Laurent Patrick Fignon (; 12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

professional

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

who won the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consist ...

in 1983 and 1984 and the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He is former FICP World No. 1 in 1989. He nearly captured the Tour de France for a third time in 1989 before being edged by

Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tou ...

by 8 seconds, the closest margin ever to decide the Tour. Fignon won many

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a '' ...

races, including taking Milan–San Remo back-to-back in 1988 and 1989. He died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

in 2010.

Early life and amateur career

Fignon was born in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue C ...

, Paris. His family moved to Tournan-en-Brie in 1963, where he lived until he left for Paris at age 23. His first sport was football and he got as far as playing for his ' or area. Friends encouraged him into cycling and he rode his first official race in 1976, which he won. Fignon's parents did not want him to race, and he raced without them knowing. He won four more races in his first year, but only one in his second year. In this third year, he won 18 out of 36 races. Fignon's parents allowed him to race, but still thought that he should study. Fignon entered the University of Villetaneuse, studying Structural and Materials Science. Fignon was not interested in his studies, and was an indifferent student. His chief desire was to pursue cycling. He told his parents that he was leaving the university and would join the army at the end of the year to do his military service. He was posted at the Bataillon de Joinville, known for its sporting reputation. After this, Fignon was sure he wanted to pursue a professional career. In 1981, Fignon rode the Tour of Corsica which allowed amateur cyclists to ride along with professional riders. Fignon rode an early stage attempting to hold the wheel of Bernard Hinault, the top professional cyclist, and succeeded for much of the race.

Cyrille Guimard Cyrille Guimard (born 20 January 1947) is a French former professional road racing cyclist who became a directeur sportif and television commentator. Three of his riders, Bernard Hinault, Laurent Fignon, and Lucien Van Impe, won the Tour de Fr ...

observed the young cyclist a few days later at the national 100 km team time trial.Fignon did win on tenth of April 1981 the second stage during Tour du Vaucluse. In May 1981 he offered him a place on his Renault-Elf-Gitane professional team from the following year. Fignon joined the team in 1982, along with longtime friend and fellow junior rider Pascal Jules. Fignon was 21 years of age.

Professional career

1982: first professional season

In 1982, Fignon rode the 1982 Giro d'Italia. After Fignon broke away in the second stage, he became the leader of the race, and got to wear the pink jersey. He lost the lead in the next stage, but became Hinault's most trusted team mate in the mountains. In

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200&nbs ...

, Fignon had escaped and made a break of 40 seconds, when his crank broke. During this first year as a professional, Fignon won the Critérium International.

1983: first Tour victory

In 1983, Fignon was a part of the team that helped Bernard Hinault to win the 1983 Vuelta a España. Guimard did not want to send Fignon to the Tour de France, because two

grand tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tu ...

s could be too much for a 22-year-old rider. When Hinault, winner of four of the five previous Tours, announced that he would not start due to injury, the Renault team was without a leader. Fignon was added to the 1983 Tour de France selection for the Renault team, and the team decided to go for stage wins, with hopes of having Fignon or Marc Madiot compete for the best debutant category. After stage nine, the first mountain stage, Fignon was in second place, behind Pascal Simon, and he was allowed to be team leader. On the tenth stage, Simon crashed and broke his shoulder blade. Simon continued, and only lost a little time on the next stages. On the fifteenth stage, a mountain time trial, Fignon was able to win back so much time that he was within one minute of Simon. On the seventeenth stage, Simon had to give up, and Fignon became the new leader. On the next stages, Fignon was able to answer all attacks from his opponents, and he won the time trial on the 21st stage. At 22 years old, Fignon was the youngest man to win the Tour since 1933. Fignon later said that he was lucky to have won the 1983 Tour: if Hinault had been present Fignon would have helped him, as Hinault was the team leader. With his round glasses and sophisticated, urbane ''("debonaire")'' demeanor, Fignon was a contrast to Hinault's hard-knocks image. He earned the nickname "The Professor", not only because of these glasses, but also because he was one of the few cyclists who had passed his baccalaureat exams. Early in his broadcasting career broadcaster and former TDF rider Paul Sherwen referred to Fignon with an alternate version of his nickname during telecasts which into English approximately translates 'The Stern Professor'.

