海角大神

At a ceremony here Wednesday full of high-octane hoopla to unveil next year鈥檚 route, the Tour de France turned its back on the man who once dominated the event longer than any other, and looked resolutely to the future.

Lance Armstrong鈥檚 name was on nobody鈥檚 lips. His image flashed onto the screen for only one split second, seemingly by accident. He has been erased not only from the record books, but from the Tour鈥檚 public memory.

The Tour de France is desperate to shake off scandal, three days after the International Cycling Union (UCI), cycling鈥檚 ruling body, stripped Mr. Armstrong of all his titles since August 1998, including his record seven Tour victories, and banned him for life from competitive cycling, for his use of performance enhancing drugs.

鈥淭he Tour will be stronger than doping and trickery,鈥� declared Jean-Etienne Amaury, president of the company that owns the Tour, to applause from the thousands of spectators gathered in Paris鈥� largest theater, along with the French minister of sport, to learn the details of the 2013 Tour, the 100th edition of the event.

In its wake, the Tour will leave the record books blank for the period 1999 to 2005, Armstrong鈥檚 winning streak. Only one of the riders who finished on the podium during those years is not tainted with proof or suspicion of drug use, according to the US Anti-Drug Agency, making it impossible to find worthy replacement winners without going far down the standings.

Despite this cloud, the sport鈥檚 flagship event will bounce back, says Marc Madiot, a former Tour rider and now manager of the Francaises des Jeux team. 鈥淭he Tour de France has a capacity to regenerate itself that we might not suspect,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t is deeply anchored in the French populace.鈥�

The ordinary French people who turn out to watch the Tour each year 鈥� and there are 12 million spectators each July 鈥� see the race as a metaphor for life, Mr. Madiot suggests, which makes them more tolerant of doping. 鈥淟ife itself is never simple,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here are ups and downs and disappointments, and the Tour is like that too.鈥�

'The Tour still has its shine'

The event still appears to have retained its international appeal; TV stations in 190 countries will be broadcasting next year鈥檚 Tour, Mr. Prudhomme said Wednesday.

鈥淭he Tour still has its shine,鈥� says Cam Winstanley, editor of 鈥淧roCycling鈥� magazine in Britain. 鈥淚t is still the great prize. People may be blaming the riders, but they are not blaming the race.鈥�

The malaise afflicting the Tour in the wake of the Armstrong scandal, Mr. Winstanley points out, is much wider than that one race, which is emblematic of cycling. The whole sport is affected.

鈥淭here is no doubt that this 鈥� is the biggest crisis cycling has ever faced,鈥� UCI President Pat McQuaid said Monday, accepting the USADA report that Armstrong had been at the center of 鈥渁 massive team doping scheme, more extensive than any previously revealed in professional sports history.鈥�

Mr. McQuaid recalled past drug scandals, however, and pointed out that 鈥渢his is not the first time that cycling has reached a crossroads or that it has had to begin anew.鈥� He insisted that 鈥渃ycling has a future.鈥�

What role the UCI will play in that future, however, is still uncertain. The international body is responsible for both promoting the sport and for policing it 鈥� improving its image and catching its cheats.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a toxic combination under one roof,鈥� argues Ryan Newill, a columnist for 鈥淰elo鈥� magazine in the US. 鈥淭he fox is guarding the henhouse.鈥�

Were Armstrong and cycling officials in cahoots?

The USADA report, along with French drug testers, has even raised suspicions that UCI officials were in league with Armstrong, giving him advance warning of tests so that he could manipulate the results.

鈥淎ll drug tests must be done only by organizations completely independent of the cycling federations,鈥� insists Cyrille Guimart, a sprinter who won seven Tour de France stages in his career.

That is a commonly held view amongst reformers, but UCI leaders do not appear to share it. Asked Monday whether the organization should split up its regulatory and promotional roles, McQuaid replied, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see why we should.鈥�

鈥淚 see very little way forward with the folks and structures in place at the moment,鈥� worries Mr. Newill.

That might mean that Amaury Sports Organization, the company that owns and organizes the Tour de France, will have to take its own measures, suggests Madiot, whose team regularly contests the Tour. Until now, as part of the UCI-run 鈥淧ro Tour鈥� series of events, the Tour de France has accepted all the riders and teams that the UCI has presented it with, regardless of their doping history or reputation.

鈥淭he Tour de France is strong enough to say no if it wants to,鈥� says Madiot. 鈥淚t should refuse to accept teams with a bad reputation.鈥�

The future of cycling

鈥淭here can be changes in cycling if the Tour de France takes the right decisions,鈥� agrees Mr. Guimart. 鈥淚f they don鈥檛, they will be missing an opportunity, and if they do that they will bear responsibility for the degradation that will follow.鈥�

Already, the signs of that possible future can be discerned.

Michel and Sylvie Rochefort had brought their young charges from the Bois d鈥橝rcy junior cycling club, outside Paris, to Wednesday鈥檚 ceremony because 鈥渢he Tour de France makes the kids dream,鈥� says Mr. Rochefort.

But their small amateur club is not thriving. 鈥淭his year we had no new members,鈥� explains Ms. Rochefort. 鈥淧arents don鈥檛 want their children to get involved with cycling because of the doping image.鈥�

鈥淭he doping stain on cycling may not hurt the Tour de France,鈥� adds her husband. 鈥淏ut it is penalizing amateur cycling a lot.鈥