Three Weeks, Eight Seconds

Three Weeks, Eight Seconds – The Epic Tour De France of 1989

“I was convinced deep inside that I could not lose. I could not see how it could happen.”–Laurent Fignon

“I didn’t think. I just rode.”–Greg LeMond

For a race as long as the mighty Tour (three weeks of testing the limits of human endurance), to have the ultimate victory decided by a margin of just eight seconds almost boggles the mind. But that’s exactly what happened between American legend Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon. And he did it on the final stage, as the two sprinted through down the Champs Elysees. After more than 2,000 miles in the saddle, it remains the smallest margin of victory in the Tour’s 100+ year history.

But as dramatic as that Sunday afternoon on the streets of Paris was, the race wasn’t just about that one time-trial. During the previous fortnight, the leader’s yellow jersey had swapped back and forth between LeMond and Fignon in a titanic struggle for supremacy, a battle with more twists and turns than an Alpine mountain pass. At no point during the entire three weeks were the pair separated by more than 53 seconds, a razor thin margin between ultimate triumph or agonizing torment. And all this despite LeMond’s body still carrying more than 30 shotgun pellets after a shooting accident.