There is something about Texan Lance Armstrong that tweaks French nerves like nothing else can. The seven-time Tour de France winner, after a three year retirement, returned to the ‘Great Loop’ this year, finishing third.
Begrudgingly – and with more than a hint of suspicion that the Tour is somehow soiled by Armstrong – Mustapha Kessous of France’s Le Monde reaches the surprising conclusion that, ‘To exist, Lance Armstrong and the Great Loop depend on one another.’
And why would a Frenchman skeptical of Armstrong’s accomplishments say such a thing? In a word – ratings. After describing how Armstrong created his own false myth, Mustapha Kessous writes in part:
“With the return of Lance Armstrong, the organizers have seized a golden opportunity: to revive the Great Loop, which had been undermined by the issue of doping. Over the past ten years, the Tour has lost 1.5 million viewers. In 2006, ratings reached an average of 3,500,000 viewers per day. In 2008, it plummeted to 3,250,000. … Despite the lack of suspense, the public, which no longer has confidence in the performance of the riders, have nonetheless been drawn to the saga of Lance Armstrong: the Tour attracted 3.8 millions viewers for a 38.6 percent share for all viewers – the highest ratings since 2005
“To exist, Lance Armstrong and the Great Loop depend on one another. The American has become the new face of the Tour de France: the face of a sport that is closer to wrestling in which everything is spelled out in advance. Except in the case of a fall … or a positive test.”
By Mustapha Kessous
Translated By Sandrine Ageorges
July 28, 2009
France – Le Monde – Original Article (French)
What memory of the 2009 Tour de France will prove the most lasting? The coronation of Spaniard Alberto Contador? Perhaps. But more likely, it will be the return of Lance Armstrong to the top of world cycling. Because the American, although he finished in third place, is the big winner. During the three weeks of racing, he imposed his vision of the Grande Boucle [the Great Loop – nickname for the Tour], which he definitively tipped into the realm of spectacle. In 1993 at age 21, Armstrong had already sensed the potential of the race. He said then to l’Humanité reporter Jean-Emmanuel Ducoin: “this is a grand spectacle and I want to pull it off [translated quote].” At nearly 38 years old, he has learned the essence of the race: the accumulation of great performances and the scene at each stage obscure the issue of their true sporting value.
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