It was a year ago that Floyd Landis pulled out all the stops and recaptured the yellow jersey after a very good time trial during the penultimate stage of the 2006 Tour de France. Landis duly rode onto the Champs-Élysées as the 2006 champion of cycling’s toughest race.

Riding with a bum hip, he overcame a number of obstacles in his rise to Tour champion, not the least of which was a bad day on Stage 16, where he lost so much time to the other contenders that he relinquished the yellow jersey and fell to 11th in the standings. The next day, as we all know, he came back and rode a tactically brilliant stage, regaining enough time to move back into contention for the overall win.

Unfortunately for Landis, and the sport of cycling in general, he had about two days to bask in the afterglow of his victory before everything changed. But we’ll save that story for another day. Today is a good day to remember how it felt watching Landis sipping champagne as he rode to Paris and the sight of him standing on the podium, smiling. Those are the images we should remember, along with his epic ride on Stage 17. Getting there was the accomplishment. Landis deserves better than what he’s been through over the last year.

'The news of Rasmussen’s missed tests seems more timed to sully the name of an athlete who has worked hard to get where he is'


In this year’s Tour, the current yellow jersey holder is in the midst of a doping controversy, too. News of missed out-of-competition tests and allegations that he tried to have a friend smuggle blood-doping products into Italy in 2002 threaten to tarnish his image. If that hasn’t happened already. Yet Pat McQuaid told The Guardian that he would rather not see Michael Rasmussen win the Tour. What an awful thing to say.

“From an image point of view, it would be better if it was not Rasmussen but one of the youngest riders winning the Tour,” McQuaid said. “But he has not broken any rule so far since two no-shows are not a doping offence.”

Other than allegations, with no direct evidence (the claims of two individuals), there is no proof that Rasmussen did what he’s being accused of doing. McQuaid would do well to remind people that in the absence of any proof, we should not be assuming the Rasman’s guilt. And for every missed out-of-competition test, there could be a perfectly reasonable explanation.

These days, it seems, there’s a strong desire (at least in some quarters) to tear down any good performance by any cyclist in any race, but especially in the Tour. Are some of the cyclists on this year’s Tour up to no good? Probably a few, step forward the foolhardy who’ve signed on to the UCI’s pledge and are willing to see if they can fool the anti-doping tests.

But the news of Rasmussen’s missed tests, followed by Whitney Richards’ allegations, seems more timed to sully the name of an athlete who has worked hard to get where he is, and who’s not failed a doping test. At least, not yet.

Rasmussen deserves better. Pro cycling deserves better. And the Tour deserves better than the sideshow that’s distracting people from the beauty of the sport and the guts and determination of all who ride and all who finish the race. Just to be in the race is an extraordinary accomplishment. Ask any competitive cyclist who has ever harboured that dream and didn’t have the legs, lungs or talent to make it that far.

We should celebrate that and admire that, and all the cyclists who are giving it their all day in and day out for three weeks every July. That’s what the guys duking it out on the roads of France and her neighbouring countries every summer deserve.