Doping seizing up future of cycling

An optimist -- and there aren't many left in cycling -- would say the advantage for the sport of being in such a deep black hole of scandal is things can only get better from here.
Perhaps.
One main reason why the once revered Tour de France is in such agony, suffering a thousand cuts from doping, is the sport failed to fully heed the lessons from previous drug scandals.
Time to save cycling may now be running out. Should the Tour, a 104-year-old institution, be stopped? Should cycling be de-listed as an Olympic sport? That such questions are now being asked shows how desperate the situation has become.
For once, apportioning blame is a valid, even necessary, step if credibility is going to be restored.
Cycling's governing body, the UCI, has proved a poor custodian, failing to stop the doping rot that has been evident for years. It has toughened this year, with a more rigorous program of testing.
And despite their tough anti-doping talk, Tour organizers gave a wild-card invite to Alexandre Vinokourov's Astana team. That proved a massive mistake. Vinokourov and Astana were pulled from the race on Tuesday after he tested positive for a banned blood transfusion.
Dick Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, lambasted the sport yesterday, suggesting everyone involved in the controversy is culpable.
"Obviously, the UCI can't do it by itself," Pound said. "Obviously, the Tour organizers can't do it by themselves. Obviously, the teams are conspiring to have doping. You can't do blood doping without people being aware of it."
Pound, a Montreal lawyer, offered cycling an olive branch, suggesting WADA could play a key role in helping to clean up the sport.
"We're happy to help," said Pound. "We're happy to have a summit where we bring in all of the people involved in cycling and say 'all right, how are we going to solve this problem?' "