If there’s one characteristic that defines trailblazing cycling hero Greg LeMond, it’s fearlessness. In 1986, in a sport dominated by Europeans for a century, the famously anti-doping wunderkind became the first and only American to legitimately win cycling’s most brutal race, the 21-stage, 2,200-mile Tour de France. And he did it on a carbon-fiber bike (another first) at a time when steel still ruled the pro peloton.
Shortly after that historic victory, he was nearly killed in a hunting accident. But rather than call it quits, LeMond clawed his way back—with lead still riddling his torso, liver, and heart—to win the Tour in inhuman fashion in 1989 and ’90. Afterwards, as Big Dope inexorably took over the major teams, LeMond publicly fought for the integrity of the sport, exposing the systemic cheating that brought down Lance Armstrong and others.
And now, fearless as ever, the champ is relaunching his bike brand and developing the future of carbon fiber in the hills of Tennessee. His first new models? Two visionary, lightweight carbon-fiber e-bikes: the Prolog, a flat-bar ripper, and the Dutch, a reinvention of Holland’s classic city cruiser (from $4,500; lemond.com), pictured below, respectively.
Both offer seamless electric boosting and carbon monocoque construction, including handlebars and integrated lights, fenders, and, for the Dutch, a basket and rear rack. A non-electric racing bike, the Road, is set to debut this spring. Gravel and mountain lines are in the works, too.
“Cycling is transformational,” says LeMond, pictured on the Prolog below. “I always wanted my wife, who’d never ridden long distances, to experience that. With an e-bike, she gets to. I really believe the beauty of cycling is that, beyond health and fitness, it’s going to play a huge role in the future of transportation, helping the environment, and improving cities. That’s what’s exciting.”
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