La Vie Claire - Intra-team Rivalry

Intra-team Rivalry

In the 1985 Tour, LeMond was far ahead of the pack when the team boss Bernard Tapie and coach Paul Koechli asked him to slow down, saying Hinault, who had won four Tours and was going for his record-tying fifth, was right behind. LeMond kept waiting until he realized he'd been tricked; Hinault was more than three minutes behind. Hinault went on to win that year's tour, and in return, LeMond was assured by Hinault that he would support LeMond the following year. In 1986, Hinault rode an aggressive race, which he insisted was to deter and demoralize their mutual rivals. He claimed his tactics were to wear down LeMond's (and his) opponents and that he knew that LeMond would win because of time losses earlier in the race. However, LeMond saw this as a betrayal and accused Hinault of reneging on his promise. In LeMond's words, "He totally tried screwing me. But I don't blame him." As the 1986 Tour wore on, loyalties among LeMond and Hinault's teammates split along national lines, with the Americans and British supporting LeMond and the French and Belgians backing Hinault. Andy Hampsten said of the 1986 Tour: "It was rotten being on the team... Steve Bauer and I had to chase down Hinault on the stage into St Etienne. That really sucked." The competition, abandoned promises, and high stakes in the LeMond-Hinault controversy makes it one of the most public and bitter rivalries between teammates in cycling history.