1984: second Tour victory

Laurent Fignon during Tour de France 1984

In 1984, Hinault moved to the new La Vie Claire team, established by the French entrepreneur

Bernard Tapie Bernard Roger Tapie (; 26 January 1943 – 3 October 2021) was a French businessman, politician and occasional actor, singer, and TV host. He was Minister of City Affairs in the government of Pierre Bérégovoy. Life and career Tapie was bo ...

and directed by Swiss coach Paul Koechli. Fignon stayed with the Renault team, and became team leader. In the

1984 Giro d'Italia The 1984 Giro d'Italia was the 67th running of the Giro. It started in Lucca, on 17 May, with a prologue and concluded in Verona, on 10 June, with a individual time trial. A total of 171 riders from nineteen teams entered the 22-stage rac ...

, Fignon was in the lead near the end of the race, with Italian Francesco Moser in second place. The highest mountain stage, where Fignon could have extended his lead as the better climber, was cancelled by race organizers "due to bad weather". In one of the more outrageous actions of a major tour, on the final stage, an

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' " stopwatch stage"). There are also trac ...

, camera helicopters flew in front of Fignon, creating a headwind, and behind Moser, creating a tailwind. Though Fignon repeatedly shook his fists at the obstructing aircraft, they refused to move off. Moser ended up gaining enough time to take the overall race lead, with Fignon being moved back to second place. He later said the experience made him tougher, and prepared him for the hardships to come. The 1984 Tour de France was a battle between Fignon and his former team leader Hinault. Hinault won the prologue, but Fignon won back time when his team won the

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...

in stage three. After a large escape in the fifth stage, Fignon's team mate Vincent Barteau was leading the race. In the seventh stage, Fignon won the time trial, beating Hinault by 49 seconds. Barteau was still leading the race, and remained the leader after the Pyrenées. In the sixteenth stage, Fignon again beat Hinault in a time trial, this time winning 33 seconds. In the seventeenth stage, Hinault attacked five times on the penultimate climb, but every time Fignon was able to get back. Then, Fignon left Hinault behind, and won almost three more minutes on Hinault. Barteau was so far behind in this stage, that Fignon became the new leader. Fignon won three more stages, for a total of five that year, and won the Tour with a ten-minute margin. Had it not been for the questionable incidents which occurred at the Giro this would have been the first time Fignon won the Giro-Tour double. With his air of indifference in interviews and his crushing dominance, he was hailed as France's newest superstar.

1985 and 1986: injury years

Coming into the 1985 season Fignon felt stronger than ever, but two achilles tendon operations caused him to miss the 1985 Tour. The following season his team took on a new sponsor, and became the Système U cycling team. In 1986 Fignon won La Flèche Wallonne and he entered the

1986 Tour de France The 1986 Tour de France was a cycling race held in France, from 4 July to 27 July. It was the 73rd running of the Tour de France. Greg LeMond of won the race, ahead of his teammate Bernard Hinault. It was the first ever victory for a rider ou ...

, but placed poorly in the first individual time trial and retired on stage 12 to Pau.

1987 and 1988: return to the top

Fignon returned to near his full strength in 1987, when he finished third in the 1987 Vuelta a España, behind Luis Herrera. Later that year, he finished 7th overall in the

1987 Tour de France The 1987 Tour de France was the 74th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 1 to 26 July. It consisted of 25 stages over . It was the closest three-way finish in the Tour until the 2007 Tour de France, among the closest overall races ...

, taking another victory at La Plagne (stage 21). In 1988, Fignon won Milan–San Remo, but had to abandon the 1988 Tour.

1989: losing by 8 seconds

In 1989, Fignon overtook Sean Kelly as leader of the UCI Road World Rankings. That season included a win at Milan–San Remo and the Giro d'Italia. During the

Giro Giro or GIRO may refer to: Banking and Investments * Giro (banking), a direct payment from one bank account to another instigated by the payer * Girobank, a state owned and later privatised financial institution in the UK * GiroBank, a Danish ba ...

