Greg LeMond back on the bikeThree-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond will lead a three-week bicycle journey across Vietnam next January in what is being dubbed a symbol of peace between once-warring nations."The Vietnam Challenge will be a powerful gesture of goodwill," event sponsor chairman James Benson said at the announcement of the journey here Thursday. LeMond will lead a group of 80 riders, some of them former United States and Vietnamese soldiers who suffered disabling injuries in the Vietnam War, along a 1,200-mile (1,920 km) trek. The journey begins January 1, 1998, from Hanoi and concludes January 16 in Ho Chi Minh City. Edwin Weihenmayer, a US veteran of the Vietnam War, will return there for the first time since the conflict along with his blind son Erik. They will ride a tandem bicycle in part to show how veterans have overcome disabilities. "Vietnam is an ideal setting for this type of event," Benson said. "It is a nation characterized by a history of war which has left a legacy of disability. We will provide a life affirming example to all who witness our achievements." |