............I also do not believe the governing bodies of the sports such as
the UCI or USA cycling should have any input on setting policies on how the
sports are regulated in terms of policing doping and administering the
tests. You cannot have the fox guarding the hen house, there is a built in
conflict of interest. Some athletes have called for the elimination of WADA
and the UCI and I don't agree. The athletes who have been caught are usually
those that think these organizations have a grand conspiracy going on but I
just don't believe that is happening. It seems that when an American gets
caught they blame it on the French and the labs. The other athletes that
have been caught from other nations don't ever blame a country or lab of
even the "French conspiracy".
WADA has been a crucial part of what's going on and it is WADA that has put
the pressure on the many sports federations to change. A lot of people in
the cycling world like to criticize WADA but they criticize it because it
keeps hitting right at the truth of the matter. [censored] Pound takes a lot of
criticism from the cycling world but he knows exactly what is going on in
our sport and a lot of implicated athletes just want to shoot the messenger.
The sport of cycling, and many sports for that matter, is at a crossroads,
either we have sports as we used to know and love them or it becomes pure
entertainment and anything goes. I know that personally, I would not want my
children to race in the current professional peloton and if it is the
"anything goes", as some think it should be, I would not want to have
anything to do with the sport. I do hope that the current crisis in cycling
will wake the world of cycling and force the sport to change, or we will see
a slow death of the sport.
WADA is taking some very good steps toward solving the problem. They are
trying to work with Interpol, which is a worldwide police agency. It is
groups like WADA that I hope will get governments to criminalize doping.
Right now you can get fined by your federation or governing body but what if
it was made a felony in every country to be doping? I'm a big believer in
plea bargains like they do in our criminal justice system but if an athlete
takes drugs and is not willing to come out clean on the whole system, how it
is working, then you get kicked out for life. If a rider cooperates then
they can come back and race after a reduced punishment period has been
served. Perhaps you give them a second chance because it's not just the
riders that are involved in this sophisticated doping program it's the team
managers, the sponsors, and many others who are pressuring the rider to do
the program.
I think that what Frankie Andreu did recently is really the right step, the
right direction for things. I heard rumors that USADA might penalize him and
that would be the worst message to send to the world of sports. I understand
why he felt the need to come forward and hope that any penalty he receives
is symbolic. He made a mistake and is now trying to lead the way towards
honesty in cycling and I respect that.
Pez: I had read that his old team might penalize him.
GL: I don't believe his team will ever go there, I don't think they will
want to open up that can of worms and the talk of penalties is all just PR.
............
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=4446