Floyd - Hero to zero?

So unless you've been living under a stump - and with the news being what it is these days this may not be a bad thing - you're heard that our latest hero du jour, Floyd Landis, had a positive test at the Tour. Many people seemed stunned by this which I find somewhat amazing. Maybe it's because I spend most of my day dealing with crooks, cheaters, liars and criminals. If there's one thing I've learned in life it's that the higher the stakes are the more likely someone will cheat. Call me a cynic but history is full of examples showing I'm right: Ken Lay, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Michael Milken, Barry Bonds, etc., etc., etc. Needless to say I wasn't exactly surprised that Floyd tested positive. Does this mean I think he doped? Not neccesarily, it simply means I'm not surprised that someone in his position might dope - there's a big difference. I do think it's quite possible that he had something unwittingly administered to him by his team. The Phonak squad hasn't exactly been competing on hard training and mineral water judging by the number of riders suspended from the team in recent months.

Beyond whether Floyd knowingly took something or not is the greater question: why should I care? Not just care about Floyd but care about the whole sport of competitive cycling. I've been around bike racing for a number of years and it seems like the sport has gotten uglier at all levels in recent years. Whether it's junior racers insisting they need $70 tires to compete, Cat 4 racers blowing their stack because of something that happened in a race, sandbaggers, people competing at non-races (such as Seattle-To-Portland) or pros using drugs there's increasingly little about the sport that is appealing.

This all-consuming need for competition has even extended to what you wear and eat. Heaven forbid you go for a ride in regular clothes. No, you must wear "technical" garments or you'll have a miserable experience. Eat a banana? Absolutely not - instead you must consume a "performance product" (that's what we officially call them here at the Gorilla - I'm not making this up!) No longer is it enough to simply hop on a bike and go for a ride. Now you have to train with your heart rate monitor while wearing your technical garments and consuming your performance products. Sounds like fun, huh??

Is this all consuming need to compete really healthy? I'm inclined to think not. At this stage I really don't care too much about the future of the Tour de France or professional racing. I doubt Floyd being stripped of his title will change anything. So long as fame and millions of dollars are at stake someone will try to find an edge and it won't always be honest.