Four Year Ban for Doping: Cycling Gets Tough

The UCI announced recently that riders who are caught doping will face four year bans instead of the previous standard of two years. The decision marks yet another effort by cycling's governing body to defeat cheaters in the peloton. Now, a rider will face a much longer time away from competition, which will hopefully mean less riders will be tempted to cheat.

A four year ban is necessary to send a clear signal to dopers: get caught, and risk your career. Two years way from the top level of a sport is far different than four years. And as was previously the case, a second offfense will still result in a lifetime ban. Cycling, unlike any other sport, is taking an extremely hard line in the fight against doping, and should be commended for the effort.

With a four year ban, a young rider of 22 years or younger will still be able to hope for an eventual comeback, but the forced time away from competition will mute even the most talented cyclist's skill. For a veteran of several years, 26 and older, the four year ban will effectively end their career. Sure, they may make it back as a domestique, but that many years away will destroy the form of just about any elite rider.

It will be interesting to see the effect of the new rule for 2009. The UCI claims to be getting closer and closer to their exhaustive blood passport program, and so it will be easier for the testers to catch the cheats. Hopefully, the guilty riders will be snared, and face the tougher ban. In the end, surely there will be fewer cheats. As usual though, it is important to remember that ccling, like anything in the world, will never be completely pure. There will always be cheats, but hopefully once caught the public won't have to see then for a long four years, if at all.