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NEW GITANE "CITY LINK" FRAMESET AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME IN THE USA!

For a limited time, Gitane's "City Link" single speed cross/commuter frameset will be available in select stores in the USA! This will be the first time in years any Gitane has been made available to customers in the USA. For only $399, you can own a French Legend!

Contact GitaneUSA for more details. Download the spec sheet here (pdf)

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Greg LeMond: The 1983 World Championships

For a complete biography about Greg LeMond, please visit www.cyclinghalloffame.com.

In 1983, Greg LeMond became the first American to win a professional road race World Championships. While he had won the amateur worlds in 1979 (a win which led to his recruitment for the Renault-Elf-Gitane team under Cyrille Guimard and Bernard Hinault), his win in 1983 was a shock to the cycling establishment in Europe and signaled the beginning of the American rise in the sport.

LeMond’s bicycle in 1983 will soon be on display at the United States Cycling Hall of Fame, located at the ADT Event Center in Los Angeles, California. According to Roger Young, a two-time Olympian and one of the best track riders ever produced by this country, the bicycle was never cleaned after the event and was merely put into storage by LeMond right after the race. Included here are exclusive pictures obtained by gitaneusa.com of the winning bicycle.

It is interesting to note that the Gitane used by LeMond was a production bike and not a specially built, custom machine. It is the ultimate in French: French made and outfitted almost exclusively with French components (only the Cinelli bars and Columbus tubing were made outside of France). Also interesting to note is the fact that he must have flatted at some point in the race, as the rear hub is Campagnolo…but with a Maillard skewer, while the front hub is French!

Also included are pictures of some two of the many jerseys loaned for use by the museum by LeMond. In the box sent (literally: it was a wine box with tons of jerseys thrown into it!), were a rainbow jersey from the Renault/Gitane team in 1984, a Tour de France podium yellow jersey circa 1981(Pictured), a Renault-Elf-Gitane jersey, and a pair of Renault/Gitane bib shorts.

Lemond

It is interesting to note that LeMond didn’t race a Tour de France until 1984… so the yellow jersey pictured was, most likely, Bernard Hinault’s, who won the Tour in 1981 and who went to Nevada with Cyrille Guimard to sign a young LeMond. Could this have been a gift from Hinault? Could this have been worn by Hinault on a podium during the tour? I would like to think so.... The museum has decided to frame and display only Greg’s 1983 World Champion Jersey. The ones pictured, along with countless others, will be returned to Greg LeMond.

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