French love for Tour de France endures despite spectre of doping Britain's Chris Froome wears the yellow jersey during the Bourg d'Oisans to Le Grand Bornand stage of the Tour de France No French rider has won for almost 30 years, its image has been deeply stained by doping scandals and this year it looks like a Brit will win for the second year in a row. Yet French enthusiasm for the Tour de France, which ends its 100th running in Paris on Sunday evening, shows no signs of flagging. When the cavalcade came to the small Alpine valley town of Chorges on Wednesday, thousands of cycling fans filled the streets to cheer the riders home at the end of the day's stage. "Look at all this!" exclaimed Colette Vernissac, who works locally in the restaurant trade, gesturing at the hubbub as the racers came whizzing over the finishing line one by one, completing the day's individual time trial. "It's the first time a stage ever ended in Chorges," Ms Vernissac said. It's spectacular. What an atmosphere! We have had lots of people in the town all week. It is tourism that creates jobs around here. We don't have many factories. The 100th tour (the race was first held in 1903 but missed several years) began in less than auspicious circumstances. It is the first since Lance Armstrong of the US, a seven-time consecutive winner, admitted he had used performance-enhancing drugs and was stripped of his titles. That brought to 12 the number of tours since 1995 in which the winners had been caught or admitted to doping. The spectre of doping has hung daily over this year's tour. French media coverage and internet chat has been dominated by unsubstantiated speculation that Chris Froome, leader of Britain's Team Sky and race leader, was doped, amid incredulity over his dominant performances. "Froome Naturally" was the ironic headline on the front page of L'Equipe, the sports daily, after the Kenyan-born rider stormed to the top of the notoriously hard Mont Ventoux last Sunday. It is tourism that creates jobs around here Colette Vernissac, restaurant worker in Chorges Froome has made exasperated protestations of innocence and both he and his Sky team have vigorously rejected all such accusations. But the denials seem almost irrelevant to the watching public. "I was always convinced Armstrong was doped," said Vincent Massé, a care worker for the disabled, as he prepared to get on his own bike to go to watch the time trial. But they are all great sportsmen despite the doping. André Roulet, a retired IT engineer working as a tour volunteer, added: "It doesn't surprise me that people think Froome is doped when you see the way he flew up Mont Ventoux. I cycle a lot around here, in the mountains. I have lots of little things I take to help the pain in the muscles. I know I couldn't do what they do. This willingness to overlook the sport's scandals seems reflected in the wider audience for the tour. The television viewing figures in France this year are up 5 per cent on last year's tour, won by the UK's Bradley Wiggins, capturing 40 per cent of the daytime audience, according to France Television. The millions of French people who come out on to the streets and roadsides to watch the 21 stages have been augmented by thousands of foreign tourists who follow the race. Hundreds of French towns apply every year to host a stage. The race, with its vast advertising caravan which precedes every stage, remains a money-spinner for Amaury Sport Organisation, the tour organiser owned by the French media group EPA. I don't blame the riders for the doping. It's a phenomenon of today's society. At least they are not taking heroin or smoking hash sitting on a PlayStation all day Bruno Bille, spectator Bruno Bille, an account manager from Liege in Belgium, came to Chorges with his son Antoine, aged 9. Like many spectators, both were on their own bikes and in racing colours. He thinks the undiminished popularity of the tour is down to the combination of its toughness and its democratic nature. There is no charge for watching and the public can mingle with the racers around their team buses at the end of the stages. "Cycling is a free sport and it's the hardest sport," Mr Bille said. At least they are not taking heroin or smoking hash sitting on a PlayStation all day. I'm not for doping, but I understand it in a way. I've decided it should not spoil my enjoyment or that of my son. The 100th tour will end on Sunday with an evening race from the palace of Versailles to the finish on the Champs Elysées. The French will be sorry that they must wait at least another year for a local hero to succeed Bernard Hinault, the last French winner in 1985. But the crowds in Paris will attest to an event that appears almost impervious to adversity. "The tour has kept its magic despite the doping," said Claude Vincent, a retired postal service manager and another volunteer in Chorges. It's about the dreams of champions. The riders are idols, even if they dope.