A 24-year-old rider and a survivor of serious brain surgery wins a 104-year-old, 2,200 mile race against nearly 200 older, more experienced competitors by a mere 23 seconds.

In the end, after fearlessly fighting off attacks for the race’s last four days, Spaniard Alberto Contador took both the famed yellow jersey, as well as the white jersey given to the best young rider, in this year’s Tour de France. Contador was the youngest and newest winner in 10 years.

And, if that were all there was to the story as we finished up the race this weekend, it would have to be considered one of the more satisfying Tour de France victories in memory.

But, unfortunately, Contador and the rest of the vast majority of riders who gutted it through the world’s most famous and grueling race without chemical or medical enhancement are not the story this year. The story this year is how a handful of over zealous riders put themselves above the rules of the sport and tarnished the beauty of this race yet again.

So what does the Tour de France do now?

What anyone does when they hit rock bottom? It’s time for the Tour de France and the cycling community together to take a long hard look at how they got there. Then, they must make some changes. Pick up the pieces. Dust themselves off. And start over again.

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They’re dropping like flies, these Tour de Francers.

Last week I reported on the T-Mobile team’s lovable loserness, as they went swerving off the road and out of the race, sending old men, poodles and mobile-phone executives flying all over the place.

At that point it looked like pre-race favorite Alexander Vinokourov’s tour was done too. He was sliding further and further back in the pack thanks to bloodied knees he sustained in a crash on the race’s third leg. A week ago, he cried for reporters after another dismal day.

Then he started winning again, taking the 15th stage in bold fashion. An amazing recovery! Alexander is back!

Nope - dope. A blood transfusion to be exact. A week later and his race really is over. His team, Astana, has pulled out over the controversy.

Then it was revealed that Italian rider Cristian Moreni had wayyyyy too much testosterone. While this is prevalent at monster truck rallies and Hooters Restaurants across the U.S.A., it’s not welcome in the Tour de France. Moreni and his team, Cofidis, are out of the race.

And now, the yellow jersey has been ripped off the back of Michael Rasmussen. His team, Rabobank, pulled him after it was revealed he skipped some pre-race blood tests. It’s only the second time in the race’s 100+ years that the leader has been booted.

It may be difficult to tell from the headlines, but in the midst of all this, clean, un-doped riders are hauling ass across the French countryside in an amazing display of guts, grace, skill and stamina.

Hopefully some of them will make it to the finish line on Sunday.

RED

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Well, the happy news is that Robert Hunter of South Africa won the Tour de France’s 11th stage Thursday. It was the first Tour victory of his career and the first stage ever won by a South African.

But for every heartwarming story in the Tour de France, there are miles of heartache.

As Dane Michael Rasmussen charged uphill to take the lead Monday, the T-Mobile team not only lost its yellow jersey, but its team leader as well. Michael Rogers hit a guard rail going downhill and banged himself up pretty good. He tried to press on but couldn’t continue, sobbing over his handlebars.

After the race, another T-Mobile rider, 26-year-old German Patrik Sinkewitz, slammed into a 78-year-old spectator as he was heading to the team hotel. The man was hospitalized in critical condition, and Sinkewitz’ race was over as he suffered a broken nose and jaw.

But T-Mobile’s week wasn’t over yet, as Sinkewitz tested positive for too much testosterone, sparking doping concerns. The doping test was a surprise, occurring June 8, a month before the race. After he gets out of the hospital, he now faces the prospect of losing his job and forfeiting his salary.

Then, adding insult to injury on stage nine, T-Mobile support rider Marcus Burghardt hit a dog.

At the end of the Thursday’s stage 11, Rasmussen retained the overall lead he captured in the Alps on stage eight, now standing at two minutes 35 seconds ahead of Alejandro Valverde and another four seconds in front of Iban Mayo.

RED

The first week of the 2007 Tour de France has been hairy. Even when everyone stays on their bikes, the week has seen some thrilling descents and lots of 50+ kilometer-per-hour paces.

Day one brought a surprise finish from Australian Robbie McEwen, who broke from the pack and took the first stage in the last 50 meters after having been downed by a crash just a few minutes earlier.

On day two, with about a mile left, a ghastly 20-bike pile-up left several riders with tender limbs. About 20 riders broke away from the mess and teammates Tom Boonen and Geert Steegmans of Quick Step ended up with a one-two finish.

Days three and four were more conventional, with a lollygagging stage three going to the overall leader Fabian Cancellara, and Norwegian sprinter Thor Hushovd bursting ahead to capture day four.

But Thursday was again a wild ride. With eight climbs, hairpin turns and a nutty descent at the finish, bikes were flying off the road all over the place. It was a tough day for Alexandre Vinokourov, an early favorite who fell hard, gamely took to his bike with bloody knees and slipped from No. 12 overall to No. 81. In the end it was Filipo Pozzato’s day as he squeaked out the stage win.

As of Thursday, Cancellara, who also won the Tour’s prologue time trial last Saturday, has held the yellow jersey each of the first six days. That could change this weekend, however, as the peloton moves into the Alps. There are nine other riders within a minute of the pace.

RED

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