I'm totally disgusted by this news of Floyd Landis. If he is guilty, at least his legacy will be that of a cheater - and it will also clarify why he won the other big races this year. Get in the boat with Jan Mr. Landis. It's your turn to paddle.
I've about had it with pro cycling. When all of these jack asses are finished doping and cheating, maybe I'll regain respect for what I used to think of as amazing athletes. Until then, I'm chalking them all up to no better than the likes of Barry Bonds, and all those other fat, bloated pro ball players. Puke.
I bet Lance Armstrong is stoked that he got away with it.
Give me my upright, heavy steel touring bike, a wind sail of a handlebar bag full of food and a camera, and an open road. I don't want my cycling endeavors to remotely smell like any of those professional cheaters.
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3 comments:
I'm with you on that one! I heard about the positive A result while on vacation and didn't want to believe it. After thinking about it for a while, I came to the realization that everyone at that level must be doping to some degree. I think I knew this before but didn't want to admit it could be the truth.
Anyway, I'm kind of sour on the whole European race scene now.
Gino,
I think that I felt as you did about this situation when I first heard of it. But one thing bothered me - and that is, this - why would he take a drug that could be so easily detected?
Two pieces have been published in the past week that have posed the question, "What if Floyd Landis is innocent?"
I received thie article yesterday from a fellow rider, and it was well worth the time invested to read it: http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/16/opinion/edeustice.php
Articles that question the validity of the testing, the lab, and the motives of the World Anti-Doping Agency, are beginning to surface. And some of the most accomplished and experienced riders I know are circulating academic papers that call into question the validity of the process for testing and identifying abuse, as well.
No one is questioning that doping is rampant in professional cycling. But some very credible people are beginning to rethink their positions on the Landis situation.
This, in last week's RBR Newsletter, is also noteworthy:
Petition Questions French Lab, WADA's Pound
"The Floyd Landis doping scandal is a mess and a stain on cycling. But what if it's a scandal not caused by Landis? What if Landis is telling the truth? What if Landis has been set up?"
That's the premise of an online petition questioning the credibility of the drug testing lab that found the Tour de France winner guilty of two doping violations -- an improper testosterone/epitestosterone ratio and the ingestion of synthetic testosterone.
The petition also condemns the shoot-from-the-lip propensity of Dick Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, who has seemingly judged Landis guilty while the appeals process is just beginning.
Crafted by Carlton Reid, editor of the British trade publication/website BikeBiz, the petition asks for transparent and independent scrutiny of the staff and practices at the Chatenay-Malabry laboratory. The lab is at the center of the Landis case and also leaked the results of an experimental test that indicated the presence of EPO in six stored urine samples given by Lance Armstrong at the 1999 Tour.
"Could it be the Landis scandal isn't about a rogue rider but a rogue lab technician?" posits Reid.
Reid says the petition will be online for another week or so. You can find it at http://www.petitiononline.com/floyd/petition.html
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Overheard: "I'm very skeptical about the drugs test. I think he'll get off. . . . Why win a stage knowing that 30 minutes later you'll have a dope test?" -- Phil Liggett on Floyd Landis
Good point; it is pretty sickening about all of this cheating. Even with drastic measures (such as one cheater, and the whole team is out), cyclists still do it... why? Because if they can sneak by the tests, they win!
And to add to our disgruntlement:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/sports/sportsspecial1/25tour.html?hp
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