US cycling great Greg LeMond reveals cancer diagnosis
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US cycling great Greg LeMond, a 3-time Tour de France winner, has revealed he is receiving treatment for leukemia.
“I have been diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia,” LeMond, 60, said in a statement on his website.
“Fortunately, it is a type of cancer that is treatable, and it is a type of leukemia that is not life-threatening or debilitating.”
The former 2-time world champion said “a few weeks of fatigue” had prompted him to go for a check-up.
“Following a series of tests and a bone marrow biopsy, which was completed last week, I received my formal diagnosis last Friday,” he said.
“My doctors at the University of Tennessee, with consultation from a team at the Mayo Clinic, have outlined a chemotherapy protocol which will begin this week.
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“The long-term prognosis is very favourable. I am fortunate to have a great team of doctors and the full support of my family, friends and colleagues at LeMond Bicycles.”
Lemond confirmed that he would not be travelling to the Tour de France this year, where he has worked with several media outlets since his retirement in 1994.
“I had hoped to be in France in July for the Tour, but we are, now, working on an alternate plan so I can follow the Tour and engage with friends and teammates from our offices and farm in Tennessee. I will look forward to returning to the Tour next summer,” he added.
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He was the first American to win the Tour de France in 1986. The victim of a serious hunting accident in 1987, he managed to make a comeback and win cycling’s greatest race in 1989 and 1990.
He also won the World Cycling Championships in 1983 and 1989.
He remains the only American to have won the Tour, with Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis both stripped of their Tour titles.
Since retiring, LeMond has been a strong anti-doping advocate. AFP
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