I read a summary on Velo News about the same story. It seems as though the testing is inconclusive because it doesn’t include enough data points. Everyone already knows that Froome has extraordinary physiology. You can’t win the Tour de France without being extraordinary. The tests don’t determine if there was any cheating going on.
One of the most frequent criticisms is Froome’s relatively quick surge in recent years, after being a step below the top level before. The explanation is that he was affected by parasites that cause bilharzia. I don’t really know much about that, but it’s at least plausible.
Until there is more, I’ll continue to respect him as a Tour champion, while keeping in mind the history of doping in pro cycling (as well as in nearly every other major sport).
I really don’t see cycling as any worse in terms of doping than other major sports. Most of the superstars in baseball over the past 30 years have been found to be dopers or there is a lot of evidence to suggest that they were involved in doping. (Bonds, McGwire, Manny Ramirez, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Andy Pettitte, etc.) Football doesn’t even test for growth hormone. Given how much the average size of the entire league has grown over the past 20-30 years, there has to be something going on besides “better diet and nutrition.” Almost every week, a pro football player gets suspended for PEDs. There isn’t much testing at the high school level and college level, when athletes can be taking a lot of the PEDs to bulk up. An assistant coach at a prominent NJ high school was caught with a bag of syringes and PEDs in his car last year. One survey I read about a decade ago found that a majority of the high-school athletes who responded, admitted to some PED use. (However, I don’t remember the sample size or the methodology and all that. But there are many verified doping cases, at least at the pro level, that it wouldn’t be surprising that doping in football was so widespread. There are also a lot of troubling cases of off-field violence. You have to wonder whether roid rage plays a part, or if it’s a carryover from the violence of the game, overuse of stimulants and painkillers, brain injury or a combination of those factors.)
Because all this has tarnished pro sports, I try to see the contests as experiences that can be more important than the individuals. It might be cool to meet some of them, but I don’t know if I would idolize them the way kids and a lot of adults do. The dopers who get away with it will get their money, fame and championships. But it doesn’t mean I have to respect them. (In other sports, it sort of turns my stomach to see A-Rod and Pete Rose on TV broadcasts. And now Bonds will become a hitting coach. McGwire was also a hitting coach and may still be.) Of course, none of that is as bad as when the Washington Nationals signed Elijah Dukes to the team. That guy threatened to kill his wife and all their children. All the other teams steered clear of him but the old Nats brought him in. He didn’t get into too much trouble when he was here, but his previous record was bad enough.
Some or most pro cyclists might be doping. But at least we don’t hear about the steady stream of off-field violence that happens especially with some NFL players. (Off-season murders almost every year in recent years, including a likely serial killer in Aaron Hernandez. That’s just insane.)
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