I like Greg, and I enjoyed the show, but I can't go with him on his implications that doping forced him out of the sport. He stated that the training of today's cyclists hasn't changed dramatically in the last 20 years, but the performance has. I think what he was refering to is not that the top athletes are that much better, but that there are a much larger number of athletes that fall into the truly elite group. When he was racing, there were only a handful of guys who were truly at the top of the sport. Even though today there are still only a handful of guys that are capable of actually winning the TdF, there is a much larger group of guys who are right on their heels.
Greg attributes this phenomena to doping, but I think guys like himself and others have elevated the popularity of cycling to the level at which there is a much larger pool of athletes to draw from. There is such a thing as a natural athlete. Some people, regardless of their determination, will never rise to the level of others because of their natural athletism is not the same as others. When you have more milk, you're going to have more cream. Certainly doping is a problem, but it's not the only factor in the equation.