The “Armstrong affair” is over?

I am still in the process of trying to pull the wool from over my eyes. Did anyone else see the announcement from Pat McQuaid at the UCI last week? He announced that the “Armstrong affair” was over and that it would not affect cycling. This sort of announcement (while perhaps not as grand) reminds me of George W. Bush standing on the deck of an aircraft carrier announcing that the war in Iraq had been won the mission was accomplished.

The sport has moved on, McQuaid says, and no sport cares about an individual who was caught doping. Except the Armstrong affair isn’t about one man; it is about a system of deception and cheating. People talk of a lost generation and the dark years of EPO. Let’s not pretend too much that things have changed overnight.

McQuaid is counting on the news cycle moving on and leaving the Armstrong affair behind, that the world will lose focus and forget that cycling was plagued by rampant doping. However, the world won’t forget because there will be a fresh scandal to remind them.

Cycling has placed itself in an untenable situation. On the one hand, it has the most advanced drug testing program in the world and conducts countless tests to try and ensure that the sport is drug free. On the other, it celebrates known drug cheats as heroes, often welcoming them back into the fold once they have served their suspension. Why would you not dope when you can make lots of money, get caught and suspended, be well-supported as you serve your suspension, and then return to the sport with head held high and celebrated as a hero to make lots more money again?

The only problem is that each time one of our “heroes” is caught doping it puts another black mark on the sport. Death by a thousand cuts. Already in Canada, there are major corporations that don’t want to get involved sponsoring a cycling team because of the recurring doping scandals.

It is time for a cultural change in cycling. Doping should no longer be tolerated. There is no other choice. Otherwise the sport will fail to attract the sponsorship that it needs. This strategy might lead to structural changes to the sport, for instance, no more three-week Grand Tours and shorter stages. I don’t see this as making cycling any less interesting. In fact, it would most likely only become more intense as there would be no need to fear the 200-km mountain stage that is hard enough to finish, let alone race over.

The best place to start this cultural shift is with the truth and reconciliation commission that the UCI promised when the Armstrong affair was garnering lot of media attention. So pull the wool from over your eyes and take a look at the fast one that McQuaid is trying to pull. The sport of cycling and the athletes deserve better.