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American in Paris Armstrong evokes mixed feelings in France
PARIS (AP) -- At home, Lance Armstrong is a genuine hero. But in France, where he's dominated the country's signature event three years in a row, the Tour de France champion evokes a more muted reaction. Of course, it doesn't help that he isn't French. But it's more than that: The public admires Armstrong's huge talent, but sees the Texan as somewhat cold and distant. And while his total mastery of this year's race should only add luster to his legend, it actually makes him less sympathetic to some fans here who like their champions to sweat, show some pain and, occasionally, lose. "Arch-dominator," the daily Parisien newspaper called Armstrong recently -- an image a bit more suited to "Star Wars" than a cycling contest. "Armstronginator," said the sports daily L'Equipe. But Armstrong is trying to change all that. While insisting the Tour de France "isn't a popularity contest," he has attempted to warm up to the crowds, speaking a pleasantly mangled form of French in TV interviews. He ended one such exchange with a cheerful, "Merci, monsieur!" "This year I've decided to try what I can," he says of his linguistic efforts. "I've decided to be more accessible to the people and the media." "Nobody has a 100 percent approval rate, for whatever reasons," he added in a conversation with reporters. He had a terse reply to the news that Tour photographers this year awarded him their Lemon Prize for most unaccommodating rider. "If they thought I was unaccommodating before, wait till they see how I am in the future," he said. Yet Armstrong is treated more respectfully by the French media now than during his first Tour victory in 1999, when he stunned the world with his inspirational comeback from testicular cancer. Then, despite his moving story, some French headlines used double meanings to show disbelief that he could ride so well without the help of banned drugs. "Hallucinating," said one. This year, Armstrong received mostly favorable press. When he bluffed his main rival, Jan Ullrich, in the first mountain stage, falsely grimacing for the cameras to make it appear he was tired, he was praised for his tactics rather than rebuked. French TV commentators noted that Armstrong made some classy gestures during this year's Tour. For example, waiting for Ullrich when the German fell off his bike during a mountain stage. There was little mention of doping, even though Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service team is the subject of a judicial investigation over last year's Tour that has not yet closed. There were also questions about his ties to an Italian doctor who is to face trial in September in a doping investigation. Armstrong said he would continue to work with Dr. Michele Ferrari unless the doctor was found guilty, and reiterated he's never taken banned substances. On Sunday, L'Equipe said in a favorable article about Armstrong: "In the world of cycling, success has become suspect." Under a headline asking "Should We Believe In Armstrong?" it answered by saying it would be "injustice to transpose onto him the collective problem of doping." On the sprawling roads of the French countryside, fans applauded the Texan this year for his superior efforts, even if he didn't get the flag-waving and banner-flying reserved for local favorites. "Armstrong was magnificent," said 25-year-old Arnaud Blais of Paris after Sunday's finale. "It would have been nice for someone French to win, but they aren't strong enough." But for Klaus Thumel, a 54-year-old German, Armstrong "has two faces -- one for TV and one in private." The chief editor at L'Equipe, Jerome Bureau, explains that the French "like champions who can crack. Armstrong shows no weakness." But he added that the cyclist's image is changing: "Armstrong is becoming part of the great history of this race." Still, a cartoon on French TV this week showed he may have a ways to go. Reinforcing the image of Armstrong-as-machine, it said: "He's no longer a coffee grinder. Now he's an electric fan."
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