LeMond opens up about doping and his feud with Armstrong: "Bizarre that the Armstrong era was even worse than the '90s"

When LeMond won the Tour de France for the first time at age 25 in 1986, he had already claimed the world championship title three years earlier. The cycling world seemed to be his oyster, but disaster struck in 1987. While turkey hunting in California with his brother-in-law, LeMond was mistaken for prey and was accidentally shot. Over sixty shotgun pellets struck him, leaving him in critical condition. He lost 70% of his blood and would have bled out within 20 minutes.

LeMond attempted a return to professional cycling later that year, but the champion was no longer the same. "I went from being one of the best to one of the worst," he told CyclingWeekly. "It’s never really been written what my wife Kathy and I went through after I got shot. The suffering, the lack of hope, the dark days, every race saying I’m going to come back but then cracking, two PDM riders testing positive. It was our worst nightmare." It seemed that his once-brilliant career had been cut tragically short.

But suddenly, LeMond was back—and how. In 1989, he won the most dramatic Tour ever, beating Laurent Fignon by eight seconds and snatching the yellow jersey in the final time trial. A year later, he defended his title. After this victory, the American continued racing for another four years but never reached his old level again. In 1994, he retired from cycling, citing numerous physical ailments. "Part of my heart aches because I didn’t have a career less affected by injuries and the dawn of the EPO era."

The substance gained traction in the late '80s and early '90s, though it was already on the list of banned substances. LeMond still insists he never used EPO and has always been fiercely anti-doping. In the U.S., he is regarded as "Mr. Anti-Doping." "I had to take on that position," he says. During that time, Lance Armstrong was the dominant name in cycling, but "The Boss" ruled with an iron fist and violated just about every doping rule in existence. "It was bizarre that the Armstrong era was even worse than the late '90s." Johan Bruyneel dismisses LeMond's claim of staying clean, calling him a 'cortisone king.'

This also played a role in his life after his professional career. LeMond was critical of Armstrong, something his compatriot could not tolerate. The then-seven-time Tour winner made his life miserable, tarnishing his name in the media. Eventually, LeMond was vindicated, but only after years of suffering. His job as a commentator was also affected by his knowledge of doping in the sport. "I loved it," he says about the role. "But it was hard to get excited about certain individuals when I had inside info about them. It was painful."