrong, except around this year's Tour, when people wanted to compare him to Tadej Pogačar," LeMond says, referring to his comments from July. “At the time, I mainly wanted to emphasise that it’s impossible to dominate the Tour the way Armstrong did, unless there was more doping going on back then than we know about now. I can’t prove it, but there’s no form of doping that could have boosted performance like that back then. On the other hand, Tadej—now that’s a true natural talent.”

"I know the physiology and the wattages very well. It used to seem as if there was only one dominant rider per generation or team (like at Sky), whereas now you see multiple talents like Tadej at the top," said LeMond.

“Armstrong was compared to the greats back then, but if you look at a rider like Jonas Vingegaard—who has an enormous VO2 max of 96 and is also ten kilograms lighter than I was back then—it makes sense that he rides up the mountain so incredibly fast.”

Pogacar also appeals to LeMond. “I love his attitude. Both he and today’s generation of riders exude sportsmanship and aren’t so negative. Back in the days of Sky and Armstrong, there was a very dark, gloomy atmosphere. In any case, I’m enjoying cycling again; I may not follow every stage in its entirety, but I do watch a lot of it.”

He’s also watching with interest as the next generation of superstars begins to emerge. “Here’s the thing: we call Tadej exceptional, but that’s almost become the norm by now. However, when you see how guys like Seixas are already being talked about, it gives me confidence that pure, natural talent, thankfully, still rises to the top.”