Wannabe Bike Girl

If you’re a fan of professional cycling, I cannot understand why you don’t understand a) that people dope and b) WHY they dope. I also don’t understand people who actually believe the whole peloton is clean, but that’s a completely different issue (one that’s already been proven wrong). Anyway, the point is that if you’re a fan of sports, any sport (it doesn’t matter which one), you should not EVER be surprised when a an athlete (from any sport) tests positive.

Maybe it’s something about the type of fans Armstrong brings into the sport, but there is so much naivete out there that it just blows my mind. Of course cyclists are going to dope. Of course they are going to get caught. Until the punishment sufficiently scares athletes, there will always be doping. As for why people dope? There are a million reasons. There’s pressure to win, pressure to keep up, pressure because everyone else (so to speak) is doing it. And yet all people seem to come up with is a feeling of betrayal and shock. I mean, COME ON.

I don’t know how people can continue to be fans of cycling if they cannot accept that perhaps, one day, their favorite cyclist will test positive. I’m lucky, in a way, because looking back, my former favorite cyclist was almost certainly doping. He rode for T-Mobile back with Jan Ulrich and Erik Zabel. Of course he was doping. But I never had to suffer through positives because he quit before he had a chance. It’s a risk we take. I like to think that Sylvain and Heinrich aren’t doping, but do I know for sure they’re not? No. Do I know for sure that Garmin and Columbia aren’t doping? No, but I have more faith in the fact that they probably aren’t. Would I be heartbroken if [insert name of cyclist I adore] tested positive? You bet your ass I would be.

But that’s the risk. You have to understand that cyclists, even your favorites (whoever they are) might test positive. You cannot go through life as a fan of cycling without accepting that just because you want the sport to be free of dopers it’s going to be free. Because it’s not, at least not until something major happens and WADA/UCI/etc get their acts together, which we all know will definitely happen. Oh yes. WAIT NO. It won’t. Which, whatever. Out of our control as fans. Therefore we must accept that positives happen. We need to stop being so fucking shocked about it. Come on, seriously.

I get that people don’t understand cycling, but this is just common sense. Cyclists dope. They could be your favorites. Things might change, they might not. In order to be a fan, you have to accept the risk that someone you adore is or might test positive. That doesn’t mean they will, but it definitely doesn’t mean they won. It’s just a fact of being a sports fan. I accept this risk because I wouldn’t want to stop being a cycling fan. It means too much to me.

Maybe that’s not how it works for the rest of you, but that’s fine. Just stop being so damn surprised all the time.

Someone on Twitter said to me (in reference to this tweet) that “[I'm] coming off just a bit obsessive…take a deep breath lol.” And, you know what? He’s totally right. My response was: “Just a bit? I am totally obsessed with cycling! Oh, you mean with LA hate? Well … I can’t quite deny that, either.”

And he really is right. It’s partly the type of person I am (obsessive), but it’s also the fact that watching Versus is like watching Lance Armstrong TV and it drives me crazy. But I don’t really want to talk about that right now, because we’ve all heard the rant and we’ll heart it again tomorrow. I was updating my TDF Diary just now and ended up reading some old TDF entries. I started with ‘04, back when I still liked Lance (but seemed to like other people more). It’s interesting because as the ‘04 Tour goes on, my bitterness grows. And by the time we get to the 2008 Tour, I’ve turned turned up the bitterness to massive levels. I’m not ashamed of it, I’m more amused. Obviously I’m still bitter, but at least I can laugh about it.

The other thing I noticed was that up until 2007, I was seriously naïve. I don’t mean just about cyclists, but about cycling. I mean, I understood a lot, but I bought the party line (though you could see little strings of disconnect slipping into what I’m writing). While I was never quite miserable about all the ‘big name’ positives (Landis, Hamilton, Vino, etc), it kind of makes me sad to go back and read about jsut how out of touch I, and perhaps the cycling world, was at the time(s). We worked so hard to pretend there wasn’t doping and I don’t know that we’ve come that far. It’s still far too easy to just pretend it doesn’t exist.

