Two cyclists near the end of a long road

First, Lance Armstrong, 33, left, one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, ends weeks of speculation and announces that he will retire at the end of the 2005 Tour de France.

Just a couple of hours later, an anti-doping agency issues its long-awaited ruling that cyclist Tyler Hamilton, 34, right, is banned from professional cycling for two years for using transfusions to pump up the ability of his blood to carry oxygen.

This isn't the way I wanted this day to turn out. I wanted Lance to say that he was going to ride in all the major races, so that those critics in France, Belgium and elsewhere couldn't say, “Oh sure, he was great, but he was no Eddy Merckx.” And I wanted to believe Tyler and have that agency say, “Sorry. The tests were flawed. Our bad.”

I think it's ironic that two cyclists whose careers have been so intertwined could see the end of the road on the same day.

Lance and Tyler, about the same age, both rode on the US Postal team, Tyler in a supporting role. Tyler eventually went off on his own to head other teams — CSC and Phonak — but always in the shadow of Lance, who kept on racking up championships. And, in the 2003 Tour de France, he rode in de facto support of Lance again. After Lance, wearing the yellow jersey, caught a fan's lunch bag and flipped off the bike, it was Tyler who raced ahead to rival Jan Ullrich and warned him to abide by the unwritten rule of the tour — don't attack the leader while he's down.

Granted, this might not be the end for Lance and Tyler. Lance could go on and coach future Tour de France hopefuls, and Tyler could return to competitive cycling in 2007. The blogger at TDF 2005 says that at age 36, that's doubtful.