he defeated Flavio Giupponi, Erik Breukink and defending champion Andrew Hampsten. Fignon seized the Maglia Rosa on stage 14 and held it for the remainder of the race; he also won stage 20. In the 1989 Tour de France, 1988 winner Pedro Delgado was the big favourite, with Fignon, Stephen Roche, and Erik Breukink listed together as top contenders. After Delgado inexplicably was nearly three minutes late for the start of the prologue time trial, the race was open to all contenders, and ended up a battle between

and Fignon. LeMond won a minute in the time trial in stage five, using aerobars which enabled a new and more aerodynamic riding position (also known as tri-bars as they had previously only been used in triathlons), a new type of teardrop-shaped aerodynamic helmet in the time trials and a rear disc wheel, Fignon used normal road handlebars and a bicycle with both front and rear disc wheels, which left him more affected by cross winds. LeMond led the general classification after that stage by 5 seconds. In the tenth stage, Fignon beat LeMond by 12 seconds, and became the new leader, 7 seconds ahead of LeMond. In the time trial of stage 15, LeMond again won time on Fignon, and took back the leading position. Fignon came back by dropping LeMond on Alpe d'Huez, taking back the lead, and after he won alone at Villard-de-Lans the next day, the margin was 50 seconds. Before the final stage, a short time trial of 24.5 km, the time difference between LeMond and Fignon was 50 seconds, a seemingly insurmountable amount. To win, LeMond would have to take two seconds a kilometer on one of the fastest time trialists in the Tour. French newspapers prepared special editions, with Fignon's picture on the front page, in preparation for his victory. Although it was considered unlikely that LeMond would be able to win back 50 seconds on the 24.5 km, LeMond gave his best, and rode the fastest time trial until 2015. Fignon had developed saddle sores in stage 19, which gave him pain and made it impossible to sleep in the night before the time trial. Fignon, who rode after LeMond, lost 58 seconds during the stage. Fignon rode a very fast time trial, and came in third for the stage, but still ended up losing the overall lead to LeMond. It was suggested afterwards that if Fignon had cut off his ponytail, the reduction in

drag Drag or The Drag may refer to: Places * Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway * ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street adj ...

might have been sufficient for him to have won the Tour. Had Fignon held on to win the Tour it would have been the first time he completed the Giro-Tour Double. During that Tour, he was on bad terms with the journalists. He often refused to smile for photographs, and at one point spat into the lens of a cameraman who asked for an interview. For his efforts the press awarded Fignon the "Prix Citron" ("Lemon Prize"), a prize the press awarded to whom they thought the least likable rider. The loss of the 1989 Tour was a heavy burden for Fignon, and in his autobiography he said "you never stop grieving over an event like that". He came back after the Tour de France that year to win decidedly the Grand Prix des Nations time trial, an event that was considered at the time to be the world championships of time trials. This time he used aero handlebar extensions. He also showed his versatility winning the Polynormande, Critérium des As (a race in which each rider motorpaces behind a derny), and the two-man Trofeo Baracchi (which he won with teammate and fellow Frenchman Thierry Marie).

1990–1993: later years

Fignon withdrew from the 1990 Tour, but finished 6th in 1991. Following this Fignon moved over to the Italian Gatorade team to act as co-captain and advisor to promising young talent Gianni Bugno. After a dramatic

1992 Giro d'Italia The 1992 Giro d'Italia was the 75th edition of the race. It started off in Genoa on 24 May with an individual time trial. The race concluded in Milan with an individual time trial on 14 June. Twenty teams entered the race, which was won b ...

, in which he was in heavy crisis during mountain stages, he rode his last Tour that same year, finishing 23rd overall. The race saw an angered Fignon take his ninth stage win, holding off a series of attacks by Guimard's Castorama team before winning at

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace af ...

during stage 11. Fignon's last victory as professional cyclist was in the early-season Ruta Mexico in 1993, after a tight duel with

Francisco Villalobos Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco (name), Paco". Francis of Assisi, San Francisco de Asís was known as '' ...

and surviving a massive collision that saw the group hit by a tow truck driven by a drunken man. Fignon retired as a professional cyclist late 1993.

Doping

Fignon tested positive for

amphetamines Substituted amphetamines are a class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substituting, one or more hydrogen atoms in the amphetamine core structure with su ...

at the Grand Prix de Wallonie, in 1987, where he finished third. He was subsequently disqualified from the final result but claimed, in his autobiography, that the positive test was the result of a commercial dispute between two Belgian companies. Fignon tested positive for amphetamines a second time, at the Grand Prix de la Liberation, on 17 September 1989. In his autobiography, Fignon admitted to using recreational drugs, and occasionally using stimulants in the 1980s. He noted this was widespread, and that the practice would not dramatically change the capabilities of a rider. He noted major changes in the sport in the early 1990s with the onset of routine use of Human Growth Hormone and the blood-booster, EPO. Fignon stated he was revolted by the idea of taking hormones to enhance performance, and the mere suggestion he refused out of hand. He retired from competition in 1993 when he realized that cycling had changed, and that he no longer had a place in it.

