So the blogosphere (have I mentioned that I hate that term?) is on fire this morning about the fallout from Operación Puerto. At least, the tiny little bicycling corner of the blogosphere that I frequent is on fire. So unless this is the first blog you read every day (and bless you if that's the case) you've heard the big splash that Operación Puerto has had on this year's Tour. The reports are somewhat conflicting at this point, with some stating that teams with riders being pulled are not replacing the riders (riding shorthanded) and other reports indicating that the riders will be replaced.
The list so far (31 riders)
Astaná-Würth: Michele Scarponi, Marcos Serrano, David Etxebarria, Joseba Beloki, Angel Vicioso, Isidro Nozal, Unai Osa, Jörg Jaksche
CSC: Ivan Basso
Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears: Constantino Zaballa
Saunier Duval: Carlos Zarate
AG2R: Francisco Mancebo
T-Mobile: Jan Ullrich, Oscar Sevilla
Phonak: Jose Enrique Gutierrez, Jose Ignacio Gutierrez
Comunidad Valenciana: Vicente Ballester, David Bernabeu, David Blanco Rodriguez, Jose Adrian Bonillla, Juan Gomis Lopez, Eladio Jimenez, David Latasa, Javier Pascual, Ruben Plaza, J.Luis M. Jimenez
Unibet.Com: Carlos Garcia Quesada
Retired/suspended riders: Roberto Heras, Angel Casero, Santiago Perez, Tyler Hamilton
From cyclingnews.com
In all the news I've read this morning, it seems there's one guy who gets it. David Millar. Millar was suspended two years ago for doping and the Tour is his first race since the suspension expired. Millar is providing the model that cycling needs to follow to shake the perception that it's dirty. It's simple, really. Admit your guilt if caught. I think this is what bothers me most about all the drug problems in cycling. In most cases, when a rider is accused of doping you get one of two reactions:
1. I didn't do it.
2. No comment/talk to my lawyers.
That's what makes Millar refreshing. He openly admits what he did. Millar says, "I f**ked up: I lied, I did wrong, I cheated, and I have to live with that now." And that's what I want to hear from Jan, and Ivan. And everybody else. I want them, if they are truly guilty, to 'fess up, apologize, and pledge to come back after their suspension and ride clean.
Web stories:
tdfblog
cyclingnews.com
velonews.com
bbc.com
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1 comment:
The 'fess up, apologize thing would be nice. But are you honestly going to believe them after they admit they did it once that they're not doing it anymore? Trust, once lost, is not easily regained.
Sad, but interesting. Who is CSC going to put up front? Julich?
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