The history of the Tour de France records several amazing riders. However, two of them show an exceptional profile amongst a group of 160 bicycle riders who climbed to the podium. Armstrong, with 7 wins at astounding speeds of above 40 km/h, remains unsurpassed. He made a comeback in 2009, finishing third with a gap of 5 minutes 24 seconds, and made still another try in 2010, ending at the 23rd place, with a gap of 39 minutes and 20 seconds. In October 2012 Armstrong was banned for life and stripped of all his titles since 1 August 1998, including all his Tour de France victories. He is not the only one to have his titles taken away for having tested positive on drug abuse. In fact, the doubt is cast on all riders, whatever the control results — for many critics, winning the Tour became a matter of cutting edge medicine and pharmacy, rather than physical capabilities. The issue is not limited to cycling, but it spreads to all professional sports.

Another exceptional rider is Raymond Poulidor, the sempiternal French "second" who climbed as often as Armstrong (8 times) to the podium, unfortunately without ever experiencing the thrill of coming home first. However, his perseverance and sheer courage made him an extremely popular figure in his times, overshadowing the Tour de France champion himself, epitomizing in the popular imagination the character of the gallant, heroic although tragically unhappy fighter.

Sources: Le Tour de France and Le Dico du Tour

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