Maybe you’ve heard of Greg LeMond. Maybe you haven’t. 

And if his name doesn’t ring familiar, maybe it should.  

LeMond, 64, was the first American cyclist to win the Tour de France, one of the two or three most-watched sporting events in the world. And with the doping-era disqualifications of Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis, LeMond is the only American who has won the Tour. 

On July 9, LeMond will visit the Capitol to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow, on par with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Congress approved the medal in 2020, but the pandemic forced a delay in awarding it.  

Since 1776, Congress has awarded only a few Gold Medals to athletes. Honorees include boxer Joe Louis, tennis giant Billie Jean King, Olympian Jesse Owens and golfer Jack Nicklaus. 

Why is Congress giving Greg LeMond a medal?

In the United States, cycling is mostly recreational. In Europe and much of the rest of the world, it is a major competitive sport, and LeMond is one of its legends.  

LeMond was a once-in-a-generation talent. Born in California in 1961, he entered competitive cycling in the 1970s amid a modest American cycling boom, an era lovingly captured in the classic 1979 film “Breaking Away.”  

In a sense, Greg LeMond’s story is a real-life “Breaking Away.”  

In the underground competitive cycling scene of his era, LeMond was so much better than everyone else that officials let him race against older boys. He beat them anyway. 

LeMond decamped to Europe in 1980 and soon proved himself the most talented young rider on that continent, against much stiffer competition. 

The rest of LeMond’s career unfolded with the sort of high drama you mostly see in movies. (In fact, actor Ben Stiller is said to be making a movie about LeMond’s 1986 Tour victory.) 

In the summer of ‘86, LeMond captivated the cycling world by claiming America’s first Tour win, an epic duel against another all-time great, Frenchman Bernard Hinault. 

All of France seemed set on denying LeMond his victory: Fans, journalists, fellow cyclists and even LeMond’s own teammates, not to mention Hinault himself. Not for nothing did Hinault earn the nickname “The Badger.” 

The late Richard Moore, a Scottish writer, recounted the 1986 Tour in a classic cycling book, “Slaying the Badger.”  

LeMond staged one of sport’s greatest comebacks 

LeMond should have gone on to win the Tour in 1987 and 1988: He was that much better than the rest of the peloton.  

But in April 1987, a few months before the next Tour, LeMond nearly died. He was turkey-hunting on a family ranch in rural California. A relative shot him by accident, piercing his body with dozens of shotgun pellets. By the time a helicopter delivered him to a hospital, LeMond had almost bled out. 

After the accident, LeMond could barely walk, let alone pedal. And yet, over the next two years, he staged a spectacular comeback. He entered races he could not finish, then finished races he could not win. By the summer of 1989, LeMond had regained his form. He entered the Tour that year and quickly proved he was capable of winning it again.  

The 1989 Tour pitted LeMond against another Frenchman: Laurent Fignon, a two-time Tour winner who was gunning for his third victory. 

The 1986 edition of cycling’s premier event had been a great Tour. The 1989 edition would be widely remembered as the greatest Tour of all time. 

The Tour de France plays out over 21 days of racing and covers more than 2,000 miles. Each cyclist’s time is recorded at the end of every stage. The rider with the shortest overall time at the end wins the race. By the finish, the victor often commands a lead of five or 10 minutes.  

And that’s why the 1989 Tour captivated the world: It was really, really close.  

After the second stage of racing, LeMond led Fignon by 51 seconds in cumulative time. After Stage 5, Fignon led by five seconds. After Stage 10, LeMond led by seven seconds. And so on. 

By the final day of racing, July 23, 1989, Fignon held a 50-second lead over LeMond. The last stage was an individual time trial: A race against the clock, each cyclist going all out for 15 miles, riding alone into Paris as the stopwatch ticked. 

The course was short and flat, and almost no one thought LeMond had a chance of riding it 50 seconds faster than Fignon to claim victory on the Champs-Élysées.  

