Teach Your Children Well

3 comments | July 28th, 2007 | Trackback

their parents health will slowly go by.

So goes the old song by Crosby, Stills and Nash, written decades before David Crosby’s well publicized problems with drug addition and gun-toting parole violations. Crosby failed to follow his own advice until he was well past middle age. Will Professional Tour Cycling have what it takes to avoid Crosby’s mistake?

Most of Cycling’s brightest stars already have been victims of doping violations or scandals. In Michael Rasmussen’s case, he learned that lying no longer is in vogue in some circles - Thank God! Ulrich, Basso, Vinokourouv, and the list could keep on going! Where will this ever end?

I logged on today to post how happy I was that this year’s Tour was both survived and conquered by rising young stars in cycling’s; galaxy only to read Jessica’s post about the suspicions surrounding Soler. How utterly depressing!

I do think Phil Liggett was correct the other day, however, when he said this will be remembered as cycling’s brightest hour and not its darkest. With all the billions of dollars and billion dollar egos funnelling into the world of professional sports (which means they have billions of dollars and huge egos at risk), I am proud that cycling has not deemed any person or entity immune from the blade being used to amputate the doping curse from its body. One day, hopefully soon, cycling will be rid of most of the cheaters and will have given all other organizations a model for how to truly have a clean sport.

For now I choose to focus on what is left, not on the carnage. Hopefully the Soler rumors will prove to be just that - rumors. That still leaves Contador (the buoyant star of the present and future), Evans, Leipheimer and Boonen (all tried and true veterans) at the top of the heap. Let’s hope adults everywhere are pointing young people toward these excellent examples of how to do things properly.

Perhaps the first rule of happiness is that each person must be honest with him or her self. A world of accolades will fall on deaf ears if the honoree knows he has cheated to achieve his goals. A hollow victory is no reward.

Even with all the problems, and perhaps because of them, this has been the most exciting tour I ever have followed. Sarge had this one pegged from the beginning when he suggested it probably go come down to the last time trial. (Although I doubt any of us had guessed who the primary players would be at that point.) Imagine how exciting tomorrow’s sprint also would have been but for Robbie McEwen’s first stage injury.

Thank you riders for giving this race everything you had. Thank you team directors for knowing so much more than I do and putting your riders in a position where they had a chance to win. Thank you owners for not merely pretending to deal with those who cheat. Thank you organizers for being willing to sacrifice short term rewards to do what is necessary to reestablish the integrity of what certainly is the most demanding team sport on our planet. This has been a wild and wonderful ride.

I sure hope I get to catch my breath again tomorrow.