Recovery time

Questions remain as Tour de France gets underway

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Posted: Friday July 02, 1999 02:18 PM

Virenque was banned from the race because of his involvment in last year's doping scandal, but the decision was later overturned by the International Cycling Union. AP

PARIS (AP) -- After a year of investigations, accusations and recriminations, the 86th Tour de France gets under way Saturday with a huge question mark hanging over the grand cycling classic:

Will it ever recover from the catastrophic doping scandal that destroyed last year's race and has plagued the sport ever since?

Even as the 180 riders on 20 teams were gathering for Saturday's prologue at Puy-du-Fou in western France, recriminations from last year's debacle still were flying.

The former director of Festina, the team at the heart of the scandal, spoke of the involvement of former team member and French hero Richard Virenque -- who still denies having used illegal substances.

"The demand of the riders [for drugs] became incredible," said Bruno Roussel, one of only two Festina officials who's been banned from the sport. "They needed everything that was around. Pascal [Herve] wasn't the last. Nor was Richard [Virenque].

"Given their state of dependence, it was no longer possible to talk to them, to do anything," Roussel told the French sports daily L'Equipe in Friday's edition.

But Virenque, still under official investigation on doping charges, will be there when the riders set off on Saturday.

On Wednesday, the Tour reluctantly bowed to pressure from cycling's governing body and readmitted the controversial rider, whom it had earlier barred because "his presence would be incompatible with the image of the Tour."

The International Cycling Union, citing a technical error, ordered organizers to rescind the ban. Race director Jean-Marie Leblanc called the order a "takeover by force."

"We have been prevented from leading our rehabilitation [of the Tour]," he said.

In addition to Virenque, now with the Italian team Polti, the cycling union ordered Tour officials to rescind a ban on Manolo Saiz, sporting director of Spain's ONCE team.

Leblanc fears the decisions will make it tougher to lift the cloud hanging over the sport and refocus on cycling -- a task that already appears daunting at best.

As this year's Tour begins, nobody is happy. Riders are furious about what they continue to see as a witch hunt; sponsors are wary of supporting a discredited sport; and many fans are fed up.

Making things worse, many top stars will not be competing.

Defending champion Marco Pantani is one of them. The Italian had said the course didn't suit him, but his place would have been in jeopardy anyway after he was kicked out of the Tour of Italy last month. A blood test showed he might have used a drug that increases stamina.

The two previous winners, Jan Ullrich of Germany and Bjarne Riis of Denmark, both are injured.

And although Virenque, a former Tour runnerup, will be there, two other riders, Casino's Laurent Roux and Cofidis' Philippe Gaumont, have been banned, as have the entire TVM and Vini Caldirola teams. World No. 1 Laurent Jalabert of ONCE is boycotting to protest the treatment of riders.

With the field wide open, Virenque, a top climber in good form, looks to be a favorite. Also in contention is last year's surprising third-place finisher, American Bobby Julich of Cofidis.

Another American to watch is Lance Armstrong, the two-time Olympic cyclist who has returned to racing since overcoming testicular cancer. He'll be racing for the U.S. Postal Service team.

Other strong contenders: Climber Christophe Rinero of Cofidis, Tour of Italy winner Ivan Gotti of Polti, Alex Zuelle of Banesto, and Abraham Olano of ONCE.

In Saurday's prologue, a 6.8-kilometer (four-mile) time trial at Puy-du-Fou, time trial specialist Chris Boardman of Britain looks again to be the favorite. Boardman won last year's Tour de France prologue in Dublin but had to abandon the race in the second stage, because of a fall.

The 20-stage race will be about 200 kilometers (124 miles) shorter than last year, and less grueling: it will include an extra rest day.

The 3,680-kilometer (2,286-mile) race will end with its traditional ride up and down the Chmps-Elysees on July 25.

 

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