PORTO VECCHIO, Corsica — They grew up watching Lance Armstrong win the Tour de France every year. Now American riders like Andrew Talansky and Tejay Van Garderen carry a burden.
Talansky and Van Garderen are 24 years old and the pick of the six Americans in this year’s 100th Tour, which begins Saturday in the Corsican harbor town of Porto Vecchio. They will be contending for the white jersey awarded to the best young rider.
This is the first Tour since Armstrong acknowledged doping. Cycling may well be much cleaner because of aggressive anti-doping measures, but the stigma persists. Van Garderen thinks it will be hard to fully regain the trust of home fans that was broken by Armstrong.
‘‘I mean, we can try, but what can you really do? You have to just make a decision to ride clean, which I have, and hope people start taking an interest again,’’ Van Garderen said. Full story for BostonGlobe.com subscribers.
