# Luc Leblanc

Luc Leblanc (born 4 August 1966) is a French former professional road cyclist. He became a World Road Champion in 1994.

## Biography

In 1978, a drunk driver hit Luc Leblanc, aged 11, and his younger brother Gilles Leblanc, aged 8. Gilles died after the accident, and Luc was hospitalized for six months. After many operations, Luc was able to walk again, although his left leg was 3 cm shorter and weaker than his right leg.
Initially, Leblanc wanted to become a priest, but after a physiotherapist's advice to take up cycling to solve his leg problems, and subsequently Raymond Poulidor's advice to become a professional cyclist, he did not become a priest.
At the 1991 Tour de France, in the 12th stage Leblanc joined the decisive attack together with Charly Mottet and Pascal Richard. Mottet won the stage, but they finished 7 minutes ahead of the classification leader LeMond, which meant that Leblanc was the new leader. The next day, Leblanc finished 12 minutes behind the winner, and lost the lead to Miguel Induráin, who would remain the leader until the end of the race.
The yellow jersey that he received for leading the general classification, he gave to Poulidor. His accident years earlier did lead to operations on his injuries, and in the 1992 Tour de France the effects caught up with him and he had to stop on the stage to Alpe d'Huez. Again, in 1993, his legs hurt, nothing worked, and Luc Leblanc wanted to end his cycling career. However, the last thing he decided to try was to switch to teams and he joined the Festina team.
The next year, 1994, was his most successful year. At Festina, Leblanc won the 11th stage of the 1994 Tour de France ahead of Pantani and Indurain, and in the 1994 Vuelta a España he won the mountains classification. Later that year he won the 1994 UCI Road World Championships.
As a world champion, Leblanc had many offers from the world's best cycling teams. He joined Le Groupement, but the team's sponsorship ended one week before the 1995 Tour de France. Leblanc moved on to the Italian team Polti. Here, needing operations on his leg again, the results were not as expected, although he won one stage at the 1996 Tour de France.
In 1999, Leblanc was fired by Polti, because Leblanc was injured and could not continue his career. Later, the Italian court decided that the dismissal was unfair, and Polti should pay Leblanc. In 2007, Leblanc sued the French and Italian cycling authorities and the UCI because he still had not gotten the money.
In 2004, Leblanc became team captain for Chocolade Jacques in 2004.
Later, Leblanc became a consultant for a French radio station Radio Monte Carlo during the Tour de France.

## Doping

After his retirement, in a trial against Richard Virenque in 2000, Leblanc admitted that he had been using EPO to prepare for the Tour and the Vuelta.

## Major results
### 1986

    4th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
       1st Stage 2

### 1987

    2nd Road race, National Road Championships
    4th Overall Tour du Limousin
    6th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    6th Overall Étoile de Bessèges
    8th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    8th Coppa Sabatini

### 1988

    1st GP Ouest–France
    3rd Overall Tour Méditerranéen
    3rd Trophée des Grimpeurs
    4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
       1st Sprints classification
    4th Tour du Haut Var
    5th Overall Tour d'Armorique
       1st Stage 2
    6th Overall Paris–Nice
    9th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre

### 1989

    2nd Grand Prix de Cannes
    2nd Bol d'Or des Monédières
    3rd Overall Tour du Limousin
    4th Paris–Camembert
    5th Cholet-Pays de la Loire

### 1990

    1st Tour du Haut Var
    1st Grand Prix de Wallonie
    1st Stage 5 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    2nd Bol d'Or des Monédières
    3rd Overall Paris–Nice
    3rd Overall Tour du Vaucluse
    7th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    10th Overall Critérium International

### 1991

    1st Bol d'Or des Monédières
    2nd Grand Prix de Rennes
    3rd Classique des Alpes
    3rd Trofeo Pantalica
    4th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
       1st Stage 5
    5th Overall Tour de France
       Held after Stage 12
    5th Overall Tour du Limousin
    5th Road race, National Road Championships
    8th Wincanton Classic
    10th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico

### 1992

    1st Road race, National Road Championships
    1st Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
       1st Prologue & Stage 4
    2nd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
       1st Points classification
       1st Stage 2
    2nd Overall Tour de Picardie
    2nd Classique des Alpes
    3rd Paris–Camembert
    3rd Grand Prix des Amériques
    5th Overall Tour de Romandie
    6th Overall Nissan Classic
    8th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    10th Cholet-Pays de la Loire

### 1993

    1st Stage 1 Tour du Vaucluse
    6th Overall Tour de Romandie
    7th Overall Tour du Limousin

### 1994

    1st Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    1st Stage 1 Euskal Bizikleta
    1st Stage 4 Tour of Galicia
    4th Overall Tour de France
       1st Stage 11
    6th Overall Vuelta a España
       1st Mountains classification

### 1995

    9th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre

### 1996

    1st Stage 7 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    2nd Classique des Alpes
    2nd Giro dell'Emilia
    2nd Coppa Placci
    3rd Polynormande
    5th Overall Route du Sud
    5th Giro del Piemonte
    6th Overall Tour de France
       1st Stage 7
    7th Overall Paris–Nice

### 1997

    1st Overall Giro del Trentino
       1st Stage 2
    2nd La Flèche Wallonne
    4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    7th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
    9th Overall Critérium International

### 1998

    2nd Road race, National Road Championships
    2nd Boucles de l'Aulne
    4th Overall Critérium International
    4th Overall Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt
    6th La Flèche Wallonne
    7th Overall Tour de Romandie
    8th Trofeo Pantalica
    9th GP du Canton d'Argovie

### Grand Tour general classification results timeline

| Grand Tour | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 |
| Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | DNF | 34 |
| Tour de France | 73 | 5 | DNF | — | 4 | — | 6 | DNF | DNF |
| Vuelta a España | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | — | — | — |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DNF | Did not finish |