I fully support Floyd Landis' efforts to effect positive change in the sport of cycling and I find those arguing against his participation in the New Pathways for Pro Cycling conference to be disingenuous and extremely self-interested. As Floyd himself points out, "the behavior and comments of the persons and organizations that seek to shut down the conference as a consequence of my participation demonstrate that they are interested only in selfishly perpetuating their own positions and purported authority at the expense of progressive reform and in total disregard of the sport’s long-term interests, including those of the riders and fans, which they are charged to protect."
I can't think of any better way to say it.
Yes, it's uncomfortable to be reminded of the culpability that we all face as a result of having unquestioningly allowed cycling to devolve into a drug-addled netherworld during the past decade. And repairing the damage was always going to be uncomfortable and would always require each of us as individuals to examine our roles in having uncritically accepted what we can now clearly see was myth, but what we then considered to be god's truth and fact.
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I can't think of any better way to say it.
ReplyDelete...but I'm sure you'll try...hard...cuz you need it
Joe,
ReplyDeleteOne nit to pick with you. You wrote:
"I can't think of any better way to say it.
Yes, it's uncomfortable to be reminded of the culpability that we all face as a result of having unquestioningly allowed cycling to devolve into a drug-addled netherworld during the past decade. "
While this is a case of listening to what you mean and not what you say, reading this, one could almost mistakenly glean that the sport was clean prior to this decade. Hardly what you meant to write, I'm sure. Nonetheless, thanks for posting - your blog is one of the best sources of well-informed, articulately expressed cycling commentary and I always make a point of reading it.
Jim Burlant
Wouldn't it be great if, as a contribution to the scholarly discourse at this conference, Floyd could provide participants (and eventually the rest of us) with photocopies of the journals he claims to have kept during the days of doping?
ReplyDelete