Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

Its not bad enough to have Dick Pund spewing outlandish quotes about Floyd Landis having the nickname “Roid” Floyd and saying that most of the NHL is doped up. Pat McQuaid the president of the UCI decided that he must say something dumb about doping in cycling too. After all why let Dick Pound have all the press? So McQuaid pulls out his old school lace up cycling shoes and places them directly into his mouth. Seriously how do these beurocrats get these top jobs? Are they too busy flying around in their corporate jets not breathing in enough oxygen in the high altitude? Are they missing brain cells from sipping cognac and smoking cigars while thinking about the good ol’ days when men were men and just put a handful of amphetamines in their jersey pockets while climbing the Ventoux?

In case you missed it, here is the idiotic quote.

“There exists today a schism between two cultures. The Anglo-Saxon culture and what I call the mafia-like culture of western Europe (sports.fr assumes this refers to Belgium, France, Italy, and Spain). This western European culture, in a certain way, I wouldn’t say that it condones doping, but it accepts certain practices. The Anglo-Saxon culture, which includes Holland, Germany, England and Denmark, functions in a totally different manner. I believe that it is important that the Anglo-Saxon vision must carry the day. If this is not the case, cycling is dead, ” said McQuaid.

The quote references the Bush line of a battle of two cultures. Only Bush references the crusades to piss off Muslims of all types. Now McQuaid has to go back farther in history and bring up the Anglo-Saxon vs swarthy Continental European differences. Is this what we have come down to?

Hey McQuaid wake up and rub your eyes. Why don’t you look at just who exactly is being charged with doping? Floyd Landis? Tyler Hamilton? David Millar? those don’t sound like swarthy Southern Europeans to me. What about the most famous doping death of all time? Tom Simpson?

Is it too much to ask that McQuaid and Pound use a little more tact in their jobs? Is it too much to ask that they be a bit more diplomatic and aware of what they are saying and not shooting their mouths off about doping? The sport has taken enough blows this year, most of which have been heavy on rumor and innuendo and light on actual evidence. When the biggest doping bust in cycling since the Festina affair seems to be more about selling papers in Spain than getting out any actual evidence then there is a larger problem than men like Pound, McQuaid or others can comprehend.

If this is the best that we can have for leadership in cycling then the sport is truly doomed.