After retirement

In 1995, Fignon founded the "Laurent Fignon organisation", to organize races, notably

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlook ...

, from 2000 until it was taken over by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the organiser of

, in 2002. Fignon remained an organiser for races such as Paris–Corrèze. In response to assertions that French riders were less successful over recent years due to the tight doping controls that French riders are subject to, Fignon responded frankly: "The sports directors don't do a good job any more. They lack competence and don't have authority over their riders. The non-results of French teams are not only the consequences of doping." On his relationships with

and Bernard Hinault, Fignon said that with Bernard Hinault, Guimard already found a champion, whereas with himself, Guimard made him a champion. Therefore, his bond with Guimard was stronger than Hinault's bond with Guimard. Fignon wrote an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...

entitled ''Nous étions jeunes et insouciants'' ("We were young and carefree"), which was released in June 2009.

Death

In June 2009, Fignon revealed that he was undergoing chemotherapy for metastatic cancer. He noted that early in his career he had dabbled with recreational drugs,

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from alpha- methylphenethylamine) is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. It is also commonly used ...

s and

cortisone Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug; it is not synthesized in the adrenal glands. Cortisol is converted by the action of the ...

, but did not believe they played a role in his illness. Amphetamine use during the criterium portion (late summer/early fall) of the cycling season was commonplace in the seventies and eighties. Fignon's cancer was diagnosed in April 2009 after metastatic tumors were found in his digestive system. Laurent Fignon -Père Lachaise 1

In January 2010, his doctors discovered that the cancer had originated in his lungs. Fignon died at

Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital (french: Hôpital universitaire la Pitié-Salpêtrière, ) is a teaching hospital in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. Part of the and a teaching hospital of Sorbonne University. History The Salpêtri ...

on 31 August 2010, at 12.30 pm. He was 50 years old. Fignon was survived by his wife and both of his parents. He was also survived by his son and daughter from his first marriage. His funeral took place on 3 September 2010 at

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...

, Paris, where he was later cremated. Former fellow champion

said:

"It's a really sad day. He had a very, very big talent, much more than anyone recognised. We were teammates, competitors, but also friends. He was a great person, one of the few that I find was really true to himself. He was one of the few riders who I really admired for his honesty and his frankness. We talked about a lot of different things outside of cycling and I was fortunate to really get to know him when my career stopped. I believe he was also one of the generation that was cut short in the early nineties because he was not able to fulfill the rest of his career. But he was a great rider."

His ashes were placed in the

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "''col ...

of the Père Lachaise cemetery.Yahoo news (in French) dated 17 May 2011

Career achievements

Major results

;1981 : 1st Stage 2 Tour du Vaucluse ;1982 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Critérium International : 1st Flèche Azuréene : 1st

Garancières-en-Beauce Garancières-en-Beauce (, literally ''Garancières in Beauce'') is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Eure-et-Loir department The following is a list of the 365 communes of the ...

: 1st GP de Cannes : 1st Stage 1 ( TTT) Giro d'Italia : 2nd Overall Tour du Vaucluse ::1st Stage 1 : 3rd Overall Étoile des Espoirs ;1983 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st

Young rider classification ::1st Stage 21 (

ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...

) : 1st Grand Prix de Plumelec-Morbihan : 1st Grand Prix Le Télégramme de Brest : 1st Prologue Tour d'Armorique : 1st Stage 3 Tour du Limousin : 1st Stage 1 Critérium International : 3rd Polynormande : 7th Overall

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...

::1st Stage 4 : 7th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico ::1st Stage 4 ;1984 : 1st MaillotFra

Road race Road racing, road race of road racer may refer to: * Road racing in motorsport * Road running on foot * Road bicycle racing * ''Road Race'', initial name of 1976 arcade game ''Fonz'' (video game) * Roadracers (1994 film) * Roadracers (1959 fi ...

, National Road Championships : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stages 3 ( TTT), 7 (

), 16 (

), 18, 20 & 22 (

) : 1st Stage 9 Clásico RCN : 2nd Overall Giro d'Italia ::1st Jersey green

Mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...

::1st Stages 1 ( TTT) & 20 : 3rd Grand Prix de Fourmies : 4th Grand Prix Le Télégramme de Brest : 7th Overall

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. I ...

::1st Prologue & Stage 4 : 8th

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Monuments'' of the European professional ...

