Lance Armstrong won his sixth Tour de France, that love/hate letter to human stamina and Gallic geography

National Review, August 23, 2004

* Lance Armstrong won his sixth Tour de France, that love/hate letter to human stamina and Gallic geography. In the best tradition of competition, Armstrong's rival cyclists hailed his record-breaking feat, Ivan Basso of Italy calling him "supersonic." But poor sportsmanship, and bad politics, infected some of the fans during the Alpine leg of the race, in which two Germans spat at Armstrong, and another, wearing a "F*** Bush" T-shirt, chased after him.

(Jean-Marie Leblanc, director of the Tour, called the foul fans "idiots.") Sport in general has become more gross in recent years, from tennis tantrums to soccer violence. It is sad to see the manners of Old Europe touching the Tour de France. Of course, John Kerry would put a stop to it by working with our allies.