The final moments of that time trial delivered some of the most exhilarating live sports ever broadcast. Both Fignon and LeMond rode the race of their lives, but LeMond rode faster. At the finish, he had beaten Fignon by a margin of eight seconds.  

In more than a century of racing, the 1989 Tour remains the closest ever. LeMond had staged one of the greatest comebacks in the history of American sports. 

‘The True King of American Cycling’

Many years later, I wrote a biography of LeMond, with the 1989 Tour as its centerpiece. It published in 2018 as “The Comeback: Greg LeMond, the True King of American Cycling, and a Legendary Tour de France.” 

I hoped LeMond might one day become as well-known as Lance Armstrong, the Texan cyclist who won a record seven Tours between 1999 and 2005. Armstrong was perhaps the most celebrated athlete in America until a doping investigation brought him down. 

Shortly after my book came out, I received an email from U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, a Democrat from California, LeMond’s birthplace.  

Thompson was a cyclist. He had read my book, and he wanted to honor LeMond.  

Some months later, Thompson introduced legislation to award LeMond the Congressional Gold Medal. It was an uphill battle, but Thompson collected the necessary support: a supermajority, two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate.  

On December 4, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the Greg LeMond Congressional Gold Medal Act into law.  

“More than any other cyclist in our history,” Thompson said on the House floor, “Greg LeMond was the epitome of the ‘Breaking Away’ culture: A young kid on a bike, trying to do things no American had ever done.” 

Kirk Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million free-agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons ahead of the 2024 NFL season.

The veteran quarterback may not have agreed to the deal had he known the Falcons were going to select Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Cousins explained on Netflix’s ‘Quarterback’ series he felt ‘pretty surprised’ and ‘misled’ about the organization’s decision to draft Penix.

“I wasn’t expecting us to take a quarterback,” Cousins said. “At the time, it felt like I’d been a little bit misled — or certainly if I had the information around free agency, it certainly would have affected my decision. I had no reason to leave Minnesota with how much we loved it there, if both teams are gonna be drafting a quarterback high.”

‘But I’ve also learned in 12 years in this league that you’re not entitled to anything. It’s all about being able to earn your spot and prove yourself.’

Cousins had known the Vikings planned to draft a successor during the 2024 NFL Draft. The team still offered him a deal to return, but it didn’t come with the long-term security Cousins and his family desired.

‘We wanted to be in Minnesota. But, it became clear that we were going to be there year to year,’ Cousins said. ‘And that’s what we didn’t want. At that point, we said, ‘All right, we need to look elsewhere. If that’s our only option, then we’ll be back.”

Cousins did find interest elsewhere, as the Falcons were willing to pay him $45 million in average annual value (AAV) through his age-39 season. He was excited to ‘start fresh’ and try to bring Atlanta to the postseason for the first time since the 2017 NFL playoffs.

However, he had a tumultuous first season with the Falcons. The veteran got off to a fast start despite coming off a torn Achilles, but a midseason injury that impacted his throwing elbow and shoulder caused his performance to dip significantly.

Ultimately, it resulted in Cousins being benched in favor of Penix late in the season, something the four-time Pro Bowler was desperately trying to avoid, despite his injuries impacting his arm strength.

‘You also know that if you sit down Week 10 and take two or three weeks or more to let it heal, you may never get your job back,’ Cousins explained in the series’ final episode. ‘I remember reading Drew Brees’ book back in 2010 when he first wrote it, how he made the point that he tried to never let his backup see the field — even if it was somebody who was really no threat. He just felt like you should never do that. Doug Flutie taught him that.

‘So that was something I always was aware of, that in this league, if you give someone else the chance, if you want to be Wally Pipp and there’s Lou Gehrig behind you, that can happen. At the time, you gotta make the decision with the information you have then.’

Still, Cousins tried to remain engaged after being benched, despite worrying about what the future might hold for him and his family.

