I guess I should undeclare all photos of me cycling in either US postal or T Mobil cycling tops, such as here where A. and I topped out Col de Madeleine (1993m) in 2009, having a meal at the top before descending -the first time my son had been over 40mph on a bicycle before. Those burley tagalongs corner well -the rack mount gives them a good CofG, but are not so good off road.
Regarding the TdF, I was down in Grenoble in '98, and almost drove up to Annecy to catch the stage there -I chose to head east and ride Galibier from both sides instead. That was a good choice, as that was the day the riders had a sit down strike "If you make the drug tests harder -make the tour easier".
This shows the problem. The riders want to win -but the TV companies wanted exciting television; the little towns wanted the intermediate sprints, as did that French betting company (PMC?), the sponsors wanted the TV coverage. EPO and blood doping were the dirty little secrets: undetectable drugs that meant from Indurain's era onwards, all winners of the TdF probably cheated.
It's hard to blame or criticise Lance Armstrong here, because, well, that was how the game went that year -and it wasn't just the cyclists who benefited.
Me: I just regret not taking an afternoon out from Geneva in 1988 to catch Lemond.
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