Laurent Fignon, seen during his near miss at the 1989 Tour de France, was 50. (Lionel Cironneau/Associated Press)

Laurent Fignon, the youngest winner of the Tour de France in half a century when he finished with the yellow jersey in 1983, died Tuesday.

Fignon was 50. He publicly revealed in mid-2009 that he was battling intestinal cancer.

Fignon repeated his feat in 1984, winning the Tour again. He was part of a span of eight French victories in the race in nine years, beginning in 1977 with Bernard Thevenet and including five wins by teammate Bernard Hinault.

A cyclist from France has not won the race since Hinault's final victory in 1985.

"I'm deeply moved. He was a fighter and like me was always vying for victory. We always had fair battles," Hinault said. "He fought this disease too, but lost the battle."

Fignon narrowly missed winning the Tour de France again in 1989, losing by eight seconds to Greg Lemond of the United States. Fignon did win the Giro d'Italia that same year.

Fignon twice tested positive for using illegal substances in the late 1980s. In an autobiography published in 2009, he said the use of illegal stimulants was widespread in the sport during his prime.

But in an interview on French television last year, he said it was impossible to say whether there was a link between doping and his illness.

"According to my doctors, apparently not," Fignon said. "I discussed my personal history quite frankly and they said that would be too simple an explanation. Digestive cancer is primarily a disease of nutrition. The products I took were intramuscular, they didn't pass through the stomach."

After his retirement, Fignon tried his hand as a race promoter, but claimed his attempts to raise the profile of the Paris-Nice race were stymied by the dominance of the Tour de France organization.

In 2006, he opened a hotel complex in the foothills of the Pyrenees as the Laurent Fignon Centre, offering enthusiastic amateur cyclists guided rides up the Col du Tourmalet and other famed Tour de France climbs.

"He was a great champion who used a combination of talent and will to win the Tour de France twice," French Cycling Federation president David Lappartient told The Associated Press. "He had an iron will, and was also a very intelligent man."

Seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong, who himself battled cancer, called Fignon a "dear friend" and a "legendary cyclist."

"I will never forget the early 90s when I first turned pro, of course terrified of these 'older guys,' Laurent was always a friendly face with words of advice," Armstrong said in a statement.

"He was a special man to me, to cycling, and to all of France. Laurent, we will all miss you."

WIth only the last-day time-trial to go in the 1989 Tour de France, Fignon had amassed a 50-second lead that appeared decisive.

But LeMond, riding with an aerodynamic helmet and new-style triathlon handlebars that Fignon maintained were illegal, set a blistering pace — the fastest full-length time-trial stage ever ridden at the time.

"Fignon was a great person, true to himself," LeMond told France 24 television channel. "We were competitors, but we were friends ... He had a very, very big talent, much more than anyone recognized."

Fignon rode last, using traditional handlebars and with his ponytail blowing in the wind. He gave everything he had, collapsing to the ground after crossing the finishing line. But it was not enough.

"The cyclist who doesn't know how to lose cannot become a champion. … But to lose like that, on the last day, with such a small gap, and principally because of handlebars that were banned under the rules, no, that was too much for one man," Fignon said in his autobiography, We Were Young and Carefree.

"I counted eight seconds in my head, and the more I counted the more I realized what a ridiculous period of time it was. In eight seconds you don't have time to do anything!"

He said doping in cycling was revolutionized by the arrival of the blood-booster EPO in the early '90s. Fignon said he refused to take it — and retired from competition in 1993 when he realized that mediocre riders were now keeping up with him.

'The Professor'

Despite his reputation for being well-read and his nickname "The Professor," Fignon dropped out of college. He competed in cycle races while completing his army service before being signed up by respected sporting director Cyrille Guimard to the Renault team.

Fignon won the Tour on his first attempt in 1983 in just his second year as a professional, seizing the opportunity presented by the absence due to injury of the Renault team leader Hinault.

Fignon put on the yellow jersey for the first time at the top of the legendary Alpe d'Huez, and held it for the final five days of the race, cementing his victory by winning the time-trial on the penultimate day.

If doubt still hung over Fignon's victory because of Hinault's absence, that was to be dispelled the following year when the two men — now in different teams — went head-to-head.

Fignon dominated the race, taking five stages and finishing more than 10 minutes ahead of Hinault.

Fignon was unable to defend his title in 1985 due to injury, and Hinault took it back.

When Renault withdrew from sports sponsorship at the end of that season, Fignon and Guimard went into business together, but the partnership ended in a deeply acrimonious split six years later and they never reconciled.

Though feted by the cycling-mad French, Fignon never achieved the public adoration of Hinault, and footage of him spitting at journalists in 1989 cemented his reputation for testiness and a certain arrogance. He was awarded the "Prix Citron" for the least likable rider after the 1989 Tour.

"At least I won something," he noted acidly in his autobiography.

Fignon is survived by his wife Valerie and a son from a previous marriage.

With files from CBCSports.ca