Greg LeMond – Yellow Jersey Racer by Guy Andrews

Successful professional cyclist, businessman with a bike brand, and long-standing Armstrong-sceptic, Greg LeMond is known for many things, but as the title of Guy Andrews' book suggests, Greg LeMond: Yellow Jersey Racer focuses on the racing years.

Life after his retirement from racing is not covered, even though he was often still associated with the sport and there are many worthwhile stories to be told from his life after racing.

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The 'Yellow Jersey Racer' in the title is appropriate, because LeMond's sporting career is normally defined by those jerseys, but one should not overlook his success in other races, most notably the Road World Championships. On his list of four 'Cycling Goals' that LeMond wrote in 1978, both the Junior and Senior Worlds were listed, along with 'Win Tour de France by age 25'. Only the Olympic Road Race (when it was contested by amateurs) has eluded him – but three out of four ain't bad.

Success in those races was not really matched by success in the one-day classics, and LeMond once said to Sean Kelly, 'I'll trade you a Worlds title for a Paris-Roubaix.'

Each year of LeMond's sporting career is introduced with a page or two written by Andrews, founder of Rouleur, followed by a few more pages by one of a selection or people who knew him at that time: from riders from his early years (Jeff Bradley), to riders from his peak years (Robert Millar), to riders from his later years (Chris Boardman).

Each chapter also benefits from a great selection of classic images from the relevant year, mostly by one of the photo agencies: you may have seen some of the images used before in books and magazines, and others are new – but all are worth seeing. Many of those pictures are joined by a lengthy caption in LeMond's own words, 'highlighting some of the key moments that help convey what racing was like during my time in the peloton'. This is not an in-depth biography, but reading about those important moments is very revealing about both LeMond and the sport at the time.

You can see the evidence of LeMond's impact on the sport in some of the photos, as he was an early adopter of eyewear (with Oakley), helmets (with Giro), and cycle computers (with Avocet), among other things; later on he was one of the few to try RockShox front suspension during Paris-Roubaix in 1993. 'He wasn't always the first to use them, but he was often the first to be noticed using them,' writes Andrews, 'and in some cases that made all the difference to the commercial success of a newly launched product.'

LeMond is also known for managing to successfully negotiate high salaries, although as he was one of the few willing to talk about money, it is hard to know just how well he did compared to his peers. Not only did Bernard Tapie offer him £1 million over three years in 1984, he would also be paid $1 for every Look pedal sold: the pedals were new on the market, and LeMond would be helping to promote them during his time with the La Vie Claire team. It is ironic therefore that LeMond had taken a pay cut from $30,000 racing as an amateur in the USA, to about $15,000 when he first moved to Europe as a professional rider with the Renault team in 1981.

There are several moments in LeMond's career that even those with only a passing interest in the sport will have heard of, and one has to be the time trial that brought the 1989 Tour to a close, at which LeMond went full aero and his main rival (Laurent Fignon) didn't: wheels, helmet, and above all tri bars. Much has already been written about that day, and there is more here, but rarely do you get to read about a related story: 'In [May] 1989, at the Tour de Trump, we at 7-Eleven knew about the triathlon handlebars, but we were trying to keep them in reserve for the Tour de France,' writes Ron Kiefel. As it happens the team let Dag Otto Lauritzen use them to defend his race lead. LeMond was also in the race, and recognised the potential of the new equipment.

LeMond is also famous for being shot by his brother-in-law during a turkey hunting trip in 1987. Some may raise questions as to what are suitable leisure activities for a cyclist, but the result is that the injuries affected LeMond for the rest of his time in the peloton – yet he managed to overcome the odds and continue with his successful cycling career.

Of course there is another American cyclist who had an equally debilitating setback and came back stronger, but the difference is that LeMond's results will stand the test of time, allowing him to reclaim the title of the only American to win le Tour. However, Lance Armstrong's results in the World Championships still stand, so LeMond has to settle for being merely the first American to win that one.

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We can't forget LeMond's feud with Bernard Hinault over 'whose turn is it to win the Tour de France this year?', and whole books have been written (and films made) about it. 'I had a very difficult time, because it was massively confusing for me – Hinault was my hero,' says LeMond.

Fortunately for us, LeMond seems to be a bit of a collector, and he has a fine selection of bikes from his racing years. Seven of them have been photographed outside his house in Minnesota, 'on a small stretch of cobblestones he had built into his driveway', and they appear in the book with a full specification and commentary from LeMond. Bearing in mind his interest in exploring new technology, it makes for a fascinating conclusion to the book. It's a great section – and I would like to have seen even more of the bikes!

Verdict

A lavishly produced look back at the career of a deservedly popular and successful cyclist