SB Nation User Blog: pigilito

The Tour's first scandal

pigilito — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 02:12:25 -0000

The Tour de France, cycling's most prestigious race, has been around since 1903, and endured its first scandal in 1904. That year saw the top four overall finishers and all stage winners disqualified and banned by the French Cycling Union (UVF - at the time the national governing body). Sounds bad enough as scandals go, right? But this happened after the organizer of the Tour threw out nine other riders for some sort of cheating (the Wiki entry doesn't specify all the infractions, but does note that at least some were for hopping trains).

The recent struggles for control of racing have a 1904 precedent as well. Then the Tour organizer disciplined riders as he saw fit, expecting that to be the end of the story. Several months later the UVF opened its own investigation, and on its own authority banned many of France's top riders.

The UVF's actions may have been an opportunity to claim jurisdiction over all aspects of French cycling (warning: major speculation alert). Just as the US Supreme Court used the case of Marbury v. Madison early in the nation's history to establish the principle of judicial review over all branches of the federal government, it may be that the UVF used the controversy to display and cement its authority over the totality of French cycling.

Does all that maneuvering sound familiar? This year saw the Court of Arbitration for Sport refuse a request from a group representing several professional cycling teams for injunctive relief against the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the group (ASO) that stages many of the world's premier races - including the Tour de France. In this case the ASO was on the side of the pro teams despite being lumped in with the UCI. The UCI and ASO have been squabbling for years over power and money.

As for what the riders banned by the UVF in 1904 were guilty of, no one seems to know. The Wiki entry mentions illegal agreements but offers no evidence. A cycling historian is tackling the subject for his thesis; his judgment will be written up and published, hopefully as a book along the lines of Cod, or Close to Shore - books which include plenty of historical context about the events they describe. The story as known is written up by cycling's premier journalist, the International Herald Tribune's Samuel Abt.

EPO largely undetectable

pigilito — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:15:21 -0000

From an IHT article:

Athletes who want to cheat by injecting themselves with a performance-enhancing drug that boosts their blood cell count can do so with little risk of getting caught, a new study indicates, possibly exposing another flaw in what is regarded as the world's toughest anti-doping program.

Does this mean a return to the bad old days of doping without fear? Probably. This may be the last TdF in a while that we can be at least somewhat confident the leaders are clean.

Cycling and doping, they go together like a horse and carriage

pigilito — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:26:40 -0000

Professional cycling is entering the meat of its Spring season, with exciting finishes and entertaining races. And yet it can't shake its history of doping, as three recent articles from the BBC depressingly illustrates.

The first notes that defending Tour de France champion Alberto Contador (who won thanks to the leader of the Tour being pulled by his team on doping suspicions)(http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/7307339.stm), will not have the opportunity to defend his yellow jersey, as his Astana team was not invited to participate. Contador is a young and talented rider, there is no question he will be back - as will other Astana riders. However, the team itself is finished, as it should be. Too many of its riders have been implicated in doping scandals for the team to get an invite to the big dance this year. The Team's webpage doesn't show the TdF on its schedule.

Next up, doper and 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/7303728.stm)has his last chance at proving he was wrongly convicted when he tested positive on the heels of an epic ride on the Tour's final mountain stage. The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland will hear Landis' appeal, but his chances have to be counted as slim.

UPDATE: Per this press release (http://www.tas-cas.org/d2wfiles/document/568/5048/0/CP%20Landis%2024mars%20eng.pdf) (in French), the hearing captioned Floyd Landis v. United States Anti-Doping Agency is finished. The judges took more than 35 hours to hear both sides. All that remains is for final supporting documents to be provided by 18 April. The final decision is expected in June. Whatever the outcome, the decision will make for fascinating reading.

Finally, Dick Pound (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/7307977.stm), the ex-honcho of the World Anti-Doping Agency, will be sued by the International Cycling Union (UCI) for expressing his opinion that the UCI wasn't doing enough to combat doping. Now, Pound is a fierce critic when it comes to dopers and doping, so it isn't difficult to see how he'd ruffle some feathers at the UCI. Given that professional cycling is the sport most tainted by doping, you would think the UCI would have a thicker skin when it comes to critics.

Perhaps cycling can slowly put its shameful doping past behind it. Certainly, keeping the Astana team out, even if it harms innocent riders, is evidence that the Tour De France organizers are serious about their stewardship role (and their bottom line).

In any case, the season just beginning is full of promise. Like any fan I will enjoy the spectacle of riders heroically pushing themselves to their limits. It's just that I've learned to question overly heroic performances.

Poll

Do you think FLoyd Landis was guilty of doping in the 2006 TdF?

Yes

17 votes

No

7 votes

24 votes | Poll has closed