In his autobiography, We Were Young and Carefree, Laurent Fignon wrote that somebody once remarked to him: “Ah, I remember you: you’re the guy who lost the Tour de France by eight seconds!” The late cyclist’s response: “No, monsieur, I’m the guy who won the Tour twice.”
It’s almost inconceivable that a two-time champion of the world’s most demanding sporting event should be remembered for the year he was runner-up. But the 1989 Tour de France, when Greg LeMond beat Fignon by just those eight seconds, remains one of the Grand Tour’s grandest moments.
LeMond and his wife, Kathy, are the primary contributors to this engaging account of his second Tour de France win.
Having won in 1986, the cyclist seemed, heading into 1989, already to have completed his underdog story. “Oh, my gosh, that was my dream. Being the first American ever to put on the yellow jersey,” he says in Alex Holmes’ film. “That was the most magical thing I’ve ever experienced.”
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That victory precipitated an unlikely slump, as LeMond came to terms with a traumatic childhood event. Things got worse. In 1987, on a family hunting trip, LeMond was accidentally shot by his brother-in-law; he lost 65 per cent of his blood and barely survived the removal of 45 pellets from the blast. His team, expecting him never to race again, fired him.
While he was on the road to recovery, a subsequent contract with the Dutch PDM team was terminated when LeMond, a vocal opponent of the use of performance-enhancing drugs, discovered that doping was going on.
Holmes (who previously directed the crowd-pleasing yachting doc Maiden) and his editors, Paul Monaghan and Gibran Ramos, stick to the facts, cutting between talking heads and archival footage. In common with LeMond’s career, during which the interloping Yank won over spectators and rivals alike, The Last Rider proves a charm offensive.
Irish viewers may wish for a little more of the great Sean Kelly, who finished ninth that year, but even if the film falls shy of the maillot jaune, it’s a plucky competitor and a welcome antidote to the scandals that have rocked the sport.
The Last Rider is on limited release from Friday, June 23rd
