Tour de France Has `Will' to Fight Doping, Race Chief Says
06/06/2007 |
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The Tour de France, roiled by doping scandals involving some of its former champions, has the ``real will'' to eliminate illegal drug use among its competitors, the cycling race's chief said.
``Doping is the enemy of cycling,'' Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France, told reporters today in London. ``We have to work to remedy the problems that occur, but we don't live in some kind of sealed box.''
The credibility of the sport's biggest race is under threat after riders including Floyd Landis, last year's champion, became embroiled in investigations into performance-enhancing drugs. Jan Ullrich, the winner in 1997, quit the sport this year because he said allegations he doped his blood were wrong. Denmark's Bjarne Riis said last month that he used illegal drugs during a six-year period that included his 1996 title.
Prudhomme, who joined London Mayor Ken Livingstone at City Hall, said that doping wouldn't do lasting damage to the race and that sports such as track and field also have drug problems -- Tim Montgomery, the former world record holder in the 100- meter dash, is currently banned from competition for using steroids.
London will host the start of the Tour de France, called the ``Grand Depart,'' on July 7-8.
``It's the Tour de France which creates the champions,'' said Prudhomme, comparing the race to the Wimbledon tennis championships. ``If Boris Becker had won another tournament at 17 and not Wimbledon, he would never have made it so big. It is the great tests which give birth to great champions.''
Economic Impact
The mayor's office forecasts the race will generate spending of 115 million pounds ($229 million), making it the city's biggest sports event in the run-up to the 2012 Olympic Games. Livingstone said the race may help make cycling more popular in the capital.
Livingstone also downplayed the impact of earlier doping revelations on this year's riders.
``They don't carry the burdens of anything that has happened in the past,'' the mayor said. ``You're asking a politician about problems in the past? We all have those.''
Landis, who is accused of having improper levels of testosterone in his body during the 2006 race, would be the first cyclist in the Tour de France's 104-year history to lose his title for doping. He denies wrongdoing and his case is currently being decided on by a three-man arbitration panel in California.
The Tour de France competitors next month will pass London's Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament before snaking through the county of Kent to the historic city of Canterbury.
Prudhomme said that the Giro d'Italia, which ended June 3, had 300,000 more television viewers than usual, a sign that the sport's popularity is undiminished.
(Source: Bloomberg.com)
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