Professional Bicycling has consistently taken a black eye due to doping. Doping allegations left and right, have tarnished the image of professional bicycling. One would have to wonder how much more cycling can take until no one takes it seriously ever again. Especially the majors, like the Tour de France (TDF), the Giro d' Italia (The Giro), or the Vuelta de España (The Vuelta).
The UCI (International Cyclist Union) says that doping dates back as far as the 19th century and was used "to make the physical effort more tolerable, rather than to improve their performance." Rumor has it that dating back to 1896 that riders like Englishman Arthur Linton, who died from possible drug induced symptoms. Exhaustion and typhoid were given credit for the Welch riders death, with speculations that say drugs (caffeine, cocaine, and strychnine) were involved. That's a lethal combination, and bound to potentially make anyone's heart burst!
In the 1930's race founder, and author of L'Auto (paper/magazine publishing), Henri Desgrange was rumored to have written publicly, to the riders, after making changes to the TDF rule book, stating that drugs would not be complimentary, and that riders would be responsible for getting their own. With the way things are going in cycling now, would it just be easier to let riders dope, and call it survival of the fittest? I can only imagine how the viewing numbers would increase. "Doping allowed in the 2015 Tour!" I can almost see a morbid fan base taking bets on which rider would kill over first. I think that would be bet on more so than whom it was that would win the race.
However, it was said to be "common place" for riders to dope to make the physical effort more tolerable. Since then and highly due to the 1967 incident involving rider Tom Simpson, anti-doping took a serious turn. There was a "List of Prohibited Substances," put into place. The UCI states that the publication of the first "Medical Control Rules" was "the forerunner of the Anti-Doping Rules."
http://www.uci.ch/Modules/ENews/ENewsDetails.asp?id=MjMz&MenuId=MTYxNw&BackLink=/Templates/UCI/UCI5/layout.asp?MenuID=MTYxNw
Miguel Indurain won five consecutive Tour de France titles, from 1991-1995 (which at the time tied the record for most overall, and broke the record for consecutive Tour victories), was also accused of doping. Indurain was most likely accused because of his dominance during that time frame, but never tested positive.
Then the man that ended Indurain's reign (Bjarne Riis) admitted to doping, and said, ""My yellow jersey is in box at home, you can come and collect it," concerning his participation in the 1996 Tour. "What matters to me are my memories." http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/former-tour-de-france-winner-riis-admits-doping
Indurain, Riis, Ulrich, are just a few on a long, almost innumerable list of riders that have either tested positive, or been accused of doping. Limitations (statutes) are mentioned, evidence is mentioned, and now even taxpayer money is now an issue. Mentioning taxpayer money brings up Senator Sensenbrenner from Wisconsin's fifth district. Not only have cheating riders, and the accusations from cycling's anti-doping agencies helped to give cycling a proverbial blackeye, but now it appears that a Wisconsin Senator is trying to make a bid, to defend a company that could very well be in his district in the upcoming year.
The case against Lance Armstrong is loosely linked to Wisconsin, because of Trek. Taking Contador's title may not tarnish Trek's image as badly, or lessen its prowess in the sport, but take Armstrong's seven Tour titles, and now you've cut that company deep. It may not severe an artery that is unstoppable, but it does leave a very deep wound, that will bleed out heavily. I have to admit that I looked into the borders of District 5 to see if Senator Sensenbrenner had a paid dog in the fight, and Waterloo is not in his immediate territory. It is however, still in his state. Plus, and I know one can't rely on hearsay, but is it true that a Trek facility in Whitewater, Wisconsin would soon be in Senator Sensenbrenner's district? Will this Whitewater plant actually be in his district this fall, or is that just another attempt of a lying portion of the opposition trying to be just as misleading as the government that they are speaking out against?
The sport of cycling needs a boost, not another blackeye. Groups ride out five or six minutes ahead of the peleton, and then the peleton reels them back in. You might have a sprinters finish in a few stages that might present excitement in some stages, but other than that, only the time trials seem to present any real excitement, or climactic finish. As Sean Kelly said in this years Tour: radios have taken away from the riders since of urgency concerning breakaways. Some riders seem more apt and capable of making up ground faster than others also.
French rider Rémy Di Gregorio, of team Cofidis was taken into custody from his hotel room by the authorities before Stage 10 of this years Tour, for allegedly doping. He was dismissed from his duties from Cofidis as well. Of course this is a man that went from one-hundered and seventy-fifth place, More than just a handful of minutes down to the race leader, and moved into thirty-third place in eight days. In most cycling events and circumstances, that's a bit beyond lucky. Any rider that does something so superhuman and freakish beyond reality, should expect that they are going to be tested. They have no worries if they are clean. If not, they should, like Di Gregorio, be taken into custody.
I have to admit that I am not a huge Lance Armstrong supporter. I think what he has done for cancer research is fabulous, however, in that I am a huge fan. I understand that big names usually have big egos to match the name, but being rude and overly egotistical is another thing. Fan or not, though, he was a very talented athlete, and king of the Tour after his cancer was overcome. Armstrong said that he was notified by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) last week about doping allegations brought up against him. These are charges that he has faced before, and charges that were dropped by Federal Investigators. Armstrong borught up some points that were very interesting: "These are the very same charges and the same witnesses that the Justice Department chose not to pursue after a two-year investigation." He also said, "Although USADA alleges a wide-ranging conspiracy extended over more than 16 years, I am the only athlete it has chosen to charge."
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/armstrong-charged-with-doping-by-usada
So why would the USADA pursue events that have already been dismissed by Federal Investigators, and not pursue the teammates or other riders that were involved?
"These charges are baseless, motivated by spite and advanced through testimony bought and paid for by promises of anonymity and immunity."
"I have never doped, and, unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one. That USADA ignores this fundamental distinction and charges me instead of the admitted dopers says far more about USADA, its lack of fairness and this vendetta than it does about my guilt or innocence." Lance Armstrong
500 tests and never failed, or tested positive once, and now this same group of witnesses and the USADA get a crack at him? How many times can you accuse, or try someone, and for how long? If someone is guilty, then they should be punished, but at what length does one go to prove someone guilty when so many others have already proven one innocent? Two years with the Justice Department, and still nothing?
The USADA says that Armstrong was involved in a conspiracy dating back to to 1998, and it comes forward to current date. The USADA says because of that, they have no limits and jurisdiction over Armstrong's case, and career.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/us-congressman-questions-role-of-usada-in-armstrong-case?ns_campaign=news&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=cyclingnews&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0
If Armstrong retired, and the Justice Department, and Federal Investigators abandoned this case, and Armstrong has passed over 500 tests, what's left to prove? The only thing left to prove is that there needs to be a vast improvement in testing. Cycling can't survive at this rate.
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