Originally Posted by Moyene Corniche

Interesting thread. Curious as to how many of this threads participants have actually raced in a higher caliber field than Cat IV's. or even been to France, Italy or Belgium and raced in at least an amateur race.... ??? Or perhaps been persistent enough to have raced as a Pro.. ??

There seems to be a whole point here that is missed.... Pro Cycling is a Business, first and foremost... Same as other professional sports where ethics often take a backseat.... Doping is a societal problem, there isn't anywhere that one can turn without some kind of pharmaceutical advice being suggested to improve your day... These are the times we live in, it's been the reality for decades.

When it comes to results which for sponsors translate to increased brand exposure which ultimately translates to increased revenues, shouldn't the bar be set a lot higher.... It is exhausting to read and listen of the debate between clean and doped athlete's... The problem lies with all of us in society who vehemently follow a professional sport but only ask questions when it is convenient...

I am neither supporting Lance or for that matter crucifying him.. Cannot be done without including everyone else. The hypocrisy of it all should lead anyone to ask when is it convenient for UCI, WADA, USA Cycling and all the past and current sponsors to look the other way, not say anything and then one day declare that these certain offenders should be regarded as criminals...

We would all like a level playing field where the insistent sponsors message is " We need results and we don't want excuses as to Why Not "
isn't the prevailing theme, voiced or not... I don't see where villafying athletes makes us any better, Landis and Hamilton aren't angelic, but so are the rest in this story, one cannot swim in the same pool and say I'm clean. Doesn't work that way.
I still cycle, will race again, and I will follow Pro Cycling because I inherently still believe that the sport is a beautiful sport, the race parcours eclipse other sports. There is a naive hope that perhaps the infantile habits of Pro Sports will continue to recede and the majority will understand that winning at all costs is not the only thing....

In the meantime it's time to get out and ride today ... Although waking up to an inch of snow and 30F temps was unexpected after a 65F+ days... It's New England..