With all the talk of doping scandals, people already condemning Floyd, questioning other riders performances and the entire sport and destroying teams one thing that remains is that much of the damage in the past month has been done not by the doping itself, but by the violation of UCI protocol. Floyd (and the riders implicated in Operacion Puerto) have been tried entirely in the court of public opinion. The damage to the riders, teams and the sport in general are evident in conversations (“So what do think about riding now that you know all the pro’s are doping?”) and the press.
What most people do not stop to think about, or realize, is that the UCI and the Tour organizers breached some major protocols in their announcements on Floyd. For a complete overview of the process the way it is supposed to happen, read Hey Norton’s great article.
The way it is suppposed to work may not be ideal, but it does protect the riders, the teams and indeed the sport and it’s governing bodies from needless scandal. Too bad they decided to short circuit that process this time. And one does have to wonder why? Why with Floyd? Especially when they refuse to short circuit an “internal process” in order to conclusively prove or disprove riders guilt in the Operación Puerto scandal.
Post a Comment