As we enter the final week of the 2011 Tour de France, it is a pleasant surprise to see that doping has not taken center stage at the event this year. There is still the dark cloud over Alberto Contador’s head regarding the positive test last year for a ban steroid which will not be resolved until August; and the voluntary withdrawal by the Russian, Alexandr Kolobnev of the Katusha team. Other than that, it has been the crashes and surprise victories that have dominated the coverage. The question still remains, how does the sport of cycling handle and punish the convicted dopers?
There are two sides to the argument over the issue of doping and cycling. Some people believe that we should stop worrying about catching the cheaters and let them all use whatever drugs the riders choose to ingest. They believe that the general public wants to see more action in the sport, and like the use of steroids by the sluggers in Major League Baseball, they think that allowing the riders to dope-up will create more action and excitement. For that group of people, there is no discussion of punishment since they would have the sport of cycling turn into a free-for-all. I use the word ‘they’ because I believe in the complete opposite. Continue reading Kene-editorial: How do you punish the dopers?