Tag Archives: drugs

Some Tour thoughts at the half-way point

11 Jul

It’s been a while, but it’s time to get posting again. And since I’ve been enjoying it royally, the Tour de France is the perfect place to start. Some observations just past the half-way point:

It’s not the best year to ride for Garmin

It’s been the Tour de Tarmac so far, with a large number of crashes in the opening week, some of them for seemingly no good reason at all. Not only has there been a large number of casualties, however, but Garmin really did pull the shortest straw. Practically the entire team went down in the mass pile-up on the first Friday, and the team is all but decimated, along with their ambitions. It’s hard not to feel sorry for them.

Having a lead-out train is useful

Being the world’s best sprinter will win you things, but having a world-class lead-out train will ensure you win even more. That would be the lesson for Mark Cavendish, who must wonder if he made the right team choice. With only one designated helper, his stage win was hugely impressive, but he has hardly had the best tour so far. Two crashes and a lack of support has cost him the opportunity to contest stages, and the green jersey is cycling on, out of sight.

It’s possibly not the best year to ride for Sky either, unless you’re Bradley Wiggins.

The walking wounded

No matter how exciting the Tour, what always impresses me the most is the heroics of the riders who press on with dislocated shoulders (Tom Danielson), horrific abrasions (Johan Van Summeren) or stomach viruses (Marcel Kittel). Tony Martin managed a week with a broken wrist. A ruptured spleen and kidney, bruised legs and three broken ribs didn’t stop Woet Poels from carrying on, and it took him ten kilometres to see sense.

Every year there are riders who carry on with injuries most people would see as a marvellous excuse to take a month or three off work. Even if they don’t finish the race, as is the case with all of the above, they still soldier on for longer than any normal person would even dream of. It makes me wonder what cyclists must think of footballers…

Not everyone has pulled out because of injuries, however, which leads us on to:

Drugs

Obviously. It wouldn’t be the Tour if someone didn’t get caught or arrested, thus giving ammunition to cycling’s naysayers. Remy di Gregorio, of Cofidis, is the latest addition to the shame sheet, or at least for now – the larger story is brewing in the background, but I think I will leave that for a longer blog post…

But Wiggo still has a point

Good old Wiggo got rather worked up when someone raised the D word in a press conference the other day, and opined that internet trolls should pipe down and get a life, or something to that effect.

He has a point. Cycling certainly still has its drug issues, but it is also spending a lot of time, energy and money on cleaning up the sport. To accuse all good riders of being drugged up is a bit unwarranted, not to say unfounded, and rather takes the credibility out of the criticism. Even cyclists should be considered innocent till proven guilty.

Besides, being an optimist makes for more pleasant viewing, and people who spew vitriol online behind the protection of pseudonyms are amongst my pet hates anyway. Go Wiggo!

Though please have an off day, Wiggo!

Or somebody else have a particularly good day – much as I want a British winner, some excitement along the way would be nice.

Lastly, thanks to @FrankVanGool for the kick up the backside:) More frequent posting to resume.

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Something is rotten in the state of pro-cycling

28 Jan

Something that goes by the name of Clenbuterol, that is. Alberto Contador, three times winner of the Tour de France, tested positive for the substance on Aug 24th, and has been given a one year ban as a result. He may also find that he is, in fact, only a two times winner of the Tour de France.

This case has quite some way to go yet, of course, and the one year ban is only provisional for the time being.  Fellow blogger Tim has done an excellent job of summarising the many twists and turns of the story over on his blog, so I shall leave the facts and figures alone, and limit myself to giving my thoughts on the affair.

One year?

Whilst there is precedent for a one year ban, and whilst I don’t want to deprive a man of his livelihood, nor a sport of one of its best athletes, one year is hardly much of a deterrent for young riders. There are always two purposes to a punishment, after all – to punish the perpetrator and to discourage others.

There are plenty of hard-liners who call for a life-time ban on drug cheats in order to scare the rest into staying clean. I think that is too extreme, but I do feel there needs to be a minimum ban period, and it ought to be a prohibitive length of time.

No matter which way you twist this, an illegal substance was found in Contador’s blood, which he has not been able to account for – he is either found guilty, in which case I think two years, if not more, ought to be the absolute minimum, or else he is innocent. Something about the current ban smacks of ‘we’re not sure, so we’re opting for a half-way measure’.

A two-year suspension would incidentally hurt his pocket as well, as he would then be forced to return 70% of his 2010 salary. A one-year ban incurs no financial sanction.

The damage to cycling

Contador is one of the leading lights of the pro cycling world, so this affair will no doubt further tarnish the sport’s already battered image. The UCI haven’t covered themselves in glory with the way they’ve handled it so far, either.

Damaging as it is, however, it doesn’t compare to the scandals of old, such as the Festina affair, for example. This is not a case of systematic doping by a team, nor evidence of endemic use and acceptance within the sport, which was the conclusion reached by many during the scandal-ridden 90’s.

To my mind, the UCI are showing a willingness to deal with doping issues, which wasn’t there before. The reputation of the sport is more dependent on the UCI’s handling of doping, I think, than on any one rider. Sad as the whole affair is, I see overall signs of progress, even if we have a long way to go yet.

There is one rider whose innocence cycling’s reputation does depend upon, however – Lance Armstrong. The investigation into doping within his US Postal Team is still ongoing, but we will have forgotten all about Contador by the end of the year if he is found guilty.

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UCI, Contador and the doping question

1 Oct

It’s been suggested elsewhere that the UCI is making a fuss out of nothing with regards to the Contador case. They should have handled it more sensitively, since he apparently must be innocent, kept quiet even. I strongly disagree with this view.

Whatever the outcome of Contador’s case, it is imperative that every positive test is not only fully investigated, but also seen, by the public, to be fully investigated. Cycling’s reputation is already tainted by drugs scandals, and whilst the public might not believe in the cleanliness of the riders, it should at the very least be able to believe that the governing body is committed to eradicating the cheats.

It has been suggested that cycling is cleaning up, and although there have been a stronger push from the UCI to keep their own house tidy in the last few years, they still have a long way to go.

The fact that the UCI has, in the past, accepted donations from Lance Armstrong, for example, strongly undermines their neutrality, and is not at all helpful to Armstrong himself in his current quest to clear his name.

Likewise, the road championship organiser’s recent attempt to ban Floyd Landis from speaking at the ‘New Pathways for Pro Cycling’ conference sends the wrong signal. I have no sympathy whatsoever for Landis, but if a robber offers to teach a bank how to improve its security, then the bank would be wise to listen.

Every sport has its cheats; it’s in the nature of competitive spirit that some will use drugs to get ahead. I don’t think any cycling fans believe that every single rider is clean. A governing body that is fair, but also decisive and hard on doping, is the best way to counter it, and the best way for fans to regain faith in the sport as a whole.

I don’t know whether Contador is guilty or not. Judging by the expert comments I have read it would appear that he has a strong case, which is good news for all fans. But either way, the UCI has done the right thing in investigating, even if the timing could have been better.

Cycling’s image doesn’t just rely upon clean athletes, but also upon a governing body who inspires confidence in the way they deal with the drugs.

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