Tour De Fallout

As the 95^th Tour de France approaches, many Americans may choose to ignore the year's premier cycling event in the wake of Lance Armstrong trading in his bike for running shoes and Floyd Landis trading in his yellow jersey for a two-year ban for doping. On the legal front, it may be more interesting to watch two of cycling's heavyweights, Greg LeMond and Trek Bicycle Corporation, go spoke-to-spoke in a battle arising out of a licensing arrangement first entered into over a decade ago.

In the summer of 1995, LeMond, three-time Tour de France champion and the first American to win the event, entered into the licensing agreement with Trek, creating biking's newest power couple. The most recognizable American cyclist in the world lent his name and brand to one of the most well-known bicycle manufacturers in the world. The partnership appears to have been successful until the chain came off in 2001 when