Naysayers have had something to say about each of Lance Armstrong's Tour de France victories. In 1999, Armstrong's win was not legitimate because he was on drugs and because Jan Ullrich and Marco Pantani were absent. In 2000, Armstrong had a weak team supporting him, and he was on drugs. In 2001, Armstrong's team was still weak, and he was still on drugs. This year, Armstrong was not as strong as he used to be, his team was still weak, and lingering doubts about drug use remained.
The drugs issue should be put to rest until Armstrong tests positive or until drugs are found in his possession. As for the team being weak, nothing could be further from the truth. In 2002, U.S. Postal Service was second in the team time trial and in the team competition. In the Pyrenees, on Mont Ventoux, and in the Alps, Roberto Heras and Jose Luis Rubiera were there for Armstrong. On the lower slopes and on the flats, George Hincapie, Pavel Padrnos, Vyatcheslav Ekimov, Floyd Landis, Victor Hugo Pena, and Benoit Joachim kept the man from Austin in the front and out of trouble. During Stages 11 and 12, Rubiera's and Heras's long pulls up the sides of mountains blew away the competition and enabled Armstrong to surge to victory. Make no mistake: There is nothing weak about the U.S. Postal Service.
Armstrong is as strong as ever. Just ask ONCE directeur sportif Manolo Saiz, who openly discussed launching multiple attacks on Armstrong in the mountains. The ONCE men wound up chasing Armstrong's attacks unsuccessfully. Some of Armstrong's competition, particularly Joseba Beloki, has come up a notch, but Armstrong remains the man to beat--by a wide margin.
The 2002 Tour saw the beginning of the end of an era in cycling. Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) rode his last Tour de France and won the mountains and combativity classifications. Shortly before the Tour, Abraham Olano (ONCE) announced that he would retire at the end of the 2002 season. Throughout the Tour, the former world champion and Vuelta winner rode loyally for Joseba Beloki. Lesser riders, such as Jonathan Vaughters (Credit Agricole) and Kevin Livingston (Telekom), also announced plans to retire or to de-emphasize European racing.
In one key area, the 2002 Tour marked the changing of the guard in cycling. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) won the points competition from Erik Zabel (Telekom). Zabel had won the classification for the preceding six years, and in 2002, he has shown signs that he is not as fast as he used to be. The German has been an interesting part of the history of the Tour de France, and his defeat gives rise to some sadness.
One thing did not change: ONCE's overall excellence without producing a Tour de France winner. ONCE riders finished second, fifth, and sixth. The Spanish squad won the team classification and the team time trial. As was the case during the Indurain era, the team had no one to match against the Tour winner. A few days before the Tour's end, Saiz said that he had led the team during the Indurain era and that he now leads the squad during the Armstrong era. ONCE's directeur sportif has suffered a hard fate.
What remains for Armstrong? Next year, he will attempt to become the fifth man to win the Tour five times and the second to win it five consecutive times. The Texan can expect the competition to come up another notch. This year's best young rider, Ivan Basso (Fassa Bortolo), will have a year's experience under his belt. Last year's best young rider, Francisco Mancebo (iBanesto.com), finished seventh in 2002 and might begin next year's Tour as one of the favorites. Joseba Beloki (ONCE) will mount a challenge, as will Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank), who finished eighth in his first Tour. If Santiago Botero (Kelme) can ride consistently for three weeks, he could pose a serious threat to Armstrong. Do not rule out the Texan, however. He is nothing if not crafty and determined. Those qualities will serve him well as he begins his drive for five.
