Every time the Tour de France rolls every July, some people or group try very hard to steal the show for their own selfish agenda. For instance, the French Senate has ordered a retroactive testing of all blood samples in the past 15 years with the results to be published on July 18, 2013, the same day of probably the most important and exciting day of the Tour, the double ascent to the Alped'Huez. Is this coincidence or grandstanding?
Another ubiquitous anti-doping group from another continent, Australia, has stricken Tour #1 favorite Chris Froome off their members list after Froome failed to give this entity his performance details like power numbers, heart rate, and VO2 max, numbers athletes don't want to give to the media for fear of manipulation.
There is no doubt that doping is still being practiced not just in cycling but in all of sports. But digging the past, what does the French Senate hope to achieve? Henri Pélissier, the 1923 Tour winner, claimed tha the put cocaine in his eyes and chloroform to journo's back in the 1920 Tour. Jacques Anquetil, the French 5-time Tour champ in the 50's said that you can't win the Tour on water alone. Is the Senate going to investigate that, too?
So if past and future champions are held under the sword of Damocles, will the Tour de France ever have a champion that we can embrace? I mean, will there ever come a time when we can say that Cadel Evans or Miguel Indurain were champions, not as clean champions? Until when can we say that this champion is being heralded as a champion without any reference to PED's?
There first step to change the UCI leadership. But any leadership after the current regime is just a start. It has to travel a long cobble road ahead. The second thing is that sport has too many voices and their needs to be unity amongst those involve to make this work. For instance, an absolutely independent "Truth & Reconciliation Commission" should be established asap, where those who have something to say will be heard and then given a clean slate whatever that person says. It's similar to what South Africa did and look at the county now. Lance Armstrong, who likely have the most to offer, have said that he'll be the first to talk when this commission will be formed, but some people have too much dirty laundry hidden that they don't want the commission to ever see light.The sad thing about cycling, as I have been writing for so many columns is that there is no unity among riders, team owners and race organizers. Therefore, the sport needs a "Moses" to lead them out of the wilderness. If they can't trust each other, then they have no right to ask us to trust them.