Velotology Educational Series

Hello, cycling brethren

Today, I present to you another article from Velotology’s educational series. This piece focuses on the legendary cyclist Laurent Fignon.

Below you will find 7 curious facts about him that will shock you. 

Let’s go, friends.

The First Bicycle Of Fignon Was The Commuter Of His Dad

Fignon fell in in love with cycling when he was 15 years old. His first bike was from the French brand Vigneron and owned by his father.  

Most Vigneron bikes were the classic singly speed commuters that the average European would ride to the supermarket. 

Fignon’s Parents Did Not Want Him To Be a Cyclist

At 16, Fignon won his first race and was extremely motivated to continue. His parents, however, were skeptical and weren’t exactly keen on allowing his son to focus on cycling. 

But as it often happens, you can’t stop true love no matter what. And he kept cycling in secret. 

Three years later, he won 18 out of 36 races and with that accomplishment, he earned permission from his parents to keep pedaling. However, part of the deal included college. Fignon studied Structural and Materials Science but hated it as he could only think of his love – cycling. Eventually, he quit and joined the army where he cycled too. 

Quote: I thought about cycling from morning until night. And as soon as I woke up all I thought about was my bike. In the evening I went to sleep dreaming about being on my bike. Cycling. Nothing but cycling.

Fignon Tested Positive For Amphetamines 

In 1987, Fignon was caught using amphetamines during the Grand Prix de Wallonie. Two years later, he repeated the violation at the Grand Prix de la Liberation.

According to Fignon, stimulants were the norm for his era but had close to no impact on the capabilities of the riders. 

My research over the years confirms the same. Stimulants were widespread, even Merckx took them, but doping in cycling didn’t have a groundbreaking effect until GH (growth hormone) and EPO came to the seen.  

Fignon was repulsed at the idea of taking hormones to boost his cycling performance.

Fignon’s Nickname Was “The Professor”

Fignon has one of the coolest nicknames in cycling. He was called The Professor for two reasons. 

First, he wore glasses and reminded people of an academic scholar. Second, he had a very strategic, chess-like approach to cycling. He would spend a lot of time analyzing the style and tactics of his competitors and try to come up with strategies meant to exploit the found weaknesses. 

8 Seconds Prevented Fignon From Winning The Tour De France Three Times

Laurent Fignon had two Tour De France wins (1983 and 1984). 5 years later, 8 seconds prevented him from winning the tour for a third time. 

The 1989 Tour De France ended with a time trial in Paris. The final battle was between Fignon and Greg LeMond from the U.S. 

Fignon had a 50-second lead from the previous stages, and it was extremely unlikely for LeMond to bridge the gap. 

Fignon was fast but didn’t manage to beat the time trial result of LeMond. One of the reasons was the high-end equipment of LeMond, namely the aero bars. 

Today, even wannabe cyclists who spend most of their time on Instagram uploading pictures rather than riding have aero bars, but at the time, aero bars were a novelty and barely used by anyone, especially in professional settings.  

LeMond’s aero bars were developed by Boone Lennon, a former US national ski team coach, and ended up being decisive as LeMond won the trial by 24 seconds. LeMond had an aero helmet too while Fignon was without one. 

Somewhat ironically, the team of Fignon was offered aero bars too but refused to use them. It’s speculative, of course, but chances are Fignon would have kept his lead if he’d raced with aero bars.

At the end of the day, there’s a reason why they became the norm for TT races – they work. 

Sadly, many people tried to “trigger” Fignon over those 8 seconds. But he had an absolute baller response to the provocations and reminded journalists that he was a man who’d already won the Tour twice. And what’s even crazier is that he was only 24 years old when he lifted the second trophy.

According to Fignon, The Classic Era of Cycling Ended On July 23, 1989

In his autobiography We Were Young and Carefree, Fignon states that July 23, 1989, is the date separating the classic cycling era from the modern, technological one: 

Quote: “Many people feel that this is the day that divides two radically different kinds of cycling…The craftsmen were defeated by mass production. Handmade goods were overwhelmed by factory-made stuff. Individuals were submerged in the anonymous mass. The people’s heroes were strangled and the glory of the Giants of the Road trickled away.”

While we can argue about the exact date separating the two eras, one cannot deny the fact that old-school steel bicycles have class that the modern carbon monsters just can’t match.

It’s also painfully true and yet somehow not so obvious that cycling has become a little too focused on equipment these days. 

Fignon Lost a Race Due To a Broken Bottom Bracket Axle

In 1982, during the Paris-Tours (Blois – Chaville), Fignon was 15km away from winning the race when the titanium axle of his Campy Record or Nuovo Record bottom bracket broke, and he found himself sitting on the ground. 

What’s even more ironic is that the mechanics of the team had replaced the axles of the other crew members as they were known to be fragile, except for the one of Fignon because he was on holiday.

Quote: 15 kilometers from the line and I was going to get a tailwind, the win was almost guaranteed. Then, standing on the pedals to accelerate, I fell heavily to the ground, without even understanding what had just happened to me. A horrible shock. A broken bottom bracket axle. Race lost.

Moments like this paint the irony of life. You are so sure that something will happen, it’s seemingly one arm away and then whoever writes destiny pushes you in another completely unexpected direction. 

But as life is dualistic, I also have to admit that sometimes the principle has a positive spin – you feel hopeless and then out of nowhere an opportunity appears. 

At the end of the day, it is what it is. The wheel turns, and we do the best we can to survive.