In Visitors, I invite one person each month to share perspectives on a sport, a sporting event, sporting aspects or any thing in between. This week, Craig Walsh, who had previewed the event, joins us again to review what was one the most controversial in history. If you would like to contribute for a future edition of Visitors, do not hesitate to e-mail me.

By Craig Walsh

The 2006 Tour de France started off with a controversial start, with Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Francisco Mancebo, Oscar Sevilla, Alexandre Vinokourov and his Astana team (formerly Liberty Seguros), and the Comunidad Valenciana were not allowed to take part after they were linked with the Operation Puerto scandal. Vinokourov himself wasn’t implicated, but five of his team mates were implicated plus the team boss Manolo Saiz, so inline with UCI Pro Tour rules, twenty-two riders were not allowed to make the start line in Strasbourg. So instead of the 198 riders who were supposed to start, we had 176 riders. It promised the unexpected, as everybody’s predications went straight out the window, it was a case nobody knew what was going to happen next.

Ironically one rider making his comeback from a two year drugs for admitting to use EPO, Saunier Duval-Prodir’s David Miller of Scotland. Miller who had only got his racing license just five days before the start, went on to finish 17th in the 7km prologue, which was won by Norwegian sprinter Thor Hushovd of the Credit Agricole team. Hushovd, a favourite for the sprinter’s green jersey, pulled in the time trial of his life to take the win and to take his second maillot jaune (yellow jersey, Hushovd wore it for a day in 2004) in his career, just beating Discovery Channel’s George Hincapie.

Stage 1 took us from Strasbourg, out of town, through into nearby Germany, and back into France to finish in Strasbourg, a break got away but was reeled in by the chasing bunch, and in the ensuring sprint finish, there was a another surprise, with Tom Boonen’s lead-out train misfiring, and being forced to go too early, and in all the confusion, a French sprinter from Cofidis Jimmy Casper out foxed everybody to take the win. However there was drama as Hushovd was forced to go along the barriers, and cut his arm with a green cardboard hand (from sponsors PMU) which forced him to lose a lot of blood, but with the help of stitches he lived to fight another day. Hincapie took over the yellow jersey by virtue of the two second time bonus that was out on course.

Stages two and three were won by Robbie McEwen and T-Mobile’s Matthias Kessler. On stage two, Kessler tried a last minute break by was caught 500m from the line, and McEwen took the stage win. However, Kessler’s persistence paid off the next day when he attacked the final climb into Valkenburg, and held off the bunch. Kessler’s team-mate Michael Rogers of Australia was second. Boonen took over as the race leader. Stage three also lost one of it’s favourites in Spain’s Ajelandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) touched the wheels of a team-mate and fell and broke his collarbone. He was forced to abandon. Australia’s Stuart O’Grady (Team CSC) also had a crash and broke his vertebrae, he would ride sorely for the next several days but he did go onto finish the race.

Stage four was won by Robbie McEwen; his second of the race, but his train did not work on stage 5 as his lead out man Gert Steegmans misread the 500m to go sign for 400m, and McEwen was forced to go to early and Spanaid Oscar Freire (Rabobank0) took the win, Euskatel-Euskadi’s Inaki Isasi took third. Stage six, Steegmans got it right and delievered McEwen to his third stage win, by a couple of bicycle lengths. Onto stage seven and the first time trial into Rennes was won by T-Mobile’s Serhiy Honchar of the Ukraine, who trashed everybody bar Floyd Landis by about a minute. Honchar, a former world time-trial champion (in 2000) and a specialist against the watch, was surprisingly not taken as a favourite for the stage win, but proved everybody wrong to not only get the win, and to be the new race leader. Honchar who also lead the Giro d’Italia this year, became the first Ukrainian to lead the Tour de France. It was a bad day for American Levi Leipheimer, Iban Mayo, and Damiano Cunego all had the time trial from hell as the lost over 6 minutes each to all but end their GC hopes. Leipheimer’s best shot now would be stage wins. It was a sad day for CSC’s Bobby Julich of the USA, who was forced to abandon with a suspected broken hand when he crashed into a curb. CSC was now down to seven riders in the race.

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One sportsperson breaks his own world record. We applaud him. However, one more tests positive for drug after the recent positive tests of Gatlin and Landis.

The common excuse for taking drugs usually are - the competition is too tough, others might be taking it and I thus have no choice.. Well, you cheated and betrayed the trust of your fans. There is no justification. Sport is harmed in the process though and that is some thing which angers me more than any thing when any sports person is found out to have taken drugs.