But all the same, I wouldn’t stop being a fan of the sport or stop blogging just because of a doper or just because Armstrong might win the TDF (I hope he doesn’t, but it’s not the end of the world if he does). It’s just sad to see how much I invested in Vino and Tyler and whatever. But luckily for me, I tend to be fickle about GC winners and contenders, because though many have tested positive, I’ve always moved on by then. Luckily for me.

For a good article/post on why the UCI screwed up with the Tom Boonen positive, read this over at Cyclocsm.

Funny (as in kind of amusing): Tom Boone tests positive for coke again.

Not funny (at all): Richard Gasquet allegedly tests positive for coke.

Why is one funny and not the other? The answer is far, far too simple and it’s in two parts. a) I like Richard Gasquet and I don’t like Tom Boonen and b) Tom Boonen tested positive for the same drug TWICE. This is his second offense. This means that he’s stupid enough to do the same thing twice, knowing that he’d probably get caught. Of course, we could make a million excuses (for both of them), but this is Boonen’s second positive. He should know better.

That being said, I do feel a bit sorry for both of them, especially if the Gasquet thing is true. But then again, no excuses. They should be smarter than this. I imagine that Boonen’s career might be over, but I expect that Gasquet’s will be. I can see him going completely downhill if he’s banned for two years.

I guess this serves as a reminder, athletes are human after all.

Haussler “shocked” by Rebellin positive (cyclingweekly)

Germany’s Heinrich Haussler has said that he was “shocked” to hear that his former Gerolsteiner team-mate Davide Rebellin had tested positive for CERA.

Haussler, who recently finished second at both Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders, told cyclingweekly.co.uk that he had no suspicions about Rebellin.

“I did not have one doubt about Rebellin. When I heard it, I was pretty shocked,” he said.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore Haussi, but come on. I’m not shocked that Rebellin tested positive. He’s of that generation, as we say. But come on, how are we surprised? I guess sometimes cycling is a big world of denial. Though from what I can tell, Rebellin’s in a lot of denial as well. Just don’t you test positive, Haussi.

Spanish rider Redondo suspended for doping (cyclingweekly)

Spanish rider Jose Antonio Redondo has been provisionally suspended by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) for failing an out-of-competition dope test taken in March.

This one was a bit more of a surprise, if only because I used to like this kid quite a bit during my Vino fangirl days. Therefore, I shouldn’t be surprised that he probably doped. But, ugh.

I was just looking at stats for this blog and clicked on one of the links someone had visited and ended up on a post from 2006. And can I just say that I was really, really naïve? I mean, thinking that Ullrich didn’t dope and that Basso was hopefully clean? What the hell! Of course, 2006 me probably liked Tom Boonen and was still slightly depressed that Christian Werner quit cycling. And, of course, I was stoked that Armstrong had quit.

Little did I know what would happen, though. I’d like to think that I’m not that naïve now, but I know better. Ahh, well. Such is the life of a fan, right?

What are my thoughts on the whole Tyler Hamilton thing? Good riddance.

Look, maybe I’m supposed to care, but I can’t — not the way people expected, I guess. I care in that hopefully this means a number of things 1) he will retire and stay retired, 2) they will ban him for life, 3) his being caught and subsequent confession will draw attention to other who should, but haven’t, confessed. And so on. I am not stupid enough to believe that any of these are true. And, I’ll be honest, I never felt betrayed by him in the first place, because the circumstances of my liking him had already moved on by the time he tested positive. What his first positive test did was piss me off because he would never admit he was doping and I never believed his bullshit excuses (even though I have no problems with the whole chimera idea (listen to this excellent piece by Radio Lab for more). But it was far, far too much of an easy out for Hamilton.

That being said, I do feel sorry for him because depression is never easy to deal with and the added pressure of sport and others doping probably made it twice as hard for him. I don’t know if he’s using it an excuse or what, and nor does it make up for the fact that he cheated — but it does explain a lot about how he could so easily cheat. Obviously, this isn’t the reason that other cyclists dope — and I’m sure there are plenty of cyclists who are depressed and don’t dope, or develop depression after being cause (David Millar, for example). Everyone has extenuating circumstances, but that doesn’t make it okay to cheat.

