Farewell to...Lance Armstrong: Probably the greatest cyclist " and

Most people have a problem with Lance Armstrong, the American cyclist and cancer survivor who retired in July after completing an incredible seventh successive Tour de France victory. Either he's seen as the greatest sportsman of all time, but so driven and invulnerable " so superhuman, in fact " that we simply can't relate to him. Or his enormous achievements are tainted by the allegations of doping that he can't seem to shake off despite having never failed a drugs test.

Whatever your view, the Tour will not be the same without him. The winner in 2006 will no doubt have to face the question, 'But would you have beaten Lance?' The man had become bigger than the event, which partly explains the French antipathy towards him. It culminated just a few weeks after the end of the 2005 race in the sports paper 'L'Equipe' publishing the strongest allegations yet that Armstrong had indeed cheated during his Tour career.

Armstrong has always protested his innocence, defying his accusers just as he defied the testicular cancer that could have killed him in 1997. He remains a hero in America, where he continues to raise millions of dollars for his cancer charity. But among the Tour organisers the memory of him is begrudged. In their heart of hearts, they wish the Armstrong era had never happened. But an era it was.

Copyright 2006 Independent Newspapers UK Limited
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