LoneCactus' Soap Box Moments

ToC & Der Jan

So, I am a little conflicted this past week, when it came to cycling. The Tour of California came to a close and it was another awesome race. Two years in a row, California showed off that it could hold truly a world class cycling stage race.

Levi Leipheimer, Discovery Channel, came up strong and delivered the goods when it counted. Last year he choked when it came to the crucial time trial and was never able to recover. This year he took to the road last in both the initial prologue and stage five. Stage five was truly phenomenal as the second place rider, Jens Voigt, placed the quickest time trial, only to have the last rider out, Leipheimer, take Voigt by 18 seconds.


Unfortunately, Leipheimer was not a great representative of the Discovery team or America when it came to champagne time. For some reason he struggled with opening the champagne and at the end someone from the race organization needed to help him. Argh...

Why I am conflicted after Leipheimer's victory, is that one of my favorite racers, Jan Ullrich, is retiring, most likely because of the pressure from Operation Puerto. Operation Puerto is an on-going Spanish investigation regarding doping. Spanish authorities arrested a Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes and foung a plethora of doping items. Along with bags of plasma, thousands of doses of anabolic steroids, the most supposedly damning item was a list that contained the names of various cyclists. Jan Ullrich was one that was named on this list.

What is sad about Operation Puerto is that no one, not one cyclist, has been formally charged with any wrong doing. This sting operation first came to light in May of 2006. The authorities decided to release the names of various riders prior to establishing their guilt or innocence. So far, the only item that possibly connects the accused riders to Dr. Fuentes is the log with the riders' names on it.

Why am I a little sad that Jan Ullrich, der Jan, is leaving the pro-circuit? Although a very talented cyclist, Ullrich always seemed to be human. He had human frailties. Ullrich was a flawed man. He liked his excesses and like normal human beings, struggled with his weight. In the off season, he partied. Ullrich liked clubbing. He liked living.

posted by LoneCactus @ 9:43 PM Comments: 0