Pro Cycling in Doping Dumps

Your guilty...no, I'm not! Illegal sting operations, lawyer speak, leaking of test results, and so on. This is the news of Pro cycling lately. As pointed out in the above linked article, there seems to be no other news of actual racing that is of any interest.

In a weird sort of way, I have to admit to tuning in to read the latest on the doping scandals as much as checking out the race results from the spring classics and other spring races. I read the frustration in letters and forums of amateurs like myself on different cycling websites and all this seems to overshadow the sport in a heavy, debilitating way. We can't get past it and look forward to the upcoming grand tours.

There is no doubt that interest in pro cycling is down, not just in the USA. Europeans that I talk to are hyper-cynical about the cleanliness of the sport. There is just too much scandal, and sniping. I read David Wiggins comments today and my first thought was; we'll probably read about his own doping problems in a year. What is wrong with these people anyway? Can't they get together and get on the same page? Its like there is an understood M.O.; that is the cyclists will back stab each other and sneak around always staying 1 step ahead. The teams will pretend not to know, as long as they win, and the officials will all insult one another and leak information, conduct intrusive and often illegal tests and stings, and the lawyers will kill us with what lawyers do best - blah, blah, blah, blah...

A sad season ahead it seems...

L