Cats out of the bag

I doubt Flandis' doping admissions will really stick to anyone. As Randy Boetcher might say, facts and religion don't really mix well. We might hear a bunch of people claim cycling is super dirty and that they are abondoning the sport but for the most part those people aren't really cycling fans. They certainly don't hold their own preferred sports to the same standard.

And we'll certainly hear people who already thought Lance was dirtier than Ricks claim vinidication and those who worship him defend him but... just noise.

Sadly, the real allegation that will fade but deserves some press and action is that the UCI covered up doping positives.

Landis also claims in the e-mail that Armstrong had told him Bruyneel met with the International Cycling Union to ensure details of a positive test remained confidential due to a “financial agreement”.

Regardless of why (cash, political favor, etc) it is evidence of the problem I have consistently gotten on my high horse about. Riders will cheat. You shouldn't really expect differently; their are all sorts of systemic incentives to do so. But the cops (UCI, Labs, WADA) need to be squecky clean. And in sports they are not.

Landis may have been guilty, but what will now be lost is that lab did in fact mishandle the samples and the positive should not have been upheld.

At the end of the day he wasn't caught legitimately. They knew he was guilty (and were right!) and made up evidence to convict him. The problem with this should be obvious: not everyone they "know" is guilty really will be. And innocent people will get caught as a result.

And to make it more seedy, it's not even that "they" know you are guilty. They have to know you are guilty and decide there is some reason you should be singled out.

Landis' confession is really an indictment of the UCI, WADA and the Labs.