Friday, July 28, 2006 AD
Don't mention the Tour
Hmm. Really must stop blogging about sport. I praise Zidane, and he promptly starts headbutting people; I praise Landis, and he... well, I don't think a link is even necessary, but here y'go. *sigh*
Though actually... I think now would be a good time to say I reckon Manchester United have a great season lined up - certainly no possibility of relegation, I'd say - and Australia are pretty much odds-on to regain the Ashes this winter. ;-)
As for Landis: well, like many people I'm in denial suspending judgment for the moment. It will be desperately disappointing - and surely near-fatal for the credibility of cycling as a sport - if Landis is shown to have cheated; not least since it will mean that the winners "on the road" in the past year of all three major Tours - France, Spain and Italy - have subsequently either been stripped of their titles or are otherwise facing allegations of doping.
But it seems there is at least the possibility of his elevated levels of testosterone having a natural cause. We'll just have to wait and see.
Whatever happens, I think it unlikely that Landis will try the same line of argument as the sprinter Dennis Mitchell, who (according to today's Telegraph):
Though actually... I think now would be a good time to say I reckon Manchester United have a great season lined up - certainly no possibility of relegation, I'd say - and Australia are pretty much odds-on to regain the Ashes this winter. ;-)
As for Landis: well, like many people I'm in denial suspending judgment for the moment. It will be desperately disappointing - and surely near-fatal for the credibility of cycling as a sport - if Landis is shown to have cheated; not least since it will mean that the winners "on the road" in the past year of all three major Tours - France, Spain and Italy - have subsequently either been stripped of their titles or are otherwise facing allegations of doping.
But it seems there is at least the possibility of his elevated levels of testosterone having a natural cause. We'll just have to wait and see.
Whatever happens, I think it unlikely that Landis will try the same line of argument as the sprinter Dennis Mitchell, who (according to today's Telegraph):
"claimed his [testosterone] level was so high because the previous night he had made love to his wife four times and drunk six bottles of beer".Nice try. Though apparently it was only the Bruce Springsteen CDs he was listening to at the time that pushed him into the red zone...
