The Professor Passes
My return to the cycling blogosphere, after an unanticipatedly long hiatus, is not without a sense of irony as it comes on the heels of the untimely departure of one of the sport's greatest champions.
Laurent Fignon, who earned the nickname The Professor due to his trademark look, round glasses and ponytail, and because of the fact that he was one of the few riders at the time to successfully complete his baccalaureate examinations, passed away on Tuesday, August 31, 2010 after a short battle with lung and intestinal cancer. He was 50.
“No matter how strong my willpower, if we don’t find a good treatment, the cancer will overwhelm me and I will die," he told Paris Match last year. "I don’t want to die at 50, but if it’s not curable, what can I do?"
A two-time Tour de France champion and winner of multiple Classics, Fignon will unfortunately and unjustly best be remembered for the one he lost rather than for any of his great achievements during a career that spanned over a decade. In a realm where few, if any, ever remember who finished second, the Frenchman was the agony to Greg Lemond's ecstasy in 1989; losing the three-week long Tour de France by a mere 8 seconds.
For many, losing in such a fashion would have been completely debilitating. Yet, on that final "race of truth" through Paris, as in his final days of life, The Professor taught us perhaps one of life's greatest lessons in that the measure of any of us is found not so much in our triumphs but rather in how we live with defeat."
In that regard, Fignon was a true champion who fought valiantly and lived gracefully despite the day's final outcome.
"I love life. I love to laugh, travel, to read, eat well, just like a good Frenchman. I am not afraid of dying, it’s just I am not ready to die."
Photo: Lionel Cironneau - AP
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