I’m glad Contador was caught, although saddened at the same time because of the negative publicity for pro cycling.
It won’t detract from my viewing of the tour or any other cycling. But for the Daily Mail reading majority it will be jumped on at a time when cycling seems to be on a wave of popularity which is a shame.
For me, doping is like F1 where teams use things outside the rule book to improve performance. There’s a grey area where something could or could not be allowed. Teams exploit this to improve results, until its outlawed and they are subsequently fined/banned. On the flip side, some use substances that are known to be outlawed, which is clearly cheating. Having read Millars biography, it seems that a lot of ‘fluid’ replacement stuff goes on after the race which is allowed. Surely if you want to do it clean, all forms of ‘replenishment’ should be banned too? But where does it stop – should all performance enhancing products (energy drinks, bars, gels, IV’s to re-hydrate) be on the list?
I don’t think a blanket ‘lifetime’ ban can be slapped on everything. At the same time, I think more action should be taken against team managers, especially those with one or more banned riders on their teams.
