Not again... A couple days ago, the Giro d'Italia, King of the Mountains Emanuele Sella got popped for using the EPO. Reports state that he tested positive for the same EPO that they had found in Riccardo Ricco. He was scheduled to return to racing on the 20th of July, however his team pulled him out last minute due to tendinitis. Keep in mind that Ricco had just tested positive 3 days before... therefore, when he pulled out of the race that threw up the red flags. Yet another fallen hero of mine.
I must say I am a huge fan of climbing specialists, because I know first hand the pain and difficulty of climbing. The way they can rocket up the mountains with no perceived effort and maintain leg-shattering pace is just amazing to me. Watching Sella & Ricco, was a beautiful thing... in the mountains they could crush the competition. Sella, in the Giro this year, was so spectacular you couldn't help but jump out of your seat in shock... as more and more riders drifted off his wheel.
I don't think that riders of this caliber need to use EPO to be competitive and win, but they did none the less. Does that mean that they should be shunned forever, maybe... but not in my opinion. I have never seen a sport with such odd fans. On one end they post all over the web how dopers should be put in jail and banned from the sport for life, however conversely their favorite rider is Marco Pantani or Jan Ulrich. My favorite fans are the David Millar fans, like that guy is so honorable now... he did EPO his whole career and now he's on an anti-doping squad, and you idiot's go and read his blog and throw him mad props all day.
If you hate the dopers in the sport, then fine, hate them. However, you cannot choose to play favorites. One of my favorite riders of all time is Marco Pantani, cliche I know, and he died from a drug overdose. Love cycling for what it is... a beautiful sport. Chances are that unless you ride a bike you don't even give a crap about cycling. So enjoy your own rides and one day perhaps the gods of our sport won't be using performance enhancing substances, not likely, but perhaps.
I leave you with this... I am quite unsure as to how much additional strength is achieved through the use of EPO, but I can guarantee that the stock broker, dentist, GP, and the lawyer at the local group ride could live and train at 18,000 ft, inject EPO until their blood runs like frozen maple syrup and they still couldn't hang with a pro peloton in the flats.
-Pace
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1 comments:
Do you think cyclist dope more than other athletes? Do you think the officials in american sports just look the other way rather than address how many people on the football field may be using steriods? Like they don't want to open that can of worms?
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