Let Go of the Past

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It will be a while before we truly understand how the ASO ban of Astana this past week will play out. The immediate repercussion is to jab a stick in the festering wound that was first opened smack dab in the middle of cycling's chest during the 2006 Tour de France. Hardcore fans stick to the mantra, cycling as a sport is true -- the current caretakers are simply a model of incompetence.

The sport is the same -- an awesome challenge of team and individual strategies played out in an picturesque endurance environment. It's a great spectator sport, engaging, entertaining and beautiful. A percentage of teams and athletes have used performance enhancers to cheat the game. Cycling tests and finds those athletes and unlike the New England Patriots, any win is forfeited and a suspension is likely. Does it sting when a universally admired cyclist like Vino tests out in the middle of the premiere event. Absolutely. Still, in 2007 they weeded out the cheaters during the race and came up with a true winner with Alberto Contador. A household name? Not yet, but he could be. I stood on the streets of Kansas City and watched fans clamour around Contador and it re-asserted my belief that the Tour lives on.

I think the challenge that the cycling organizations have is that they have to let go of the past (possibly the mlb as well). I'm not sure what causes that mentality, but the example was the constant pursuit of Lance Armstrong. The desire to reach back in time and take away a title is fruitless. The emphasis needs to be on finding rules violators during an event. Test results need to be more rapid. In some cases, that simply is not techonologically possible. In the case of Floyd Landis, it was simple to me. The test results were not official until after the final day of racing. The man retains the title and if he cheated, he lives with that. Maybe it feels like a dirty win to fans/media, but you live with the call "on the field." You suspend the cyclist going forward, but once a race is closed it's over. Move forward. Increase testing.

So, 2006 happened and 2007 brought more heartache. ASO kicks off 2008 by taking away our Tour winner and pain lives on. Astana looks like a team that changed out as many players as possible to get clean. If this is the example, how can cycling retain sponsors. If Astana was to be banned, it should have been announced in July of 2007. If nothing else, once word was out that Contador might sign with Astana, ASO should have reached out to offer the possibility. Again, the punishment is retroactive. In hockey, we call this chasing the puck (instead of playing your position).