;1985 : 1st Jersey green

Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali ::1st Stage 4a : 1st Prologue Etoile de Bessèges : 2nd Overall Route du Sud ::1st Prologue : 3rd La Flèche Wallonne : 3rd Brabantse Pijl : 5th

;1986 : 1st Stage 2 ( TTT)

: 1st La Flèche Wallonne : 1st Bol d'Or des Monédières : 1st Stage 2 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 2nd Overall

Escalada a Montjuich ''Escalada'' is a Brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast by TV Globo. It premiered on 6 January 1975 and ended on 23 August 1975, with a total of 197 episodes in Black and white. It's the fifteenth List of 8/9 PM telenovelas of Rede Globo, "no ...

: 2nd Overall Tour du Vaucluse : 2nd Grand Prix des Nations : 2nd Paris–Camembert : 7th Overall

: 7th Overall Three Days of De Panne : 8th Overall Tour Méditerranéen : 10th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx ;1987 : 1st Stage 6 Ronde van Nederland : 2nd Overall Tour de Luxembourg : 2nd Overall Etoile de Bessèges ::1st Stage 3a (

) : 3rd Overall

::1st Stages 5 & 7a : 3rd Overall

::1st

Combination classification ::1st Stage 19 : 3rd Overall Tour du Vaucluse : 3rd Grand Prix Le Télégramme de Brest : 5th Overall Critérium International : 6th Overall

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; en, Tour of Catalonia, es, Vuelta a Cataluña, link=no) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of t ...

: 6th

: 7th Overall

::1st Stage 21 ;1988 : 1st Milan–San Remo : 1st Paris–Camembert : 2nd Overall Critérium International ::1st Stage 2 : 2nd

Grand Prix de Wallonie The Grand Prix de Wallonie is an annual road bicycle race held annually in Wallonia, Belgium. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It has a profile similar to the Ardennes classics The Ardennes classics a ...

: 2nd

Paris–Brussels The Brussels Cycling Classic (known until June 2013 as Paris–Brussels) is a classic cycle races, semi classic European Road bicycle racing, bicycle race, one of the oldest races on the international calendar. History Paris–Brussels was first ...

: 2nd Grand Prix des Nations : 3rd Paris-Roubaix : 4th Overall Route du Sud ::1st Prologue & Stage 1 : 5th Overall

: 6th Overall Etoile de Bessèges : 9th Overall Ronde van Nederland ;1989 : 1st UCI World Ranking : 1st Jersey pink

Overall Giro d'Italia ::1st Stage 20 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Ronde van Nederland : 1st Milan–San Remo : 1st Grand Prix des Nations : 1st Polynormande : 1st Critérium des As : 1st Trofeo Baracchi (with Thierry Marie) : 2nd Overall

::1st Stages 2 ( TTT) & 18 ::Held Jersey yellow

after Stages 10–14 & 17–20 :: Jersey red number

Combativity award : 3rd Grand Prix Le Télégramme de Brest : 4th Overall

: 6th Overall Critérium International : 6th Overall Tour Méditerranéen : 6th

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

: 7th

;1990 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Critérium International : 3rd Critérium des As : 4th Overall

: 8th Overall Route du Sud ;1991 : 1st Stage 5 Giro di Puglia : 6th Overall

: 10th Overall

;1992 : 1st Stage 11

: 8th Overall

Euskal Bizikleta Euskal Bizikleta (Spanish: ''Bicicleta Vasca'', English: ''Basque Bicycle'') was an annual road cycling stage race held in the Basque Country in June. From 2005 to 2008, the race was organized as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, it was ...

;1993 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Ruta Mexico ::1st Stage 6

Grand Tours general classification results timeline

References

;Notes ;Citations ;Bibliography * Fignon, Laurent, translation by William Fotheringham ''We Were Young and Carefree''. London, UK: Yellow Jersey Press, 2010. . * McGann, Bill and Carol McGann ''The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 2''. Indianapolis, IN: Dog Ear Publishing, 2008. .

External links

*
Official Tour de France results of Laurent Fignon
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fignon, Laurent 1960 births 2010 deaths Cycling announcers Deaths from lung cancer in France Doping cases in cycling French sportspeople in doping cases French Tour de France stage winners French Vuelta a España stage winners French Giro d'Italia stage winners Giro d'Italia winners Cyclists from Paris Tour de France winners UCI Road World Rankings winners Sorbonne Paris North University alumni