It will be dark and conspicuous and moving at the speed of a Trek bicycle that retails for around $7,000. It will follow Lance Armstrong as he wins a sixth consecutive Tour de France on Sunday, as he glides down the crowded Champs-Elysees, a champagne flute in one hand and his place in history engraved within each bladed spoke.

Europe will notice the cloud of suspicion hovering above him.

We will not.

Europe will again perceive Armstrong's triumph as tainted.

We will view it as more concrete proof of his marvelous skill and extraordinary resolve.

Europe will think doping.

We will think jealousy.

Europe will offer a sensible (albeit circumstantial) argument for its stance.

We will begin discussing the NFL season.

"I definitely think there is a certain degree of denial among Americans about Lance Armstrong," said Dr. Richard Lustberg, a New York-based sports psychologist. "He is almost like Superman, our own Peter Parker. He beat cancer. He has overcome other issues in his personal life. He comes off as the All-American boy with a squeaky-clean image. We assume there is no possible way he could be cheating.

"But it's like Kobe Bryant being on trial (for sexual assault). We don't really know these people at all."

Know this: Armstrong's sixth victory is assured barring a French civilian (has anyone seen Jacques Chirac?) purposely sticking out his leg and causing a dreadful crash during today's time trial up the Alpe d'Huez. Beyond that, expect U.S. Postal Service teammates to protect Armstrong during the final stages as a rhinoceros might its young.

I will always view Armstrong's story as a victory of the human spirit, a tale that has provided so much hope for those who battle the frightening sickness that is cancer. His disease began in the testicles and spread to his lungs and brain. And he crushed it like just another fading pretender in the Pyrenees. There is no debating he is a physical marvel, and yet many abroad continue to question how he is fueled up those treacherous mountain stages.

Americans don't prescribe to such innuendo because we remain a glass-is-half-full culture, one that trusts its athletes and their word (you know, like sprinter Kelli White), that rarely researches enough to understand the complexities of an issue like doping, that has no problem closing its eyes if it means not tarnishing the image of the latest sports star we have unwisely placed upon a pedestal.

Do we defend Armstrong more because he beat cancer?

Or because of some patriotic sentiment that stems from the splintering of diplomatic relations between Washington and Paris?

Or because, unlike many athletes embattled in the doping controversy, he is white?

"It would be naive not to consider (race) playing a part in our support of him, but I'm not sure it applies in this case," said Lustberg. "The world sees Lance Armstrong race one month each year. In some ways, he's under even more scrutiny than someone like Barry Bonds. It's also true France could be jealous that he keeps winning. They don't like us much right now, and we don't like them."

Cycling has been dirty for years and has seen at least 16 riders disqualified from this tour alone because of drugs. Those who run the sport openly admit the war rages on, and it's doubtful sports such as baseball and track and field come close in terms of how much doping goes on with the world's top cyclists.

Armstrong's physician is under investigation in a doping scandal and awaits trial on drug charges. His longtime coach was linked to a steroid case in 1990 involving two American riders who claim they were unknowingly drugged. His former personal assistant is a central figure in the new book "L.A. Confidentiel: Les Secrets de Lance Armstrong," which chronicles the sport's disheartening state.

His boyhood idol – yes, even Greg LeMond – has questioned how clean Armstrong really is.

And yet we will tell the world again Sunday that Armstrong has been tested as often or more than any athlete of his stature, that his blood has never once been shown to include the endurance booster EPO or any other banned substance.

Europe will tell the world there are hundreds of illegal drugs (including countless forms of EPO) that still can't be tested for, that if BALCO has proven anything, it's that drug tests mean nothing in a time of human growth hormones and designer steroids.

We will ask to see the smoking gun.

Europe will be unable to produce one.

We will take Lance Armstrong at his word.

Europe will think us fools.

We will bask in the glory of another yellow jersey.

Europe will point to that dark and conspicuous cloud.

And nothing at all, really, will be resolved.

Anyone for some Freedom Fries?