The cycling press world has been on fire with the news that DNA tests confirmed bags of blood in the Operacion Puerto scandal have been linked to the now retired Jan Ullrich. This news is a blow to the few people who still believe cycling is or was clean. It seems at this point that drug usage in cycling is a fact of life, a result of western values and greed. Our infatuation with growth, wealth, fame, and all the other cornerstones of the modern world have taken sport to the brink of disaster. Or has it?
David Millar said after he was busted for EPO that he did it because of the intense pressures to perform in the world of pro cycling. He was in a bit of a slump riding, the bills were piling up, sponsors were demanding results, and the family wanted a new kitchen. With the help of EPO he was suddenly one of cycling's hottest riders, with a rainbow jersey to top it all off. He was the toast of the town. Nothing could go wrong. When he was busted a short time later his sponsers deserted him, England renownced him, and cycling chastized him. Two years later he's back and racing "clean" but his case is an interesting study in what makes riders head down the path towards drugs.
Pressure to perform in sport is an unbelievable motivator, and in our world the only realistic measure of success is improvement. When we reach the limits of our own ability we turn to something else. Thus the development of better and better equipment, better coaches, better training regimes, and in the end, better drugs. To win the biggest races in the world you need to be born a genetic freak, have the best and lightest bikes, work with a crew of world renowned coaches and sports physiologists, ride with the best team and take part in a blood doping regime which will bring you right to the limit of the tests without going over. It's all part of the game of professional cycling, driven by the corporate world which pays the bills. The sponsors who act so surprised and disgusted when their star rider gets nailed by the UCI are themselves to blame. Their seven figure contract is most likely the leading reason their rider turned to drugs for help.
If you don't believe this think about how many recreational riders are doping up before a group ride so they can get up the hill first. Any? Cycling at its core is about the simple freedom of moving about under your own power in your own direction, exploring the land, and many spectators of the grand tours cite the landscapes as one of the main draws of these races. The country that they race through is some of the most beautiful in the world; the Tour de France is just that, a tour of France. Over years and years of building the sport and building its sponsorship these original ideals were somewhat forgotten. Involvement in cycling is a purely financial decision for its sponsor, one based on return for investment and exposure, not love of the sport.
On the other hand we have the riders themselves. No one becomes a bike racer because they think they're going to get rich, they become a bike racer because they fell in love with the sensation of riding a bike. As I struggle and toil up a huge climb I'm not thinking of financial rewards, but physical and mental ones. I know that the sensation of conquering my local hills is the same as that which drove Jan Ullrich to start riding and then racing. It was much later when the corrupting forces of sponsorship dollars, TV deals and ruthless competition turned him and countless others towards drugs.
Whenever I've had the chance to chat with a pro cyclist I'm always struck by how similar we are. Sure, they can drop me like a prom dress on any ride I care to name, but the passion for the sport is always the same. One can sense the same sadness among the racers as among the fans when it comes to drugs. Its for this reason that I continue to respect and idolize these guys, they're just other much more talented riders than I trying to make a living out of the (corrupted) sport they love. For this you have to give them credit. Even if they're taking every type of EPO/blood transfusion/testosterone/etc out there they're also busting their ass in the saddle training on days when the rest of us are sleeping in and eating Cheerios. I recently read a Micheal Barry training exert in Velonews which mapped out his January ride around Boulder. While he was riding a cyclo-cross bike 80 miles through the snowy Colorado mountains amid the worst winter in 70 years you were probably sitting at home wondering when summer would return.
Think about that next time someone gets busted for "cheating." Its not like they're sitting on the couch taking a pill that magically turns them into Miguel Indurain; they're working they're asses off to become stronger than you or I can even imagine. When that's not enough they turn to medicine, just like the rest of the drug addled western world does.
This is why I still watch pro cycling, for no matter how many drug scandals are unsurfaced and how much Dick Pound criticizes the sport in the end its all about the riders, and as far as I'm concerned the work they put in to reach that level is enough to make them heroes no matter what happens from that point on.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it! Yeah, you pretty much nailed it on that subject. Der Kaiser will always be one of my heros - he just happened to get caught - the others are lucky... for now.
PS - sweet photo - what a bad mofo he was !
Posted by: sevy | 04 April 2007 at 09:38 AM
Amen, well said.
Mmmm, that is a tasty burger.
Posted by: natty | 06 April 2007 at 05:20 AM