Tour de Farce

[Skybird]

Several teams now have sanctioned their own drivers. Now even the tour leader in the yellow shirt has been stopped - by his own team. The organizers of the tour still are hesitant to be consequent, obviously the show is more important for them than consequent anti-doping policies. Meanwhile, outside the field of active drivers, former idols have their heads in the sling (Ulrich), are about to find a rope around their neck (Armstrong), some even already died from side-effects of their doping, or try to arrange deals with the state attorneys (several active or planned drivers of the current tour).

How serious could an anti-dope policy have been , if the control of the system was left for the most to those criminal figures who previously had made a system of doping? Did anyone really believe that people who used needles and blood conserves all of a sudden would say "Okay, let's clean it up", and immediately would make a 180° turnout and stick to their words? That assumptions was naive, and ridiculous.

The bike sports stinks to heaven. Sport doctors can - and have - calculate for you that the energy the human body is burning during one day at the tour with that kind of speed that we see amongst professionals would mean an equivalent of eating 10-15 packages of pasta/noodles per day. Anyone believing bikers eat that much - every day???

Also, what worth have anti doping policies - if you follow them, and the others not? The competition still is distorted, and unfair. I just imagine what will happening duzring the Olymoics in China. China will make sure at all cost that the Olympics on it's own soild bring golden times to comepnsate for the financial investement, and to raise the prestige. Protection of the health of individual athletes is not really necessary for acchieving that. Of course, other nations will send massively doped athletes as well.

It's not just the Tour, the Tour just seem to be the tip of the iceberg, imo. And that'S why I say: stop the hypocricy around sports. I would like to see doping not only being legalised, but to make it obligatory for every professional athelete. Be honest to the audience, and let every young talent know from the very beginning what he is heading into. at least, that way equal chances will be brought back that way, even if through the backdoor. Since the Olympic spirit is as dead as that mouse I just rolled over with my tank anyway, and sporting events could not survive withoiut being turned into massive sponsoring events and economical showcases, let's be at least honest about the nature of things. Those who feel an obligation to the ideals of free, fair, equal-chanced sporting competition, should stay away from the world championships, Olympics, tours, and whatever there is. Leave the stage to the showactors. Whatever the tour today is: sport in the wider context of certain ideals and a certain spirit has little to do with it. Stop wasting public money into promoting a show for cheating egos, that gives the young ones nothing but false idols.

Becasue if you have not understood that sporting spirit is more than just about winning at all cost, even at the cost of betraying and lying, than you still have something important to learn. Fame is superficial and will fade sooner or later, often it is a question of days only. - The quality of mind and attitude you realized in yourself in the moment of victory or defeat is what will last, and stay with you. and if you see honesty in that exoerience, and the lack of cheating, then it was worth it, no matter how it went. some long time ago there was a marathon event, and short before the line, inside the stadium, one man or woman was stumbling and fell down, exhausted, the one before him/her, in medal ranks, stopped, turned around, grabed the person and helped him/her over the line. I do not remeber the rankling. but for me this was the winner of the race - for he had defeated his own ego. No greater victory and triumph there can be.