Greg LeMond
AW197 / Sun conjunction
> Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States and a three-time winner of the Tour de France. He was born in Reno, Nevada.
In 1986, LeMond became the first American cyclist to win the Tour de France. In 1987, he was accidentally shot and seriously injured in a hunting accident (by his brother-in-law), taking two years to recover before returning to win the Tour again in 1989 and 1990, becoming one of only eight cyclists to have won the Tour three or more times.
Racing career
LeMond was a standout junior rider and quickly established himself as a talented cyclist. Soon after his initial success, he began competing against older, more seasoned racers and gained the attention of the US national cycling team. LeMond went on to win gold, silver and bronze medals at the 1979 junior world championships in Argentina and amazed spectators with his spectacular victory in the road race. He was picked for the 1980 Olympic cycling team but was unable to compete due to the US boycott of the summer Moscow games. With the guidance of Cyrille Guimard he joined the European peloton, first racing with the Paris-based Union Sportive de Creteil where he first realized he could compete with the Europeans after winning a stage and coming third overall in the demanding Circuit des Ardennes thus providing the catalyst for his successful career. In 1981 he then began racing professionally with the Renault-Elf-Gitane team. He finished in second place with a silver medal at the 1982 World Cycling Championship and become the first American to win a road world championship the following year. He soon began preparing for the more demanding Grand Tours.
LeMond rode his first Tour de France in 1984 and finished third, winning the young rider classification. In the 1985 Tour the managers of his La Vie Claire team ordered the 24-year-old LeMond to ride in support of his team captain Bernard Hinault, who was leading the race but suffering from injuries sustained in a crash, instead of riding to win the race. LeMond finished second, 1:42 behind Hinault, who was able to claim his fifth Tour victory. LeMond later asserted in an interview that the team management and his coach Paul Koechli had lied to him during a crucial stage, telling him Hinault was close behind when in fact Hinault lagged by more than three minutes.
A year later in the 1986 Tour, Hinault and LeMond were co-leaders of the La Vie Claire team, with Hinault publicly promising to ride in support of LeMond in gratitude for LeMond's sacrifice in 1985. By stage 12, Hinault had built up a five-minute lead over LeMond, claiming he was trying to draw out LeMond's rivals, but he cracked in the mountains the next day and soon LeMond was in the lead. Although the two crested the Alpe d'Huez together to win the stage in a show of unity, it was clear that Hinault had been riding aggressively against his teammate. LeMond ultimately took the yellow jersey that year but felt betrayed by Hinault.
Disaster struck LeMond while turkey-hunting in California, April 20, 1987, when his brother-in-law accidentally discharged his shotgun, striking LeMond in the back just over two months before the 1987 Tour de France was to begin. LeMond missed the following two Tours while recovering, also undergoing surgery for appendicitis and for tendinitis in his leg.
At the 1989 Tour de France, with 37 shotgun pellets remaining in his body (including two in the lining of his heart), LeMond was hoping only to finish in the top 20. Heading into the final stage, however, an individual time trial finishing in Paris, LeMond was in second place overall. He was 50 seconds behind Laurent Fignon, who had won the Tour in 1983 and 1984. LeMond rode the time trial using novel aero bars, which gave him an aerodynamic advantage, to beat Fignon by 58 seconds to claim his second yellow jersey with a final margin of eight seconds – the closest in the Tour's history. LeMond's average speed in the time trial, 54.545 km/h, was the fastest in Tour de France stage history; since then, only the 1994 prologue has been faster. As LeMond danced in victory on the Champs-Élysées, Fignon sat and wept. Several days later, Fignon attributed his loss to saddle sores. However, it was noted that Fignon had been overconfident on the last stages of the Tour, even congratulating LeMond on his second place, allowing LeMond to gain an advantage which proved decisive. LeMond's comeback was confirmed by winning his second world road championship several weeks later, beating Dimitri Konyshev and Seán Kelly in the final sprint. LeMond was named Sports Illustrated magazine's 1989 "Sportsman of the Year", the first cyclist to receive the honor.
