Contador Wins Tour De France
Charles Johnson
Sun Jul 29, 2007 at 5:33 pm PDT • Views: 309
Congratulations to Spaniard Alberto Contador, the winner of the Tour de France. However, I’ve gotta be honest—my enjoyment of this event was seriously damaged this year, after two of the best riders, Vinokourov and Rasmussen, were disqualified. And this comes on the heels of the Floyd Landis debacle last year. Double plus ungood.
I’m far from the only disappointed cycling fan: Contador of Spain captures doping-tainted Tour de France.
PARIS (AP) — All the right elements were there: The smiling winner in his bright yellow jersey. The fans several rows deep under the majestic trees of the Champs-Elysees.
But something seemed broken about the Tour de France on Sunday — perhaps forever.
Overshadowing the joy of its newest and youngest winner in 10 years — Alberto Contador of Spain, who rode for the American Discovery Channel team — was ominous talk and questions about the very existence of cycling’s premier event:
— How to have faith in the Tour when even its director said the suspicion of doping hangs over all riders.
— How much longer fans will remain loyal to a race where cheating has skewed the results for more than a decade.
— How to regard cycling. Is it really still a sport or just drug-fueled entertainment on wheels, where observers think “what’s he taking?” not “didn’t he ride well?”
Frank says: