Drawing a line in the sand

I have been racing for a long time. Sometimes I sit back and think it has been too long. Regardless, I have seen many things come, many things go and a lot of other changes along the way.

One of the changes over the past 18 years, has been the cost of racing. I am not referring to the equipment costs, although they have changed too. The entry fees are my focus today. I won't even comment on the odious "late fee". That may be for another time.

Back when I started racing in '93, entry fees typically were $15 -$20. At least that is how I remember them. Nowadays, an entry fee is often $30, maybe $35. Even $40 on occasion That is at least a 50% increase in costs. This is not a complaint about the entry fees. Many things in life have gotten more expensive over these past 18 years and I have never, until now, let an entry fee get in the way of me racing.

Certain increases can be expected. And, often times, those increases have been accompanied by technological improvements. For instance, chip timing which raises costs of a race but also provides an added feature that many racers enjoy. Or, sometimes the extra cost can be something as simple as a good race payout.

Now it is time for me to vent.

I have raced quite a few of the various incarnations of the Rolla race, whether it be the crit or the road race that came later. About the only time I have not raced in Rolla has been because I have been out of the country. The races have been nice enough but they haven't been spectacular either. They are what I expect in a smallish MO town with no real racing scene. We are fortunate to even have the race

I looked at this weekend's races in Rolla and was shocked. Entry fee's were $35. To begin with, that's on the high end of the entry fee scale. Particularly for the low-key affair that the Rolla races usually are. Maybe they are upping their game this year, but it would be a change from the past.

Second, if you didn't pre-register they tack on an outrageously high $10 late fee, making the race $45. Late fees are ridiculous to begin with, but $10 instead of the usual $5 is silly.

Third, if there is going to be a $35-$45 entry fee, give me a reason to attend. I rarely finish in the money so I normally don't let payouts bother me. It is not worth getting worked up over something I am likely not going to be involved in anyway. BUT... to offer $75 / 3 riders deep. C'mon, man!!! Does the winner of the race even get his race paid for with that kind of payout. Gateway Cup is $40 per race. Yes it is a little expensive but you get great racing, great atmosphere, announcers, etc. I guarantee, that will not be the case in Rolla

I wish the Rolla folks luck. They can probably justify their prices and I don't wish for any promoter to take a bath financially because they put on a race. But, at a time of high gas prices, in a location that nearly everyone will have to travel plus an expensive, yet small, race I, for one, will not be racing.

Wheeee!!!!

Perhaps, the best coverage of a downhill descent I have seen. The finish of 2011 Tour de Suisse - Stage 3.

And, what a talent Sagan appears to be. A powerful sprint, a pretty good climber and obviously a darn good descender. He made up 15 seconds on a flying Cunego in only 8.5km. And he is only 21 years old.

Idiot logic

Johan Bruyneel MAY be a great cycling mind. His logic regarding Alberto Clenbutador makes no sense.

from cyclingnews...

"He's convinced that he's innocent, so why should he not start?," Bruyneel told Het Nieuwsblad on Friday

Yes, of course. If the rider thinks or says he is innocent, then by all means they should race. Everyone knows that as soon as a cyclist tests positive, they always readily admit that they have transfused blood or taken or EPO or used testosterone or any number of other performance enhancing drugs.

You are an idiot, Johan.

Clenbutador should be allowed to race because the Spanish Federation were as forceful as a wet noodle in the case. I've come to expect no less from Spain. That, in addition to the CAS unfortunate acquiescing to the request of Contador's legal team means he should be allowed to race.

Clenbutador should not be racing. But as long as he is, then he should.

An anti-doper goes soft

I just read David Millar's comments at cyclingnews about the Armstrong and Contador cases. Frankly, I skipped over most of the Armstrong stuff because it is largely irrelevant. His comments about Contador had more bearing on the current race scene. My only conclusion is that Millar was drunk or he was trying not to piss off the "best" current rider. His comments were non-sensical

Below is the Contador portion of the story with my thoughts in bold.

--------------------------
In contrast to his comments on Armstrong, Millar defends Alberto Contador after the way he has been treated since his positive test. He goes as far as suggesting that the Spaniard could go on to be the greatest grand tour rider in the history of the sport.

Contador tested positive for Clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour de France but the legal process has been slow and complicated.

Contador has always insisted his positive test was caused by contaminated meat he ate on the second rest day of the Tour de France. He was cleared of doping by the Spanish Cycling Federation but that sentence was appealed by both the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Cycling Union (UCI). A final verdict was expected before this year’s Tour de France but has now been delayed until at least August, meaning Contador will ride this year’s Tour de France. "It's farcical. He (Contador) should have either been vindicated or sanctioned a long time ago," Millar told the BBC.

It is not a fast process but you can blame Contador's legal team, as much as anyone, for slowing the matter down

"I think it's bad for Alberto and it's bad for the sport that it hasn't been sorted out yet. Whether he's positive or negative, it's the system's fault for not dealing with it. There should be a two-week timeframe for when it is actually resolved.”

That would be nice

"This case is opening everyone's eyes to the discrepancies we have regards the sanctioning and disciplinary process in the anti-doping world. The science is now so advanced, and yet the judicial side of it is medieval and makes no sense. Alberto deserves a presumption of innocence, but unfortunately he has now been tarnished with that brush. People will never believe him, whichever way it goes, which is really sad. It's not healthy for cycling and not healthy for professional sport. It makes it all look pretty stupid."

I dont agree with everything in that paragraph above but I can accept his views. From here on, he goes off the deep end.

Millar saw from close up how Contador dominated the recent Giro d’Italia. For Millar, Contador’s consistency is a sign of his unique talent.

Or, it could just as easily be a sign of good doping

"Alberto Contador is untouchable as rider, (agreed) he is a physical freak (perhaps) and we in the peloton have known that for a long time and respect his supreme talent (or is it the good doping?). I would be very surprised if he didn't end up as the greatest Grand Tour rider in the history of the sport. It’s a tragedy that he has got mixed up in this Clenbuterol thing but I am keeping an open mind on his case,” Millar told the Telegraph.

Tragedy? My viewpoint is that he doped and tragedies are not self-imposed.

"Does anybody out there seriously doubt that Contador was riding clean in the Giro d'Italia that has just finished? (Yes, many people David) You don't win the biggest races in the world with such clockwork regularity and comparative ease, and in such style, by not being the supreme talent and clean. (What are you smoking, David? You win the biggest races with such clockwork, regularity and comparative ease when you are NOT clean.) In my experience the profile of a doper is always much more erratic and unpredictable.” Bad dopers are erratic
"The rest of us mere mortals have "magic days" when every so often when we can take on the world. Contador's default setting is a "Magic day". (That's not normal David) His only departure from the norm is when he experiences merely an average day. They are the only two levels he rides at. (You speak the words and yet you not see and hear the sirens going off?) My strong instinct is to trust that." Bangs my head on the desktop

With friends like these...

Alberto Clenbutador would probably have preferred that Riccardo Ricco not open his pie-hole before the CAS hearing in August but...

from Cyclingnews

He (Ricco) extended his sympathy to Giro d'Italia winner Alberto Contador, who is awaiting the Court of Arbitration hearing on his positive doping control from the 2010 Tour de France. “The Spaniard is in yet another farce of cycling, embroiled in doping affairs that have little to do with cycling or anything.”

Since when did testing positive during the Tour de France "have little to do with cycling".

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.-- Mark Twain