Redemption? You?d have to think so, and not before time. After as gruelling a trek through the gutter as any sporting code or event has ever endured, cycling is suddenly back. No drugs, a fierce competition over some hellish stages, assorted drug-free drama, and, in grand Hollywood tradition, the stage set for a mouth-watering sequel in 2010. Welcome back, Tour de France. We?ve missed you.

The return of the man who has come to define modern cycling could have further damaged a badly wounded event. Lance Armstrong?s departure left a void in a battered, drug-stained race, and no Lewis Hamilton rose to take the place of Armstrong?s Schumacher, and thus divert attention from the sordid depths the Tour had sunk to. Bringing back the quintessential champion risked not merely overshadowing the rest of the race, but also working the enthusiastically rabid French media into another Armstrong doping witch hunt.

Instead, the return of the king worked perfectly. Who didn?t watch the headlines nervously each morning, waiting for dark news of a failed test or illegal substance, de rigeur for professional cyclists in recent times? Yet those headlines didn?t come; instead, the central conceit of this year?s race was a rivalry that was always going to spill over, the presence of two giants of cycling in the same team needing the barest of flames to ignite. That duly happened, and the Armstrong/Contador dynamic became central to the renewed enthusiasm with which this year?s Tour was met.

And what enthusiasm there was. In the midst of a looming Tri-Nations, an Ashes series, an Open Championship that almost became sport?s greatest ever tale, and the start of the Absa Currie Cup, sporting debate still found time for animated discussion on the vagaries of the Tour: the tactics, the teams, the challenges, and the Astana politics. And day after day, Phil Liggett, who surely owns cycling like no other single commentator has owned a sport since Murray Walker, played high priest to another service, the Tour suddenly revived and once more followed with devotion.

There would have been a certain poetry to Armstrong returning victorious, but for all the headlines, it would have been a short-term success. A Contador victory after a mesmerising duel with Armstrong was a fitting conclusion, not least because Contador rode quite splendidly, and showed a devastating strength in the climb. That Armstrong finished on the podium lent credence to the race, without overshadowing it ? and set the perfect stage for the American to return next year, as head of a new team, for an almighty battle with the Spaniard.

The supporting cast also played a substantial role in ensuring that 2009 wasn?t simply the Lance Armstrong show. The Schleck brothers made an aggressive statement, Mark Cavendish had a strong Tour (and kept the British media in near hysterics), and Thor Hushovd, who seems to have been around since Penny Farthings were in vogue, emerged atop a green jersey race that gave us a grand sub-plot. And as a peloton, the riders showed that Tour de France riders are simply the most supreme athletes on the planet.

Lingering suspicions about those athletes haven?t entirely disappeared, the last few years not written off by one good year. But this year?s Tour has gone a long way to setting cycling?s marquee event ? and in turn, cycling as a whole ? back on its feet, and restoring our faith in what now has the potential to once again become one of sport?s cornerstone. Lance Armstrong?s return was integral, but it was part of the revival, rather than the sole reason. The Tour de France has returned, and not a moment too soon.

  • So far, so good. Saturday?s win was a solid start, and had Ruan Pienaar not taken on the mantle of Emile Heskey in front of goal, the All Blacks might well have been on the wrong end of a nasty scoreline in Bloemfontein, in which case Graham Henry would now be home and facing treason charges. Victory, and no bonus point for New Zealand, is welcome enough, though, and while questions remain about flyhalf, injuries, and just how big Kobus Wiese can actually get (remember Mickey Rourke in Sin City? Dead ringer), we?re top of the table, with every chance of staying there. So far, so good...

  • Contact Dan at dan@metropolis.co.za