This year again the Tour de France made the headlines, and this year again it was not for the beauty of the landscapes it crossed, nor was it for the difficulty of its stages or for the performances of its cyclists.

While Floyd Landis’ 2006 Tour de France title is still debated, the leaders of this year’s edition have fallen to doping tests and suspicions. The French authorities have searched cars and hotel rooms, and entire teams have packed their bags and left home.

Moreover, the Radobank team sacked Denmark's Michael Rasmussen, the yellow jersey and clear favourite, on suspicion of doping, a first on the Tour.

 Rasmussen, 33, failed to inform his federation of his whereabouts during his pre-Tour training and lied when asked to explain himself. He has not been tested positive for any illegal substance but was, nevertheless, sacked on suspicion.

The message is clear: doping will not be tolerated. The organisers of La grande boucle (in English, the big loop) aim to eradicate doping in the cycling world and until it does so its new nick name – ‘The Tour de Farce’ – is likely to stick.

But what, then, can be done to restore the Tour’s reputation? Sanctions alone will not produce a dope-free Tour. The difficulty of the Tour, its length and the number of pics to be climbed should be reduced. The increasing difficulty of the Tour is part of the problem.

More importantly, private teams should be abolished for national teams financed by sponsors. National federation will be obliged to control their riders and the reputation of an entire nation will be at stake if they fail to keep their riders clean.

Finally, other countries should display the same willingness to fight doping France has.

Meanwhile, the Tour 2007 has been tainted by yet another scandal. The organisers should do the right thing – end it now and start fresh next year. Maybe this will send a strong enough message to those who think they can still get away with doping.

What do Expatica readers think? Let me know at damien.leze@expatica.com

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Copyright AFP

Subject: French news