Former cycling rivals Leontien van Moorsel and Jeannie Longo have officially ended their decades-long feud during a meeting near Grenoble featured in the final episode of the Dutch sports history program Andere Tijden Sport.
The intense rivalry reached its peak during the final stage of the 1992 Tour Cycliste Féminin on the slopes of Alpe d'Huez.
Van Moorsel defended a nine-second general classification lead by strictly riding in Longo's wheel and refusing to take turns at the front.
The clash between the two cyclists stemmed from opposite personalities and early encounters dating back to the 1989 Tour Féminin.
Van Moorsel debuted as a 19-year-old against the established French star.
Longo recalled the icy dynamic during their early years in the professional peloton.
"Finally I see your human side," said Longo during their emotional reunion.
She expressed relief, noting that she shared similar human qualities.
"And believe me: I have one too," said Longo.
Longo remembered feeling completely isolated during that era, both from her young Dutch rival and from a conservative French cycling establishment that held hostile views toward female racers.
"She didn't speak a word to me," said Longo.
She added that the cold atmosphere made her feel targeted within the sport.
"We had no bond at all, she didn't seem to like me. It felt like she was my enemy and looked down on me," said Longo.
Van Moorsel clarified that language barriers and intense race environments shaped those early interactions rather than personal malice.
"My French was not so good, so I couldn't talk to her," said Van Moorsel.
She recalled that communication from her rival was mostly limited to outbursts during difficult moments in the race.
"The only thing I ever heard from her was swearing. When it went too fast?
Merde! If someone rode in the way?
Merde!" said Van Moorsel.
She noted that warm interactions were entirely absent throughout their competing years.
"She was actually never nice to me," said Van Moorsel.
Despite the severe friction, Van Moorsel admitted that Longo served as an immense athletic motivation during the formative stages of her career.
"She inspired me enormously as a young girl. Every evening I told myself that I wanted to become just like her.
Not as a person, but as a sportswoman," said Van Moorsel.
She described watching Longo dominate mountain stages with effortless grace, using that image to fuel her own transition into an elite athlete.
"The way Longo rode in that first Tour, not normal. She fluttered like a bird over the mountains.
It seemed as if it all went by itself. Her way of riding was pure fuel for me," said Van Moorsel.
That drive led Van Moorsel to extreme physical training over the winter, which eventually spiraled into severe health struggles.
"At the end of that season, as a sturdy Brabant girl, I got on the plane to a training camp and came back after three months as a fully trained sportswoman," said Van Moorsel.
Her fanatical approach turned into severe anorexia, dramatically impacting her physical well-being and daily existence.
"500, maybe 600 calories a day. That's all I ate.
My resting heart rate was 26 per minute. I didn't dare go to sleep, out of fear of not waking up the next morning.
I didn't want to die. I actually only wanted one thing: to become the Leontien of before again," said Van Moorsel.
Longo similarly experienced long-term physical consequences from the extreme demands of elite professional cycling, including her inability to start a family after retiring in the late 1990s.
"But I was never given the chance to have a child. That is partly due to cycling.
Years of stress and underweight had a huge impact on my physical condition. My body didn't want a pregnancy on top of that, I think," said Longo.
Decades after their famous tactical standstill on Alpe d'Huez, the two former champions recognized striking similarities in each other's mentalities during their meeting.
The meeting marked the end of the public service broadcaster program Andere Tijden Sport after its run since 2008.
"Actually, I think we are quite similar," said Longo.
