July 9 (UPI) — Legendary cyclist Greg Lemond on Wednesday became the first cyclist and 10th athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol.
Lemond, 64, joins the likes of Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, Billie Jean King and Jack Nicklaus in being so honored by Congress.
Lemond was the first American to win the Tour de France with a victory in 1986 and won two others in 1989 and 1990.
He also is the only American to officially win the prestigious, multiday cycling event following disqualifications of Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis over doping allegations, USA Today reported.
A strong and faithful support system
“Throughout his life, Greg has put his talent and success to good use, speaking up for children and our military veterans, for fairness in the sport and for the next generation of cyclists, ” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said during Wednesday’s award event.
“As Greg will tell you, no race gets easier, and no great victory is won all alone,” Johnson continued. “Behind every champion stands a strong and faithful support system.”
Johnson cited Lemond’s wife, Kathy, and his extended family as the cyclist’s support system and acknowledged their attendance at the Gold Medal ceremony.
Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., called Lemond an “American and worldwide cycling legend” who initially was a skier but began cycling as a way to stay in shape during the off season at age 13.
“Once he got on two wheels, he had a new passion,” Thompson said of Lemond.
“After just one year of training, Greg placed second in his first club ride,” Thompson said, “He rode in a tank top, jogging shorts and tennis shoes.”
Lemond “didn’t have the right gear or the right bike, but it didn’t matter,” Thompson added. “His rocket-ship rise to success had begun.”
Honoring people, places and moments
Lemond and his family joined Johnson and other lawmakers on the stage for the medal presentation.
“The honor is more than I ever expected, and I accept it with deep gratitude and a profound sense of humility,” Lemond said of the Congressional Gold Medal.
“Today isn’t just about reflecting on my own journey,” Lemond told the audience. “It’s also about honoring the people, places and moments that shaped it.”
He thanked his parents and family for their support and all of the teammates who helped make him a champion.
“Cycling was an unusual sport for a 14-year-old kid in 1976,” Lemond said. “I didn’t even know the sport existed until one day a bicycle race passed my home.”
Lemond said he became “passionately obsessed with racing” after winning his first cycling event and “believed that, as an America, if I worked hard enough, anything was possible.”
His dream was to become the world’s best cyclist, so he moved to Europe at age 19 to make it happen.
Just a blonde-haired, blue-eyed kid
“I brought an American attitude to the sport of cycling,” Lemond said. “I was open to new ideas and bringing innovation and technology to a very traditional sport. That was a huge competitive advantage.”
He said Europeans taught him a lot and embraced him as “le American.”
“I was just a blonde-haired, blue-eyed kid from America, and for some reason, that resonated with people,” Lemond said. “I think Europeans saw in me what the U.S. has meant to Europe at critical times — as an ally, a liberator and a friend.”
He recalled a recent encounter in a village of about 80 people in the French Alps, where he said an old man approached him and announced he was the one who invented the carbon fiber disc wheels that Lemond was the first to use and that helped him to win the 1986 Tour de France.
Lemond told the man he wished he still had those wheels. The man told him they were in his mother’s garage and asked if he would like to have them.
“They were the first carbon fiber wheels to win the Tour de France,” Lemond said.
A legacy of sacrifice and courage
Lemond, his wife, Kathy, and the man walked to the 104-year-old woman’s home, where the old woman hugged him, invited them into her home.
She had an old U.S. flag and lots of American-related memorabilia in her home and told Lemond and Kathy that she witnessed the Nazis occupy France in 1940.
Her brothers fled into the mountains to join the resistance, and she rode her bicycle through the countryside to deliver food and information, Lemond told the audience.
“Sadly, one of her brothers was killed in the fighting, and then the Americans came,” he said.
The woman told him Americans saved her father, her family and her country.
“She cried as she told us, and so did we,” Lemond said. “That moment has stayed with me.
“It reminded me that being an American, especially abroad, carries a legacy of sacrifice, of courage and showing up when it matters most,” he said. “So I am honored beyond words to receive this Congressional Gold Medal.”
Lemond said the honor isn’t his alone and belongs to every teammate, supporter, family member and to “all the extraordinary Americans whose courage and sacrifice made my life possible.”
Greatest U.S. cyclist who raced clean
The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest award that a civilian can receive from Congress, which Congress initially awarded to Lemond in 2020.
The Covid-19 pandemic delayed Lemond’s receipt of the Gold Medal until Wednesday.
Lemond was born in northern California and grew up in Reno, Nev., where he was graduated from Wooster High School in 1979 and soon after pursued his cycling dreams in Europe.
He is considered the greatest U.S. cyclist who did not resort to performance-enhancing drugs to become a champion.
Lemond’s final two wins came he was nearly killed when accidentally shot during a turkey hunt on his family’s ranch in northern California in 1987.
His 8-second margin of victory during the 1989 race is the closest in the history of the Tour de France, which covers more than 2,000 miles in the French Alps over 21 stages each summer.
It is one of the world’s most popular sporting events and its oldest and most prestigious cycling race.