It Was All a Misunderstanding!

Like many of us we have been gripped by the most recent cycling achievements. We rejoiced at Bradley Wiggins' victory in the Tour de France. We celebrated the likes of Chris Hoy (again), Victoria Pendleton and all in the Olympics. We enjoyed the success as it showed great achievement in a sport that, until recently, was one that was overshadowed by others sports.

The sport is now firmly etched in to people's minds. Bike sales, say Halfords, have increased by some 30% post Olympics. There are now even more MAMIL's out there than ever.

All this, though, has been tarnished by events, or should I say one man. Lance Armstrong.

My love for cycling was re kindled by this man. I was influenced by his (at the time) moving and very motivating book "Its not about the bike". A book where he described his drive and desire to win at all costs. This of course made no mention of taking EPO or having blood transfusions to win his Tour de France victories.

I personally, got sucked in to the witch hunt theory. Surely no one individual can do this for so long with all the tests that go into the sport. Now, it has been proven and I can only reflect in dis belief that this man is a fraud and has tricked us all.

Time will tell whether the evidence of further doping within the US 8 year Statute of Limitations is proven. If it is then we will see the media circus jump on what will ultimately lead to criminal proceedings. The truth needs to be aired in its totality. And really you have to question, if you have done something so rigidly for all those years why would you then stop in the subsequent years?

Question marks over a £60,000 payment to the UCI? Because they didn't have any money or was it anything to the erased blood test in Switzerland? Tales also of a backdated prescription to explain another test? Read into it all this as you wish and come to your own conclusions.

I've followed all this with great interest. After all he was a hero to me, he influenced a part of my life but now I'm just left feeling so disappointed that he cheated the sport so badly. More importantly he cheated himself and has dragged cycling through the mire at a time when it strives so hard to clean itself up. I feel for the cyclists that have earned so much respect over the last year who are now, potentially, tarnished by this reputation.

But over and above this. Over and above all the news coverage, the reports, the investigations and the charade that was the Oprah interview, there is something that sticks in my mind.

The bit that really sticks, like a sceptic arrow, is that after all of this Lance Armstrong is sorry.

Not sorry for what he did, but for being caught.