why is le tour de france not nearly as popular anymore? well the obvious answer to this question is that lance armstrong isn’t racing anymore and american networks - and therefore american viewers - do not care. i will admit i miss being able to see images like this on the internet everyday (i mean, come on, look at those legs! lance is a beast). whether or not the rest of the world has lost interest in the event is something i do not know. call me a narrow minded american if you want, but if i were to do the research and comment on the world’s situation it wouldn’t matter because my opinions would mean nothing considering i live here.

i used to watch le tour every day. we have a dvr on our tv in the basement, and olntv would show the race on delay at least 3 times, but i preferred to watch it live. so i would get up every morning around 6am, 5:30 on the early starts, and watch the peloton make their way across france. i will say the main reason i watched was lance, but it’s not like he was the only person out there. yes, the things he did amaze me still, but there were many more people who did the same thing. just not with the same speed or style. a few people in particular always fascinated me, along with lance. i was always a big fan of ivan basso, and dave zabriskie impressed me for how long he held onto the yellow jersey in 2005. i was very angry when ivan basso was not allowed to race in 2006 due to doping allegations. i understand there is a possibility he might be guilty, and perhaps the claims are backed up with evidence and there is a valid case here. but the circumstances under which he, along with several others including jan ullrich, were asked to refrain from competing in 2006, were just ridiculous. there was no evidence, only suspicion. and if there was evidence, the public deserves some knowledge. you are ruining the best race in the world by removing the only people that have a real shot at winning. you must realize this. the whole floyd landis situation, ridiculous in itself, would never have happened had these riders be allowed to race. there is no way landis could have beaten basso or an aging ullrich (the old still had some power in those legs). as it turns out, basso has admitted to being involved with the suspected doctor at the heart of this scandal. if this means he recieved doses of epo, then he is guilty and should be suspended from the sport. but the fact remains that you simply should not remove an athlete from competition simply do to suspicion. it’s ridiculous. what’s more ridiculous is that these newspapers, little more than tabloids in my opinion, spread the scandal all over the world. misinformation gets out and a rider, who could be innocent, is ruined. is there any privacy, or discretion, anywhere in the world? i for one am a big fan of the nfl’s drug policy, which says after 3 positive tests you get a 4 game suspension. the drug tests positive for is never released (officially) and if you test positive the first 2 times but not a third, no one outside the nfl will ever know.

perhaps the tour officials wish to take a harder stance. they should. the doping scandals are ruining them. but they need to use more discretion and have evidence before attacking a rider. and i am tired of these smear campaigns used to sell newspapers when there is a non issue. a perfect example of this happened just today. current tour leaders michael rasmussen from team rabobank is now involved in a “doping” scandal. read the article and make your own opinions. i will share one quote, however.

“It might be a surprise that it comes out right now,” he added. “I’m very calm and very relaxed … It’s a minor deal. I know that a lot of riders in the peloton receive warnings for not informing or not giving updated information to the UCI” — cycling’s governing body. “I’m just one out of many, and I just happen to ride with the yellow jersey right now.”

the tour and french officials may not be involved in this. it sounds more like its an issue with the danish governing body and a danish newspaper seeing $$ and forgetting to use sense. but the french and tour authorities, as well as many parties all across europe and the world (including the us), need to learn to handle these situation much better. their killing the sport of cycling. they will say its the dopers that are doing that. yes, the dopers are ruining the sport. but it is your job to make sure they don’t succeed. and i will say that you are failing. maybe the officials have had evidence and just cannot handle a legal battle. well get some better lawyers. come take some of ours here in america. you can have all of them for that matter.

nealE