Cycling's finest hour
Posted July 26th, 2007 by EasyBee
Well, it started with 2 lesser known riders getting booted for doping, then came the news that the media darling Vino is out, followed by news that yellow jersey wearer, and likely TDF winner Michael Rasmussen had missed 2 drug tests, and lied about his whereabouts in the months prior to the Tour. Great.... Just what cycling and Le Tour needs - another courageous hero tarnished, and another Tour winner with a guilty verdict in the court of public opinion... Rasmussen avoided drug tests, and acted suspiciously, and is probably guilty (IMHO), but as far as anyone knows right now, he only strained the rules, without actually breaking them. (Had he missed one more test, it would be the equivalent of a failed drug test). The governing body of Le Tour could not rightfully boot him, and I for one, would not want them to, based on suspicion of guilt.
But Rabobank (Rasmussen's team) isn't constrained by burden of proof, and herein lies professional cycling's turning point. The Rabobank team sponsors decided that the bad press over his behavior and suspicion of wrongdoing outweighed all the benefits of having their corporate name on the yellow jersey and associated with the TDF winner. So they fired him. In the end, it is all about money, and money is now in the corner of clean cycling.
Three of the 4 TV commentators this morning were lamenting that this was cycling's darkest hour. But wise old Phil Liggett, in true Churchill fashion, said that, with a few years of hindsight, this will be cycling's finest hour. I couldn't agree more.
O.K. you made great points
O.K. you made great points and I should have explained myself better. To all of us "age groupers" out there, we still compete because of the thrill of competition and trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle by participating in the things we love. So a substance abuser/cheater will never have an influence over us.
The area of any sport that gets ruined is with our up and coming youth athetes. No matter what the sport, you ask any kid how they think professional athletes become pro's and I am sure a large consensus will be that "they take drugs" If an elite athlete is right on the edge of becoming professional and the one difference is taking a substance to enhance their abilities, well they are being taught that this is what you have to do to get to the highest levels of sport. The more this perception out there continues the lesser amount of people there will be to continue to stay involved in these sports and over time it will have an impact on all areas (fans that view the sports, purchasing equipment, etc.).
Just to end, I was speaking with a neighbor about all of this drug stuff. He informed that professional golf is starting to drug test now - I am not a golfer and maybe this has been going on for quite some time. But this is absolutely ridiculous and demonstrates just how out of control this substance abuse thing is getting!
truer words were never
truer words were never spoken, the thoughts of every non cheater.....And the excitement for every fan thinking the same about the athletes that they support.
If the sport of cycling has
If the sport of cycling has been growing while performance enhancing has been growing, then why should it stop growing when hardworking, natural athletes start winning stages and races? Team Discovery has really done a fine job of setting themselves up for a couple of podium positions. I don't think people are locking their bicycles up in their garages because the media is trying to darken the eye of the sport of cycling. The sports of Triathlon and Cycling are growing because of the naturalness of the activities and anyone pretty much any size can participate. I, for one, am not a big fan of fake sports. Pro Basketball, for example, has become a fake sport of big men and playground showoffs. The fundamentals are often never learned. Pro Baseball has been damaged with fake athletes who are allowed to play and break records. I would rather go to the midweek rec center aquathlon and watch people who truly enjoy their activity than watch either of those pro sports. People can be inspired by athletes who work hard and overcome obstacles to succeed. I don't think the sport of cycling has been damaged by the media coverage. Just the opposite - many more people are tuning in and seeing that the sport is policing itself and not just kicking out the wannabees who cheat but also the biggest names in cycling who cheat. Alberto Contador, without doping, is a real inspiration for the sport of cycling and also the Tour.
Ha ha ha. Maybe I will
Ha ha ha. Maybe I will win something now that all of the cheaters are gone.
Whatever the reasons and
Whatever the reasons and timing for firing Rasmussen it was clearly deserved. I guess it's up to every athlete/fan out there to make the right decisions and always speak out against the "cheaters" and make sure that we can all have a better influence on anyone that we come across in our daily lives.
So here is to the next couple of remaining days on the Tour, and hopefully having an American on the podium (Leipheimer).
Now I am going to do my part and put in 60 miles on the bike today without any substance abuse!
Personally, I think that
Personally, I think that the announcement needed to be made on the biggest stage possible, and that stage was the Tour de France, and the yellow jersey. People need to know that doping is against the rules and the rules are not to be bent or broken. I am all for transparency in the sport and am tired of people and organizations doing damage control and having fake rules that they don't want to enforce. Either enforce the rules or change them. It is so refreshing to see an organization and a large group of people standing up for what they believe in despite the "bad press". I don't care if other people decide that cycling is stupid because the the "best" riders this year all doped their blood. People who quit riding their bike because of this should stop buying food in the grocery store with high fructose corn syrup, dairy, fake suger, MSG, or partially hydrogenated oils too.
I think that Rabobank just gave themselves a mountain of good press for standing up for the sport, and firing their star. I am starting to feel like I can trust the UCI and the pro cycling teams to kick out cheaters, and less likely to be suspicious of the riders that are allowed to ride in the race. If people really believe that doping is wrong, and if people love cycling they should stand by the UCI and the teams that fire riders that break and bend the rules.
Right about timing...
I think you are right about the timing of information. The UCI did what was required, given their rules. They couldn't keep Ras out because as their laws were written, he only deserved a warning. I suppose they had nothing to gain by publicizing this, either, so they stayed silent.
As much as I give Rabobank credit for stepping up and "doing the right thing" in firing Ras, I think they were fully aware of his behavior (in fact, were probably complicit in it), but were willing to turn a blind eye until the crap hit the fan. Then it was simply a business decision.
I could not agree more with
I could not agree more with your comments. It's time to take a stand and clean everything up for good.
My only problem is the timing of how everything is announced. If this was a big deal, Rasmussen should have not been allowed to enter the Tour, as many knew about his violation in plenty of time. It's just odd when it's planned for the actual announcements to come out - this wrecks the sport and makes the fan base start to dwindle away.
I am sure there is a lot of frustration with cycling right now as this is all anybody is hearing about, it's all the news is concerned with - "Who is taking drugs now!".
If the sport of cycling can not get a grip on this, the industry will begin to pay by selling less equipment, etc. because participation will start to drop again.