Cyclingheroes

Stick to the rules alltogether!

Home
Contact
Special Coverage Vuelta Espana 2008
Saul's corner
Interviews
Race reports
Peloton TV
Picture gallery
Other stories
Riders diaries
Live coverage
Cyclingheroes Forum
Book reviews
Doping
Special Coverage
Hall of Fame
Cyclingheroes shop
Race calender
Cyclinheroes Flash-news archive
Links

17.08.2007/The organizers of the Hamburg Cyclassics do not want to see Danilo Di Luca, Allan Davis, Michael Rasmussen and Alberto Contador on the startlist of their race. Managing director Frank Bertels told German newsagency DPA that he doesn't want to see any riders who are under suspicion or are involved in a "pending [doping] case". Yet Erik Zabel, who has confessed to have taken performance enhancing drugs in the nineties, will be allowed to start. A call for fairness by cyclingheroes.

Copyright Cyclingheroes
Contador and Rasmussen: unconvicted, yet unwanted (picture: Cyclingheroes)

Earlier this week the head of the organizing committee of this years world championships in Stuttgart, Sussane Eisenmann, told reporters that she does not want to see Alejandro Valverde and Erik Zabel at this years world championships.

The so called Code de Conduit of the Pro-Tour teams was already problematic under the rule of law in western societies. Normally the accuser has to proof his accusations in our juridical system, but the code de conduit made it possible to ban riders without a conviction of a federation or sports court. Now German race organizers started to ban riders who are not (yet?) convicted as well. Where does that leave us?

This editiorial is not about riders being guilty or not, its about the rule of law. The UCI and WADA rules are clear: If a rider tested positive or if anti-doping authorities can proof that a rider doped or attempted to dope he has to be banned for two years if it is for the first time, and for the rest of is life if it is the second offence.

Alberto Contador, Danilo Di Luca, Alejandro Valverde, Michaeel Rasmussen and Allan Davis are not found guilty by anti-doping authorities. While the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) is still investigating Giro d'Italia winner Danilo Di Luca, the state prosecution of Pescara has already filed the case. Although all these rides are not convicted of anything they are not welcomed at certain race. On the other hand Erik Zabe,l who has admitted that he took performance enhancing drugs, is allowed to start in Hamburg. Does that make sense? Does that follow any logic? Is this effective anti-doping policy? Or is this just arbitrariness the Pro Tour was meant to end?

Copyright Cyclingheroes
Danilo Di Luca: unconvicted, yet unwanted (picture Cyclingheroes)

The fight against doping is important. If riders break the rules they should be punished. But the rules should applyl for everybody. If race organizers don't care about the rules by ignoring the fact that a rider is not convicted or that there is not even a case being opened against him (as in the Rasmussen case) we have to ask a few questions. No longer playing by the rules won't help the fight against doping, it will undermine it. It will destroy the sport. Pro Tour regulations are not only for riders but for race organizers too.

From the beginning the Puerto affair has not been dealt with competently. Instead of analyzing the reason for what conclusion to draw for the future, all parties seem to act solely for the sake of acting. In an international peloton the UCI should consider to let international cases like Puerto, being handled by an international body to the effect that all riders are being treated equally. The current situation is just unfair: Some riders under suspicion are banned for more than a year now, others have never been banned and can continue to race. Single race organizers who exdlude riders from whom they think they are under suspicion cannot be the solution, they will make things worse.

What if Danilo Di Luca wants to start at the Cyclassics and he isn't allowed to without being banned? Just a theory: Di Luca wants to start and isn't allowed to. In the coming months he could be cleared by CONI and at the end of the season Di Luca could be second at the Pro-Tour rankink because he could not grab a few points in Hamburg. After this years Tour de France it could be the second important competition with a result which is influenced because a rider was sent home or couldn't even start who was not convicted by any anti-doping authorities. It turns races into a farce. Can it be the solution to fight doping by creating another farce? No!

In this climate it shouldn't surprise anybody that sponsors are not exactly eager to finance a pro team. They can't be sure that the rules are being followed by anybody. No gurantees anywhere. Even the UCI doesn't seem to care about their own rules. Unibet.com was granted a Pro-Tour license by the UCI and still wasn't allowed to start at many of the major races. The license has been paid by the millions and it turned out to be completely worthless public relations wise. The company invested millions into the team and planned to invest even more in the coming three years. Understandably unibet.com decided to stop at the end of the season.

Copyright Cyclingheroes
Alejandro Valverde: unconvicted, yet unwanted (picture: Cyclingheroes)

Related stories:

Other stories

Link: New Cyclingheroes Website

Custom Search

By clicking to an outside link from our website, you automatically release us from any and all liability. Cyclingheroes has no control over the content of outside links, or sites linked from there, nor do we endorse anything that may be of a illegal and/or vulgar nature. Cyclingheroes provides outside links only as a free service to our readers.