‘It hurts to go into work, but you got to be an adult,’ Cousins said of his benching. ‘You’ve got to be a grown man and handle it with maturity. I feel sorry for myself and it’s hard to do, but that’s what you got to do. And so that’s kind of where my focus went.’

Update the Big Dumper dinger counter.

The Seattle Mariners might have lost 10-3 to the New York Yankees in the Bronx on Tuesday, July 8, but Cal Raleigh hit his 36th home run of the season.

Raleigh’s latest tater was noteworthy, particularly for Mariners fans. He passes Ken Griffey Jr. for the most home runs hit by a Mariners player before the All-Star break. Griffey hit 35 before the Midsummer Classic in 1998. Raleigh also continues to close in on Barry Bonds’ mark of 39 home runs before the 2001 All-Star break. Bonds finished with a record 73 home runs that season.

The record for most home runs hit by a catcher over a full season is 48, which the Kansas City Royals’ Salvador Perez accomplished in 2021.

MLB’s home run leaders

1. Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners – 36
2. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees – 34
3. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers – 31
4. Eugenio Suárez, Arizona Diamondbacks – 28
5. Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies – 27

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My book ‘On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports,’ was published by Scribner on Tuesday. Much is being written and said about the book, but here are three stories in the book you might not have heard. 

Clark’s real reaction to the Olympic snub

During an interview session after the Indiana Fever practice on June 9, 2024, Caitlin Clark was asked about the Olympic team decision. ‘I’m excited for the girls that are on the team,” she said. ‘I know it’s the most competitive team in the world, and I knew it could’ve gone either way — me being on the team, me not being on the team. I’m excited for them, I’m going to be rooting them on to win gold.

‘Honestly, no disappointment,’ she added. ‘I think it just gives you something to work for. It’s a dream; hopefully one day I can be there. I think it’s just a little more motivation, you remember that, and hopefully, when four years comes back around I can be there.”

Fever coach Christie Sides said during her availability with the media that Sunday that she and Clark texted right after she got the call on the bus. ‘She texted me to let me know. I just tried to keep her spirits up. The thing she said was, ‘Hey, Coach, they woke a monster,’ which I thought was awesome.”

Although Clark took the high road in her public comments, Sides said in an interview for this book that the Olympic decision was ‘such a disappointing moment for her. Being an Olympian is a huge dream of hers, and when she realized it wasn’t going to happen, it just lit a fire under her.’

As the team landed in Indianapolis after a game in Washington earlier that evening and got off the plane late at night, Sides said she and Clark “were walking and talking about the decision. She could have gone to practice that night, I mean, that’s where she was, that’s the competitor she is. She didn’t really say much more after that.”

Clark’s ‘big sister’

As Clark’s name was called first in the 2024 WNBA Draft, veteran Fever point guard Erica Wheeler exploded from her courtside seat in Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Giddy with anticipation at the news she knew was coming, Wheeler had placed one hand on the knee of Lexie Hull and the other on the knee of Maya Caldwell, both Fever teammates at the time, and waited to hear Engelbert’s words.

Wheeler—known as “EW” to her teammates—leaped for joy with Hull and Caldwell, then pulled a red Fever No. 22 jersey over her head and ran around the court as the fans stood and roared. “Let’s go!” Wheeler shouted to every corner of the arena.

Her happiness was predictable, but also admirable, for as she danced, she knew she was celebrating the moment that she had lost her starting job. Clark was going to be the starting point guard for the Fever, guaranteed. Wheeler would be her backup, a difficult role, but one she understood, and even relished.

‘You know when you go to a different school,” said the 33-year-old Wheeler, “the first day of school, you don’t know anybody, and you find that one person that says hi to you that becomes your best friend.”

Wheeler became that person for Clark.

