These are dark days for cycling fans. There has been a single ray of light in the final confession of Lance Armstrong, but since 1998 all that anyone who does not follow the sport has heard is 'Doping'. There are such doubts about the cleanliness of riders of that era that no one is even inheriting Armstrong's Tour wins. The history books will be blank and future children will wonder what war raged in France from 1999-2005.
Rose Tinted
I have been a cycling fan since 1987. As luck would have it the first Tour De France I ever saw on television was won by my fellow Irishman Stephen Roche. No matter what doubts may hang over riders of the 1980s this was my golden age of cycling. People will often say to me that I am looking back at that period with rose tinted glasses; that they were all doping back then as well but I can assure you I am not looking back at all, I am simply remembering.
This I think is the key- nothing can ever take away the excitement I felt when Delgado left everyone for dead in the mountains in 88 or the epic battle between Lemond and Fignon in 89. These things happened they are what formed my love of the sport. It is very easy to be pessimistic and no professional cyclist will be free from suspicion for the foreseeable future but this doesn't have to be the end of the story.
Dark Side
There is a darkside to almost everything in the world and cheaters will always be in sports. You only have to look at footballers diving, cricketers ball tampering and formula one drivers faking mechanical faults to see the abundance of these people. Look outside of sport and you will see conmen and criminals thriving everywhere. This is a subset of people, a small subset at that, who are not representative of us all.
Implicit trust in the sport of cycling is not going to happen and nor should it, but some level of belief in the decency of the people involved is warranted. Cycling has to take the full glare of the media as regards cheating in sport, that is it's own fault, but this should be seen as an opportunity. With vigilance and openness cycling can be the sport that my childhood memories still tell me it was
To sum up things, I am an adult now and I understand that you can't believe in everything that you see or hear. People need to realise that this goes for the negative things too. I remember cycling being amazing and I still get excited when somebody actually attacks (which is regrettably rare these days- but that's another rant), and this is the result of memory and nothing rose tinted. The spectacle of cycling, the harshness of the sport and the romantic history all bode well for future fans but it is up to us current fans to make sure that questions are asked and answers are credible.
Lance Armstrong has done us a terrible disservice and though I am sure his confession is for his own gain I am also sure that it can be a milestone in the fight to legitimise cycling in the eyes of the world. If you still get excited by what you see in the peloton despite the doubts you may have then you are still with us. Stay with us.
Rose Tinted
I have been a cycling fan since 1987. As luck would have it the first Tour De France I ever saw on television was won by my fellow Irishman Stephen Roche. No matter what doubts may hang over riders of the 1980s this was my golden age of cycling. People will often say to me that I am looking back at that period with rose tinted glasses; that they were all doping back then as well but I can assure you I am not looking back at all, I am simply remembering.
This I think is the key- nothing can ever take away the excitement I felt when Delgado left everyone for dead in the mountains in 88 or the epic battle between Lemond and Fignon in 89. These things happened they are what formed my love of the sport. It is very easy to be pessimistic and no professional cyclist will be free from suspicion for the foreseeable future but this doesn't have to be the end of the story.
Dark Side
There is a darkside to almost everything in the world and cheaters will always be in sports. You only have to look at footballers diving, cricketers ball tampering and formula one drivers faking mechanical faults to see the abundance of these people. Look outside of sport and you will see conmen and criminals thriving everywhere. This is a subset of people, a small subset at that, who are not representative of us all.
Implicit trust in the sport of cycling is not going to happen and nor should it, but some level of belief in the decency of the people involved is warranted. Cycling has to take the full glare of the media as regards cheating in sport, that is it's own fault, but this should be seen as an opportunity. With vigilance and openness cycling can be the sport that my childhood memories still tell me it was
To sum up things, I am an adult now and I understand that you can't believe in everything that you see or hear. People need to realise that this goes for the negative things too. I remember cycling being amazing and I still get excited when somebody actually attacks (which is regrettably rare these days- but that's another rant), and this is the result of memory and nothing rose tinted. The spectacle of cycling, the harshness of the sport and the romantic history all bode well for future fans but it is up to us current fans to make sure that questions are asked and answers are credible.
Lance Armstrong has done us a terrible disservice and though I am sure his confession is for his own gain I am also sure that it can be a milestone in the fight to legitimise cycling in the eyes of the world. If you still get excited by what you see in the peloton despite the doubts you may have then you are still with us. Stay with us.
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