occupation kasper klostergaard
Laurent Patrick Fignon ( 12 August 1960  31 August 2010 ) was a French professional road ___MASK62___ who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 and the Giro d ' Italia in 1989 . He nearly captured the Tour de France for a third time in 1989 before being edged by Greg LeMond by 8 seconds , the closest margin ever to decide the Tour . Fignon won many classic races , including taking Milan  San Remo back - to - back in 1988 and 1989 . He died from cancer in 2010 . Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on paved roads . Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing , in terms of numbers of competitors , events and spectators . Races can typically be split into ' mass - start ' events where riders start simultaneously ( though sometimes with a handicap ), racing to set finish point , or individual and team time trials where riders or teams race a course individually against the ___MASK73___ . Tour de l ' Avenir is a French road bicycle racing stage race , which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi - professionals known as independents . Felice Gimondi , Joop Zoetemelk , Greg LeMond , Miguel Indurain and Laurent Fignon won the Tour de l ' Avenir and went on to win 12 Tours de France between them . Gregory James " Greg " LeMond ( born June 26 , 1961 ) is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Road Race World Championship twice ( 1983 and 1989 ) and the Tour de France three times ( 1986 , 1989 and 1990 ). He is also an ___MASK85___ and anti - doping ___MASK46___ . LeMond was born in Lakewood , California , and raised in ranch country on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range , near Reno . He is married and has three children with his wife Kathy , with whom he supports a variety of charitable causes and organizations . Kasper Klostergaard Larsen ( born 22 May 1983 ) is a Danish professional road racing cyclist , riding for Danish based Riwal - Platform . In the last part of the 2005 season , the then Glud & Marstrand - Horsens rider was taken aboard Team CSC , as the team was then known , as a stagiaire , and was on the hard - working team that helped Lars Bak win the Tour de l ' Avenir . His time at Team CSC resulted in a professional contract with the team for the 2006 and 2007 seasons . Hendrik Gerardus Jozef " Joop " Zoetemelk ( born 3 December 1946 ) is a retired professional racing cyclist from the Netherlands who has emigrated to France . He started , and finished , the Tour de France 16 times  a record . Three other riders have had more than 16 starts , but none has yet matched Zoetemelk ' s record of completing the event . He won the race in 1980 and also came eighth , fifth , fourth ( three times ) and second ( six times ). He won the world professional road championship in 1985 at 38 . He retired from the sport to run a ___MASK9___ at Meaux , near Paris , France . The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe , Australia and ___MASK22___ organised by the UCI ( International Cycling Union ). Created by Hein Verbruggen , former president of the UCI , it comprises a number of ' ProTour ' cycling teams , each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series . It was initially the basis of a season long competition for rankings points , created for 2005 to replace the UCI Road World Cup series , which ended at the end of the 2004 season ( although the World Cup did not include any stage races ). The ProTour was the subject of continuing disputes involving the UCI , cycling teams , and the organizers of the world ' s most prominent bicycle races ( most notably , the Grand Tours ), and in 2009 and 2010 the ranking element of the ProTour was superseded by the UCI World Ranking . For 2011 , the ProTour and World Ranking were fully merged into the UCI World Tour . ProTour status for teams  relabelled UCI ProTeams  will continue as the highest level of registration , and will carry the right and obligation to participate in all World Tour races . The Tour de France is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France , while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries . The race was first organized in 1903 to increase ___MASK27___ for the newspaper " L ' Auto "; which is currently run by the Amaury Sport Organisation . The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1903 except when it was stopped for the two World Wars . As the Tour gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened and its reach began to extend around the globe . Participation expanded from a primarily French field , as riders from all over the world began to participate in the race each year . The Tour is a UCI World Tour event , which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams , with the exception of the teams that the organizers invite . Lars Ytting Bak ( born 16 January 1980 ) is a Danish professional road ___MASK62___ for UCI ProTour team .