I am done with the Tour de France
I’ve been religiously following the Tour de France over the past 5-6 summers to help pass the time between the end and beginning of the NHL season. I know cycling is incredibly different from hockey, but there’s something about time trials, intense stages with plenty of pain, and a unique form of teamwork that kept me watching the race every July.
This summer, I decided that I would not watch the TdF. The cyclists I had cheered for over the years have either retired (Lance Armstrong) or have been pulled from the sport because of doping. I can’t even recognize the name of a lot of the top cyclists left anymore.
I still have read some articles about the Tour de France so I knew that Alexandre Vinokourov (one of the few names I did already know) was a pre-race favorite, was currently 23rd overall, and had won the 15th stage yesterday (and the 13th stage on Saturday). However, the cyclist had an awful stage on Sunday and was no longer in contention to win.
I then find out today that he has been pulled out of the race for doping. He tested positive for the blood transfusion in a test taken on Saturday and we didn’t hear about it until today (Tuesday).
“Vino has tested positive having to do with a blood transfusion and the team is leaving the Tour,” team spokeswoman Corinne Druey said, using the rider’s nickname. …
Race director Christian Prudhomme said the case showed that cycling’s drug-testing system doesn’t work.
“It’s an absolute failure of the system,” he said. “It is a system which does not defend the biggest race in the world. This is a system which can’t last.”
British rider David Millar, who was holding a press conference in Pau when the news broke, said: “Jesus Christ, I’m speechless.”
“With a guy of his stature and class, in cycling’s current situation, we might as well pack our bags and go home,” said Millar, who returned from a two-year doping ban in the Tour de France last year. Millar was stripped of his gold medal from the 2003 world championships after admitting taking the banned blood-booster EPO.
Unfortunately, I can’t say that I’m surprised another cyclist was found to be doping, but the TdF organizers had made a big deal about weeding out the dopers and I guess I had hoped that things might have changed now that most of the big names were kicked out or had retired. Sadly, I was wrong.
As of right now, I am done with the Tour de France and the sport of cycling. I know steroids is found in every sport (but to what extent varies), but time and time again the cyclists have let me down. Why should I invest my time and energy into cheering for a cyclist (ex. Floyd Landis) when they’re doping and likely to get banned from the sport at some point? I’m even starting to question Armstrong as a “clean” athlete when it seems that pretty much every other cyclist doped at some point.
Sorry for ranting about the TdF when this is a hockey blog, but I’m guessing some casual cycling fans like myself are thinking the same way and are no longer tuning into the race (which can only hurt Versus because this race is a big draw for them).
Most of my favorite Armstrong moments are in that YouTube video.
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7 Responses to “I am done with the Tour de France”
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July 24th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Funny you should mention this…my wife and I are big cylcing nuts too and we were shocked at this news.
However, we’re not giving up on the sport. We’re hoping that Alberto Contador can pull out an upset, or at the very least, Leipheimer can move up in the standings.
I caught Lance’s last ride and I’m disappointed that I didn’t choose to see his other Tour de France victories.
July 25th, 2007 at 12:21 am
I’m with you on this one, Christy. As cool an event as it used to be, I follow less and less, and this year, I haven’t even been following it. It’s to the point my neighbor mentioned the doping cyclist’s name to me and I had no clue what he was talking about. I thought he was speaking a foreign language for all I knew.
July 26th, 2007 at 10:11 am
I follow the Tour as well, but after Rasmussen (the yellow jersey!) got disqualified for doping yesterday, I’m not sure if I will follow the rest of it…
There are still a couple of young riders that i might follow, but its getting rather ridiculous…
It is curious that, in a race where about half of the cyclists are French, not a single French rider has been singled out for doping. The French labs should be under some serious scrutiny here…
July 26th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
I quit too. That sport doesn’t deserve my time and energy. I agree that steroids are everywhere, but good grief, cycling is like a pack of three-year-olds run amok without parental guidance. I’m just so over the whole thing.
July 28th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Sadly, I think a lot of people will be turned off because of all this doping and it really is a wonderful sport. Hopefully, they’ll be able to turn it around and then I’ll start watching again. But until then…
July 31st, 2007 at 5:24 pm
I’ve raced road bikes for the past three years, and before this season I had religiously watched the TdF for even longer than that. But with the constant string of doping scandals (trust me, they ALL dope), I just couldn’t do it. There are more stories and air time devoted to doping infractions than the actual bike races, so what’s the point of following the pros anymore?
I’ll stick to following the 45 year-old Masters racers who still wipe the road with me every weekend.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:54 pm
It’s definitely an enjoyable sport to watch, but the doping scandals take away any pleasure I got from rooting for a favorite.