Do you ever get the feeling that the world of professional cycling is turning into a tawdry soap opera? If you’ve been following the controversy and events surrounding the world championships this week in Stuttgart, Germany, it would be hard not to. The bluff and bluster over who will or won’t be allowed to start on Sunday sounds almost like it could have been written by a staff writer for one of the daytime soaps. Although, if that we’re the case, part of the plot line would probably involve illicit or extra-marital sex, too, just to add a bit more salaciousness to the story.
It seems like not a day goes by when some bit of controversy surrounding this race or that hits the news. This week, being the worlds and all, the controversy focuses on Stuttgart. Various officials are working hard to make sure that not even the slightest whiff of doping allegations might sully the events in the city where that most steroid-laden of production sports cars, Porsche, comes from. There’s nothing quite like the burbling growl of a 911’s engine — especially the air-cooled engines of days gone by. Even a 25-year-old Porsche has enough performance to get your pulse pounding while g-forces slam your head into the bolster as your roar away from a stop light. But I digress. Back to the subject at hand — who gets to ride and who doesn’t.
City officials and local organizers have been working hard to keep any rider who might besmirch the event from taking the start. That means riders like Alejandro Valverde, Paolo Bettini and Danilo Di Luca, and a number of other riders who may have been loosely connected or implicated but not charged in the on-going Operacion Puerto scandal. In some ways, the UCI has aided and abetted those officials. At the very least, by seeking to block Valverde’s participation during Sunday’s race.
But on Wednesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport shot down the UCI’s attempts to block Valverde from racing, stating that to ban him from cycling events before any finding of guilt amounts to an advance sanction. In the wake of that decision, the UCI decided to drop their attempts to keep two other riders similarly implicated in Operacion Puerto out of the race. They changed tack, as McQuaid noted, “for reasons of equity.”
Then there was the dust-up over Paolo Bettini refusing to sign the UCI’s pledge. Pat McQuaid was forced to admit, ultimately, that he has no power to make riders sign in order to compete, he’s merely strongly suggesting that they do so. He also won’t accept an altered form of “The Pledge,” which Bettini did provide, as Bettini’s version removed the part about forfeiting a year’s salary.
Then came rumors that Bettini was interrogated by Stuttgart police, after a number of media outlets published a story in which Patrik Sinkewitz is said to have fingered Bettini as his source of testosterone gel, dating back to the time when both riders were on the QuickStep-Innergetic team. However, CyclingNews.com reports:
Bettini’s spokesman issued a statement denying that the World Champion had been questioned by police, stating, “We’d like to make it quite clear that the athlete in question returned immediately to his hotel and remained there at the end of his training session without undergoing any type of interrogation/questioning whatsoever.”
Then, yesterday, the city of Stuttgart filed requested that a court intervene to prevent Danilo Di Luca and Paolo Bettini from starting the world championship road race on Sunday. That was enough for Di Luca to fold his tent, pack his bags and go home. According to CNN:
“It’s a scandal,” Di Luca said. “I’m going home without ever being banned, after months of sacrifice. (The decision) only served to prevent me from racing the world championship. … I will be cleared 100 percent.”
However, CNN also notes:
After a three-month wait, cycling’s world governing body, the UCI, gave CONI permission on Wednesday to compare [an] abnormal test [from the Giro d’Italia] with his other drugs tests given during the Giro.
CONI would not divulge the results on Thursday, but indicated the findings warranted a suspension. The case now moves to CONI’s disciplinary panel and they could recommend Di Luca loses his Giro crown.
The abnormal test came after the 17th stage of the Giro on May 30, a climb up Monte Zoncolan that was considered the toughest in this year’s race.
Funny, the coincidence of a positive test on a Stage 17 of a Grand Tour, eh? NDTV.com adds to the saga, by running an Associated Press report which leads off:
The Italian Olympic Committee recommended on Thursday that Giro d’Italia champion Danilo Di Luca be banned for four months for alleged doping.
Well, if he’s banned, that would preclude him from racing in Stuttgart. The story’s not over yet, however. Today, the court in Germany spoke, saying that they will not bar Bettini from competing in the road race on Sunday.
As the Associated Press also reports:
McQuaid hoped that Friday’s’ court ruling would end a week of haggling and set up a weekend of enjoyment.
“I hope that the people involved and the people in the background that are currently trying to undermine the championships _ their own championships _ would relax,” he said. Little chance.
Even after the court ruling going against the city, major Wolfgang Schuster stuck to his line that McQuaid and the UCI were soft on doping.
“Whether Paolo Bettini starts or not is not a legal question but it’s about the credibility of cycling,” Schuster said. “The UCI has to realize what it signals when it guarantees Bettini’s participation. It is definitely not a sign of a new beginning.”
Sounds almost like Stuttgart’s mayor is a bit of a sore loser. The reality is, however, that as this soap opera continues, everyone’s the loser. The cyclists, the governing bodies, the organizers and the fans. At some point, all these factions need to meet on neutral ground and bury the hatchet. But not in each other.
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In actual cycling news, Fabian Cancellara held onto his world time trial championship jersey yesterday. The Swiss cyclist covered the 27.9-mile course in a time of 55 minutes, 41 seconds. Hungarian cyclist Laszlo Bodrogi finished second at 52 seconds back, and Dutch rider Stef Clement finished third, one minute and 50 seconds behind Cancellara. No word on how self-proclaimed clean cyclist Bradley Wiggins fared in the race.
Hmm, so you like the German soaps, like “As The Wheel Turns”? I don’t much like European soap operas, though there IS a French soap opera I like called “Generally Inhospitable.” Actually, maybe it’s more of a sitcom than a soap opera. The series is based on the misadventures of a lovely French lab technician, Ellen Deedee. She gets into the funniest scrapes! In the last episode, she was testing the pee from some Danish guy, and she found some stuff in it. The stuff wasn’t prohibited — it was some kind of EPO-like substance, but it wasn’t prohibited. Now, Ellen has a boyfriend named Lee Quip, and of course Ellen could not resist telling Lee about the Danish pee. Only Lee has kind of a propensity to tell tales. Comic adventures ensue as Ellen’s story spreads over Europe.
Two comments:
1. What business does Stuttgart, or indeed any city have, to say who can or cannot ride in the Worlds?
2. Maybe the big tours need to eliminate stage 17s, just go straight from 16 to 18 sort of like there’s no 13th floor in tall buildings.
Hi Rant
Speaking of the self proclaimed clean cyclist, did you noticed that he will be over at T-mobile with George Hincappie. Maybe George will teach Mr Wiggins a thing or two about self restraint.
William, Stuttgart is the host city for the Worlds, and is supposed to pay UCI for organizing the Worlds. If I’m understanding this correctly, Stuttgart claims that UCI made certain promises to the city in connection with this payment.
Larry,
Interesting premise for a sitcom. I think it might just work.
William,
I’m all in favor of eliminating Stage 17s. I think, given all the hullabaloo of the last year, even Floyd might be in favor of such a move. 😉
Luc,
I don’t know who wrote this, but I saw a comment somewhere that suggested that George would be the elder statesman and sit the younger riders on his knee while explaining how things work in the world of pro cycling. First in line should be the one and only Mr. Wiggins.
Larry:
My point is that the riders in question have not proved positive for doping, and CAS says UCI can’t ban them on mere accusation. End of case, unless UCI can hold a hearing with proof positive prior to the worlds. Stuttgart has no authority to request that a rider be banned. Would UCI promise to ban any rider accused, even if not proved, of doping and would such a promise be valid, especially now their attempted bans have been shot down.