I posted this piece last year, but as the Tour de France is starting today, here is last years piece on why the Tour de France is still great, despite heavy doping by some of the top riders:

Lance- Letting the pistons do the talking

 No matter what happens in cycling, and what doping does to the image of the sport, it is still one of the greatest sports on the planet. Here are my top reasons why the Tour de France, and cycling in general are still the greatest things on earth:

It produces real heroes

Some of the older generation will recall the days of Greg Le Mond and Eddy Merckx. But todays youth are inspired by a one Lance Armstrong. He came back from testicular cancer to win the tour a record breaking 7 times. He blew the sporting world apart with his determination, his focus and his strength. He has inspired a generation and only a bike race like the Tour de France can produce heroes on a scale like that. Lance went on to start his Livestrong foundation, which offers support to people living with cancer. It is also a great force in making government spend more money on cancer research and treatment.

Lance went on to show that the tour can be won by being clean. People still argue that he must have used drugs to produce his phenomenal performances, but as much as they still test his blood samples, nothing ever comes up. I don’t think Lance was stupid enough to have used drugs. He has way too much to lose. If his blood samples did in the future show drugs, his entire foundation would be disgraced. Lance was the one out training when no one else was. If you read his book and articles on him you will see that while boys like David Millar were out relaxing, Lance was training. Lance would weigh his food and test aerodynamic positions in the wind tunnel. He was involved in every aspect of the sport, and was fanatical about equipment. He would even sometimes use an old school gear lever mounted on the frame for mountain stages, instead of the newer ones mounted on the brake levers to save weight. He would use an unpainted bike to save a few grams. He was fanatical about this stuff. That’s how the tour is won. That is how heroes are made. I don’t think we will ever know how many people Lance has inspired, but it’s millions. In fact he has inspired an entire generation of people.

It’s for everyone

Cycling as a sport is for people of all ages. I have been to countless mountain bike races where I have seen parents riding alongside their kids and enjoying themselves immensely. I have seen people of all ages, sizes and races coming together on weekends to enjoy a cycle surrounded by like minded, healthy people. It’s a sport that unites people, makes them smile and keeps them healthy. It breaks all boundaries, and out there on the bike we are all equal.

It is also suitable for elder people, as it is low impact, and once you know how to ride a bike, you never forget. Not many people are going to be wake boarding or skiing in their sixties, but plenty of people cycle in this age group, and even in higher age groups.

It allows us to focus

Out on the bike you come to appreciate the beauty of the world we live in. You also come to appreciate what is important in life. You never hear people saying on a bike ride “I wish I had more money” or “I wish I had a better job” Out on the bike we come to enjoy the simple things so much more. We appreciate those sips of water, those views over the ocean, the mountain or wherever our bike rides take us. I have cycled through the Knysna forest in the pouring rain for The Karoo to Coast mountain bike race, into Die Hel in Oudtshoorn for the To Hell And Back mountain bike race, through Montague, over Chapmans Peak and I have experienced things you don’t normally experience. You don’t often get to walk next to someone, carrying your bike in the pouring rain in the Knysna forest, not saying anything, your legs too cold to pedal your bike, but still having the time of your life. You don’t often get to descend a hill in the pouring rain with no rain jacket with some riders coming close to hypothermia, and then reaching the bottom of the hill to find that some of the race organisers have built a bonfire to keep the riders warm(This was To Hell And Back). You go from freezing cold, to laughing around a fire with people you have never met. It’s these things that make the sport unique, and it’s about experiencing another side of life that does not come from going out and drinking and doing drugs. Cycling is real.

Not all sports are saintly

While this does not justify drug use in cycling, it is a good point nonetheless. Cycling has some of the strictest drug testing in the world. Cycling as a sport realises it has a problem, and drug testing is its way of getting rid of the guilty riders. Obviously they catch lot’s of riders doing drugs, and this makes people think that cycling is full of cheats. However, if other sports had to be as stringent with drug testing, they would no doubt also find that many of their athletes are using drugs. Cycling is not afraid to admit it has a problem. Of course they could do drug testing less regularly, and then they would not find as many riders guilty. This would make it seem like a clean sport, but all that means is that riders would be using drugs, but would just not be found guilty. This is pointless, and I would rather we have big drug busts in the press, as we then know the drug testing is working.

You still feel like you are flying

You never lose that feeling of flying when you are on your bike. Going downhill at 60km/hr with a smile on your face, not worrying about anything, feeling like a kid again and nothing else comes close to that.

It holds the worlds attention

Every year when the Tour de France comes around, you will hear even non cycling fans talking about it. It’s like a World Cup, only it’s not! Everyone speaks about the Tour de France, and many people learn about how professional cycling works by watching the Tour de France and listening to the legendary commentators Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin. It’s a race that holds the worlds attention, a sport that captures the imagination of everyone, due to the extreme nature of the sport and the iron will of the riders.

It shows that South Africans can still do it

Robbie Hunter became the first South African to ride the tour a few years back, and in 2007 he became the first South African to win a stage in the Tour de France, riding for a South African sponsored team, Barloworld. As I always say, we don’t have a lot of South Africans in the top ranks of sports, but the ones we do have are the very best. Ernie Els in golf, Oscar Pistorius in athletics, Ryk Neethling and Roland Schoeman in swimming and Greg Minnaar in downhill mountain biking. We can do it. And we do.

It has the most beautiful podium girls!

Enough said

As much as the tour suffers all the time due to drug scandals, to me it is still the greatest race on earth. Three weeks of sheer pain, suffering and a race where careers are made and lost. The Tour de France has it all- intrigue, speculation, anger, suffering, joy, pain, ecstasy and above all it is a race that pushes the human body and the mind to the very limit. It shows the resilience of the human body and mind and inspires millions.

This is cycling

This is my sport

And damn…I love it.

Sean Lloyd

Editor