An astute fellow Haute Router emailed me this morning, asking me whether I'd had any information on the mysterious whereabouts of Greg Lemond. Well, more correctly, why he didn't appear at Haute Route Alps, but rode at least the first stage of Haute Route Pyrenees.
A little background
On the first evening of Haute Route Alps the organizers gave us a surprise; 3-time Tour de France winner and World Champion Greg Lemond would be riding with us for the final 3 days of Haute Route. We were, some of us, pretty excited about this. For some, Lemond is a hero, and recently his halo as been shining all that much brighter since he has emerged as the Mr. Clean of American multiple Tour winners.
Then the last 3 days came and went. I don't remember hearing anything from anyone about why Mr. Lemond didn't show up. Maybe I missed something. Set me straight if I did. On the final day I casually asked one of the organizers where he was hiding Greg, to which he replied, ‘family issues'. I've used that one too many times to know it could possibly mean something else.
Now Haute Route Pyrenees begins and we read that Peter Pouly has unfortunately pulled out. M. Pouly, as you probably know, has won HR every year it has taken place. He also has been banned for drug use in the past, during his career as a pro mountain bike rider.
Is there any connection between the fact that Lemond would probably not want to associate his new brand with an event that has an ex-doper as perpetual winner? I don't know. Is cycling controversy fun? Hell yeah!
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