Lance Armstrong recently declared to have some political ambitions. This
case is thus not only the occasion for him to show his political opinions
(he was seen with George W. Bush at Crawford), and to cut the sport links
which seemed to link him with France, to join this category of political
agitators who, on both sides of the Atlantic, disappoint much more than
they gather, and poison the relations between Paris and Washington. One
would undoubtedly have hoped better from a former sportsman.
That shows a marked misunderstanding of who and what Lance is. If Lance were
trying to kiss up to George W Bush, he'd be supporting the war in Iraq. He
doesn't. He's said he's against it, a mis-use of resources & human life etc.
I am 100% in opposition to most of GWBs policies, and yet, given the chance
to ride with him, I wouldn't hesitate for an instant. It's something you
don't pass up, perhaps hoping that, if he's surrounded often enough by
reasonable people, something reasonable might rub off on him. Or perhaps
it's just that once-in-a-lifetime thing, or you're simply curious, whatever.
But I don't think it says anything whatsoever about Lance's political
leanings. It would be more accurate to make claims that they both show
similar stereotypical Texan traits.
My goodness, the guy has all but come out and said the only bike race worth
riding in the world is in France. It's not as if he's dissing the country.
He's showing an enormous amount of respect/desire/whatever. His ego is big
enough that he could probably rationalize that his mere presence could turn
*any* of the classics into a similar media event. He could take his act to
Italy or Spain and wreck havoc on the Peloton there. But he didn't.
--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
Montesquiou wrote in message
...
Translation by
fdelangre - 5:45 AM ET September 1, 2005 (#12328 of 12335)
Forum : Wester Europe - NYT
Lance armstrong against France
here a French specialist on international affairs comments the political
exploitation of the case :
http://fr.news.yahoo.com/050901/295/4k9w2.html
IRIS (Paris) - the revelations concerning doping with EPO of the American
cycling champion ance Armstrong, seven times winner of the Tour def
France, are agitating for now several days not only the sports world,
sport, as one would have exepected it in such a case, but also, and that
is more surprising, the polirical world. In blaming the French
laboratories and media, Lance Armstrong suddenly revived the resentment
between France and the United States appeared with the begining of the
military operations in Iraq in spring 2003,.
The American media, CNN and Fox News at fist, seized the case to point out
the "clinical" animosity of the French towards the United States and the
most famous of its champions. In a talk show of the most famous American
TV broadcast in the world, that of Larry King, diffused in the whole
world, Armstrong pointed the jealousy of Europeans, the French in
particular, toward America and of its boys.
This issue is also the occasion for the amateurs of "french-bashing" to
start again their attacks. The blog website "f**kfrance.com" is delighted
by the case, proposing new messages of insults as stupid as unbearable.
The American champion would be thus victim of a plot fomented by the
French authorities... From the "freedom fries" to the case " Lance against
France ", the level frankly does not seem to have been raised higher.
The "French alibi", so useful in the difficult moments (the war against
Iraq, the accusations during the election campaign 2004, or the Newsweek
scandal), made its great come back, and recalls thus, if that was
necessary, that animosity toward France remains very deep in the American
conservative media, ready to use the least occasion to make disappear all
critics on their actions, and to focus the attention on their favourite
enemy. The American media are the brightest proof of this trouble, which
is not with their advantage.
On a more sportive level (but is it about sport?), the accusations of
Lance Armstrong against those who question his honesty are, if not
founded, at least understandable from a sportsman on the defensive. On the
other hand, the fact of wanting to attack France in a general way seems to
be as ridiculous as unappropriate. Should it be recalled here that the
other victorious American runner of the Tour de France, Greg Lemond, which
had moreover was well known for having defeated in 1989 by eight seconds
the French champion Laurent Fignon, is cherished by the French public,
which never had any resentment against him. But, on the contrary with the
champion of the 80's, Lance Armstrong recently declared to have some
political ambitions. This case is thus not only the occasion for him to
show his political opinions (he was seen with George W. Bush at Crawford),
and to cut the sport links which seemed to link him with France, to join
this category of political agitators who, on both sides of the Atlantic,
disappoint much more than they gather, and poison the relations between
Paris and Washington. One would undoubtedly have hoped better from a
former sportsman.
Barthélémy Courmont is a researcher of the IRIS (Institute of
International and Strategic Research). He recently wrote "the wounded
empire : Washington facing with asymmetry", Montreal, PUQ, 2005 and
"America of Bush: stakes of a reelection", Paris, CVMag, 2005.