Is cycling doing the right thing by shunning Riis for his confession of using Performance Enhancing Drugs?

Question

Anyone who is a fan of cycling knows that doping has been widespread in cycling over the past 15-20 years.

Pantain, Landis, and Ullrich did it. Armstrong and Indurain did it. Wouldn't be surprised if Lemond used drugs too.

If Cycling really wants to be clean, shouldn't we reward cyclists for coming clean? Or, should former cyclists be punished for telling the truth?

Answer 1

No. The UCI is as much to blame for all these problems as the cyclists. Everyone's guilty. Telling the riders that "if you come clean your career is over, and oh by the way give all of you salary from last year," is going to accomplish nothing, and in fact will cause the reverse: riders will deny, lie, and hide right up to the jail cell door. Just like Ivan Basso did.

There is only one thing that will work at this point: a general amnesty. It worked in far more difficult scenarios (like, say, South Africa?) - so it should work here. Shut down the season next year, have a year of trials (televised - highlights only! - by Versus). Anything less will continue the same ugly problem ad nauseum.

And let's not forget: regardless of the judgement Floyd Landis receives tomorrow, his trial served one valuable purpose: it exposed WADA as a monstrous fraud. If you were a rider facing those jokers, wouldn't you deny it too?

Answer 2

Riis should be congratulated for what he's doing at Team CSC now with the agressive drug testing program. I agree with the tour that he should be stripped of his title and he should return his Mallot Jaune!

Now on the rest of your comments, you sound like you work for L'Equipe, I would be expecting contacts from both the Landis camp and the Armstrong camp. Yes, the UCI assumes you're dirty no matter what. The decision on Landis is still up in the air. Do I have to say it again? Armstrong, is the most tested athlete on the planet and never proven guilty. LeMond also never proven guilty.

Your last question, I think it goes to what is the honorable thing to do! I believe if you achieved something under false pretenses then that achievement doesn't stand. If the law, like Riis' case, is past the term of limitations we have to get back to what is the honorable thing to do. If the statute of limitations has not expired then law has to prevail. Are we not civilized?

These comments are pretty terse for me, but no matter what the UCI does people are not guilty until proven so in a court of law or arbitration. Honor and duty come in to play as well. Poeple need to do the honorable thing no matter what. Riis is taking care of his duty with the current program he is heading up at CSC. Bold move for what is necessary to clean up like what you said has been going on for 15 to 20 years.

Answer 3

Personally, I don't think we are far enough down the road for the reconciliation you speak of. If we had more people coming forward, I think the culture would change. But with positive test results coming up in the Giro even in this time of zero-tolerance, I think it's best the Riis stay away.