LeMond won the Tour for the third time in 1990. This Tour saw a group including Claudio Chiappucci, then at the start of his career and relatively unknown, gain a lead of 10 minutes 35 seconds in Stage 1 [the prologue not being given a stage number] , which LeMond steadily chipped away through the mountain stages, leaving Chiappucci with a five-second lead before the final individual time trial. LeMond placed fifth in the time trial, beating Chiappucci by more than two minutes and taking the lead of the race. He became one of the few cyclists to win the Tour without winning a stage.
In 1992, LeMond became the first American to win the Tour DuPont, a short-lived American answer to the Tour de France that took place from 1991 to 1996. LeMond won the prologue in record time and it was his first American win since the mid-1980s. The 1992 Tour DuPont victory was Greg LeMond's last major win of his career.
LeMond retired from racing in 1994, blaming mitochondrial myopathy for his deteriorating performance since 1990. In 2007, he said he didn't believe he had had the illness at all, blaming his condition on overtraining.
In the 1997 career retrospective interview Once Was King with Bryan Malessa, LeMond rued his lost opportunities, noting he had "given away" the 1985 Tour and missed it altogether in 1987 and 1988 after being shot. "Of course you can't rewrite racing history", he said, "but I'm confident that I would have won five Tours."
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Assuming noon, 19:00 UT
Using RIYAL 3.13
Astrological Setting (Tropical - Placidus)
RIYAL Mon June 26 1961 UT 19h00m00s Lat39n32 Lon119w49 RADIX
Elatus = 0,04 Leo Okyrhoe = 14,01 Lib
Ceto = 0,07 Tau Chariklo = 14,16 Aqu r
Hylonome = 1,25 Gem Pholus = 14,34 Aqu r
Thereus = 1,44 Sag r Amycus = 15,37 Tau
TL66 = 3,48 Pis r TD10 = 17,53 Sco r
Sun = 4,54 Can Quaoar = 18,38 Lib r
Teharonhi= 5,10 Cap r Varuna = 19,05 Tau
Jupiter = 5,35 Aqu r Venus = 19,22 Tau
Apogee = 5,36 Leo r (Midheav) = 20,40 Gem
Pluto = 5,57 Vir Pelion = 20,40 Leo
Mercury = 5,59 Can r Typhon = 21,13 Ari
Crantor = 6,17 Tau (Ascend) = 21,51 Vir
Chiron = 6,34 Pis r Asbolus = 21,57 Can
Huya = 7,13 Leo Cyllarus = 21,57 Sco r
Deucalion= 7,46 Vir Uranus = 23,06 Leo
Neptune = 8,41 Sco r Pylenor = 23,26 Leo
Orcus = 9,10 Can Ixion = 24,28 Lib r
Eris = 10,34 Ari Radamantu= 24,46 Can
CZ118 = 10,37 Leo Echeclus = 27,31 Leo
(Moon) = 11,11 Sag Saturn = 28,09 Cap r
Chaos = 11,24 Ari Sedna = 28,18 Ari
Logos = 11,29 Can Node = 28,36 Leo r
Bienor = 12,44 Leo Mars = 28,42 Leo
CY118 = 12,54 Can Nessus = 29,26 Tau
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Focused Minor Planets
AW197 = 4Ca59
Sun = 4Ca54
Mercury = 5Ca59 r
Jupiter = 5Aq35 r Quincunx
Pluto = 5Vi57 Sextile
TL66 = 3Pi48 r Trine
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Varuna = 19Ta05
Venus = 19Ta22
Quaoar = 18Li38 r Quincunx
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UQ513 = 29Aq00 r
RR43 = 29Aq33 r
Mars = 28Le42
Node = 28Le36 r
Sedna = 28Ar18 Sextile
Saturn = 28Cp09 r Semisextile
Nessus = 29Ta26 Square
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TY364 = 24Aq22 r
Uranus = 23Le06
Ixion = 24Li28 r Trine
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Orcus = 9Ca10
Neptune = 8Sc41 r Grand Trine
UX25 = 8Pi54 r
UK126 = 9Ar57 Square
OO67 = 8Sa51 r Quincunx
OP32 = 9Sa31 r
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Posted to Centaurs (YahooGroups) on July 01, 2010
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