STAGE TEN

I loathe Richard Virenque. We spend lots of time here trying to give props to some of the more anonymous riders in the Tour, as it's a greuling event and if you manage to even finish, you deserve some measure of respect. But I'll make an exception for Virenque.

No rider symbolizes the drug problems in the sport better than Virenque. He and his Festina team were center stage when the doping controversy reached its peak. And while lots of guys have been found to be using drugs, most have shown some measure of remorse. But not Virenque. If anything, the French, desperate for anybody French to win anything, have embraced one of the sport's biggest scumbags.

It's not just the drugs or his demeanor (see Jason's post), it's his cowardly tactics. This is a guy who wins the polka dots by attacking on the weaker mountain stages that the real climbers conserve energy on. He wins King of the Mountains despite getting his ass kicked on Ventoux. It just pisses me off. I cannot stand him at all.

But I will say it is nice that on Bastille Day, A French rider wears yellow and another French rider wins the stage. It's just a shame one of those riders had to be Virenque.