The following quote is attached to my signature box through Gmail. As I got the news this morning about the Landis confession to doping, it all came back to this quote from Lance Armstrong...
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
Will the "confession" crack the univeral moral fabric of our existance? Will clergy denouce their faith? Will kids stop believing in Santa Clause? Will O.J. just admit he did it? Of course not..According to the Mayans, none of these things will happen until 2012.
ANYWAYS. So here is what is going to happen over the next couple of weeks...
1. There will be a long series of carefully worded denials from those implicated.
2. Lawyer up! I am an attorney and I hope someone calls me. Lawsuits will be filed and insane legal fees incurred by those accusing and those accused. It's all good for the economy right?
3. If there are teams out there that were close to inking deals with major sponsors, uh sucks for you....
4. Non-cycling fans and media outlets that never cover cycling will weigh in and sound stupid.
5. If you are a reporter at the Tour of California, don't even try asking riders questions about it. They won't comment.
So what do I think? Well I am not surprised. I had this story about 2 years ago. My good friend Joe Praino got the scoop at the Tour de Georgia back in 2008. While out at a local bar in Atlanta at the conclussion of the race, Joe had drinks with a certain German sprinter who rode with Floyd at Phonak. While under the influence of alcohol this certain German sprinter admitted matter of factly that Floyd had doped in the Tour. I know it's not the most reliable source, but it turned out to be true.
I don't own a high horse, so I am going to give Floyd the benifit of the doubt. I am happy he is coming forward with his story. I am looking forward to hearing more from him. I look forward to arguing with my friends about it. I look forward to ranting on my blog about it. I look forward to ranting on the podcast about it.
So now all of the sudden my press pass for the Tour of California just exploded in value. Can't wait to get to the circus!
Adam
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