Lance Armstrong EPO Allegations: Turning a Blind Eye

Whether or not you caught tonight's episode of 60 Minutes, if you're a sports fan you've likely heard of American professional cyclist Tyler Hamilton's admission that he used performance enhancing drugs while competing both internationally as a member of the United States national team and as a rider for various teams.

During tonight's episode, which features the aforementioned admissions which were leaked earlier last week, Hamilton not only admits his faults, but also points the finger at one of the most influential athletes of this generation; Lance Armstrong.

Lance's 7 Tour De France victories are as great of an accomplishment as was his fight with cancer and the millions of people worldwide inspired by his battle, and subsequently the 'Livestrong' campaign responsible for the widespread popularity of yellow armbands.

Hamilton and Armstrong were teammates for the United States Postal team during Armstrong's victories in 1999, 2000 and 2001. He claims that he witnessed Armstrong using EPO, a controversial and popular enhancement drug used by cyclists.

While many would consider Hamilton's admissions to be a testament of his integrity, I question the purpose of pointing the finger at Armstrong, a man whose struggle transcended the very sport he competed in, a sport ripe with positive drug tests and even more allegations, a sport whose profile grew exponentially in the U.S. because of his conquests and a man whose suffering motivated countless of people worldwide to fight the symptoms of cancer and overcome whatever obstacles may present themselves as a result of the illness.

I commend Hamilton for returning the Gold Medal he won at the 2004 Olympics, but the initial test was found to have traces, and were it not for the fact the second test sample was accidentally frozen, he would have lost his medals then, 7 years before tonight's admission of guilt.

Acclaimed author and Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom (Tuesdays With Morrie), echoes many of the sentiments I've expressed above with this short clip courtesy of ESPN. A man so well versed in humanizing professional sports once again conveys the importance of turning a blind eye to certain violations for the greater good.



Last week, another former teammate of Armstrong's and fellow professional American rider George Hincapie came-out and announced that he too had seen Lance inject himself with something thought to have been EPO. As in with the Hamilton case, though Hincapie's statement is not a self-serving as the brash Hamilton's, it brings to mind the same question.

Even if Lance Armstrong had taken drugs like many of the world's greatest riders, including my favourite Ivan Basso from CSC, who was suspended for his usage, does his accomplishments both on and off the roads perform a greater good than that of any other athlete of our time.

More so, the prevalence of performance enhancing drugs in cycling should come as little surprise to those that follow the sport like yours truly. A grueling and debilitating exhibition that often requires consecutive day's worth of 200km+ rides through mountainous terrain, dangerously breaching the limits of physical constraints and VO2 Max. Because of such conditions, riders and their coaches and managers are in a constant search of new means of improving their performances. Blood doping sounds like a terrible procedure, but really it's only allowing the riders blood to become more oxygenated, thus improving stamina, and as a result, performance.

It can be considered a double standard of sorts to fault one person, yet not another, but is it that wrong to turn a blind eye when the accused has been both an idol and a role model to countless people and the face of American cycling?

Perhaps so more reasoning on the parts of Mr. Hincapie and Hamilton would have been more beneficial than the lack of foresight they displayed with their admissions and allegations.

Tragedy At Giro D'Italia

Having heard about this first-thing yesterday morning, I wanted to post something about the accident here, but decided to take the day-off from the computer because this story really bummed me out.

Yesterday, Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt, 26, died following a collision with a wall during a high-speed downhill section of the course in Rapallo, Northern Italy.

The Leopard-Trek rider struck a wall travelling at approximately 70km/h and was treated immediately by Giro doctors who were following the pack. He was immediately diagnosed with skull and facial fractures. Doctors administered CPR and adrenaline shots to no avail, as Weylandt was pronounced dead 40 minutes later.

It was the first death in 25 years at the Giro, one of the big three races, all of which feature mountainous climbs and descents that often put the athletes in peril.

Weylandt's team, Leopard-Trek plan on meeting to discuss whether they'd like to continue the Giro, which finishes May 29th in Milan. In a sadly coincidental twist, a year ago today, Weylandt won the 3rd stage of the Giro as one of two career stage victories.

He is survived by family and his girlfriend who was expecting their first born this September.

Paris To Roubaix - Results and Video

Belgian Johan Van Summeren claimed his first Paris To Roubaix win with a torrid kick over the final stages to capture a surprise victory for an unsung member of one of cycling stronger squads.

Van Summeren completed the 258km-long course in six hours seven minutes and 28 seconds.

The Team Garmin rider created a gap with 13 km remaining to beat perennial favourite and Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara, who narrowly edged out Dutchman Maarten Tjallingii and countrymen Gregory Rast (see video hyperlinked below for footage from the final kilometre.

