French cycling's desperate bid for relevance backfires

French cycling hasn't had a hero since admitted doper Richard Virenque retired. Consider for a moment the irony of the "I'm a celebrity get me out of here" winner and poster-child of the Festina scandal being the Great White Hope of French cycling for so long (at least since the days of, oh, say JF Bernard or Luc Leblanc). This, perhaps, puts in perspective French cycling's pathetic need to draw attention away from its consistent lack of international success characterized by moments like this. Can't win your own big race? want a French Paris-Nice champ? Make it French only! The problem with the plan, apparently, is that the rest of the cycling world has grown a pair and is standing-up to this nonsense. We at Cycopaths have a sneaking feeling that French cycling will end-up much like Narcissus, with a long and glorious past ruined by believing it's greater than it is.