A few of us met yesterday for a nice 80km roll out thru The Swamp. It was 42 and cloudy, but a damn nice day to ride. It's a shame people can't deviate from their 'training programs' for one day to come out for a nice, social ride on New Years Day. I would normally rant here, but as it's a fool's errand anymore, I'll just move on...
Anyway, we had a good ride. Nary a vehicle in sight for the vast majority of the ride.
Then I came home to watch Carolina beat Wisconsin. Whoo-Hooo!
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Nys is on Trek now. Not like we all haven't known it was coming for months. Didn't seem to hold him back either, as he won the GP Sven Nys (yeah, his own race) by nearly a minute yesterday on his new Trek Boone.
And yes, he knows how to work the sponsors...
I'm intrigued by the new offering from Trek. And yes, I know I've been a detractor of the Big T for years, but the Crockett looks really nice, and the geometry is pretty damn perfect for my oddball, injury-riddled, orangutan-like physique.
And one last thought about LeDuc...
The local rag up there printed a story about good old DoperDave, and it was right on the edge of defending his actions. Click the link...read the story...then come back. I'll wait...
Anyway, after reading this garbage, and some other comments from the very guys that LeDuc cheated, I got a little more pissed.
The article said that people just don't understand the atmosphere of Masters Racing, and the need to stay relevant. And after some thought, I guess I really don't.
Sure, I understand the need to strap on a number, and compete. I do it myself once in a great while.
I don't understand middle-aged (and beyond it seems...) guys who have families and jobs, doping their balls off to win a local race for $75, and a little trophy. Sure, some have won much larger races, like LeDuc has, but I think we all know WHY he won those races at this point.
I don't understand the need to jeopardize everything one has worked to build in their life outside cycling.
Does it make these guys sleep better at night to know that they beat guys like me, or myriad other friends I know, in a crit...or a cookie ride?
I have a friend who raced against these dope(r)s a few years ago, and regularly kicked their asses. He did it CLEAN. No shortcuts, no dope, just genetic ability and damn hard work. It sort of makes the guys who doped look even sadder. I hope my friend holds his head a little higher these days. He should...
And here's the kicker, LeDope says he's going to race again after his 2 years is up.
First, he should have gotten the death penalty, and stripped of his wins. Hey, USADA did it to Lance.
Second, why would you want to race again? To show your face? Does he think that everyone will welcome him back with open arms? He didn't take a supplement by accident, or ingest a tainted foodstuff. He knowingly took 'roids, EPO, and speed. F that guy.
I know the Christian thing to do is to forgive, and turn the other cheek, but I cannot, and neither should you, even if you never raced against him. He cheated all of us. And let's be honest here, LeDuc is not a warm, fuzzy, grandpa figure. He's a sanctimonious douche. Always has been. I feel absolutely no remorse in just writing that guy off.
My sincere hope is that if he comes back, someone will take him wide into a turn, and hook him into the barriers.
I also hope that the other guys in NC who have doped, and there are more than a few, will take something from this episode...
And with that, I bid you all Happy New Year.
1 comment:
I don't understand why it has taken so long to catch him. I know there are new protocols in place with USADA but the birds have been chirping over LeDuc for a long time. Every race I've seen him at, someone has something to say. How does that not get to top somehow? Professional cheats are terrible but you expect to see it from time to time when it is their livelihoods at stake. I don't and won't justify their cheating but to see an amateur doing it to win an age category competition is just pitiful. To me, that's lower than low.
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