One guy's T-shirt let everyone know he was an Ironman finisher. Another guy click-clacked about the floor in his cleated bike shoes – accentuated by matching Trek jersey and shorts – having just pedaled in from Ramona.

The place sported more shaved legs than a Miss Universe swimsuit competition.

The draw?

Johan Bruyneel, cycling's most successful pro team director, the mastermind behind Lance Armstrong's seven straight Tour de France titles, was in town for a book signing.

During a Q&A with fans, Bruyneel, 43, was asked questions ranging from his riding career, memorable moments with Armstrong to, of course, drugs.

In its TV coverage of this year's Tour, Versus has featured lead-in messages conveying an anti-drug message and the urgency to remove cheaters.

The day before Bruyneel's appearance the Tour was hit with its first positive drug test. Spain's Manuel Beltran, 37, who rode for Bruyneel in Armstrong's last three Tour victories, tested positive for the performance-enhancer EPO.

“It's amazing things like this still happen,” Bruyneel said. “But you can't avoid them. You cannot sleep with the guys. They all have their egos and their ambitions and their fears.”

Since then, two more riders have tested positive for EPO.

Born in cycling-mad Belgium, Bruyneel, 43, enjoyed an excellent pro career as a rider, highlighted by winning two stages of the Tour de France, wearing the leader's yellow jersey for a day and finishing third in the Vuelta a España.

When he retired as a cyclist in 1998, Bruyneel wasn't sure what his next career choice would be. Armstrong, having recovered from his life-threatening bout with cancer and finishing fourth in that year's Vuelta, wanted Bruyneel to speak with a U.S. Postal executive.

Turns out Armstrong wanted Bruyneel to run the team.

“How am I going to do that?” Bruyneel told the executive. “I don't even know what the job is.”

Saying he follows his instincts, Bruyneel took the job, in large part because he believed in Armstrong. Bruyneel remembers e-mailing Armstrong, telling him he thought the Texan could win the Tour.

Recalls Bruyneel: “He called me and said, 'What are you thinking? I think we can win some stages. Tell me what stages I have to focus on.' ”

Bruyneel told Armstrong he was talking winning the Tour, not just stages, and by the end of a conversation said, “We might as well win,” which is the title of his book.

Bruyneel brought innovative ideas to the Tour de France, such as: concentrating almost solely on the Tour; introducing two-way radio communication with riders; conducting spring camps at key stages of the Tour.

“I just don't know if it would have happened had him and Lance not crossed paths,” said Doug Morgano, a Ramona cyclist who attended the book signing. “(Johan) found the perfect match for his obsession and attention to detail.”

For the first time in a decade, Bruyneel is not fielding a team in the Tour. He took over the Astana team after last year's race. Astana was banned by Tour organizers after two of its riders were ejected for doping during last year's Tour.

After Armstrong's seven straight Tour de France titles (1999 through 2005), Bruyneel won his eighth championship last year with the young Spaniard Alberto Contador.

Recalled Bruyneel: “(I got) some indirect hints from journalists and colleagues in Europe, saying, 'It's easy for you. You have the strongest guy.' For me, it was something I had to do. I had to win at least once without (Armstrong).”

To Bruyneel, none of the Tour de France titles ranks as his most memorable feat.

In 1993, Bruyneel's 53-year-old father, an avid cyclist, died five weeks before the Tour. He had suffered a heart attack while on a bike ride.

While Bruyneel knew he wasn't talented enough to win cycling's most famous race, he set about winning a stage to honor his father.

In the sixth stage, Bruyneel held off an onrushing wall of riders to fulfill his dream. A panel of former riders, including Belgian icon Eddy Merckx, awarded Bruyneel a trophy, symbolic of the rider who that day epitomized grace and style.

“The trophy was a magnificent modern-art sculpture of a racer,” Bruyneel writes in 'We Might As Well Win.' I won it, but that trophy sits neither on my shelf, nor in a bar with a fan club.

“I had it weatherproofed, and mounted on my father's headstone with a simple inscription: 'THIS ONE WAS FOR YOU.' ”

Don Norcross: (619) 293-1803; don.norcross@uniontrib.com