proper NEWSFLASH this one…

Mike McCormack, organiser of the BRECK-EPIC MTB stage race in Colorado, one of the premier events in North America, today tweeted that his race will no longer accept as an entrant any rider that is serving or has ever served a USADA or WADA suspension.

https://twitter.com/BreckEpic/status/534780473244123136

this is awesome.

why?

because it’s a brave decision.

why?

because it’s basically a one-finger salute to the authorities and to the dopers and their facilitators (team management/doctors/masseurs/race organisers/commentators/journalists/MotoMan) who have brought our sport to its knees.

Mike’s decision reflects a growing sense of empowerment amongst organisers. they do not want their hard work nor the integrity of their event compromised by cheats.

simple.

last night i was chatting to Uli Fluhme, the organiser (alongside his wife Lidia) of the GFNY (Gran Fondo New York, sponsored by Camagnolo) series. his event also has a strong anti-doping policy, being the first in the world to exclude from competition any rider from anywhere who has ever been banned – for anything.

the Taiwan KOM Challenge that I help organise has a similar policy. Uli and I were talking about how and whether other event organisers might introduce

holier-than-thou? self-righteous?

no. why not? because we are riders too.

first and foremost, we are riders too.

we expect what the competitors in these events expect: a clean, fair and legitimate race against clean, legitimate and fair competition.

that we have the opportunity to enact these ideas is great, but it could not be done if they did not reflect the genuine desire, one held by the vast majority of cyclists, to clean up our sport.

this is our sport.

it is not theirs.

that mangled heap of a thing that Armstrong lorded over for so long, that Pat let stew like manure in his back garden, that corrupted commentators and journalists let stay covered and festering – that is not cycling.

something has begun. a quiet revolution. let’s hope this grows.