On the Road ... Tour de France

PARIS — With all the talk of drugs and various accusations that seemingly always dominate the Tour de France, I'd rather see the race in a different light. I don't think I'm naive. Cycling has drug problems. And there are always riders accusing other riders of bad tactics and riders who accuse rival teams of inappropriate racing. But with Floyd Landis' win Sunday, a few things I like about sport, and which were particularly apparent in this year's Tour, come to mind. The riders, fatigued and battered for three weeks, did often forget sportsmanship and the appreciation of their fellow competitors. Spanish rider Oscar Pereiro held a 30-second lead he knew he'd likely lose to Landis in the 19th stage individual time trial. And lose it he did. But instead of finding an excuse or looking for someone to blame, Pereiro displayed supreme sportsmanship. Within minutes after his final ride-of-the-day time was posted and the Landis' win was apparent, Pereiro found the American and offered an embrace. It was a brief, genuine moment between two great riders near the end of three weeks of difficult bicycle racing. Equally sportsmanlike, when the peloton entered Paris on Sunday for the first of eight laps on the Champs Elysees, Russian Viatcheslav Ekimov went to the front with the group's approval. Ekimov, 40, eventually finished his 15th Tour Sunday — one shy of the record. With his team director announcing it would the rider's last year at the Tour, what better way to acknowledge the former world titlist, Tour stage winner and the rider who helped Lance Armstrong to several of this Tour titles? Cycling does things like that well. And then there was Landis. Everyone knows that the top-five finishers from the 2005 race didn't compete. And Landis was professional, but brief when he addressed the topic. The media entourage has been accustomed to Lance Armstrong's glib nature. And Landis isn't anywhere as outspoken or controversial as the retired seven-time race winner. But it seems to me it's increasingly rare in sports for athletes to grasp perspective. But Landis did. When he was asked about his devastating ride in stage 16 and if there was one thing he thought about, Landis said: "My parents taught me that hard work and patience are some of the most important things in getting what you want. It took me a long time in my life to learn patience (smiles). But that and persistence is the lesson I learned in this race." Landis may never return to the Tour de France, with his pending hip replacement surgery. But there's an expression that comes to mind that fits Landis. One friend often says of athletes he doesn't respect, "They win a lot of races, but they're never champions." Landis showed he's a champion and he provided a lot of what makes the Tour enjoyable for me. — James raia

posted by dave kellogg at 4:23 PM

On the Road ... Tour de France

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