More doping news out of France has Riccardo Ricco as the most recent positive for EPO. Authorities say that Ricco tested positive for a type of EPO that has only been available for the last year. Ricco's exit also spelled the end of the Saunier Duval team, as each member decided not to continue riding in the Tour.
Ricco, like his idol Marco Pantani, seems to be headed down the same road as the late Italian climber. His reckless behavior has finally caught up with him, and he'll surely face a two year ban. Worst of all is for the fans, as Ricco was a major animator in this year's Tour, and had added palpable excitement to all of the mountain stages.
Ricco becomes the third rider caught cheating at this year's Tour (Beltran, Duenas) and it is looking increasingly likely that more names will surface in the coming days. The media meanwhile is in a frenzy, and no riders are safe from scrutiny. Rumors are swirling around Christoph Moreau's abandon, as his team was unaware that he was suffering from severe bachaches and general fatigue as he claimed to the press following his withdraw. One unnamed source, according to cyclingnews.com, also expressed concern that very few french riders were being tested.
After the first part of the season, where no positives were reported, the witch hunt seems to be on full steam for the Tour. And what about that? How could there have been no positive tests leading up the the Giro? Or the spring classics? Or the early season stage races (California, Mallorca, Paris-Nice, Tirreno Adriatico)? No rider is safe from the testers in the Tour, and more will surely be exposed as cheaters before all is said and done. One thing is for sure though: the fight against doping is a loooooong way from coming to an end.
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1 comments:
Just think of the length of the list of people who the big mouth punk Ricco has stolen from-
1-his teammates and employer
2-his clean former collegues in the sport
3-cycling fans across the globe,both serious and casual
4-the towns and businesses that depend on a summer influx of tourism
5-idealists who want to belive that some honesty in sport still exists
6-the bicycle industry
7-health enthusiasts who love cycle sport
8-10's of thousands of clean former competitors in different sports who are troubled by cheaters
who won't pay a big enough price for their demolition of sport.
The list is much longer--feel free to add to it-but the question is--can we see alittle jailtime?Maybe a hefty fine also?
May I add---if a collection of scientists and doctors don't think it feasable to catch 99%of dopers then maybe sports will go by way of the Dodo bird and drug labs can find some other source for funding.
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