The Passion of Mr. Wiggins

Bradley Wiggins, a British cyclist who rides for Cofidis, recently entered into the Floyd Landis debate with comments in stories published at BBC Sport and EuroSport. In the BBC Sport article, Wiggins is quoted liberally, speaking his mind about the 2006 Tour de France and the scandal following Floyd Landis’ alleged positive testosterone tests. He is equally candid in the EuroSport article.

“It’s frustrating that we are no further in the knowledge of what happened last July and don’t even have an official winner yet,” Wiggins told BBC Sport.

“And it was frustrating to be continually asked what I thought about it during last year’s Tour. I just tried to give my honest opinion.”

Yes, it must be frustrating for Wiggins, who finished 124th overall (as of the current results — he would move up to 123rd place were Landis to be disqualified), and all the other pros who participated in last year’s tour. And of course, one can only assume that the most frustrated of all would be the Tour’s winner, Floyd Landis, whose whole career is on the line right now.

Wiggins says he feels ashamed to be a professional cyclist, and is quoted at EuroSport as saying:

“After last year’s Tour de France I didn’t feel proud to be a professional cyclist. And I feel the same now.

Wiggins, in EuroSport, discusses why he’s chosen to speak up:

“It’s about time someone had some balls and told it how it was. There are enough of us who think the way I do.”

“They say it’s only one or two but I’m sure more people are doing these things. So it’s my role as a role-model to expose it and not pretend it isn’t happening.”

Wiggins might want to consider that other cyclists may not have spoken up because they feel “there but for the grace of God go I.” All it takes is one false positive test for even the cleanest rider for that individual’s future in cycling to go up in smoke. False positives happen. No test is perfect. None.

Also, there’s no real upside to speaking out against Landis. What, after all, do others gain by doing so (other than publicity)? There is, however, a real downside to speaking in Landis’ favor and making sponsors and team management angry. Unhappy sponsors might withdraw their support, and unhappy management might find a way to get rid of the person causing that unhappiness. Although people ought to feel free to speak their minds, it’s easy to see why many wouldn’t.

And if Wiggins is so sure that there are many cyclists doping, might he like to provide some details? Allegations are one thing. We can all say just about anything we like, even if it’s not true. Perhaps he’d like to back up his allegations with some facts.

Even the WADA statistics on positive results suggest that the problem is relatively minor, with about 96 out of every 100 riders racing clean in the worst-case scenario. And the real number is likely much smaller than that. Put another way, at the Tour de France last year, if the statistics hold up, about 7 riders out of a field of 180+ would be doping — and that’s if the worst-case scenario is correct. That is hardly an epidemic.

As for having the balls to speak up: It takes balls if you speak up with specific allegations and offer specific proof. Otherwise, it’s just running your mouth.

Regarding a postive doping test, Wiggins offers this:

“If I was ever open to anything and got tested positive, I would never be able to show my face again.”

But what if Wiggins were clean and tested positive anyway? How would he feel then? Would he meekly accept his fate, or would Wiggins stand and fight. I’m guessing he would stand and fight.

“I worked my way to the top through hard work. I know there is scepticism but as an athlete all those problems from last year go away at the start of this season.

No doubt Wiggins worked hard, as have many professional cyclists. It takes a lot of hard work, along with a fair amount of natural talent, to rise to the pro ranks. No amount of doping, training, or fancy equipment will take someone of merely average ability and propel them to the very top of the sport. That dog don’t hunt, as the saying goes.

Wiggins speaks about how closely he follows the Landis case:

“When I see an update on Landis, I don’t read it. You’ve just got to forget about it, or it distracts from what you’re doing.”

You know, there’s a rather well-known American politician who claims he never reads the newspaper. Which perhaps explains a number of boneheaded decisions his adminstration has made over the last 6 years. Of course, spouting off when you haven’t taken the time to learn about a subject probably isn’t the wisest thing to do, either.

Regarding how Floyd Landis is defending himself against doping allegations, Wiggins is quoted at EuroSport as saying,

“I was really angry with Landis. It sickens me.”

“He tested positive and then he was denying it. It took us riders for fools.”

What, exactly, would Wiggins have him do? Landis says he’s innocent. He’s not supposed to speak out and defend himself? And here’s the thing about that so-called positive test, Mr. Wiggins: The data is all subject to interpretation. Sure, LNDD says it’s a positive, but according to the standards at two other WADA-accredited labs (UCLA and the Australian lab), Landis’ results would not be considered positive. So who’s right? LNDD or the other labs?

(Which brings up the question: How is it that WADA-accredited labs could have different standards on what constitutes a positive test result? Isn’t the point to standardize everything, rather than have different labs doing different things?)

Oh, wait, Wiggins doesn’t read stories about Floyd Landis, does he? So Wiggins wouldn’t know about that part of the controversy. He also tells BBC that:

“You have to have faith in the testing procedures. There comes a point where you have to get on with it.”

Faith is one thing. Blind faith is another. One needs to recognize that even the best of tests will from time to time produce incorrect results. When that happens, the system should be flexible enough to determine that an error has occured and ensure that innocent victims aren’t punished. But if different standards and different procedures are used in different places, it’s rather hard to have faith in the fairness of the testing.

Wiggins sums up his goal for the 2007 season in a quote at EuroSport:

“My big motivation this year is to prove that you can win clean.”

You can make what you will of that statement. I’m sure he didn’t mean to suggest that he’s going to be the first ever to win a bike race clean. Or did he?

According to BBC Sport, Wiggins — an Olympic gold medalist — is a favorite to win the prologue when the Tour de France starts in London this July. But to be a real contender in the Tour, Wiggins has got his work cut out for himself. It’s a long way from 124th place to standing atop the podium in Paris.