THE WAR IN CYCLING: PART ONE

For one of my classes, I was required to read a book and do a research paper on a topic from that book. Because there was basically no restrictions, I was able to choose a topic that I enjoyed and read Lance Armstrong's War by Daniel Coyle. I loved the book and really liked writing the paper because I learned so much more about cycling. Not all of my research was strict though, Bike Forums isn't the best resource, but I really tried to represent and defend the sport. I had to change the paper a little bit to fit with the guidelines and let the average reader understand it but I really like how it turned out. This is what I wrote.

The War in Cycling

Cheating has been entwined with the Tour de France for decades. During the second year of the race, the top four riders were disqualified for a variety of offenses such as riding the train, sabotage of other riders, and being towed by a car (Barnett par. 4). Cheating has become more refined over the years and is no longer visible to the human eye. Various forms of doping are now the chosen form of cheating, and only concrete evidence, extreme doping controls, and extensive laboratory tests seem to be catching the fakes. Yet it’s not enough, as more riders continue to get away with cheating.

In Lance Armstrong’s War: One Man’s Battle Against Fate, Fame, Love, Death, Scandal, and a Few Other Rivals on the Road to the Tour de France, Daniel Coyle takes a look at not only Lance Armstrong, but also his rivals during the 2004 Tour de France and the sport of cycling itself. Although the book requires some knowledge of cycling and the riders, it is extremely entertaining and interesting. Coyle offers a look into the world of a cyclist, the training involved in becoming a world class rider, how the teams evolve, and how each one differs from the other. The book concentrates on a simpler time in the sport in which doping and cycling were not synonymous. Coyle briefly mentions doping in his book but this form of cheating was not a well known public issue at the time. In the four years since Lance Armstrong’s War was written, doping has affected the careers of Armstrong, his chief rivals, and many other riders as well.

The controversy of doping has turned the world of cycling upside down. To fully understand the issues one must first know a little background about the doping itself. One of the first most widely used forms is blood doping. This is the practice of transfusing oxygen-carrying red blood cells in order to enhance aerobic capacity and endurance. An outside source or the cyclist’s own red blood cells can be used, although both are dangerous because of the risks involved such as infection and blood diseases. Urine and blood tests have been created to detect evidence of this form of doping (Fiedler par. 1-2). Erythropoietin, or EPO, is possibly the most popular drug used by cyclists who cheat. Injection of EPO increases the growth of red blood cells and has a similar effect on the body as blood doping. Blood and urine tests have been used since 2000 to detect EPO. New “generations” of this drug have been created so tests continue to evolve (Asplund par. 2-4).

One of the first opponents of Lance Armstrong that Coyle mentions in his book is Tyler Hamilton. An American with a history of bad luck of crashing in races, Hamilton also had a reputation for being polite and respectful. In fact, the chapter in Lance Armstrong’s War about Hamilton is titled “The Nicest Guy” (Coyle 36-37). He was a former teammate of Armstrong’s on the U.S. Postal team, but left to become the leader of a rival team. He created a family sort of environment on this team which focused on forming strong bonds between the riders (Coyle 40-41). This, along with his gracious personality, made it hard to believe the two positive blood doping tests at the Olympics (where he won gold) and the Vuelta a España in September 2004 (Coyle 307-310). After an initial outpouring of support from his American fans, Hamilton was convicted and received a two year ban. He continues to deny the charges, even blaming an undeveloped twin for the foreign blood found by the test. His denials have made him a joke among many cycling fans which, along with race exclusions, have made his subsequent comeback difficult (Jones, “Tyler” par. 1-8).

Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, considered by Coyle as Armstrong’s biggest opponents during 2004 (6), were caught up in the scandal of Operación Puerto. On May 23, 2006, members of the Astana- Würth team were arrested for having connections to Dr. Fuentes. A sports doctor, Dr. Fuentes had been arrested for helping athletes enhance their performances illegally by using such methods as EPO or blood doping (Jones, “Saiz” par. 1-3). The case included many types of athletes but only road cycling was focused upon. Names of riders who had connections with Fuentes began leaking to the press, but it wasn’t until June 29, only two days before the Tour de France, that the full list of 58 cyclists was revealed (Jones, “More” par. 1-3). Mass suspensions and arrests rocked the cycling world in the biggest doping scandal to hit the sport. As a result of those charges and Armstrong’s 2005 retirement, none of the riders who placed in the top 5 of the 2005 Tour de France, raced in the 2006 version. Jan Ullrich was suspended and fired from his team because of the doping accusations. DNA evidence later confirmed these speculations and Ullrich retired from racing in February 2007 (Kröner par. 1). Ivan Basso, a young rider with an impressive reputation as the only cyclist to successfully keep up with Lance Armstrong in the mountains, was also indicted in Operación Puerto. In May 2007, he admitted to contacting Dr. Fuentes with the intent to dope, but maintains that it was only attempted doping (Brown, “Basso: ‘It” par. 1-3). Basso received a two year ban and began his comeback to professional racing in late 2008 (Brown, “Basso Ends” par. 1). Despite their doping charges, Ullrich and Basso continue to be adored and respected by their countries and cycling fans.

Operación Puerto suspended many riders suspected of doping from the 2006 Tour de France, but doping still shook the race. Floyd Landis, an American and ex- teammate of Lance Armstrong, was a former Mennonite and mountain bike racer. Daniel Coyle describes Landis as someone loyal to his team but still desiring to strike out on his own (157-166). Coming in as a dark horse favorite in 2006, he would get his chance to be a leader. Suffering from a hip injury, Landis lost over eight minutes on a mountain stage during the 2006 Tour. In what has been called one of the most epic rides in cycling, he made up most of that time the next day on a 128km solo ride (Decaluwé, Tan, and Kröner par. 1-7). Landis won the Tour de France, but it was later announced that he had tested positive for testosterone after his impressive stage. The news shocked the cycling world, not only because many of the cheats were thought to have been previously removed, but also because of Landis’s personality and the type of performance enhancing drug used. Testosterone is used to gain muscle in sports that require bulking up. In cycling, riders try to remain as light as possible in order to achieve a better power to weight ratio, which makes climbing mountains easier. Landis denied doping and has continually maintained his innocence. His book, Positively False, explains his side of the doping scandal. On September 22, 2007, Landis was officially stripped of his Tour title and given a two year suspension (Bass par. 1-8). He has now returned to cycling but is not completely respected by fans because of his refusal to confess.