In Defense of Cycling II
I was extremely disappointed that after my last impassioned defense of cycling the Tour descended into an even greater morass than in the previous year. But regardless of the mess created by bastards like Rasmussen (Honestly, I really never did like him-- arrogant prick) and misdirected overachievers like Vinokourov, I stand by what I said. I think that Cycling has turned a corner, and that the majority of professional riders are clean.
Unfortunately all you ever hear about are the ones who mess up, and screw up the sport for the rest of us. I've begun to suspect that Fuentes and the other folks involved with the Operation Puerto scandal were targeting pro riders, and that the "papers" that keep turning up with the names of seemingly every single pro rider with a shot at the big time were just Puerto's files on who they wanted to nab. All of this just serves to give the sport a black eye.
But it's still a beautiful sport, and it's still worth preserving and fighting for. I was thrilled to hear Linus Gerdemann vociferously denounce doping after a thrilling stage 7 win in the Tour where he hugged his top tube on the descent from the Col de la Colombiere to minimize every last possible bit of his profile and shave milliseconds off his time.
Gerdemann represents the new generation of cyclists, and I don't doubt that all of them are sick of doping taking away from the glory of their sport.
A couple months ago Bicycling magazine published a wonderful article by David Millar, who had previously been found guilty of doping, served his suspension, and is now back. This article was moving not only as the testament of a reformed doper, but also simply as an homage to the beauty and power of the sport. I was pleased to see that Bicycling has put it on the web, and I sincerely hope that you all might take a moment to read it and maybe begin to understand why some of us are so passionate about the sport.
Unfortunately all you ever hear about are the ones who mess up, and screw up the sport for the rest of us. I've begun to suspect that Fuentes and the other folks involved with the Operation Puerto scandal were targeting pro riders, and that the "papers" that keep turning up with the names of seemingly every single pro rider with a shot at the big time were just Puerto's files on who they wanted to nab. All of this just serves to give the sport a black eye.
But it's still a beautiful sport, and it's still worth preserving and fighting for. I was thrilled to hear Linus Gerdemann vociferously denounce doping after a thrilling stage 7 win in the Tour where he hugged his top tube on the descent from the Col de la Colombiere to minimize every last possible bit of his profile and shave milliseconds off his time.
Gerdemann represents the new generation of cyclists, and I don't doubt that all of them are sick of doping taking away from the glory of their sport.
A couple months ago Bicycling magazine published a wonderful article by David Millar, who had previously been found guilty of doping, served his suspension, and is now back. This article was moving not only as the testament of a reformed doper, but also simply as an homage to the beauty and power of the sport. I was pleased to see that Bicycling has put it on the web, and I sincerely hope that you all might take a moment to read it and maybe begin to understand why some of us are so passionate about the sport.
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