'Being An American, Especially Abroad, Carries A Legacy Of Sacrifice And Courage': Greg LeMond

Forbes Breaking News

Greg LeMond, the only American to win the Tour de France 3 times, was honored in the U.S. Capitol with a Congressional Gold Medal.

Transcript

00:00Good morning. Thank you, Speaker Johnson, Congressman Mike Thompson, Congressman Graves.

00:14Beautiful story. Truly, my relation with my dad exactly the same way I started right with my dad

00:20and all the other sponsors that made this day possible. The honor is more than I ever expected,

00:27and I accept it with deep gratitude and also with a profound sense of humility.

00:33Today isn't just about reflecting on my own journey. It's about honoring the people, the places,

00:38and the moments that shaped it. From the beginning, I've had my parents, Bob and Bertha, who's passed

00:46away, my sisters, Karen and Kathy, my lovely wife, Kathy, and her family, and our children, Jeff, Scott,

00:56and Simone. And Otto Giacome is here. Otto Giacome and all of the teammates that made my career possible.

01:06Cycling was an unusual sport for a 14-year-old kid in 1976, to say. In fact, I didn't even know the

01:12sport existed until one day a bicycle race passed my home. Kind of colorful, but very interesting.

01:20After winning my first race, I became passionately obsessed with cycling. And as American, I believed that

01:27if I worked hard enough, anything was possible. So I set my dream of becoming the best cyclist in the

01:33world, and that meant moving to Europe at the age of 19. I brought an American attitude to the sport of

01:39cycling. It was, I was open to new ideas, bringing innovation technology to a very traditional sport.

01:46And that was a huge competitive advantage as a competitor. But Europe has also taught me a lot.

01:54There's a long history between our nations, from the Revolutionary War through World War II,

01:59and through that shared history came respect, friendship, and connection.

02:02I've always felt that, in the way the French embraced me, they called me l'american, the American,

02:09and I was proud of that. At one point, my parents even suggested I lean into it. Wear a cowboy hat and

02:15boots. They told me. I didn't go quite that far, although I did grow up in Reno, Nevada, and rode horses

02:21before I rode a bike. I was just a blonde-haired, blue-eyed kid from America, and for some reason,

02:27that resonated with people. I think many Europeans saw in me a reminder of what the U.S. has meant to

02:33Europe at critical times as an ally, a liberator, and a friend. One experience really brought that

02:40home. A few years ago, while filming for the Tour de France, I was sitting in this tiny little village

02:46in the foothills of the Alps. Eighty people lived there, if that, when an older man walked up.

02:52My good friend Patrick recognized him right away. He was the engineer who designed the carbon fiber

02:58disc wheels that I used to win the 1986 Tour de France, the first-ever victory by an American.

03:04We hadn't seen each other in years, and he was thrilled to reconnect and told me the full story

03:09behind those wheels, details I'd never known. I told him I wish I still had that pair because

03:15they were the first carbon fiber wheels to win a Tour de France. I kind of collected my—as I got older,

03:21one of my stuff that I used when I was racing. He said, would you like them?

03:27Of course I would. He smiled, and he said, they're in my mother's garage.

03:34She was 104 years old. Come meet her, he said. So we walked, my wife and I walked 100 yards

03:42through the quiet village. He opened the garden gate and knocked on the door.

03:46Mother, mother, he said. This is Greg LeMond, the American who won the Tour de France, on my wheels.

03:53She lit up, hugged me and my wife, and said, please come in, my Americans. Please come in,

04:00my American. In her house, on the couch, was a blanket of the American flag. On the walls were

04:07framed photos of magazine clippings all about America. We asked her, why so much American memorabilia?

04:14And she told us, as a young woman during the war, she watched German forces occupy her village.

04:23Her father and brothers had fled into the mountains to join the resistance. She rode her bicycle

04:30through the countryside to deliver food and information, risking her life every day, on every trip.

04:37Sadly, one of her brothers was killed in the fighting. And then the Americans came.

04:42She said, the Americans saved my father. They saved my family. They saved my country.

04:48And she cried as she told us. And so did we.

04:53That moment has stayed with me. It reminded me that being an American, especially abroad,

04:59carries a legacy, a legacy of sacrifice, of courage, and showing up when it matters most.

05:06So I am honored beyond words to receive this Congressional Gold Medal. I stand here knowing

05:12this honor isn't mine alone. It belongs to every teammate, every supporter, every family member,

05:19and to all the extraordinary Americans whose courage and sacrifice made my life and career possible.

05:25And I am proud to be an American. And I thank you, all of you, from the bottom of my heart.

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