It won’t be an exaggeration to say that the Tour de France has gone beyond being just a bicycle race. It is as big a spectacle with as much following as any other sporting event. Besides the hundreds of thousands of spectators that line up the roads to watch the race, fans in more than 150 countries get glued to the TV sets to watch the engrossing performance that unfolds every July on the roads of France.
On Saturday morning, in the Vendee region of France, the 108th edition of the Tour will get underway and with it will begin another edition of three-week long intense drama on two wheels. All emotions — agony, pain and ecstasy — will be on full display as the best bicycle riders cover the gruelling distance of 3400 odd kilometres over 21 stages. However, sadly, in recent years, the Tour — as it is known — has been plagued by doping controversies. And this year too, the world’s most prestigious bicycle race will be starting under the shadow of yet another doping saga.
Alberto Contador’s status as defending champion is still hanging in balance. About a month after the 2010 Tour, it was revealed that traces of banned substance clenbuterol (a muscle building drug) were found in Contador’s urine sample during a routine test in the 2010 Tour.
Though it was suggested that the amount of clenbuterol found was not high enough to help him gain performance advantage, the three-time Tour champion was still suspended by the Spanish cycling federation. However, he was later cleared by the disciplinary committee of the Spanish national body.
Contador’s defence was that the substance had entered his body after he consumed contaminated meat.However, the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) and International Cycling Union (UCI), cycling’s governing body, appealed against the Spanish cycling federation’s decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The decision of this appeal in CAS is still pending and is expected to be delivered in the first week of August, 10 days after this year’s Tour gets over.
The CAS decision will determine whether Contador remains the 2010 champion. The appeal will also apply to 2011, in case Contador justifies his status of being the pre-race favourite to win this year’s Tour. If CAS rules against Contador, he will be stripped of his 2010 title and the 2011 result.
There was a debate on whether Contador should be allowed to participate in the 2011 Tour considering that the verdict about last year’s doping controversy was still not out. On June 16, the UCI said, though the circumstances surrounding Contador’s participation in the Tour this year were regrettable, he should be treated like every other rider who starts in the Tour.
Despite the suspense surrounding the fate of his 2010 title, the Spaniard is again the firm favourite to claim his fourth Tour title. Contador, who has been hailed as one of the most talented riders ever, has had a perfect build-up to the Tour winning the Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy) in May in a convincing fashion.
Along with winning the 2011 title, the Saxo Bank rider would also be keen on winning the hearts of cycling fans this year. In last year’s Tour, the Spaniard was not the most popular rider after he took advantage of his nearest rival Andy Schleck’s misfortune (he had dropped his chain) during a mountain stage and claimed a crucial lead to win the yellow jersey at an important point of the race.
Another fallout of last year’s doping saga has been that Contador has stopped eating meat since the 2010 Tour. Contador had blamed contaminated meat for the traces of clenbuterol found in his body. His team, Saxo Bank, will also have its own cook this year. “In the team, everything from the vegetables to the pasta to the bread will be prepared by the team’s own cook. That way, we can guarantee the food is fresh and has quality,” he has been quoted as saying.
Chasing Contador again for the third time in a row will be Andy Schleck. The Luxembourgian rider has been a runner-up for the past two years. Last year, he had looked strong, determined and confident of winning his first Tour before Contador dug deep in his reserve, to deny Schleck his share of ultimate glory. The Leopard-Trek rider, who has won the white jersey for the past three years, will again pose the biggest challenge to Contador in 2011.
Known for his climbing skills, Schleck is one of the few riders who can keep up with Contador in the tough mountain stages. His weakness is the time trial, something which he will have to improve in order to unseat Contador this year.
Ironically, what could work in favour of Schleck is the fact that Contador would be trying for a Giro d’Italia and Tour de France double this year, something that has not been achieved since 1998 when Italian rider Marco Pantani won both the races.
Winning Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in the same year is considered to be a herculean task since both races are extremely demanding and there is very little time to recover between them. With most of his challengers skipping the Giro in order to concentrate on the Tour, Contador will have his work cut out. Besides Contador and Schleck, the other contenders for the 2011 title are Robert Gessink, Bradley Wiggins, Cadel Evans and Ivan Basso.
Meanwhile, in yet another development, reports linked former rider Wim Vansevenant, who was supposed to have acted as VIP chauffer for the Omega Pharma-Lotto in this year’s Tour, to doping products. Following this announcement, the team issued a statement saying, “it had stopped all cooperation with the Vansevenant, who retired in 2008.” The statement also mentions that Vansevenant was going to do VIP chauffer duties for just one week and that he had no contacts with the team riders.
—The writer is a freelance journalist
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