Goodbye Lance

January 25^th 2009. That’s when this photo was taken. Almost four years ago to the day. It was a photo taken by an avid cycling fan. A fan that had just stood right next to the greatest athlete the world had ever seen. To this fan, it was the greatest sporting moment of his life. He was within touching distance. So close that he was the recipient of Lance’s own livestrong yellow wristband.

Two weeks I threw out that livestrong band. Just like that it was gone. Just like his 7 tour titles, the wrist band was gone. The reason I threw it out was not the message that livestrong stood for; that I support and always will. The reason I threw it out was because it stood for the greatest lie betrayal cheat deception that has ever existed in sports. Not only that but it meant that those 7 years of watching the greatest yearly sports event meant nothing any more. It meant that the whole reason for my trip to see my sporting idol was built on lies and deceit. It meant that this photo will no longer be something for me to proudly show off. Now it’s just a reminder of every emotion that we have all had since he first rode down the Champs Élyseé wearing the Maillot Jaune in 1999.

A lot has been written in the weeks since that interview. Most of it concerns how cycling as a whole will cope and move forward, or what legal proceedings will be in store for him. Some even discuss whether he will be allowed to compete professionally in the future. But for your average Sunday rider, your cycling mug that only watches The Tour each July, or a Phil Liggett of this world, it means something closer to home, something a lot more personal.

My love affair with the tour started in the early 90’s with Big Mig. I don’t remember much about those tours. It was before the days of Mike Tomalaris, before the world class coverage that SBS now provides, before the cyclists even knew what EPO was. Indurain along with Uzbekistan’s finest Djamolidine Abdoujaparov started something that has led to July being the month of little sleep. Even through the Festina saga of 1999, my enthusiasm and love for the race continued to grow.

1999 marked a turning point. Cycling was about to go mainstream thanks to one man from Texas. In ‘99 gone were the cheats, this was the ‘Tour of Renewal’. It was the tour when an Australian first won on the Champs Élyseé. More than anything, it was the tour of Lance. He dominated from start to finish winning four stages along the way.

The next year he won again and we saw performances like this:

Imagine watching that live!!! The previous two winners going head to head on one of the most famous stages in cycling and Armstrong simply jumping across the gap. Fast forward 12 years from that and one is dead and the other one probably wishes he was sometimes.

5 more tours followed. Every year I would get my official race magazine weeks ahead and look forward to analysing his opponents and seeing if he could be beaten. I thought how lucky I was to be watching all of this, to be witness.

After 7 Tour victories he retired as arguably the greatest athlete the world had seen. Even without the survival, even without the foundation, no one is meant to win seven Tour de France’s, let alone in a row!! How lucky were we all?

Then the cracks started appearing. First Floyd Landis spoke out. But who was going to believe a proven cheat. Then journalists, masseuses and other disgraced cyclists. Our argument to all those cynics: he has never failed a drug test. Then it was time for the comeback and what better place to start than beautiful Adelaide. My Dad and I drove around the South Australian country side for a week catching a glimpse of them before speeding off to another random point to watch them go past again. Robbie McEwen, George Hincapie, Oscar Perreiro and more were there, but that didn’t matter to most people (or the South Australian government), they just wanted Lance.

That was the crest. It never got better from there. He rode in the tour again coming 3^rd and 22^nd. The very next year Tyler Hamilton came out with his initial claims which I dismissed along with many others. Again, how do you believe a proven cheat?

My moment of realisation came at a strange time, though not an uncommon one for me, on the way to golf. In fact I was to be the best man that day, for my own best man, when a call came through from a friend who you will hear plenty about, Smithy. He asked what I thought about the whole situation. This was weeks after Hamilton’s 60 minutes appearance and book, and a few days after the USADA had handed down their ‘reasoned decision’. My answer was pretty plain and simple: he’s guilty. At that moment, the same moment that sports fans around the world would have, I realised that I no longer cared about Lance Armstrong. It’s not so easy just to forget about it. I still own the books, I still have the DVD’s and the official Tour guides but feelings for Lance Armstrong have now gone. Just like my care factor for him, just like the livestrong band.

In the end though, come this July, 198 cyclists will continue a tradition that not even a fraud from Texas can ruin and they will do so as clean as ever, or at least that’s what we have to believe.

Looking Back

Firstly, welcome to the fan fare. This is your fortnightly (or any other time something happens) insight in to the world of sport. From the US, to Europe and my own back door, no sport will be left out. Before we look ahead, it’s time to look back and recap.

12 months is a long time in sport. Just ask Ricky Ponting, Casey Stoner or LeBron James. In fact for a lot of Australian sports fans the last four holes of the British open were far too long. On the other hand 16 days of London 2012 was barely enough. Just as we had worked out the difference between a Waza-ari and an ippon, just as we knew which upstream gates were the toughest and just as Channel 9 had finished showing James Magnussen’s ‘failures’ for the 27^th time it was over.

But in a year when so much happened how do you summarise it and not miss something? Plenty of events, people and teams missed out but only what first came to mind on New Year’s Eve made the cut.  And the rest? Well honourable mentions will have to do.

Honourable mentions:

Australia’s Olympic Sailors, Casey Stoner’s retirement, Sebastion Vettel’s three peat, Black Caviar’s Ascot assault, Manny Pacquaio’s ‘loss’ and loss, Wild Oats half dozen, Adrian Peterson's knee and Peyton Manning's neck, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal winning where they are meant to, Fabrice Muamba’s survival, Brisbane Roar’s brilliance, Anna Meares comeback, Spanish Football, Queensland rugby league, Frankel and many more.

