Cricket has never been popular in France. Yet France Soir newspaper appears to have taken inspiration from cricket's Ashes legend for its lament for the Tour de France's latest doping disaster.
The Ashes, the name given to test cricket matches between England and Australia, recalls a satirical obituary in The Sporting Times for English cricket after an early Aussie victory. France Soir's cover similarly presents a mock death notice for the Tour de France at the age of 104 after a long illness.
Satire aside, the 2007 race was developing into a fascinating context, as fans hoped that cycling had put its drug addiction behind it. So the news that race leader Michael Rasmussen and pre-race favourite Alexandr Vinokourov were out of the Tour over doping allegations was the worst possible blow for fans. How bizarre that Britain's tabloid media were getting excited about whether cannabis should be reclassified at the same time that participants in one of the world's greatest sporting events were habitually taking drugs.
My sympathy lies with cyclists like Britain's Bradley Wiggins, whose heroic breakaway on stage six was one of the highlights of the 2007 Tour (see Guardian report). Wiggins has spoken out against cycling's drugs culture. Yet his Tour is over as his team, Cofidis, pulled out after its rider Cristian Moreni failed a dope test.
Nine years ago, the Tour de France descended into scandal as the Festina team was the centre of doping allegations and police raids. Last year's winner Floyd Landis is still protesting his innocence after failing two drug tests after the race ended. (See my post Tour de France 2006 - the missing year. This year's developments suggest that cycling still hasn't got the message: that it can only survive if it becomes clean. The mystery is that cycling teams can still find sponsors. Companies are rightly becoming more concerned about being associated with events that are embroiled in controversy. Carphone Warehouse famously suspended its Celebrity Big Brother sponsorship after the allegations of racist comments about Shilpa Shetty. How long before companies like Rabobank, the Dutch bank that sponsors Michael Rasmussen's team, decides there are better and less risky ways of promoting its brand?
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