Laurent Fignon

In April 2009, Laurent Fignon was diagnosed with metastatic cancer. The cancer spread from the digestive tract to the lungs.

In August 2010, while working as a commentator for the Tour de France, Fignon had to be rushed to the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital.

He passed away on 31 August 2010, at 12.30 pm, at the age of 50.

Laurent Fignon was born in Montmartre, Paris on August 12, 1960. His family moved to Tournan-en-Brie in 1963 where he lived for 23 years, till he left for Paris.

He did not consider cycling till he was pushed into it by his friends, at the age of 15.

In 1976, Fignon won his first official cycle race in Vigneux-sur-Seine.

Within three years, his strength and racing confidence advanced to the point where he won eighteen of the forty races, which he participated in.

At his parents’ insistence, Fignon entered the University of Villetaneuse but he wanted to take up cycling as a profession. So in 1979, he signed up for military service and was sent to the Joinville detachment, known to accommodate aspiring athletes.

Laurent Fignon’s professional career started in 1982 with a great win at the Critérium International stage race.

The same year, he entered the Giro d’Italia where he finished at the fifteenth position. He got to wear the pink leader’s jersey for one day.

In 1983, Fignon started the Tour de France as co-leader of the Renault, in the absence of Bernard Hinault. During the tour’s tenth stage, he finished second just behind Peugeot’s Pascal Simon. In the fifteenth stage, a mountain time trial, Fignon ended up being within one minute of Simon and he became the new leader. In the twenty-first stage, he won the time trial and became the youngest racer to win the tour since 1933.

In the Giro d’Italia, Fignon narrowly missed winning because of a headwind created by camera helicopters which obstructed his view. He ended up in the second place.

In 1984, Fignon and his ex team captain Hinault competed in the Tour de France. Fignon won with a ten minute margin after winning three of the five time trials.

Laurent Fignon was awarded the Prix Citron award in the 1989 Tour de France, by the journalists for his rude behavior. It is the lemon prize for the rider who is liked the least.

In 1987 Grand Prix de Wallonie and 1989 Grand Prix de la Liberation, he tested positive for amphetamines. In his autobiography, he admitted to using recreational drugs for stimulation.