Cyclist LeMond settles Yellowstone Club lawsuit

BILLINGS – Former cycling star Greg LeMond has reached a $39.5 million settlement with the owners of the exclusive Yellowstone Club, as control of the mountain retreat for the super rich shifts from founder Tim Blixseth to his estranged wife.

The settlement resolves a two-year legal dispute in which LeMond accused Blixseth of trying to buy out his minority stake in the club for less than its true value.

Meanwhile, the rise of Edra Blixseth to club owner and chief executive – part of a related settlement in the couple’s divorce case – ends a bitter struggle for control of the enterprise.

Edra Blixseth agreed to pay the three-time Tour de France champion and his co-plaintiffs after Tim Blixseth ended his bid to retain ownership.

Court approval of the divorce is not expected until next week. But the two sides already have traded assets related to the settlement, said Edra Blixseth spokesman Bill Keegan.

“She in fact has a new management team in place and lots of ambitious plans,” Keegan said Friday. “It’s a new chapter in her life and she’s anxious to put her stamp on the club.”

“None of my clients ever wished anyone ill,” said the attorney, Bruce Manning. “They have merely wanted to be paid what they were owed, and for the club to be on the financial footing it is now on.”

The plaintiffs in that case – among Yellowstone Club’s original members – relinquished their 4 percent stake in the enterprise as part of the settlement.

Its problems grew after the Blixseths allegedly diverted money meant for the club to their own use, according to court documents. At roughly the same time, Tim Blixseth went on a property-buying spree in a bid to take the club concept global, with an enterprise called Yellowstone Club World.