Tour de Farce/Force?

Although the quirky play on words never fails any budding journalist, it curiously leaves me persistently questioning the credibility of what has become the world’s greatest stage race. Before going any further, I’d like to stress that this is in no way an attempt to be controversial. Put it more down to a novice cycling fan finding himself honestly stumped.

Farce

It is often proclaimed that such a grand race has come to epitomise everything admirable about human endeavour. Indeed, extensive publications have sought to explain the phenomenon that is the race. Even so, there is also an argument to be made of its ascent to represent an uglier, darker side of those who have devoted their lives to the race, contradicting everything that Destrange and Lefévre set out to prove.

There is no secret as to what it is that has often mired this great pursuit. Whilst the majority of sports have forever combated issues such as gamesmanship, prejudice, and financial irregularities, one problem has become inextricably linked with professional cycling: performance enhancing drugs. Not that this is breaking news. A good proportion of cycling fans will remember questionable practises of this form for as long as they have lavishing their adulation upon it. Even Tom Simpson’s shock death - one of cycling’s most traumatic events - is still accompanied by the regaling of stories about amphetamines being found on the deceased cyclist shortly after his collapse on Ventoux, although it was evident that a number of other factors exacerbated the cyclist‘s tragic demise. It is for exactly this reason, that such tales can still infiltrate the Tour‘s abundant history, that have conspired to seemingly forever bring the sport into disrepute. Naturally, if drugs are a blight on the sport, it is safe to assume that the pinnacle of the sport has its share of the problematic professionals.

It is in recent times that such questionable practises have seemingly robbed the race of all its integrity, more so since anti-doping authorities expand their means to bring PED users to the fore. Issue after issue has presented itself to the flustered organisers of the race, rarely looking like abating. Although the current race has yet to expose its first over-zealous cheat (I write this relatively early on), recent years don’t appear to have done the Tour any favours. After numerous controversies that shrouded all of those who clung onto the wheel of Armstrong, the ensuing years yielded their own share of the innocently guilty. Unthinkably, the maillot jaune winner, Floyd Landis, tested positive for a banned substance - a claim which he still refutes to this day. Then, even more recently, the race had the task of usurping a new wave of cheats, ones who weren’t aware of the creators of CERA having worked in conjunction with the authorities in developing a test that would alert anti-doping authorities to the usage of the blood booster. A winner of two stages, Riccardo Ricco had the venom quickly sucked out of him. Polka-dot winner and third in the GC, Bernard Kohl was captured months after. Winner of both individual Time Trials, Stefan Schumacher, also went that way. Thoroughly depressing stuff. Of course, a number of other riders have kept the anti-doping teams busy over the years, but it would take a dedicated article of its own to condemn these idiots. What’s even more depressing is that these men will still so willing to take a shot (oops).

Force

It would be suitable to advocate ‘Force’ by starting in a similar vein to that of ‘Farce’. Everything good that the authors of publications about the race have provided insight into are fully justified. This is truly a race that transcends all others, propelling itself to a level that others can only aspire to. The way in which millions of cycling fans are annually gripped to their screens, captivated fans packing the side of the road for miles and miles, and generally showing an obsessive enthusiasm every July bear testament to what this race is all about. Cycling fans can confidently boast of its superiority on a number of levels.

Perhaps it’s narrow-minded on my behalf, but the only truly negative aspect of the race I imagined worth questioning is the problem of performance enhancing drugs, as there is surely no sight more disenchanting than a rider being accompanied away by policemen. On the contrary, the pros come with contrasting ease. Although I feel inclined to poor over positive after positive, since the drugs were my sole gripe for a Tour de Farce, I’ll be fair in only citing one admiration, and the one thing that will always attract me to it is, quite simply, the aforementioned human endeavour.

It is with good reason that one of Britain’s best selling cycling magazine proclaims the sport to be the toughest. As convincing as some arguments have been in arguing the case for other sports, I am still yet to be convinced of cycling being equalled by any other spectator event. I could mention Dean Karnazes - a man who runs in one race than what most people will in a lifetime - but he is one unique individual.

So, with cycling being the toughest sport in the world, what does it say of the actual sport’s toughest race? Some may see it fit at this point to politely mention two other famous Grand Tours, the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana. However, there are still circumstances that manage to detract from these, namely the fact that all of cycling’s elite want the famous yellow jersey, whereas Maglia Rosa and Jersey de Oro are an afterthought for some of the biggest names. Riders vying for other classification jerseys also show similar preferences, highlighting the allure of the Tour.

But why? Well, on top of everything else that has come to cultivate such a magnificent race - the sprints, the time trials, the team time trials, breakaways, doing it against the very best, it is the mountains that truly represent what this race is all about, with these being where many of the Tour‘s have been won, thus producing the legends we come to balance our love and dislike for. This is where I’ll leave you to start your own research (Wikipedia!). Whether it be Ventoux, Alp d’Huez, or Col de la Bonette, they are all evocative for every fan of this great race, and definitely personify what “human endeavour” is all about.

To summarise, the way in which millions of cycling fans are annually gripped to their screens, captivated fans packing the side of the roads for miles upon miles, and generally showing that obsessive enthusiasm every July bear testament to what this race is all about. Cycling fans can confidently boast of its superiority to all other races on a number of levels. Whatever at times has made it a farce, despite those people battering at its credibility, the race keeps on transcending all other sports, showing an alarming resilience to all of the deadwood that would have otherwise conspired to deprive us of our privileged summers. Whichever shamefaced cheat is being led from his team’s hotel at this year’s Tour, their antics will never be enough to make this race anything but a Force.

P.S. on the drugs front, as “depressing” as it is to me, I share the sentiments of many cycling fans who, whilst exasperated by the continuous exposure of cheats, are elated with what they perceive to be the authorities finally getting a grip on this sport, as the outing of CERA cheats has demonstrated.

Blog Post by BFF member JimmyMc