Road to Nowhere

Last year's Tour de France still held some appeal to Americans. Sure, Lance Armstrong had retired in a sport he helped popularize in the US. That the popularity hinged on his citizenship and was therefore fleeting didn't stop many Americans who otherwise would never give cycling a second look, a second look.

OLN covered the Tour for Americans. More than any other sport, cycling allows fans to get up-close and personal. Fans line tiny local roads that wind their way through rural villages so close that they can knock a cyclist off their bike. This is a sport that's truly European, as American paranoia would have no fans within a hundred feet (er meters) away. Indeed, Eddie Merckx failed to win a Tour because a rowdy fan punched him.

Floyd Landis became a bit of a hero, an American most had not heard of. He was something of the anti-Lance. He seemed like a good old boy, not particularly photogenic (but then, neither was Lance), warmer to crowds than the bullish Lance. While he held the lead for a bit, he lost many minutes with only 3 days left, only to come back the next day and make up all the missing time, and hold his lead until the final.

That was before there was some testing, and Landis was accused of doping, trying to enhance his performance. Although a second test also showed evidence of doping, Landis continues to fight to this day to clear his name. One consequence was Landis did not bike this Tour. With his hip that needed impending surgery, Landis was willing to oblige.

In the intervening year, frequent rival Jan Ullrich, who could never quite beat Lance once he started winning, retired.

This year, no American looked to be the favorite, but perhaps it's all the better. Alexandre Vinokourov, who had been a strong contender last year, had to drop out, with accusations. Tour lead, Michael Rasmussen was also excused from the race. The two names together have made this one disaster of a tour.

Perhaps no sport so scrutinizes its athletes as does cycling. Even doping tests for baseball don't have the immediacy of cycling, where results are found as the arduous competition is still in play.

Of course, Americans don't care, once again. The NBA is dealing with scandal as a referee has claimed to fix games to alleviate gambling debt. The Feds are after Michael Vick for dogfighting. Baseball has to come to grips with Barry Bonds, who's on the verge of breaking Hank (Henry) Aaron's home run record, with the taint of steroid usage.

Sport is all about competition, but at the highest levels, people look for an extra edge to overcome deficiencies in their physique or training.

But no sport seems as close as cycling is to self-destruction, and at its biggest event. A tragedy, it is.