World Wants Tour de France Despite Doping Scandals, So Says Prudhomme
LONDON, March 5, 2008 (AFP) - Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said here Wednesday the global interest in hosting a stage was proof of the race’s enduring appeal despite a succession of doping scandals.
Prudhomme said the success of the ‘Grand Depart’ in London last year had led nations as far afield as Japan and Qatar to want to host parts of the Tour de France.
Cycling, and the Tour in particular, have been hit by numerous drugs revelations in recent years and the 2007 edition of cycling’s most famous event was overshadowed by fresh doping controversies involving riders from several leading teams.
But Prudhomme, speaking alongside London Mayor Ken Livingstone at City Hall ahead of a meeting to discuss the race returning before the London 2012 Olympics, said the events of last July had boosted the Tour’s global reach.
“I will never forget the Grand Depart,” he told reporters.
“I recall the looks exchanged between the riders in Trafalgar Square. They could not believe their eyes, they could not believe the crowds and the overwhelming enthusiasm.
“We all felt we were part of something special and unique.
“We now have an official bid from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates. The president of the Japanese Keirin Association came to visit us in Paris suggesting we should have a prologue round the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
“We have had contacts with Estonia, Portugal and Scotland. These official bids and contacts also include Rotterdam, Utrecht, Dusselsdorf, Budapest, Bilbao and more.
“We now have 15 foreign bids to host the Grand Depart and some 220 bids for a race of only 30 stages.
“Ken, I hear you are keen for the Tour de France to come back to London. We cannot not consider coming back. Yes Ken, we shall come back.”
London Transport commissioner Peter Hendy ruled out the tour returning to London next year but said he hoped it would come back soon afterwards.
This year’s Tour and the upcoming Paris-Nice event have been threatened by a contractual dispute between organisers Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) and the International Cycling Union (UCI).
But Prudhomme said it was inconceivable the global governing body would go ahead with its threat to suspend riders who competed in ASO events.
“I can’t believe a responsible international federation would allow over 160 leading riders to be suspended. The French Sports Minister, Bernard Laporte, offered mediation but the ICU president said ‘no’.
Meanwhile, Prudhomme insisted he understood the impact of doping on cycling’s credibility. “It is our number one problem. The authorities should concentrate on solving this problem and let the cyclists continue in their races.”
He added: “There are (drugs) ‘passports’ for cyclists. According to the official figures, that’s 800 cyclists.
“Other sports have this problem,” he added, pointing out how Ben Johnson been stripped of his 100 metres gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics after taking a banned anabloic steroid.
“Some people will take drugs for the honour glory of winning a sack race,”
he added.
Livingstone, reflecting on last year’s ‘Grand Depart’, said: “It was the only weekend all summer we had brilliant weather, so God is clearly a cyclist.
“It’s certainly my hope that I or my successor will be bidding for another ‘Grand Depart’ sometime before the 2012 Olympics.
“But the other option we have is that London should stage a stage of the race and that is a much easier thing to organise.”
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