dimspace said:
+1
there really does come a point where you have to let nationalism drop and accept the truth..
What if you do accept the truth? Then who do you cheer for? As far as guilt goes, Valverde's blood was matched with that in Fuentes' clinic, a bag from several years ago which had EPO in it. Is that right? It's been awhile since I looked over the details. Regardless, it's a smoking gun, perhaps one level below being caught red-handed (Ricco, Sella, Schumacher, Rebellin, etc). It's about on the same level as Armstrong's positives from 1999, I would say. And it's only slightly more incriminating than all of the associations with various doctors that haunt a good number of riders in the peloton. So, given all that, as an anti-doping advocate, who do you cheer for? I have a few educated guesses about who might be clean in the peloton, but I really don't know much, even as a fan who tries to keep myself educated.
Anyway, all that is to say that it's hard for me to let suspicions of doping enter into the question of who to cheer for, when I suspect most riders of doping. For sure I'll cheer a bit harder if someone who I think is totally clean wins something, but I don't see why I shouldn't cheer for an exciting rider. Although I don't admire Vino's complete lack of remorse, or Valverde's evasive technical legal defence, I do admire both men's racing styles, so I'll continue to be excited to see them in a race when they are permitted to compete.
I'm aware there is a line of thought that is simply 'doping=bad', but I'm just saying I feel the problem is more sophisticated than that.
Thoughts?