From the Cartier eye glasses to the signature ponytail, Laurent Fignon was one hell of a dapper racing gentleman. While he's synonymous with his 8 second loss in the 1989 Tour de France to Greg LeMond, Laurent Fignon was a seriously accomplished rider of the PRO peloton. He won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984, the Giro d'Italia in 1989, Milan San-Remo in 1988 and 1989 and he also won Fleche Wallone in 1986. Filet Mignon ( a friend's nickname for Laurent) also finished atop many a podium and captured numerous stage wins throughout his illustrious career.
I remember Fignon for his grace and elegant style on and off the bicycle. His calm demeanor was in stark contrast to the other great Frenchman of the time, (no, not Charly Mottet) Bernard Hinault. Thus, Fignon earned the nickname "The Professor".
Laurent Fignon was a class act, and he also had a way with words. He once described the great Miguel Indurain, who had recently demolished the entire peloton in a Tour de France time trial by stating "He is an extra-terrestrial!".
6 comments:
I thought Bugno was the one who called Indurain an extra-terrestrial.
Bugnon may well have called Indurain an "extra terrestrial" as well, but it was Fignon who is generally credited with coining the phrase after Indurain took six minutes out of him in the Luxembourg time trial at the 1992 TdF.
Thanks for reading.
s
The Professor clearly stated the nickname of extraterrestrial to Indurain.
ari
Fignut received his nickname for those silly looking glasses.
Thanks for the posst
Thaanks great blog post
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