I have to admit, I'm not a fan of dredging up problems that are so far in the past that they have no solution. Though that is hard to reconcile with my desire to know the truth.
That being said, I'm proud of the way Bjarne Riis finally handled his confession to using EPO. I'm, of course, saddened that he won the Tour in that manner. However, one cannot change the past and, let's face it, I think we all knew.
But Riis has the right point. If cycling's doping problem is going to be fixed, we can not continue to chase after the specters of the past. It does little good to work on the future. I do not doubt Riis' current commitment to clean sport.
Am I naive? Probably. But, ultimately, he's right. The future of cycling needs focus. Unfortunately, as Andy Ihnatko is fond of saying "A lot of people will have to die for this to change." Meaning, the old guard needs to be ushered out. The omerta and the code of silence needs to be broken.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Doping is not a singular problem. It's not one athlete. It's a system and it's a culture. To fix this, you need to fix the whole thing. Tests and punishments obviously do not work. They have not worked for decades. Cheating will always exist, but removing the bullying code of silence that stops athletes from speaking out against unfair sport, is what damages this sport--every sport--the most.
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