MINNEAPOLIS, MN (BRAIN) — LeMond LLC will introduce three models of a limited edition road bike at the Interbike expo in Las Vegas next week. The bikes, made by Time in France, will be the first bikes that Greg LeMond has marketed under his name since his split with Trek Bicycle more than five years ago.
LeMond will unveil the bikes at Interbike at 9:30 a.m. next Wednesday, the show's opening day following two days of outdoor demos.
The three models will have color schemes based on LeMond's Tour de France victories in 1986, 1989 and 1990.
LeMond will be joined at the introduction by Campagnolo president Valentino Campagnolo. The three models will be outfitted with Campy's 80th Anniversary Record groups.
"My interest in the bicycle as a machine, with its design, details and innovative possibilities, never went away after I retired from racing in late 1994," LeMond said in a statement Thursday.
"For a time I lost my creative outlet, but like form coming back to a rider who was weakened, I have rediscovered my creativity and passion for the bike. I’ve traveled the world, observing carbon fabrication in more detail than ever before, and I’ve refined my ideas. When I landed in Vaulx-Milieu, France, to meet with Jean Marc Gueugneaud and Roland Cattin of Time Sport International earlier this year, I had done my due diligence. I spent countless hours traveling, sitting in meetings and standing on factory floors, but I saved Time for last for a reason: I would now be able to view everything they were doing through a discerning eye."
LeMond and Gueugneaud go back to 1985, when the young French engineer and designer built a carbon fiber bicycle for LeMond and his La Vie Claire teammate Bernard Hinault. After leaving Look, Gueugneaud launched TVT, a custom carbon fiber manufacturer, which provided production bikes for LeMond, Pedro Delgado and Miguel Indurain. LeMond won three Tours and one world championship on TVT framesets.
“I’m very fond of my history with Jean Marc and his bikes, but I needed to see what he and Roland had accomplished since the early ‘90s; I needed to see how they were doing it now,” LeMond said. “The level of design and craftsmanship poured into their products today is unsurpassed. The balance of strength, weight, durability and ride quality in what they build puts them atop the podium as the premiere carbon constructor.
