Cycling journalist Laura Meseguer posted a video on her Twitter account: three great retired cyclists, Greg LeMond, Sean Kelly, and Juan Antonio Flecha, and a British former triple jumper and a keen recreational cyclist Jonathan Edwards racing against each other using a custom setup. They jumped on their stationary bikes which were fitted to a toy race track with miniature riders representing each person.

Three great retired cyclists, Greg LeMond, Sean Kelly, and Juan Antonio Flecha, and British former triple jumper and a keen recreational cyclist Jonathan Edwards racing against each other using a custom setup

One would think, being the youngest (40-year-old) and most recently retired of the four ex-athletes, Juan Antonio Flecha could easily win. Or maybe Sean Kelly would, as he was a great sprinter when he was a pro cyclist? But no. Triple Tour de France winner Greg LeMond showed that he still got something in his legs, and won the one-lap race.

56-year-old Greg LeMond won Tour de France three times (1986, 1989, 1990), and the UCI World Road Race Championships twice (1983, 1989). His 1989 Tour de France victory with only eight seconds over the second-placer Laurent Fignon still remains the closest winning margin in the Tour de France history. After Lance Armstrong was stripped of seven Tour victories, he remains the only American winner of the Tour de France.

56-year-old Greg LeMond won Tour de France three times (1986, 1989, 1990), and UCI World Road Race Championships twice (1983, 1989). His 1989 Tour de France victory with only eight seconds over the second-placer Laurent Fignon still remains the closest winning margin in the Tour de France history. After Lance Armstrong was stripped of seven Tour victories, he remains the only American winner of the Tour de France.

I couldn’t quite understand which toy cyclist belongs who in the video, but somebody says Kelly came in a close second, which is also impressive for a 61-year old. “King Kelly” was one of the finest classics riders of all time.

From turning professional in 1977 until his retirement in 1994, he won nine monument classics, and 193 professional races in total. He won Paris-Nice seven years in a row (which still remains a record) and the first UCI Road World Cup in 1989.

Kelly won 1988 Vuelta a España and had multiple wins in the Giro di Lombardia, Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Other victories include the Critérium International, Grand Prix des Nations and smaller tours including the Tour de Suisse, Tour of the Basque Country, and Volta a Catalunya.

Kelly twice won bronze medals (1982, 1989) in the World Road Race Championships and finished 5th in 1987, the year compatriot Stephen Roche won gold.

But 51-year-old Jonathan Edwards’ performance is also remarkable since he was not a pro cyclist. He is a British former triple jumper. He is an Olympic, World, Commonwealth, and European champion, and has held the world record in the event since 1995.

LeMond, Kelly, Flecha, and Edwards race against each other
Three great retired cyclists, Greg LeMond, Sean Kelly, and Juan Antonio Flecha, and British former triple jumper and a keen recreational cyclist Jonathan Edwards racing against each other using a custom setup. They jumped on their stationary bikes which were fitted to a toy race track with miniature riders representing each person.

Sources

M. Özgür Nevres

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