Slaying the Badger: Hinault, LeMond and the 1986 Tour de France

This post is dedicated to my pal, Ashwin Bala, due to whom I read this book at all.
I was doubly touched by the fact that he generously let me read his book, with the stretch-wrap still untouched when I got it!

Bernard Hinault is one of the legends of the Tour de France (TDF or Le Tour) having won 5 of them like Eddy Merckx and Jacques Antueil, before him. Greg LeMond (who won 3 TDFs) was the first non-European to win the TDF and was a legend before Lance Armstrong had even started.

Their personalities could not have been more different. One menacing, tough, bare-knuckled old-school fighter, another easy-going, social, good-humoured but tenacious young competitor. Their numerous battles during the 1986 TDF combine to form what the author, Richard Moore describes in the subtitle of the book as the greatest ever TDF.

The author does a splendid job of getting the cycling bits right - right down to the intensity of climbing the Alpe d'Huez (for anyone who follows cycling, the significance is obvious*), given that both Hinault and LeMond both gave him great access and time. He does an even better job of getting the personalities and the evident clash of cultures well outlined.

The book is a must read for any cycling buff, particularly for those who miss the one-on-one battles from the early TDFs, missing from some of the Armstrong & definitely from the Contador years.

The book's appeal is all the more enhanced when one realizes that Hinault and LeMond were on the same team, but fought each other like prize-fighters in round 12!

Hinault's quote from the end of the book (from his 2nd autobiography)sums it up best, "...My role is to make the race hard and I succeeded. After two days in the high mountains 27 riders have either been dropped or disqualified; our main adversaries have all lost key members of their team. I always said that, in this Tour, Greg only needs to worry about himself. I will take care of the other 208 riders."

!!!

It is a book which will easily polarize the reader, but is an amazing read and a difficult one to sum up.

I can only recommend strongly that you do read it. Your time will be worth it.

* For those who don't, for now, this quote by Jean Paul Vespini should do -> "The true secret of the Alpe's success is that it is a climb that delivers a verdict - absolute, impartial, and final"