This post is refering to the current rush of professional cyclist who are racing once again, but this time the finish line they are sprinting to is the one at the podium in front of the press where they fall on the sword and confess to all their sins of EPO, cortizone, amphetimines, and whatever else they were handed or bought in the 1990's. Let me throw in the fact that I am a firm believer in he who is without sin cast the first stone, but I am also a believer in disappointment and Catholic guilt.
Bjarne Riis is the latest one (as of today) who has stepped up and said he was riding the EPO train when he won the 1996 Tour and broke Indurains streak of 5 tour wins in a row. Part of me says thank you for owning up and spilling your guts because maybe in the long run this cleansing of you soul and airing of you dirty laundry will lead to a cleaner peleton and fairer racing in the future. The other part of me thinks I would believe you more if you would have stood up in front of the press today, with that carboard box that contains your yellow jersey in your hands and said "This is not rightfully mine, I dont know who it really belongs to, but it is not ME." That could have been the whole press conference and at that point I would forgive and move on. But to blame it on the prevailing environment at the time is not acceptable. Now when I look at the Lance Armstong streak, I will think what if Indurain had not lost to Riis and he had won 6 in a row? But I can also say, What if the innocents (and there are some innocents out there) that did not race last year or will not race this year due to false Puerto accusations, were able to ride and change the face of the peleton, who would win?
Unfortunately after watching the proceedings of the last two weeks I can also ask, what about the people who are falsely accused in a system that claims a 100% win rate on appeals, and a lab that claims 300% higher testosterone findings? Something is fishy and stinky and rotten with this whole system. Cycling must have teams that are free of even the appearance of improprieties AND a drug enforcement system that is living up to the same standards and rules. Some may say this is a rose colored outlook on a sport that is ultimately there just to entertain us and maybe get us to spend a little more money on phones, water, or whatever the shill companies are spending money to push on us.
In the end I wish those who cheat (on either side of the system) could feel just a small percentage of the true dissapointment I have in the system and the current state of bicycle racing it has brought us to. Will that affect the miles I ride each week and the enjoyment I get from a town line sprint? No, but I will always be left with that little hole inside that is called What If? What if everyone rode straight and decided the race based one who worked the hardest and had the greatest talent.
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