Paris To Roubaix 2011 Top Ten:

1. Johan van Summeren (Bel/Garmin) 6hrs 07mins 28secs

2. Fabian Cancellara (Swi/Leopard) +19 seconds

3. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned/Rabobank) same time

4. Gregory Rast (Swi/RadioShack) same time

5. Lars Bak (Den/HTC-Highroad) +21 seconds

6. Alessandro Ballan (Ita/BMC Racing) +36 seconds

7. Bernhard Eisel (Aut/HTC - Highroad) +47 seconds

8. Thor Hushovd (Nor/Garmin) same time

9. Juan Antonio Flecha (Spn/Team Sky) same time

10. Mathew Hayman (Aus/Team Sky) same time

The race had plenty of torn lycra, bloodied knees and horrific crashes for the thousands who lined the course, including a narrow escape from the path of a motorcycle by two of cycling's heavy hitters, Cancellara and Thor Hushovd. The near frightening moment is captured below, at the 3:25 mark, during one of the final cobblestone stretches on the passage of the Carrefour Des Arbres.

CARREFOUR DES ARBRES - A LATE COBBLESTONE STRETCH



LINKS TO OTHER FOOTAGE:

TOM BOONEN AND OTHER CRASH WITH 68KM LEFT (INCL. CANADIAN MICHAEL BARRY:

CANCELLARA, HUSHOVD AND BALLAN ATTACK:

FINAL KILOMETRE - VELODROME FINISH (ROUBAIX)



UPDATE:

As a little icing on the cake of an upset win for the Belgian, he proposed to his girlfriend at the finish line - she said yes.

Paris To Roubaix

Without a doubt, one of my favourite events on the sports calendar is Paris to Roubaix, a gruelling one-day cycling race commonly referred to as 'Hell of the North'.

Since its inception in 1896, the race started in Paris and finished in Roubaix, Belgium, only to have the starting position moved 60km north-east of Paris centre to Compiegne in 1968. The race is an annual staple of the cycling campaign and typically takes place on a mid-April weekend.

I recall vividly a year ago today, sitting in my hotel room in the Montparnasse arrondissement of Paris, plotting my means of travel to Compiegne, only to run out of time as I left my preparations short. My life is nothing if not consistent.

Having long been intrigued by cycling, I fell in love with Paris to Roubaix years ago when my friend and avid cyclist Marty let me borrow the DVD Road To Roubaix. Below is the trailer to the DVD.

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The terrain, notably the 27 cobblestone paths (setts), make the race as challenging as it is rewarding, an achievement of a lifetime for many riders, and a joke to others.

The course is maintained annually by a collective group of volunteers known as Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix who formed in 1983 to preserve the tradition of the race and ensure the quality of the course and the safety of the riders. For North Americans, it's can be difficult to fully graps the passion much of Europe has for cycling. In many of the western European nations, cycling is more than a sport, but a way of life. For the people of the North and Belgium, Paris To Roubaix is their World Cup.

This year's installment of Paris To Roubaix takes place this Sunday with American sports channel Versus providing coverage. In Canada, you won't find the race on your dial, so I suggest visiting either www.cycling.tv or www.steephill.tv for live streaming video, highlights and interviews.

Here's a wrap-up of last year's race provided by Versus.



Thanks for reading folks - I hope some of you have the chance to check-out the race, and if not, I'll be sure to post a results video as soon as it is made available.

Style Not Speed: The Eroica In Chianti

Each year in Chianti, Italy, a beautiful middle-Italian wine-producing region buried deep within the hills of Tuscany, a cycling race takes place that cares very little about performance and results. For each of the last 14 years, the "Eroica" has taken place in these very hills, paying tribute to an era of vintage bikes, vintage clothing and Italian cuisine.

The race, which takes place the first week of October, this year featured 3,500 riders and cycling enthusiasts from around the globe who took to the hills of Gaiole in Tuscany. The only prerequisites for the race are steel-framed bikes from before 1987 or newer models fitted and assembled with vintage accessories and hardware. The clothing must also be vintage, and it helps to have an appreciation of fine Italian wine from the Chianti region and mortadella, capicolla and prosciutto-stuffed paninis. The 24-mile route is littered with spectators and enthusiasts wearing vintage clothing themselves, handing out paninis and large goblets of Chianti, remembering an era when for many, cycling was the only distraction from the rigours of everyday life.


In Italy, cycling is considered to be a national sport, and the people take a great deal of pride in not only the sport, but their own national heroes who have defined it in the past. For many of these enthusiasts, the Eroica is a means of remembering the nostalgia of an era in cycling when the playing field was level, and blood-doping was only a pipe dream of sorts. Here fans of cycling legends such as recently accused Spanish rider Alberto Contador can race while consuming native Italian meats without worrying about the prospects of a tainted sample affecting blood-test results for doping. According to Roland Wolbold, 65, a racing mechanic from Stuttgart, Germany, the Eroica is a throwback to a time when "doping meant red wine with eggs."

Racing vintage bikes that require far more effort for a lesser result than the newer models on steep gravel roads with a bellyful of wine and cheese - sounds like an amazing experience no? Sounds like a rather heroic feat, which makes perfect sense as 'Eroica' is Italian for heroic.


I can make all of my readers a guarantee - next year's first post of October will be of yours truly racing the hills of Gaiole on a vintage bike with wooden frames, knickerbockers and purple lips.