The Professor in the peloton

As great a cyclist Laurent Fignon used to be, people will always remember him as the guy with a ponytail and wire rimmed glasses (this is where he got the name “professor”) who slumped on floor of the L’Avenue des Champs Elysées, after Greg Lemond beat him in the final 34km ITT by 58sec and the 1989 Tour de France by 8sec.

It’s not exactly the way great athletes leave their legacy behind, but if you compare the current palmares of the Frenchman to any current rider not named Lance Armstrong, Fignon, hands down, has the better resume.

Fignon could never be mistaken for your kind grandmother. He was aloof and arrogant and believed that he was superior to other riders. During his early racing days, he would sit on his car and have someone get his race number. He once said that his teammates were paid to ride for him, not to make friends with him. And maybe because of this attitude, Vincent Barteau at SYSTEME U in the ‘89 Tour, was spying for Lemond.

Fignon wasn’t supposed to win the Tour in ‘83 but when his team captain Bernard Hinault got injured, he stamped his class on the peloton. Hinault would moved to another team in ’84 but Fignon trounced him just the same.

Then came the difficult years. A knee injury prevented him from having a serious crack at the next few TdF’s. As he struggled, people were saying that his career was over. At the same time, Lemond was also down on his luck after getting accidentally shot during turkey hunting. The two would finally get back to their form going into the ‘89 season. Fignon would win the Giro that year while Lemond won the final stage, giving both hope for the Tour a month later. And the rest is history.

Upon his retirement in 1993, Fignon took ownership of “Paris-Nice”, an early season race in France. But financial problems would force him to sell the race to ASO, the owners of the Tour in just a few years. He is still involved in cycling, but not in the same capacity as before.

Now he’s back in the limelight for a sad reason – he has confirmed that he has advanced intestinal cancer that has metastasized to his pancreas. He also said that he is undergoing chemotherapy and is optimistic that he will “win the battle”. When he was asked if his doping practices could be the cause of the disease, he frankly replied, “I just don’t know. I discussed my personal history (with my doctors) quite frankly and they said that would be too simple of an explanation”.

I never liked Fignon the cyclist but after he retired, cycling fans saw him in a different and respectable way. Today, I can’t help but root for the guy. This man is a champion and champions just don’t lay down and die.

The Bike and Run For Freedom ‘09”

Congratulations to Gene Faelnar for organizing this fantastic event! I thought that it would be difficult to get permission to use the South Reclamation Properties from City Hall officials who sometimes are overly protective of the SRP but Gene made it looked easy. Hopefully, there will be more events like this one.

Race Results Mandaue CRIT CAT C2

1- ALLAN DUNGOG, 2- NANIE QUIJANO, 3- JV ARANETA, 4- HEIDE ESMALIN, 5- GARY FERNANDEZ

FINALLY, this is what Fignon, who tested positive for doping twice in his career, said, about doping: “In those days everyone was doing it.” About dying: “If it all came to end quickly, I wouldn’t have many regrets. I have had a beautiful life.” – THE FREEMAN