Floyd Landis and the Tour de France as epic5
Guy WR posted in Classic Stages, Doping on October 18th, 2007
The Tour [is an] epic [which] expresses that fragile moment of history in which man, however clumsy and deceived, nonetheless contemplates through his impure fables a perfect adequation between himself, the community, and the universe. — Roland Barthes.
The excitement was palpable as the group tumbled out onto the narrow street. There was a visceral buzz in the air and incredulous conversations were continuing, in English, French, Dutch, and German.
The group, a few minutes ago packed into the tiny cafe under the lodge in the village of Huez, had just witnessed an incredible riding feat. Clutching glasses of cold beer (whose prices had fallen dramatically from two days previous) close to their chests, everyone had jostled and strained to see the small TV set perched on the bar as Floyd Landis ripped apart the pro peloton and rode his remarkable solo ride up the Col de Joux-Plane and down into the finish at Morzine.
It was a incredible comeback and the entire cafe felt a curious camaraderie as if sharing in a momentous, historical occasion.
Out in the street, in the warm summer late-afternoon air, no-one wanted to stray too far from the scene - as if wanting to bathe in the moment for as long as possible. One American fan, not normally lost for words, could barely speak. “Goddam Floyd,” he kept mumbling. “Wow…” (more…)
