Well life can be rewarding as a Bike Racer and YOU are the one who controls your destiny ! This week we are seeing so many of your " Peers " claiming they were forced down a road , they knew they should not take , but wanted to remain competitive ! So many of these people say that they sacrificed their principles to remain in the racing arena they felt they were " entitled " to inhabit ! They were Adults , they had been taught " right " from " wrong " as they grew into Adults ! Fact is they forgot some of the principles that were instilled into them by their parents . Some even claim they went against their own desires , into taking drugs because of " Team Orders "! No drugs , no job ! Yes there were some that buckled under , and there were many that walked away with their integrity !
Those that chose integrity over expedience , perhaps , do not enjoy the material benefits that those who regretted their choices this week , but some have done even better ! There are many who chose " Doping " that are not alive today because of the careless attitude of those supervising their " Sporting Fraud "! So many of the racers choosing the " Sporting Fraud " route are reported " Sick " when they have had severe reactions to the " blood Bags " , the contents of which , they were required to reinsert . Some of these " bags " contained the " blood "of other racers ! Seems the " Doctors " were so careless they could not even care for their Clients health ?
This week i saw a report from a former British Champion Cyclist that enjoyed a training ride alongside Lago Como with Lance Armstrong in 1994 . During the ride a discussion on drugs took place and obviously Lance did not enjoy Brian's attitude to Doping , since two weeks later , he was told that his contract with Motorola Team , would not be renewed . Brian is a founding member of " Braveheart ", a British Cycling Charity , among his many other accomplishments since that time !
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports
A blog i follow is written by Steve Tilford , well worth the visit and worth following :
http://stevetilford.com/?p=22105
When you obtained your " Race Licence " , your fees were allocated to a variety of destinations including the " UCI ", which is supposed to be the World Governing body for Cycle Racing . Currently there are difficulties in the Administration of Cycling since those in the Top Tier of Management of " UCI " are embroiled in disputes of various sorts regarding their " Personal Attitude " towards certain Racers ! An example of the difficulties that they face is the fact that they are engaged in Legal challenges against individuals such as Paul Kimmage , a journalist that reported matters in relation to Doping . Hein Verbruggen has in the past supported the likes of Lance Armstrong with statements that have been found to be incorrect and he has tried to backtrack unsuccessfully :
" We’ve also seen the UCI themselves attempting to spin themselves out of their responsibility, beginning with Hein Verbruggen stating “And I never said that Armstrong never doped.“ However it’s pretty hard to deny the following comments he made to ad.nl in May of 2011, as reported by cyclingnews.com, where he said:
That’s impossible, because there is nothing. I repeat again: Lance Armstrong has never used doping. Never, never, never. And I say this not because I am a friend of his, because that is not true. I say it because I’m sure. Even if we would like, it would not be possible to bury a positive test. Test results are not only to the UCI, but also to the WADA. So once and for all: under my chairmanship have such practices never occurred at the UCI. "
It is good to see people standing up for those that they are responsible , but when the organisation they control decides to cover up " Dopers " that should be sanctioned , then it would appear that there is either a two tier system or outright FRAUD ! Unfortunately the majority of the members of " UCI " will suffer for the benefit of the few .
ADDITION WED 17th October :
Anyone motivated to become a Bike Racer needs to read this article by Michael Barry , the Canadian , from Pro World Tour Level :
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/sports/global/cyclings-new-path-to-a-clean-sport-must-continue.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
A great Guy to know , forced to make unhealthy decisions ! DON’T FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE !
Perhaps you are ALL aware of Paul Kimmage , here is a link to the review of the book he wrote released in 1990 , according to the reviewer , most of it is relevant today :
http://inrng.com/2012/11/book-review-rough-ride/
You owe it to yourself to FIGHT THE CLEAN FIGHT !
