French Alps Tour 2003

Tour transcends borders in centennial year By MORT ROSENBLUM, AP Special Correspondent July 26, 2003

PARIS (AP) -- The race is as French as Beaujolais, but as it neared an electrifying finish with an American and a German nearly pedal to pedal in an old duel, the Tour de France transcended all borders.

After a centennial classic to remember, no quarrel with America is likely to staunch the champagne on the Champs-Elysees if Lance Armstrong, as is now expected, wins a fifth straight race.

Armstrong essentially locked up his overall victory Saturday by extending his narrow lead over Jan Ullrich in a time trial.

But had Ullrich managed to triumph for the first time since 1997, after four heartbreaking near-misses, French crowds would have cheered and waved German flags with frenzy in the bosom of Paris.

``We may be chauvinists, but not about the Tour de France,'' said Vital Colin, an investment banker, sipping dark wine as a nearby TV showed a field of foreigners leaving the French cyclists behind.

Armstrong is a grand champion who deserves to win, Colin said. But, he added, everyone who finished was also a hero for blazing a 2,125-mile trail across the French landscape in the three-week race.

``Americans attach everything to the word 'winner,''' he said. ``To them, a loser is something awful. We like underdogs. We're happy to see someone lose if he does it with honor and panache.''

In its 100 years, the race has evolved to celebrate not only the final victor but also riders who win each of its 20 stages. The hardiest climbers and fastest sprinters go into the record books.

On Wednesday, Frenchmen put aside their aperitifs to cheer on Tyler Hamilton, an American with the Danish team CSC who won his first stage after riding two weeks with a collarbone broken in two places.

Earlier, they groaned in sympathy when Joseba Beloki, the Spanish Basque who was one of Armstrong's fiercest challengers, was rushed to the hospital when he crashed after sliding off a corner.

In what he called ``a very odd, crisis-filled Tour,'' Armstrong twice fell to the pavement and once lurched across a field to avoid a pile-up. He ran out of water in the heat. And his bike broke.

After one early stage, he reflected on possible defeat. ``I'll just go home, have a cold beer and come back next year,'' he said. But late in the race, he caught fire.

This year, the 198 starters included 36 nationalities. Italians outnumbered Frenchmen, 39-35.

Richard Virenque, a local hero, won an Alpine stage, wearing the leader's yellow jersey for a single day. Then he was eclipsed. The last French winner was Bernard Hinault in 1985.

Frenchman Laurent Fignon led in 1989, with his trademark long hair flapping behind. Too late, he put on an aerodynamic helmet. American Greg LeMond, coming from behind, won the race by 8 seconds.

But France still loves its Tour. Frenchmen have won 36 times, twice as often as Belgians. Their heroes include ``losers'' such as the redoubtable Poupou, Raymond Poulidor, who almost won eight times.

``It is our 'Iliad,' our 'Odyssey,' our 'Song of Roland,''' observed Cavanna, a popular French satirist who uses only one name.

Former President Francois Mitterrand added some perspective: ``Each July, a State within a State magically emerges: Le Tour de France. And this State amounts to a state of grace.''

The Tour began in 1903, the same year that two Americans, Harley and Davidson, put together their first motorcycle. It has since covered 210,000 miles, about the distance from Paris to the moon.

Its symbolic roots were international from the start. Founders sketched the first route in a Paris tavern with a German name, Zimmer. Later renamed Madrid, the place is now called Friday's.

These days, Le Tour de France is a production of monstrous proportions, with logistical nightmares and fears about security.

After that first race, a Toulouse cabinetmaker spent three months in jail, caught stealing bicycles on an overnight stop. People crowded the roadways, giving riders encouraging whacks on the back.

This time, more than 20,000 policemen guarded the bikes and their riders, struggling to hold back the 15 million Frenchmen and foreigners who jammed mountain passes and country lanes.

Armstrong hit the dirt once because an overeager fan got close enough and a yellow bag bumped his handlebar.

Being French, the race has its cynics. ``What is the Tour de France?'' one cafe joke goes. Answer: ``A bunch of drunks chasing a bunch of druggies.''

It is not so funny. A drug scandal nearly torpedoed the race in 1998. Even now, organizers say they cannot realistically stop everyone from using chemistry to help them confront grueling demands.

Ullrich was banned from cycling for six months last year after testing positive for amphetamines. A disciplinary panel of the German cycling federation decided to impose the minimum penalty because it determined he did not take the drugs to enhance his performance.

Le Canard Enchaine, a satirical weekly that often gets to the truth, reported that checks were particularly lenient this year as no one wanted to spoil the centennial. Organizers denied this.

``The order received loud and clear by police and custom officials, is 'Don't touch the Tour,''' the paper said. ``Today, it's not in urine and blood that you find drugs but in suitcases and car trunks.''

But spoilsports aside, the Tour is working its magic this year as never before.

Laura Fennell, a lawyer from Charlotte, N.C., can name most riders as they flash past. She spouts facts and figures like a sportscaster. Finally, she came to see a race in person.

She hiked up to Alpe d'Huez and camped out with family members to get a close look.

``I have to say,'' she said, ``when the first couple groups of riders came by, that was huge. Just think of the sheer magnificence of what they do. It's like running a marathon every day for three weeks.''

For all the sponsorship hoopla, she finds the event amazingly pure, free to fans who can get close enough to touch their idols and set in a beautiful, ever-changing natural landscape.

``At any time, a rider can hit a stone and wipe out,'' she said. ``It's never over until the end. Just to ride in the Tour is a great honor. To finish it is something else. And to win -- wow.''

Updated on Saturday, Jul 26, 2003 12:42 pm EDT

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