The President of the United States, Donald Trump, who had just won the U.S. presidential election, has always maintained a peculiar relationship with the world of sports. His most talked-about foray into athletics arrived in the late eighties when he attempted to create a cycling race designed to become the premier multi‑stage event in the world, aiming to surpass the Tour de France.
The idea originated with NBC journalist John Tesh, who had covered the Tour de France in 1986, the year of the first American victory in cycling’s grand tour, Greg LeMond.
Tesh presented the project to basketball entrepreneur Billy Packer, who moved the concept through his New York business network. Trump stepped forward as the majority partner: the magnate already owned a skyscraper, a casino, and a shopping center. Owning a cycling race in his name looked like a shrewd move.
Un nombre controvertido
The naming of the event stirred debate. There are two differing versions of how the race came to bear a particular name. One suggests Packer proposed naming the race after Trump to boost publicity, and the magnate balked, asking whether he should be branded narcissistic. After his partner’s persistence, Trump relented.
The second version is widely told: when asked how the race would be known, Trump reportedly answered in a straight face, “Tour of Jersey? If we want it to become the world’s best race, it can only be called Trump.”
“Trump se compra una carrera”
True to a grandiose style, Trump claimed that the yellow jersey of his race would soon outshine that of the Tour de France. He spared no expense. The press described the move with a sense of admiration, noting, if cyclists bought a bike, Trump would buy a race for themself.
In May 1989 details of the race were released: ten stages, roughly 1,400 kilometers along the East Coast. The event would run from May into June, before the Tour and in competition with the Vuelta a España, which at the time took place in spring.
There were 19 teams, eight of them in the first division, including Lotto, PDM, and Panasonic. Others were more modest, such as Saunas Diana, a Dutch amateur squad sponsored by the country’s largest chain of brothels.
Many stars of the era, like Greg LeMond and Andrew Hampsten, preferred riding the Tour de Trump to the Vuelta a España. The first edition was won by a Norwegian, Dag‑Otto Lauritzen. The prizes were substantial, and riders slept in five‑star hotels.
The Lemond Handlebar Detail
It was during that edition in 1989 that Greg LeMond noted a detail that would later prove decisive in the Tour de France: in a time trial, he was overtaken by another rider who rode a triathlete’s handlebar. LeMond copied the detail and used a similar handlebar in the final time trial of the 1989 Tour de France, winning by eight seconds over Fignon.
The first Tour de Trump also yielded another anecdote: after the race ended, Trump learned of a race named Tour de Rump held in Aspen. He wrote to demand they change their name, feeling the similarity was too close. The organizers replied that changes would not happen. The Tour de Rump continues to this day and reached its 31st edition in recent years.
The Alcalá Check
The second edition of the Tour de Trump was held in 1990 and was won by Mexican rider Raúl Alcalá. “I was among the best paid of that era, earning nearly $15,000, plus a car and a motorcycle,” the cyclist recalled. “Trump handed out every prize he could, hoping to make it bigger than the Tour de France.”
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