A sports person might see that he isn’t that good and find himself in a position to not lose much. He might also suck into the pressure of maintaining past levels of performance or improve and might be willing to risk credibility in the pursuit as well. So he might take drugs. Sport suffers. For, the heroes do not remain heroes any more. Doubts may be cast over genuine heroes who do not take drugs as well. The worst effect is a portion of people not following a specific sport or sports in general as a direct impact of sports persons being found out.

A sad reality.

After the doping finds at the beginning of the tour, what cycling needed was a heroic performance to bring authenticity to the sport. We seemed to have that with the efforts of Landis. Now, Landis is under a cloud. He denies it and his mom denies it as well. When Shane Warne was caught with drugs, he said that his mom gave it to him. Landis or his mom can’t expect to beat the audacity of Warne’s statements though of course.

BBC’s Matt Slater sums up the situation well:

To say the discovery that the winner of the Tour de France may have been cheating is bad news is perhaps the biggest understatement since James Lovell told Mission Control, “Houston, we’ve had a problem.”

Of course, Floyd Landis may be cleared, but with its credibility already hanging by a thread, the Tour needed this like a stick in the spokes.

Whatever happens and was the truth regarding Floyd Landis, the reputation of cycling, already weak, has been shaken and if new fans do not get attracted to the sport in the future, you can’t really blame them.

The temperaure was soaring at 30 degrees as if the mountain climbing wasn’t difficult enough. Landis kept drenching himself in water. He kept fighting. In sport, you always have a window of an opportunity if you are look hard enough. It is not over till it’s over. To win, you have to first believe that you can win. Without that, you have no chance. With the belief, wonders and great feats can be achieved.

After the disaster yesterday, Landis said that the Tour de France was over for him. Today, when he had nothing to lose, he let out his last spark. Those were sparks of brilliance. Landis believed again. The result - Landis is a real challenger again.

As Landis himself states:

I have come here to win the Tour and I am not done fighting yet.

Two days ago, Landis looked in a strong position. Yesterday’s debacle left almost no one giving him a chance. It looked impossible and not just improbable.

BBC live commentary sums up the situation:

Floyd Landis stages a remarkable fightback after his disaster on Wednesday as he takes an incredible stage 17 of the Tour de France. Landis imploded on the final climb on stage 16 and was over eight minutes off yellow jersey holder Oscar Pereiro.

But the American produced an extraordinary ride and finished over five minutes ahead of Carlos Sastre. Pereiro managed to retain the yellow jersey but is now 12 seconds ahead of Sastre and 30 seconds ahead of Landis.

Landis lead the peleton. Then, he left the peleton looking from the back at a great fightback. Then, he got to the breakaway markers. He kept leading by over seven minutes over the peleton. He left Sinkewitz the leader, behind. In the end, he finished a full 5′42″ ahead of second Carlos Sastre.

The race was wide open yesterday. Today, it has opened much more. We have also witnessed one of the epic rides. It was a great fightback yes. It was also one of the greatest performances in Tour de France history.

Just when every one thought Landis will win the Le Tour this year, and, it has become too predictable for final stages, Landis failed at a mountain test. No one had anticipated it. Not even Oscar Pereiro who now has the yellow jersey:

“We never reckoned on Landis struggling as he did,” said Pereiro, who spent four years with the Phonak team before leaving last year. “It was an important step for me today towards the yellow jersey, but Landis showed anybody can have an off-day.”

The day belonged to Michael Rasmussen as BBC reports:

The dramatic collapse of the Pennsylvanian overshadowed an incredible performance from Rasmussen, who won all four climbs over five-and-a-half hours of gruelling riding in sweltering heat… He led them over the 2,642m Col du Galibier, the highest point of this year’s race, before dropping Casar, then Valjavec on the second major climb, the Col de la Croix-de-Fer.

Read the BBC live report on the most exciting day of Le Tour so far. When an emperor dies, his vast kingdom is broken into many small fragments. We are seeing that this year in the first year post the Armstrong retirement. Armstrong was at Le Tour today as well as he saw the cyclists battle for the spoils.

What’s left of the tour now? Stages 17, 18, 19 and 20. The mountain stage and time trial promise a lot. Then, we have the final sprint to victory of course.

Pereiro is the favourite now like Landis was yesterday looking at his first ITT performance and expert opinions of fans looking at strengths. It has been unpredictable in this tour right from the start though.

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Le Tour is supposed to be the toughest challenge in sport. A few detractors aren’t taking as much interest in the tour though this time. Robbo presents the school of thought perfectly here:

Can we really take the Tour de France seriously now they’ve suspended some of the best cyclists ‘cos they might have been on summat? Personally I think they must all be out of their minds to want to do the damn thing in the first place…

But cycling is so full of suspicious supplements it’s getting to the point where it’s not so much a race as an endurance test for chemicals.

