Need some inspiration in your life? Mark your calendar for June 23rd when The Last Rider, the story of Greg LeMond’s incredible 1989 Tour de France win, hits select theaters.
For those who haven’t heard of LeMond, the American racer is a legend. Not only was he the first American man to win the Tour de France ever (the first American ever to win the race was Marianne Martin, who won the Tour in 1984), he also survived being accidentally shot with a shotgun, recovering from the removal of 45 pellets from the blast, and going on to win the Tour again.
The movie features exclusive interviews with LeMond and his wife, Kathy, who he credits with much of his success. Director Alex Holmes blends the interviews with footage from the race (seriously, how were they still not wearing helmets in the 80s?), and the result is genuinely electrifying.
“When I started cycling, Americans could never compete against the Europeans,” LeMond says of his win in 1986. “For me, it was like ‘Oh my gosh, that was my dream. Being the first American ever to put on a winner the yellow jersey... That was the most magical thing I’ve ever experienced.”
And then, the world changed. Kathy LeMond’s interview recalling the moment she got the call that he had been shot on a hunting trip in California will give you goosebumps. And after that? LeMond’s team unceremoniously fired him, assuming he would never be able to mount a comeback.
“Nobody had any clue what I was going through physically and psychologically,” LeMond says in the trailer. “Trauma changes the person.”
The 1989 win remains the closest margin of a win in Tour de France history, with LeMond only taking the win by eight seconds. Clearly, he was onto something with that aerobar trend he’s often credited for starting in the cycling world. (Triathletes were already using aero bars long before LeMond premiered them to a shocked audience at the Tour de France in a time trial stage.)
The film has been a long time coming: It was announced by New Black Films in 2020 and was first shown last fall at the Telluride Film Festival. And finally, it will be available to a wider audience this month, though no streaming information has been shared and the theaters it will premier in will be limited.
Check out the trailer above.
Molly writes about cycling, nutrition and training, with an emphasis on women in sport. Her new middle-grade series, Shred Girls, debuts with Rodale Kids/Random House in 2019 with "Lindsay's Joyride." Her other books include "Mud, Snow and Cyclocross," "Saddle, Sore" and "Fuel Your Ride." Her work has been published in magazines like Bicycling, Outside and Nylon. She co-hosts The Consummate Athlete Podcast.