‘For me as a big sister, I’m going to take the first step, to just let her know, ‘We’re here, we got you. Whatever you need from me as your vet, even in the same position, I got you.’ . . . She’s one of the biggest players in the world right now and she don’t act like that. She’s just like, ‘Help me, in any way you can,’ in a sweet way, there’s no ego at all, she’s not selfish. . . . She wants to learn, she wants to be a family, and I’m like a big sister to her.”

27 minutes — not one mention of Clark

Throughout the WNBA post- and off-season, the league found itself curiously out of step with the nation’s fondness for Clark. On Oct. 10, before Game One of the WNBA Finals in Brooklyn, commissioner Cathy Engelbert spoke for 27 minutes in a press conference about the historic developments in the 2024 season and never once mentioned Clark’s name.

Calling the season ‘the most transformational year in the WNBA’s history,’ Engelbert talked glowingly about the record or near-record levels of viewership, attendance, merchandise sales, and digital engagement. ‘You saw some teams upgrade . . . arenas for certain games this year, and I thought that was a sign and signal as attendance has grown across the league that we can play in bigger arenas. . . . We had our highest-attended game ever, over 20,000, in Washington this year.”

Clark, of course, was the reason for most of those moves to larger arenas, and her presence definitely was the only reason Washington had the biggest crowd in WNBA regular-season history on Sept. 19.

Engelbert sprinkled the names of various WNBA players throughout her press conference, among them: Napheesa Collier, Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, Leonie Fiebich, Aliyah Boston, and A’ja Wilson. But no Clark.

Through her spokespeople, Engelbert was asked to be interviewed for this book several times in late 2024 and early 2025. Every request was declined. In March 2025, I asked again, specifically wondering why Engelbert, on Oct. 10, failed to mention Clark’s name when referring to the unprecedented season highlights that happened because of Clark.

On March 10, Engelbert replied in a text message sent through a spokesperson:

‘You’re asking me why I didn’t mention Caitlin Clark during my WNBA Finals press conference? I didn’t mention any players in that press conference other than some of those from the Liberty and the Lynx who were participating in the Finals.’

Engelbert did mention two players who were not participating in the Finals: Aliyah Boston and A’ja Wilson. She talked about them when mentioning WNBA players in commercials: ‘There’s virtually not a sporting event you can turn on where one of our players is not in an ad spot. That was not happening five years ago. Look at Aliyah Boston and Sabrina and A’ja and so many of our players in these ad spots.’

Engelbert’s March 10 text continued: ‘I have stated many times that Caitlin is a generational talent and there is no denying her impact — not only in the WNBA but beyond the world of sports. We have also always stood by the belief that our league is not about any one player but about the collective talent, teamwork, and dedication of all the athletes who continue to elevate the game and inspire generations. Just because Caitlin’s name is not mentioned in every interview or press conference does not mean we do not recognize, celebrate, and fully support her — both as an athlete and, even more importantly, as a person.”

A week and a half before the WNBA Finals, Engelbert, in an interview with 60 Minutes correspondent Jon Wertheim for a piece on Clark and the WNBA, was asked to describe ‘the Caitlin Clark phenomenon.” 

Engelbert replied, ‘She’s clearly an unbelievable player, came in with an unbelievable following, has brought a lot of new fans to the league. If you look at our historic season around our attendance, our viewership, Caitlin — Angel, too, Angel Reese, Rickea Jackson, Cameron Brink — this class of rookies, we will be talking about them a generation from now.’

Wertheim followed up. ‘I notice when you’re asked about Caitlin a lot, you bring up other rookies as well.’

‘No league’s ever about one player,’ Engelbert replied. ‘That player could get hurt or whatever, so I think it’s just to give recognition that in sports, people watch for compelling content and rivalries. And you can’t do that alone as one person.”

By practically any measure, Clark was that one person.

Adapted from ‘On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports’ by Christine Brennan. Copyright © 2025 by Christine Brennan. Adapted for excerpt with permission from Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.