Bernard Hinault is "Le Blaireau," the Badger. Tough as old
boots, he is the old warrior of the French peloton, as revered as
he is feared for his ferocious attacks. He has won 5 Tours de
France, marking his name into the history books as a member of
cycling''s most exclusive club.
Yet as the 1986 Tour de France ascends into the mountains, a
boyish and friendly young American named Greg LeMond threatens the
Badger-and France's entire cycling heritage. Known as
"L''Américain," the naïve Tour newcomer rides strongly,
unafraid.
The stakes are high. Winning for Hinault means capping his long
cycling career by becoming the first man to win the Tour six times.
For LeMond, a win will bring America its first Tour de France
victory. So why does their rivalry shock the world?
LeMond and Hinault ride for the same team.
Asked by a reporter why he attacked his own teammate, the Badger
replies, "Because I felt like it." and "If he doesn''t buckle, that
means he''s a champion and deserves to win the race. I did it for
his own good."
LeMond becomes paranoid, taking other riders'' feed bags in the
feed zone and blaming crashes on sabotage. Through it all, with the
help of his American teammate Andy Hampsten, LeMond rides like a
champion and becomes the first American to win the Tour de France.
His win signals the passing of cycling''s last hide-bound
generation and the birth of a new breed of riders.
In Slaying the Badger, award-winning author Richard Moore
traces each story line to its source through innumerable
interviews-not only with LeMond and Hinault in their own homes but
also with teammates, rivals, race directors, journalists, sponsors,
and promoters. Told from these many perspectives, the alliances,
tirades, and broken promises divulged in Slaying the
Badger build to the stunning climax of the 1986 Tour de
France. Slaying the Badger is an incomparably detailed and
highly revealing tale of cycling''s most extraordinary rivalry.
Sports/Cycling
Tour de France, 1986: The battle lines are
drawn. America's hope, Greg LeMond, fights to dethrone "the
Badger," French hero Bernard Hinault.
Former world champion LeMond is gunning for his first Tour
victory. Hinault is clawing his way toward a record-breaking
sixth.
LeMond, mercurial and raw, struggles for recognition. Hinault,
fiercely combative and relentlessly aggressive, wants to go out on
top.
On his side, LeMond has two team allies. But Hinault has
five.
And there's one other problem: They're on the same team.
Their explosive rivalry burned the rule book, shredded
friendships, shattered careers, and destroyed convention. It also
led to the greatest Tour de France ever raced, an epic, chaotic,
confounding, and ultimately exhilarating war of pure adrenaline,
cold-blooded calculation, and extraordinary athleticism.
Heroism, treachery, spectacle, controversy, betrayal: In
detail and emotion, Richard Moore brilliantly reconstructs the
mind-boggling story of the 1986 Tour de France, the greatest race
of them all.
Relive the adrenaline, the agony, the camaraderie, and the betrayals of the 1986 Tour de France. Two teammates, Greg LeMond and Bernard Hinault, were supposed to cooperate as teammates, but instead entered into a show-stopping rivalry.