Disappointments (Just to balance things out): Australia’s Men’s 4x100m relay team, Australian tennis (looking at you Tomic), Channel 9’s Olympic coverage, NHL players and owners, Australia’s Men’s 4x100m relay team, NRL video referees, Women’s Badminton, Steve Hooker’s jumping or lack there of, New South Wales rugby league and did I mention Australia’s Men’s 4x100 relay team.

As good as the above were, this is what truly made 2012 one of the best.

London 2012

You couldn’t start with anything else. Every four years it transforms us. Whether it be Michael Phelps becoming the most prolific gold medallist of all time (though he did lose this time), to the excitement of James Tomkins as our K4 men crossed the line or getting excited about the prospect of going home and watching sailing, cycling, archery or equestrian all night.

But for me three things stood out above all else.

1. British athletes and their success. As hard as it is for Australians to say, the Brits pulled off their best impression of Sydney 2000. If it wasn’t Britain’s version of Cathy Freeman, Jessica Ennis, taking gold it was Bradley Wiggins and his sideburns (and two gold medals), or it was the Scot’s; Andy Murray and Sir Chris Hoy. I am sure knighthoods won’t be far away for them all. But the darling of the UK had to have been Mo Farah and that smile. The Somali born runner will be an enduring image for London 2012.
2.       Usain Bolt. Was there ever a doubt? The Beast was a mere sideshow/model for Usain as he became the first man to hold the sprinting double-triple of the 100m, 200m and 4x100 in consecutive Olympics and the first sprinter to win 6 gold medals. If that wasn’t enough he then proceeded to perform one of the most remembered victory celebrations of all time. We don’t need to call him a legend…… he did this himself.
3.       Last but not least is Sally Pearson. The last time there was this much pressure and expectation on an athlete was 12 years ago. Bruce McAvaney called that night ‘special’ and this night was too (or 5:40am in Australia). In a sport she had dominated all year, it all came down to 0.02 seconds. On that rainy August night, Sally became Australia’s golden girl of London 2012.

The Premiers

18 months after being the public enemy number one in Australian sport, the Melbourne Storm won their ‘second’ premiership. In a season that involved Queensland’s 7^th State of Origin win, Ben Barba’s emergence, countless video refereeing bungles, the threat of the Titan’s folding and the new Commission, it was the best team of the last decade that showed why it had won those premierships no matter what the record books say.

With the NRL trophy heading south to Melbourne, it was only appropriate that the AFL premiership cup headed north to Sydney. The Swans, under new coach John ‘Horse’ Longmire continued to show the success a well structured and coached team can have. Like the Storm, defence shone through and though their players may not be recognised by most in their home state, they are this year’s premiers and no one can argue they deserved it.

The Internationals

Most of us didn’t look outside of our shores this year unless it was checking on Cadel, watching Scotty collapse at Royal Lytham, or watching the usual cast of Nadal and Federer. That said we may have witnessed two of the greatest athletes to grace their respective sports have their finest year.

Lionel Messi scored more goals this year than anyone else has scored in a year. What he did this year was move from the realm of soccer fans and EPL diehards, to mainstream sports superstar. I'm not an expert enough to speak of what he has done and become, so I though I would let this clip just show it (number 71 against Deportivo is my favourite)
               

In the US, one man stood out above all. Many of us might not quite appreciate the expectations that were on 

LeBron James in 2003 but 9 years later the decision of 2010 became an afterthought as he led the Miami Heat to the NBA title. To go along with that he added a third MVP, a finals MVP and just to round out his cabinet he added a second Olympic gold medal. For me, he is one of the most gifted athletes on the planet. For a man over two metres tall and almost 120kg to move like he does….. it is just breath taking.

*International side note. I’d like to apologise to Andy Murray on behalf of all the doubters. I’m the first to admit that I didn’t think he belonged in the same conversation as the big three, but it was only fitting that after losing his home grand slam in true Henman style to the greatest tennis player I’ve ever seen, he went on to prove everyone wrong. The Olympics aren’t a grand slam, but that was just a precursor to his epic 5 set win over the world number 1 in the longest ever US Open Final, and weren’t there tears. Well done Andy!

The High & The Low

With all that said and done its time to move on to the high and low point of the 2012 season.

Low point: Come on down Mr Lance Armstrong. Like many other cycling fans the defence of no positive tests was all I needed to hear to presume innocence. Did I not want to know the truth or did I just want to believe I was watching greatness? Then the USADA and Travis Tygard came in and proved what needed to be proved. That cheating has no place in cycling and that you will get caught. I felt betrayed. After years of defending him, it meant nothing.

What will I do this July after all of that is said? Sit up and watch every stage again like I have since Miguel Indurain ruled cycling.

High point: Here it is time to celebrate. Time to celebrate both the most prolific year and the most prolific career in Australian cricket history. Michael Clarke turned the Australian public unlike any other sportsman has done. He did this by scoring more runs in a calendar year than any other recipient of the baggy green. If his triple century wasn’t enough he added a double and four other centuries.

As good as he was, the year ended with the end of the greatest cricketer of my generation. Ricky Ponting didn’t have the fairytale finish, but after 17 years of effortless pull shots, stunning on-drives and fielding that we haven’t seen the likes of before or since, he didn’t need it.

For all that 2012 held, it was a 38 year old from Mowbray, Tasmania I will remember most.

Image courtesy of news.com.au (http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2012/12/04/1226529/974055-ricky-ponting-perth-final-innings.jpg)