PARIS, July 24 - John Lelangue masterminded Floyd Landis's triumph in
the Tour de France by mixing a new approach to the sport with the flamboyance of
golden age racing.
Born and bred in the family of cycling, Lelangue was bound to follow in the
footsteps of his father Robert who was the sporting director of Belgian great
Eddy Merckx.
"My father transmitted to me his passion for this job. I've never seen or
watched a race on TV without having tactical discussions with him," Lelangue
told Reuters on Sunday.
"When I was a kid, the team headquarters were at home. The riders were coming
round with their wives and children. So I overheard a lot.
"I did not ride a lot. I was more attracted by the job of sporting director."
Lelangue started with the unsung SLK team before moving to the Belgian
Olympic Committee.
"In 1994, (outgoing Tour director) Jean-Marie Leblanc called me and asked me
to be part of the Tour with him at ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation)," he said."
"While with ASO, I continued taking my exams to become a sporting director.
"It's my 17th Tour de France but I've always followed the race, especially
when my father was involved."
Tour director Christian Prudhomme praised Lelangue for his approach to this
year's Tour.
"Lelangue brought a lot of freshness to the race. He persuaded Landis it was
possible to attack from the start of the stage and resurrected fairy-tale
cycling, old-fashioned cycling, mythical cycling."
Leblanc added: "He is a boy of his times, modern, watchful and open to the
new methods and the international dimension of cycling."
SOLO RIDE
Landis's fantastic 133-km solo ride in the stage from St Jean de Maurienne to
Morzine was reminiscent of 1971, when Merckx lost 8:42 to Spaniard Luis Ocana in
the Pyrenees.
