Road Is Bumpy at Start of Tour

After a year of accusations and investigations, the Tour de France starts amid a big question: Can the cycling showcase recover from the drug scandal that overtook last year’s race.

Even as the 180 riders on 20 teams were gathering for today’s prologue at Le Puy-du-Fou in western France, recriminations from last summer’s debacle still abounded.

The former director of Festina, the team at the heart of the scandal, spoke of drug use among riders. He alluded to former team member and French star Richard Virenque, who denies having used illegal substances.

Bruno Roussel, one of two Festina officials who has been banned from the sport, said the drug demands of the riders became “incredible.”

“Given their state of dependence, it was no longer possible to talk to them, to do anything,” Roussel said in Friday’s French sports newspaper L’Equipe.

Virenque remains under investigation on drug charges, but he will be riding today.

On Wednesday, the Tour de France bowed to cycling’s governing body and readmitted the rider. Organizers initially barred him because his “presence would be incompatible with the image of the Tour.”

The International Cycling Union, citing a technical error, ordered organizers to rescind the ban. Race director Jean-Marie Leblanc called the order a “takeover by force.”

“We have been prevented from leading our rehabilitation,” he said.

In addition to Virenque, now with the Italian team Polti, the cycling union ordered Tour officials to drop their ban of Manolo Saiz, sporting director of Spain’s ONCE team.

Leblanc fears the decisions will make it tougher for the sport to shift the focus to cycling.

The Tour begins with nobody happy. Riders are furious about what they say is a witch hunt. Sponsors are wary of supporting a discredited sport. Many fans are simply fed up.

Making things worse, many stars are not competing, among them defending champion Marco Pantani.

The Italian said the course didn’t suit him. But his place would have been in jeopardy anyway after he was kicked out of the Tour of Italy last month. A blood test showed he might have used a drug that increases stamina.

The two previous winners are injured--Jan Ullrich of Germany and Bjarne Riis of Denmark.

Two other riders, Casino’s Laurent Roux and Cofidis’ Philippe Gaumont, have been banned, as have the entire TVM and Vini Caldirola teams. World No. 1 Laurent Jalabert of ONCE is boycotting to protest the treatment of riders.

With the field open, Virenque, a top climber in good form, looks to be a favorite. Also in contention is last year’s surprising third-place finisher, American Bobby Julich of Cofidis.

Another American to watch is former world champion Lance Armstrong. He was diagnosed with an advanced stage of testicular cancer in 1996 at 25. Armstrong races for the U.S. Postal Service team.

Other strong contenders: Climber Christophe Rinero of Cofidis, Tour of Italy winner Ivan Gotti of Polti, Alex Zuelle of Banesto, and Abraham Olano of ONCE.

In today’s prologue, a four-mile time trial at Le Puy-du-Fou, time trial specialist Chris Boardman of Britain appears the favorite. Boardman won last year’s Tour de France prologue in Dublin but had to abandon the race in the second stage because of a fall.

The race covers 20 stages and 2,286 miles. It is about 125 miles shorter than last year’s race and features an extra rest day. The finish is July 25 in Paris with the traditional ride up and down the Champs-Elysees.