France Vs:

Lance Armstrong

Part One in an Ongoing "France Vs:" Series

Today, France takes on the world's all time greatest cyclist, Lance Armstrong. L'Equipe, one of France's premiere sports news providers, is engaged in an ongoing allegation of impropriety on the part of the cancer-fighting Texan. Apparently, somebody got suspicious that a guy with hostile cells in his testicles, brain, and lungs could win seven Tour de Frances; under particular scrutiny is Armstrong's 1999 victory. The French publication quotes numerous cycling officials, including: former president of the French Cylcing Federation, Daniel Baal; French team Cofidis manager Eric Boyer; and even Jean-Marie Leblanc, director of the Tour de France.

Leblanc is extremely vocal about the impact of the scandal on the Tour:

Le Tour est choqué. On ne pouvait s'y attendre même si la personnalité de Lance Armstrong était controversée, sujette à une certaine suspicion à côté de l'admiration qu'il suscitait. J'oscillais pour ma part entre l'admiration et la prudence à cause des articles, des procès en cours. On peut dire qu'il n'a pas fait sept ans de vélo sur le cours d'un fleuve tranquille... Dès la première année, en 1999, il y a eu suspicion.

What this means for you freedom lovers out there is that Lance has been under French suspicion since '99, but even Leblanc found himself "occilating" between the the power of Lance's legend and incredulity at its improbability.

Armstrong's defenders have nevertheless mustered an indignant response. Eurosport dismisses the charges as a series of ad hominem attacks on Lance's "lack of emotion."

At any rate, the eurosport article lazily conflates recent political animosities between the U.S. and France with L'Equipe's overall anti-Armstrong sentiment. The Iraq war seems to have little to do with whether or not Lance cheated in '99. Meanwhile, L'Equipe does look pretty bent on tearing down America's yellow-jerseyed Horatio Alger story, so who wins?

Preliminary Verdict: The Planner loves American heroes, no matter how ridiculous their rags to riches stories happen to be. We even endorse a little fudging of the rules when times are tough. Lance had cancer. Then he won seven Tours. A few visits to the blood doctor just don't seem to matter.

France's standing record: 0-1.

Addendum:Funny, though pretty much irrelevant to the actual doping charges, is drug company Merck's sponsorship of Lance. He had cancer! And he's suspected of employing medical science to enhance his performance! Now buy some Propecia!