Missing In London
There are two people missing from London today. One, the reigning champion of the Tour de France. The other, a former champion from 1996.
Floyd Landis should have been there. Were it not for the ongoing case against him, he would have been. But right now he waits to hear whether he will be exonerated by the arbitration panel that heard his case in May, or whether they will find him guilty of doping. It’s pretty much anybody’s guess at this point how they’ll rule. By the evidence presented by both side, the Landis defense arguments should carry the day.
But that’s not to say it will. Three men will decide. The wildcard — Patrice Brunet — is the person whose opinion will likely determine the outcome. No one knows, for certain, when (or if) the arbitrators have formally closed the hearing. So no one can accurately predict when the announcement of the arbitrators’ decision will be made. Rumors about an announcement yesterday or today have so far proven to be wrong.
The other person missing from the Tour who should be there is Bjarne Riis, the 1996 winner. Riis owns and runs Team CSC, a team with one of the toughest internal anti-doping programs in the sport. But Riis also admitted recently that he was using EPO during the 1990s, including during 1996 when he won the Tour.
Christian Prudhomme, and others, have taken a tough zero-tolerance stance towards those who’ve admitted their past transgressions. Prudhomme is wrong to take such an approach. To do so is to say that one can’t learn from one’s mistakes. Clearly, Riis has learned from his past and put together a program designed to find cyclists who are doping and deal with them before they test positive in competition.
Efforts like Team CSC should be applauded. Riis should be commended for having created the program, not punished for something he did so long ago that if falls outside the UCI’s eight-year statute of limitations for punishment. Riis should be in London, and on the rest of the Tour, guiding his team. Instead, he’s sitting on a couch, somewhere in Denmark, watching the action on TV.
And I’d bet he’s pretty frustrated to be there, even if it was “his own decision not to attend.” He shouldn’t have had to make such a decision in the first place. And I have my suspicions that he was pressured into staying away.
And They’re Off!
Of course, today was the beginning of this year’s edition of the big race around France (and a few other places, too). The action began earlier today in London with the prologue. After coming home from a hot two-hour wind-driven ride this morning, I noticed our DVR recording something. I couldn’t imagine what I’d programmed it to record at 11:30 a.m. on a Saturday. Turns out, it still remembers that I wanted it to record original broadcasts of the Tour. Which leaves me with a decision: Do I watch? Or do I just check results online?
Tough choice. I’ll probably check the results online. I have a number of commitments this summer which are likely keep me away from the DVR. Meanwhile, it was good to learn that Fabian Cancellara won today’s stage, with Andreas Kloeden in second and George Hincapie in third. Loudmouth Bradley Wiggins missed out on a podium spot by a fraction of a second. Still, he put in a good effort. But I have to say, it warmed my heart to see that Wiggins didn’t win the stage. Cancellara, on the other hand, is a worthy person to start tomorrow’s stage to Canterbury in the yellow jersey.
Rant,
I believe that both the TDF MIAs Floyd and Bjarne should be at the tour doing what they do best. I watched a movie called Overcoming an inside look at the CSC team during 2004 season. I have a greater appreciation for the way the team is structured and the performance of the individuals. This is all due to Bjarne’s objective that everyday every one of the team members could go out and get a win. Contrast this with other teams centered around one leader and the rest are supporting members.
I was thinking the same thing about Bradley Wiggins after reading the interview of him and his “belief in the testing procedure.” I didn’t want him to win after his snarks.
For Floyd, I support the FFF and wait for science and logic to prevail.
lets face it the first flat stages are high turnover rate of the yellow jersey. The real action happens in the mountains.
Mc
Sorry but disagree about Riis. He doesn’t belong there with his recent admission as long as the tour is playing the zero tolerance game. I forget who said that Riis knew he was doping just a few years ago, so this change of heart is simply being fashionable. Riis is part of the bigger problem, that of the team structure that either actively promoted doping (as long as you don’t get caught but you do win) or just turned a blind eye. I hold the teams as responsible, if not more so, than the riders themselves. Riis not being there says all should be held accountable for these messes. I think that is fair. Now is he giving up a years salary??
JBSMP,
I agree with you to a certain extent, but if that’s the case, the organizers and heads of the cycling federations need to be held responsible too. I’m tired of them constantly blaming the riders like they were the only one involved. If doping is as rampant as it’s being made out to be, they knew dang well how long and how much was going on. Therefore, they need to step up to the plate and take some responsibility.
RIIS tried to do that and it bit him in the butt. Why would any rider come forward? After reading Floyd’s book, it was disheartening to learn that he had a run in with the UCI when Mercury folded – and all he was doing then was trying to get his salary paid that was supposedly in a bank account somewhere.
You want conspiracy….how about his great ride on Stage 17 allowed the UCI to go after him…. 😉
I don’t get it. Why ban Riis and let Zabel ride? Riis is an owner — are there rules for suspending owners who dope (even if they were former riders)? All the hand wringing about the sport being in jeopardy due to doping scandals also seems unfounded — just look at the huge crowds in the UK! I watched the coverage on Versus today — it’s the same beautiful sport with the same valiant athletes (McEwen heroically won a sprint after falling and being hurt so badly he was nearly unable to remount). It is a shame that such wonderful athletes are subject to such poor management (race organizers and the UCI). Cycling doesn’t need to worry about today — the athletes seem committed to maintaining the sports beauty and integrity no matter the cost (look at Landis!). Rather, the sport of cycling needs to worry that it is dissuading future athletes from competing in a sport where they are subject to such arbitrary and inconsistent governance.
Just got back from the London stages of the Tour and what an incredible experience it was. Even got my picture taken on a bike with Lance (ok he was Madame Tussaud’s wax figure but still pretty cool). Certainly get an appreciation for the talent these guys have when you see the event. And the mass of support vehicles – incredible. Yeah i was glad that Wiggins did not take first but was impressed by him nonetheless. I watched the final hour of today’s stage one in Hyde Park and Robbie Mcewen got a massive cheer from the few thousand people when he won. A real crowd favourite. Hincapie big fav with the crowd too.
I disagree with Just BSM on the Riis issue. If you banned everyone that had some links in the past with doping you would be cutting a pretty wide swath so it serves no purpose. He has come through with some strong anti doping position in the last couple of years and it is commendable. Serves no purpose to ban him.