Much like every other cyclist who anyone’s ever heard of, Floyd Landis is in a little bit of pee-pee trouble. He tested positive for an unusual amount of testosterone, and… you know what, I just don’t care.
And it’s not because I don’t care about cycling, or that I hate the Tour de France, in fact, I actively followed Floyd’s pursuit of the yellow jersey, and I found his story to be pretty damn inspirational. And I mean inspirational in the sense that it really might have inspired someone other than me who cared more about cycling or had any kind of ambition.
Rather, here’s the reason I can’t make myself care about this: cycling is so tainted, so drug-infested, that I think you’ve just got to accept it as part of the deal. How many of the top riders were banned from this race right before it began? It just the way things are. And I’m not pointing a finger at cycling, I know other sports have their problems, with in recent cycling history, hey, the needle is there. Doping is to cycling, as ground balls are to baseball, the nickel defense is to football, or super-absorbent maxi-pads are to the WNBA. For better or for worse, it’s a part of it.
My opinion of Floyd Landis hasn’t lowered a bit. I mean, I hope he didn’t do it, but even if he did, he certainly wasn’t the only one in the field, he still beat everyone else, and he still did it with a hip that’s mangled worse than the Knicks salary cap. I’m not saying that I assumed he was dirty beforehand, but I didn’t assume he was clean, either. All I assumed was that he was a cyclist, and thus, under the cloud of “maybe/maybe not, but let’s just see who’s the fastest anyway.” It was Floyd, his comeback was still manly as hell, no matter what turns up in his urine, he’s still a bad-ass.
Maybe that’s a bit too skeptical of me, and maybe it’s not fair to put all cyclists in that same category. And hey, I’d like to believe that purity is possible in cycling, and maybe someday, that’ll be the case. But for right now, to me, believing with 100% certainty that any pro cyclist is clean is about the same as believe that Mark McGwire was clean, too.
Alex Says:
July 27th, 2006 at 6:12 pm
“I mean, I hope he didn’t do it, but even if he did, he certainly wasn’t the only one in the field, he still beat everyone else, and he still did it with a hip that’s mangled worse than the Knicks salary cap.”
Technically, MJD, he only beat the guys who weren’t disqualified before the event. The guys who were disqualified before the race, including some of the pre-race favorites, might have been faster, but they didn’t get the chance to show it. If they don’t get a chance to win because of doping, then neither should anyone else who used performance enhancers. It’s only fair.
I understand that he was competing against a bunch of guys, some of whom were probably using the same stuff that he (allegedly) was using, and he did come out on top. But what if the runner-up was clean, and would’ve won if the winner had also stayed clean? Rewarding someone that was doping would be punishing the guy who stayed clean, and giving him and everyone else a powerful incentive to start doping. That cannot be allowed.
mrmom61 Says:
July 27th, 2006 at 6:21 pm
This is going to be ugly.
mrf Says:
July 27th, 2006 at 7:43 pm
1.) greg lemond hammers lance armstrong for years about being dirty even though armstrong has passed EVERY drug test thrown his way
2.) landis wins and lemond claims this year’s tour to be the best in history because of the dramatics and because landis is “CLEAN” and a “really good guy”…
3.) lemond is a tool
syzygy Says:
July 27th, 2006 at 9:43 pm
I don’t think the Tour de France is possible without doping. Even way back in the day cyclists would drink cocaine- or other hardcore shit-laced water for energy.
Simon Says:
July 27th, 2006 at 11:32 pm
i have to agree with alex here…
i think accepting drug use in any given sport just because it’s allegedly widespread is basically saying “i give up”.
ehh i could write more but i hope that you get the gist.
the mighty mjd Says:
July 28th, 2006 at 2:27 am
I do get the gist. Fair enough.
Alex Says:
July 28th, 2006 at 2:49 am
Now only two things remain to be seen:
1) Whether he actually did use performance enhancers
2) If he did, will he do Public Service Announcements telling kids to say no to drugs, or will he “let people make their own decisions”?
BA Says:
July 28th, 2006 at 9:05 am
I have a question. Would the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL ever have the balls to test the way cycling does? I highly doubt it. I bet the execs in all four of those sports, balls suck up into their bodies just thinking about serious drug testing. I know that cycling is tainted due to the prevelance of drug use but at least the higher ups are trying to do something about it. If any of the 3.5 major pro sports leagues in the US tried to test the way cycling does spports in general would be considered “dirty”.
I’ll stop there. Could go on all day about this.
The Bird Says:
July 28th, 2006 at 9:57 am
Are we sure WNBA players have menstrual cycles?
Cow Patty Says:
July 30th, 2006 at 1:04 am
Stop making excuses. He CHEATED!
The fact that you don’t care? Speaks to your character.
Steven Wise Says:
July 30th, 2006 at 11:47 am
I agree people need to stop making excuses for cheating with illegal drugs in sport.
Just because a lot of atheletes maybe taking illegal performance enhancing drugs this doesn’t make it right nor does it mean we should rollover a lower our standards. The point of testing is catch cheats out and therefore those left competing are playing on a level playing field.
But as far as I’m aware the 2nd sample hasn’t been confirmed as yet so Landis isn’t proved guilty.
Mark Says:
July 30th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
I just have to wonder what pushes any man to want to win a CYCLING contest so bad…
Is the drive to be the best in cycling really that serious? Is the Tour de France trophy REALLY the end-all and be-all of sports? Are we Americans just so backward that we think that at least 6 other trophies in sports played in our own countries are more important than the Tour de France title?
Apparently. Why else take so many drugs to try and win it.
I think Americans look at cycling the same way they look at soccer: they take a mild interest every time there’s a heroic story, but the rest of the year, they simply don’t give a damn.
Whether or not Floyd is guilty, you just have to ask all these Tour de France riders to get a reality check. Is their sport really all that important, in the big picture?
pelotonjim Says:
August 1st, 2006 at 1:56 pm
Is cycling that dirty? Yes, but at least they are serious. THe number of cyclists thrown out of this year’s Tour de France came after they were linked to an investigation in Spain. Not convicted. That investigation linked 200 athletes of which 58 were cyclists. The remainder were from a variety of different sports including a large amount from professional soccer. The names of those athletes were made available to the World Cup at the beginning of the tournament. The tournament declined to look at the list.
What would we find out about football, basetball and baseball if the testing were similar to cycling. Before you see some of the measures, know that the list of banned substances is so pervasive, you need permission to take Neosporin.
Here is the testing.
Random throughout the year. You must supply your whereabouts at all times (usually 30 days in advance) in season and off season. At any time, someone can show up and demand a sample. Refusal or just not being where you said you would be is an automatic positive.
Every race you win you are tested
In a stage race, every day you are in the lead (eg., wearing the yelow jersey in the Tour de France) you are tested
Randomly tested during a race.
Most cyclists end up getting tested 10 times a year. Top cyclists (Lance) can get tested up to 40 times a year.
Football - you get tested once a year in preseason and you get a head’s up.
Baseball. Basically the same as in football.
Basketball they test only for pot.
Penaltities - first offense in cycling is basically a 4 year ban. (2 from any kind of racing, and 2 more from the elite ProTour)
Thoughts?