Lemond also has some sort of degenerative disease going too, doesn't he?
Bicyclist: Will your disease affect your future in any way? Is much known about mitochondrial myopathy [a degenerative muscle disease that prevents the body from properly disposing of lactic acid]?
LeMond: No, nobody knows anything about the disease. I've heard so many variations of it. People get it as an adult and start to feel more tired, and then ten years later, they're in a wheelchair. Then I've heard of people who have it that couldn't exercise as a kid, but now they exercise and they feel fine. Nobody really knows. It's always in the back of my mind. When I do get tired from exercising, I ask myself, 'Am I tired just because I exercised, or is it the disease?'
http://www.roble.net/marquis/coaching/lemond98.html