LeMond getting the axe from Trek

Wow! Hold on a sec... I'm kinda at a loss for words here. VeloNews article. Holy cow!

Ok, I always thought the Trek purchase of LeMond bikes wasn't very good for Greg. The bikes were never really designed as well as Treks (for a while the OCLV LeMonds were the same bike as OCLV Treks, just like the OCLV Fishers were). Yeah, there were some standouts. The 853 frames were nice. The best bikes to bear the LeMond name are the latest carbon bikes. Defenetly not Treks.

But anyway, even with a second tier status, I never thought Trek would give up the LeMond name & brand. But looks like I was (once again) wrong.

I guess if you bad mouth golden boy fancy pants Lance enough, your family ties get cut.

Burke said Trek dealers had complained about LeMond's comments regarding Armstrong and said they were hurting sales of both brands.-VeloNews

I never agreed with the way Greg aired his opinion about Americas sweetheart (not that I think his views are all false either), he just came accross as bitter that someone had dethroned him as the top representation of the best cyclist america could throw at Europe.

Now what? I know Greg doesn't need the money. But I think his brand deserve to live on. I really hope that a good American company picks it up. Even more so, I hope it becomes great. Not great like the all around great bike companys that sell every style of bike there is. But pure racing machines hitting everystyle of racing bikes. Multiple road bikes (carbon & Ti), a couple of timetrial machines, cyclocross and maybe a high end XC mountain bike (he's won Chequamegon 2x).

Here's the text of the article in case it goes down later.

Trek announces an end to deal with Greg LeMond
By Steve Frothingham
Posted Apr. 8, 2008

Trek Bicycle president John Burke told employees this morning that the company was ending its business relationship with Tour de France champion Greg LeMond.

Burke cited LeMond's public comments regarding doping allegations against Lance Armstrong, LeMond's decision to offer a mass merchant accessory line in 2000, and his "inconsistent" commitment to the brand.

"Greg's public comments hurt the LeMond brand and the Trek brand," Burke said.

"Despite our repeated efforts to persuade Greg to focus on selling his bikes, he continued his personal attacks," he said.

Burke said he had encouraged LeMond to seek a new partner. He said LeMond had failed to find one.

Burke said Trek dealers had complained about LeMond's comments regarding Armstrong and said they were hurting sales of both brands.

Burke said Trek had rescued LeMond's company from failure in the mid-1990s and had taken "extraordinary steps" to support the brand.

He said the contract with LeMond was scheduled to end in 2010 but that he told LeMond last fall that the contract would not be extended beyond that time.

He said LeMond filed a suit against Trek on March 20 and that suit precipitated the decision to ask a federal court to end the relationship immediately.

"Greg was like a member of the family," Burke said.

VeloNews