If you bumped into me on the street, you’d never think of me as a cyclist given the pudginess around my middle and the lack of lycra shorts, wildly colorful tight fitting jersey, or funky sunglasses (although I do own these items). I’ve even broken my last Livestrong bracelet and have yet to replace it. However, cycling is a passion of mine even though I haven’t been on the bike in quite sometime. Also, when I speak of cycling, I’m an elitist. I don’t like any of that X-games crap or mountain biking on a dirt trail with all those granny gears. I’m talking pure unadulterated road biking, where the tires are pumped up to 110 PSI and a ½ inch wide strip of rubber keeps you on the road. In a pinch I’ll watch track cycling, but my love is the road.

I was first introduced to cycling by a friend in junior high school and it afforded me something I didn’t have much until that time which was freedom - the freedom to go beyond my the block in my neighborhood and explore.

My interest was only heightened by the story of Greg Lemond, the first American to win the Tour de France, the crown jewel of a sport dominated by Europeans. However, this wasn’t during the time of his first victory, but rather during his second. As if from a Hollywood movie script the elements were all in place for a dramatic victory.

• Greg was making his return to cycling after having been out for two years. He suffered a life threatening hunting accident which left shotgun pellets in his body, including the lining of his heart. He wasn’t really expected to be a contender.
• During the race, his rival ended up being a Frenchman, Laurent Fignon. Over the course of the race which spanned 21 stages over 23 days there were a number of lead changes among the two as the battle was fought in the Pyrenees and Alps.
• Going into the final stage, Lemond was down 50 seconds to Fignon.
• The final stage was a 15.5 mile time trial. The nickname for a time trial in cycling is “The Race of Truth.” It is where the rider is all alone and it’s just himself against the clock – no teammates to help protect a rider from the wind or to help set a pace.
• It was expected that 50 seconds was too much time to make up on such a short course.
• Greg unveiled the use of technology which would come to dominate the sport today during time trials - the use of triathlon handlebars and an aerodynamic helmet.
• The setting was a finish in Paris on the famed Champs Elysees.

So as is tradition in time trials, the order of start is the opposite the current order in the standings which means Lemond would start his time trial next to last and Fignon would be the last man on the course. Lemond asked that his team car not provide him any updates as to how he was doing as he intended to ride all out. Lemond finished his ride and would have to wait to see if it was enough against Fignon. As Fignon came down the home stretch the seconds would tick away. Fignon would cross the finish line and collapse in a heap after his effort. Lemond, on the other hand, was cheering and celebrating the closet margin of victory ever in the Tour – 8 seconds.

Who would have thought a story like that could be topped? Well, leave it to another American to do so – Lance Armstrong. Most people know his story. He was a rising star in the cycling world, even been tagged by some as the next Lemond. But, he was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer which would threaten not only to take away his career, but his life. Lance fought the disease and made a full recovery. After which he came back to cycling and dominated the Tour de France to be the first and only person to win the race 7 years in a row. Before then the most times anyone had won the Tour was 5. Four others had done it and only one of them had done it in consecutive years. Armstrong has used his victories as a platform to raise awareness and raise money for Cancer research.

Now as inspiring as his story was, some thought it was too inspiring. Allegations have always swirled around Armstrong with regards to performance enhancing drugs. However, Armstrong has never had an official positive test. It was getting ugly near the end of his career though as some were convinced he was guilty. Mind you, there was always smoke, but never a smoking gun. There were even tests done on 6 year old samples of Armstrong’s urine which supposedly came up positive, but improper handling of the samples called the tests into question. When Armstrong finally retired, the Tour de France race director made comments to insinuate that the race would be better without him.

Following Armstrong’s retirement, the cycling sport went into a dark period as many of Armstrong’s rivals were found to be implicated in various doping scandals. Even some older cyclists who were no longer in the sport admitted doping. If one considers guilt by association then these findings definitely tarnished Armstrong’s legacy. As a result some cycling teams have begun a new era of transparency where they independently test riders outside of official doping controls to determine a baseline and anomalies against the baseline help to point out a potential issue even though there may not be an official test to catch a specific doping practice.

This new era of cycling and Armstrong’s return to it is what excites me so much. If Armstrong can come back and win it should put to rest all the doping talk. In addition, if he’s able to do it, he would be the oldest winner of the Tour. I’m hopeful that heroes can ride again. Heck, it may even inspire me to head back to France to see him do it again.