Company Founding
In 1990, LeMond founded LeMond Bicycles to develop machines for himself that would also be marketed and sold to the public. The following year, searching for an equipment edge for Team Z at the 1991 Tour de France, LeMond concluded an exclusive licensing agreement between his company and Carbonframes, Inc., to access the latter's advanced composites technology. While LeMond briefly led the 1991 Tour while riding his Carbonframes-produced "Greg LeMond" bicycle, the company faltered, something LeMond blamed on "undercapitalization" and poor management by his father, although Carbonframes and LeMond Cycles "parted amiably two years later." In 1995, LeMond reached a licensing-agreement with Trek, according to which the Wisconsin-based company would manufacture and distribute bicycles designed with LeMond that would be sold under the "LeMond Bicycles" brand. LeMond would later claim that going into business with Trek "destroyed" his relationship with his father.
In 2001 the Trek deal proved painful for LeMond as he was forced by John Burke, the head of Trek, to apologize for the negative comments about Michele Ferrari, doping, and Lance Armstrong, who was by then a very important marketing force for Trek. LeMond's contract with Trek had a clause prohibiting LeMond from doing anything that would damage Trek. Burke reminded LeMond of this commitment, and strongly argued that LeMond publically retract his statements. LeMond read a formal apology to Armstrong.
In March 2008 LeMond Cycling Inc filed a complaint against Trek for breach of contract, claiming that they had not made a "best efforts" attempt to sell his bicycles, as well as describing the attempts to 'silence' him about doping, including incidents in 2001 and 2004. His complaint included statistics detailing slow sales in some markets, including the fact that between September 2001 and June 2007, Trek only sold $10,393 worth of LeMond bikes in France, a country in which Lemond remains both famous and popular.
In April 2008 Trek countersued and stopped building bikes under the LeMond brand. In connection with that announcement Trek also gave a short timeline of the Trek-Greg LeMond association. These lawsuits were settled in February 2010. Although the details of the settlement were confidential, it involved a $200,000 donation by Trek to 1in6.org, a charity with which LeMond is affiliated.
Read more about this topic: Le Mond Racing Cycles
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