Lance Armstrong's victory in the Tour de France has given the troubled event a welcome lift 12 months after it was torn apart by drugs.
The American's brave battle with cancer has rammed home more firmly than ever how the Tour rises far above the domain of sport as entertainment.
For the host nation, it is an embodiment of their culture - which is why last year's traumas was so hard to take.
This year has seen the French have to endure another trauma - failure to win a single stage for the first time in 73 years - but at least the race was palpably `cleaner'.
Though cleaner, the Tour was not without controversy, with the forced reinstatement of personae non gratae Manolo Saiz of ONCE and controversial Frenchman Richard Virenque, he of the Festina team thrown out last year.
Saiz had initially been cold-shouldered for his insulting remarks towards the Tour after he refused to cooperate with police anti-doping raids 12 months ago.
While Armstrong took the plaudits, riding above media suggestions he was not drug-free, drugs remained on the agenda, with 11th stage winner Ludo Dierckxsens of Belgium banned for taking illegal synthetic hormones to treat a knee injury.
Within hours of Dierckxsens going home French rider Christophe Bassons reignited the doping tinderbox.
The Francaise des Jeux rider sparked a storm by describing Armstrong's performances as "disgusting".
But as Armstrong basked in the glow of victory the world's media were hopelessly divided on the merits of the race and his triumph over adversity.
Those who chose to cast stones, cited Dr Armand Magret, head of the French Cycling Federation's medical commission.
With the French press howling in indignation at the "two-speed Tour" - containing riders who were clean and those they believed were not - Dr Magret stated: "Doping has not been eradicated - there is cycling at two speeds."
In fact, if you accept that some riders still at least use questionable techniques there was cycling at three speeds: The clean, the unclean and those who didn't show up.
For the absence of the previous three winners - Denmark's Bjarne Riis, Germany's Jan Ullrich and Italy's Marco Pantani - as well as world number one Laurent Jalabert of France, certainly weakened the field.
The Texan's win, the United States' fourth after Greg LeMond's hat-trick in 1986, 1989 and 1990, was founded on three time trials and a brilliant mountain stage ride at Sestrieres, as well as intelligent climbing and intense preparation.
Tour director Leblanc blasted the doubters for the "scandalous manner with which people sometimes treated him (Armstrong).
Armstrong's achievement was a "flawed fairytale" for some or the "sweetest victory of them all." For others the truth was somewhere in-between.
Either way, the French fans have accepted Armstrong as a Tour hero.
