Without My Soap Box, Where Do I Stand?

Yes, I can't get off my soap box. I was good for a few weeks, but now, the poop has hit the fan. But after this post, I'm done. And here's why.

Yesterday, the ASO, announced the teams for the Tour de France this year, and true to their word, Astana was left out. Continuing their line of reasoning, because of the doping problems for the former Astana teams on the last two tours, was the reason they were not invited this year.

Never mind that Rabobank, Cofidis, and Gerolsteiner, all who had doping troubles in the TdF of the last two years are invited this year. Heck, last year Micheal Rasmussen, while riding for Rabobank, was pulled from the tour for misinforming his team about his whereabouts! And Rabobank is invited to the tour this year.

Johan Bruyneel reacted to the announcement today by saying the decision to leave last years winner Alberto Contador and the entire Astana team out for mistakes of the previous team as, "unfair, illogical, ridiculous and arrogant." You tell them Johan!

Professional cycling is a mess right now. I read a fan letter posted on www.cyclingnews.com that made a whole lot of sense to me. The title of the letter, if you want to look it up is, "Cycling fans must let their voices be heard". It is written by Joan Blomsterberg from Denmark, and I agree with their position.

I'm done. I'm not watching the Tour de France this year. I'm sure Nicole is in shock to hear it, but I don't plan on it. Not only because the non-invite of Astana, that's probably the smallest reason. I'm not watching because I'm tired of the baloney and the controversy. I'm tired of the ASO vs. the UCI. I'm tired of the riders whining, "I just want to ride my bike!" but not putting any effort into making a statement as a whole. The fans want to watch the best racers in the world fight it out for the most prestige. Which says to me, the fans and the cyclist have the power. If the fans don't watch and the cyclist don't race, then no one makes money.

It's called the "International Association of Professional Cycling Teams" (AIGCP) for a reason. They have the power to make decisions for their future, instead of worrying about their jobs. Done with the UCI? Tell them so and figure out a better way to organize all the races. Don't want to bow to the whims of the ASO? Don't do their races. Take a stand and tell them what you want. Without you, they have no race. Worried about the sponsors? A good sponsor should do what's best for the team. I wouldn't want to sponsor a controversial race.

So I'm done. I'm not going to talk about this anymore. I'm gonna stick to Sporting Clays for now. Perhaps join the NSCA and start shooting in tournaments. I'll keep riding my bike, but I'm not gonna imagine I'm racing the best up L'Alpe D'Huez, because I don't know who the best is anymore.

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