1989: The Year of Greg Lemond

Of course, Greg Lemond won the Tour de France in 1986, and that was the first time an American had won the TDF, but the 1989 victory was a watershead moment for several reasons:

1. Lemond was returning to cycling that year after having been horribly injured in a hunting accident--no one thought he would amount to much. Also, GL was SI's "Sportsman of the Year."
2. It was the last time that the final stage of the TDF was a time trial. Too much nail-biting, not enough Chanpange, I suppose. Nevertheless, how many of us were glued to ABC's pathetic tour coverage watching the seconds tick away as GL pushed a 55/12 down the Champs-Elysées?
3. This was the event that confirmed the practical efficacy of aero-bars, firmly establishing a place for the science of aerodynamics in the cycling world, for better or worse.

Other significant events:

In 1989 the product manager at Bianchi was Bill Horner, who is much better known for Felt Bicycles than this, but he began working on a bike labeled "Project 7" that year. It had 700c wheels, flat bars, thumb shifters, mountain bike brake levers and brakes (cantilevers) and a triple crank. Bill really believed in his work and pushed this Project 7 into production by 1990 under the name "Volpe." (Don Cook, The Big Wheel Mountain Bike Story, Dirt Rag #130)