The legitimacy of the sport itself is being questioned now when earlier we used to marvel about the strength of the cyclists. I believe the sport cannot be faulted. Just because Le Tour is tough does not mean people have to take drugs. The best which can be done is to make real efforts to cleanse the sport - that process has already begun as we know with the exclusion of many during the tumoltous start of the tour as they were found out.

Coming to today, Gap to l’Alpe d’Huez has always been crucial [see the stage guide and other stages here]. This time around, it was going to be much more so as Telegraph UK said:

The aficionados rank the mighty Col du Galibier, which the riders tackle tomorrow, as the toughest climb in the Tour de France but a combination of circumstances have conspired to make today’s ride up L’Alpe d’Huez the event’s showpiece occasion…

Punters should take note of who wins the stage today. On 19 occasions out of 24, the rider in the yellow jersey after the L’Alpe d’Huez stage has won the Tour de France. It tests everything - physical capability, nerve, composure, competitive instincts and tactical flexibility - and only the best survive.

Read more on L’Alpe d’Huez in the Telegraph piece.

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In Visitors, I invite one person each week to share perspectives on a sport, a sporting event, sporting aspects or any thing in between. This week, Craig Walsh, a sports fan and cycling enthusiast from Australia, joins us to preview the upcoming Tour de France. If you would like to contribute for a future edition of Visitors, do not hesitate to e-mail me.

By Craig Walsh

On July 1, the world’s biggest and well known bike race begins in the French town of Strasbourg, near the France-Germany border, without its biggest protagonist. Seven times winner Lance Armstrong is absent due to his retirement from professional cycling at the end of last year’s race. He will be there though, but in one of the team cars giving advice and support (he is still technically under contract till the end of the year) to his team-mates who begin life for the first time in 7 years without him.

Instead for the first since 1999, we will begin without a defending champion, the 1997 winner Jan Ullrich was absent to injury, and the late Marco Pantini the winner of the 1998 winner was absent due to having too high of blood haematocrit level after being disqualified in that year’s Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy). Ullrich will begin the Tour as the only current rider in the bunch, who has won the Tour, and this represents his biggest chance since, and it could be his last serious chance. At 32 and in his final year of his big contract with his German team T-Mobile, he will be motivated to do win the only his second Tour. He was second in 1996 (his debut Tour), 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, fourth in 2004, and third in 2005.

Ivan Basso of Team CSC has been in great pre-Tour form, winning the Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy) in such dominating fashion, by over 9 minutes to his nearest challenger, and winning three stages along the way. He also won some smaller stage races earlier this season. Basso has shown such pedigree in the race before, finishing 2nd last year, 3rd in 2004 and winning a stage, 7th in 2003, 11th in 2002 and the best young rider competition, before crashing out and breaking a wrist whilst in a break and being forced to abandon in 2001, his debut year. With such progress shown, one would think this year since has been in red hot form will be his year and so therefore starts as the other favourite. His team boss Bjarne Riis of Denmark was a former winner back in 1996 and was a team-mate of Ullrich.

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The World Cycling Track Championships held in Bordeaux, France have finished. Read the preview, review of days one, two, three and four.

After Federer won his third consecutive Wimbledon the early whispers of comparing Sampras and Federer had already begun. Every one ofcourse forgot the great Rod Laver.

Now that Armstrong has retired, there are more greatest debates ensuing. How does Armstrong compare to the other sporting greats? Was he even the greatest cyclist ever to be worthy of comparison with the greatest of greats from other sports?

These exercises are futile because we can never compare eras. The parameters are too dynamic, very different between different eras. But the idea is so interesting, I guess such debates will never stop. Expect Schumacher to be in the mix of such debates once he hangs up his boots more than ever before. Then we will have a Lara vs Viv Richards comparison. Meanwhile Woods vs Nicholas will be a debate which may well go on 50 years or 100 years from now.

In the meanwhile, check out how the cycling great of our era at least has crossed the barriers of nations and religion, headlining in newspapers every where. Newsdesigner.com has composed some of the best front pages featuring Armstrong.

Link courtesy: www.tdfblog.com

Watching Lance Armstrong and the Australian cricket team one win his record 7th Tour de France, the other demolish England yet another time, you have to wonder what makes champions what they are.

The England cricket team is good. They will give a fight in the Ashes but it will be a surprise if they can manage to win even one test match. One of the commentators said he did not think the feat achieved by Armstrong today will be emulated in his life time at least. That helps us understand Armstrong’s feat just a bit. The true magnitude, one hopes, can be fathomed in due course.

I have read Armstrong’s highly inspirational autubiography It’s not about the bike. I think I may have to read it and other books on Armstrong in due course.

Truly great.