THE WAR IN CYCLING: PART TWO

The War in Cycling (Continued)

A severe crash prevented Jan Ullrich’s teammate and veteran rider, Alexandre Vinokourov, from being an opponent of Lance Armstrong during 2004 (Coyle 205). Coyle writes in Lance Armstrong’s War, how Vinokourov’s harsh life growing up in Kazakhstan made him a stronger rider (57-59). He continued to improve and by 2007, he had become a prerace favorite for the Tour. According to race officials, this Tour de France was going to be cleaner than the previous year in cycling. Instead, doping again racked the Tour. Vinokourov tested positive for blood doping after a remarkable comeback from serious injuries sustained during the race (“Vinokourov” par. 1-5). His teammate, Andrey Kashechkin, also tested positive for blood doping, and as a result, their team Astana, withdrew from the Tour (“Kashechkin” par. 1-2).

Iban Mayo, a quiet Basque climber, was the last of Armstrong’s 2004 rivals to be brought down by doping. On July 30, 2007, it was announced that Mayo had tested positive for EPO during the 2007 Tour de France, which had been completed only days earlier. He refused to confess, maintaining his innocence but was convicted and received a two year ban (“Hold the Mayo!” par. 1). It is unknown whether he will attempt a comeback but has dropped out of the cycling world. Mayo has been relatively forgotten about although most cycling fans agree he is guilty of doping.

The positive doping tests of many successful cyclists have put other riders under speculation. This includes the man who was at the center of David Coyle’s book, Lance Armstrong. He has split riders, directors, and fans over the belief of whether he did or did not cheat using performance enhancing substances. Armstrong has passed every single doping test yet has been continually plagued by rumors. Former employees of his team have accused him of doping and the positive tests of his ex-teammates have only helped the accusations. Armstrong remains as one of cycling’s biggest heroes and his 2009 comeback is well looked upon by many fans.

I believe that Lance Armstrong rode clean. My theory maintaining his innocence is a mix of other’s opinions but comes also from the man himself. He has simply too much to lose. If he cheated, Armstrong would become the biggest cycling and American doping scandal. Not only would the sport be affected, but also everything he has built up outside of cycling, such as the LiveSTRONG foundation. Critics have acknowledged this but say Armstrong could not have predicted what has become of his wins after he came back from cancer. Yet he was a talented rider before he had the disease and cancer could have made his mindset even stronger. Various tests have proven that Lance Armstrong has a physical advantage over the other riders, creating less lactic acid, recovering faster, and having a larger lung capacity. In Lance Armstrong’s War, teammates describe him as training harder and longer than anyone else, in hopes of getting just a little bit better (Coyle 167). Armstrong was meticulous in everything he did; he sought the best equipment and tried to perfect even the smallest of details (Coyle 76). Yet what gave him the extra edge was his focus, his drive to beat everybody else no matter what happened. Armstrong won the Tour de France seven times. He was tested more than anyone else because of his victories but if he was cheating, he would have had to somehow evade the tests.

Doping has tainted cycling in the races, the records, and the results. No longer is an unexpected and outstanding result met with congratulations. Instead it raises suspicion and the performance falls under the always prevalent question of “is he doping?” Critics laud the races as drug filled and the media is full of articles questioning the credibility of the sport. Fans no longer know which riders to believe and as a result, sponsors have discontinued their teams. Operación Puerto has been once more opened up and two successful riders have been linked to the scandal. Among the chaos, are the cyclists themselves; some are outspoken against doping, but many are quiet in the midst of the fighting. Most would prefer to just ride their bikes, although they do support the effort to clean up their sport. Three professional cycling teams have implemented extreme anti doping programs to try and reclaim cycling as clean. Cycling may be the sport most connected with cheating but that is because cycling is the sport that has done the most to find the cheats. No other sport has such extreme testing or long term bans, but cycling has the image of being the dirty sport because so many abusers are caught.

Amidst all the mayhem in cycling, among the questions about the riders and the races, loyalty is no longer strictly to a team or a cyclist, but to the sport itself. It comes off as a laugh to the general public and there is always a difficulty in understanding why people would bother following the sport. These same people do not realize how hard the races are and the bravery is sometimes in simply finishing the race, such as the Paris-Roubaix or the Tour de France. Daniel Coyle reveals in Lance Armstrong’s War what it takes to be a cyclist, the intense training, the constant pressure, and the always prevalent danger of crashing. He describes the magnificence of a solo mountaintop win, the crazed fans who line the roads, the pain on the faces of the cracked riders, and the glory of winning a single stage. Yes, it’s hard to see races torn apart because of doping, and faith in the sport wavers. Something continues to bring you back however and doping will not drive away the real fans among us. Cycling reveals the true champions in the midst of cobblestones, 40mph sprint finishes, rolling hills, and mountains.