Eve of Destruction

On the eve of embarking on a three week, 1128 mile cycling challenge I feel about as prepared as one can feel for this type of thing. I've got 4500 miles in the legs so far this year and I've done over thirty 50+ mile rides. Still, after tomorrow's short prologue, the Sunday-Friday mileage requirement is a leg-breaking 384.4 miles. Last year the second week was the big one. This year there's no easing into it. Bam! And really, with week two's mileage of 370 and week three's 300, it's pretty much going to be three weeks of living on the bike anyway you look at it.

The most positive aspect is that I'll be at the starting line tomorrow, unlike all of the Tour's top riders who have been caught up in the latest doping scandal. The sanctimony of the team directors, race directors and other cycling hanger's on is sickening. I know the pro riders dope, you know the pro riders dope and certainly those affiliated with riders and teams know it. This business that the scandal is somehow good for the sport because it will lead to a clean-up is simply public relations gone mad. The Festina scandal of 1998 was going to be the end of doping and all it did was usher in the era of high tech cheating, i.e., finding 'blocking' agents to trick blood tests and making EPO, HGH and testosterone 'soups' and administering them on a schedule that would allow riders to pass drug tests. This latest bust will only lead to still more sophisticated methods. Don't forget, millions of dollars ride on the shoulders of these guys - people are willing to do anything to achieve or maintain the status of superstar with all of it's attendant fame and fortune.

The only question is when will Lance Armstrong finally admit to taking dope, or in the alternative and much more likely scenario, when will one of the many enemies he created by stomping on people whenever they didn't fit in with his plans finally come forward with conclusive evidence? So far the Lance machine has been successful at using money and power to squash threats to his dirty secret.

How can I say with such conviction that the almighty hero Lance is a doper? Think about it; all of his main rivals over the past seven years have now been exposed as dopers. He was consistently beating them by many minutes in the Tour. If his rivals hadn't been doping one can assume that he would have been beating them by hours. Does that seem reasonable to you? No amount of high-tech equipment, training, diet or any other preparation would separate a single rider at the top of the sport by such a wide margin. Particularly one who was a mid-packer prior to undergoing cancer treatment (something that in every single case except Lance's has left the patient weaker for many months or years). Yes, we all love to believe in miracles, but when something is too good to be true, and you must agree that Lance's story is all of that and more, it is too good to be true. Way too good.

If you're not a cycling fan, you probably won't recognize the guy on the left but he's the true hero of American cycling, Greg LeMond.

My guess is that when Lance's ability to make $20 million per year in endorsements and appearance fees comes to an end, the truth will come out. Until that time, his well-financed machine will continue to overpower his would-be detractors. He should understand that as soon as his ability to pay his homeys top dollar for protecting him, they will jump like rats off of a sinking ship, all looking for a book deaI.

I'd better get some sleep, it's going to be a tough (but fun!) three weeks.