I hope that Hamilton goes away. I hope others learn from this. I am not stupid enough to believe that they will learn, but I can hope. Because I have to, otherwise what’s the point? I suppose we can say at least he admitted it. But he had to be caught twice — what about the people who haven’t ever been caught, or those that have served their ban without ever confessing? Or those who retired without confessing? If cycling’s every going to be clean, people need to be honest. Forget the blood passport, because if people can’t be honest, then what’s the point?

I’ll continue to watch because I love the sport and until (if ever) my favorites test positive, I’ll believe they don’t dope. Maybe I’m sticking my head in the sand, but I don’t see it that way. And if my favorites do dope? I hope they are punished properly. I do believe that confession, banning and then a second chance is the way to go. But if you don’t confess? Or if you’re got caught again? You’re fucked.

Maybe we shouldn’t believe the best in people, but if we didn’t? How could I like Erik Zabel or David Millar or whatever? I have to believe that people make mistakes and can be honest. It’s just too bad that not everyone feels that way — cyclists and fans alike.

Lance Armstrong can joke but a ban would be no laughing matter: The cyclist is not taking the accusations seriously, but if his comeback is ended governments may not be so welcoming

Given his past relationship with the French authorities, Armstrong is probably relishing this latest fight — it certainly seems that way judging by his light-hearted postings online.

But what if the jocularity was misplaced? What if this latest episode was to end badly for him and he found himself barred from this summer’s Tour? What then for his reputation and, more to the point, what then for his chances of success when he eventually retires for good, puts on his suit and knocks on government doors looking for more cash to fight cancer?

I did not wake up early to see this, if only because I had gotten maybe four hours of sleep the night before, worked, and then stayed up until forever to watch swimming. AND THEN wanted to get up and watch the US Men’s Olympics Team (soccer/football — totally worth getting up for, even with the f’ing shit result).

Anyway, instead of doing productive things (aside from grocery shopping), I spent a lot of time watching NBC/CBC/etc. And, as luck would have it, they showed some of the Women’s RR. And I have to say, damn that was one hell of a race. The weather was shit in all the ways that the men’s wasn’t, except for the bad air, of course. We all know that rain’s a bitch when you’re on the bike, and it was for the women.

In spite of the weather (or despite it), the race was good. I quite enjoyed, just as with the men, those trips under the Great Wall. I know that it shouldn’t be so moving, but it is. This thing we’ve all read about in school, seen pictures of, googlemapped, etc, and yet here are these cyclists, racing under it. It’s just amazing. Ahem, back to the race.

The final 2k was brilliant. While most of the favorites missed the break (oh, how we cycling fans know that sight well), there was a fantastic rush to the finish. And, of course, it was Nicole Cooke who took the win. I read a lot of BBC cycling articles and so many of them are about Cooke, that it just seemed natural that she would win. I’m extremely happy, even though she’s not American. It was a totally deserved win and her celebration? Totally great!

This, on the other hand, was not so great:

Cyclist first to fail drugs test

Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno has become the first athlete to fail a drugs test at the Beijing Olympics.Moreno, who was entered for the women’s road race and individual time trial, tested positive for the endurance-boosting drug EPO. She could now face a two-year ban and, under a new International Olympic Committee rule, could also be banned from the 2012 London Olympics.

The IOC said it expected up to 40 positive drug tests during the Games.

The Spanish cyclist, also known as Maribel Moreno, was tested on 31 July and left the city before the Games began.

Luckily, she didn’t race. And hopefully this’ll be the end of her involvement in cycling.

So, Ricco confessed, more people have tested positive, teams aren’t renewing their sponsorships and it’s becoming harder to find new sponsors. I have to say, I am beginning not to care. Not that I don’t want CA and Gerol to not get sponsors, because I do. I just cannot be bothered to spend energy being upset that they don’t.

I think this is because the cycling world needs a change. And maybe that means that the best way is to just start over. Not, you know, get rid of old teams, but not try to keep old sponsors and to embrace the new ones (re: Columbia, Saxo Bank, and Garmin). And then hold these teams to a high standard. This is the best way, along with the probably doomed DNA Passports, to keep cyclists clean.

Something needs to change. Well, actually, a whole hell of a lot of things need to change. Cycling has been stagnant for too long and this push to stop doping might be exactly what is needed. And hopefully it’ll work.