Comeback

'Greg LeMond was Lance Armstrong before Lance Armstrong . . . the story of a true hero . . . This is a must read if you believe in miracles.'-John Feinstein, New York Times-bestselling author In July 1986, Greg LeMond stunned the sporting world by becoming the first American to win the Tour de France, the world's pre-eminent bicycle race, defeating French cycling legend Bernard Hinault. Nine months later, LeMond lay in a hospital bed, his life in peril after a hunting accident, his career as a bicycle racer seemingly over. And yet, barely two years after this crisis, LeMond mounted a comeback almost without parallel in professional sports. In summer 1989, he again won the Tour arguably the world's most grueling athletic contest by the almost impossibly narrow margin of 8 seconds over another French legend, Laurent Fignon. It remains the closest Tour de France in history. '[A] blend of chaos, kindness and cruelty typifies the scenes that journalist de Vise brings to life in this sympathetic-verging-on-reverential retelling of LeMond's trailblazing career (first American to enter the tour, first to win it) . . . As an author in quest of his protagonist's motivation, [de Vise] subjects it to extreme torque.' The Washington Post 'A great book . . . Well written and thoroughly researched . . . Engrossing and hard to put down. If you're a Greg LeMond fan, The Comeback is a must read because it's a detailed accounting of his career and-more importantly-his life and person off the bike. It's also an important reminder that American cycling did not begin and end with Lance Armstrong.' PEZ