I wish I had time to read through all the articles out there. Fortunately for all of us there’s a really good source for news and updates about what’s going on (or not) in the world of Landis and that’s Trust But Verify. TBV always has a good collection of stories and commentary, gleaned from across the web and the blogosphere.
I don’t know what TBV does for a living or where he gets the time to keep up with so much, but I’m always happy to peruse his site and read (or sometimes just skim) the articles he’s assembled in his daily round-up. One bit of writing that caught my eye today was a post by TBV himself called Thought experiments gone bad. The conclusion he draws is rather disturbing, that if Floyd Landis tries to replicate the effort and conditions of the Alpine stages of the tour in order to prove his innocense he could actually wind up facing a lifetime ban from cycling. It’s fascinating and disturbing reading.
Venturing on a little from there, the more I read about the anti-doping rules and how they’re enforced, the more it sounds like an authoritarian regime run amok (if that’s not an oxymoron). Miguel-Angel Martin Perdiguero’s comments on why he’s retiring from the sport at the end of the season make the situation sound like something straight out of Orwell’s 1984, only instead of the thought police, we have the dope police showing up unannounced looking to bust any and all pro cyclists for crimes real or imagined.
While I am all in favor of rooting out the cheaters in sport, the methods being employed right now, along with the process that the accused face, seems straight out of Stalin’s Russia rather than the modern world. Makes me wonder why anyone in their right mind would subject themselves to such scrutiny.
I’m afraid in all the zealousness that’s currently being applied to the witchhunt that not only will real cheaters be found and ejected from cycling, but also that a number of innocent riders will pay a high price, too. Will the rest of the pro peloton eventually decide they’ve had it with the heavy-handed tactics, take their bikes and go home? That would be the end of pro bike racing — and it will be a sad day if or when that comes to pass.
I find Floyd Landis clear of all violations until proven otherwise. Testing labs and media have shown where the mentality and money is – put the labs and media under the spotlight without proof and see how they react. I say, Floyd Landis, stick to your beliefs and continue fighting and training for your return. It’s unfortunate that you probably cannot recover financially from your accusors.
I like your series on Floyd and the one on doping in cycling. I’ve been following the doping scandals as well in my recent columns. I wonder if we’ll ever know… and if we do, what will we do with that knowledge?