Biggest letdown?

[Noodley]

Okay, I know I am a witch hunter on the forum, but mostly I am fairly sympathetic to riders who dope and can understand their motivations and the pressures.

Amidst all the 'rights' and 'wrongs' and 'evidence' there are the letdowns we feel as fans which is mostly overlooked.

I promise not to point fingers nor encourage others to do so, but I would like to find out what others biggest letdown has been - this can be with evidence or mere gut feeling. If the thread becomes another mass argument or finger pointing exercise I shall get it deleted (I am holding my hands up and admitting I am a key protagonist in these matters). However I do not think people need to justify their views, as letdowns are a personal thing.

I am genuinely interested.

For me:

Rider: Mancebo. Nice guy, etc and I really liked his style.
Event: Landis on THAT stage to Morzine.

 

[HLaB]

As I was saying on the other thread the 1st book I read was 'Tour De Force' I then found out that practically everybody in it subsequently failed a drug test. I felt particularly let down when I found out about Landis.
Edit: or was that Tyler Hamilton, there's so many druggies these days.

 

[Dave5N]

Iljo Keisse

 

[Crackle]

No one in particular, just the dawning realization that EPO has skewed so many results from so long ago, virually since I began following cycle racing, though I still hold the Lemond-Fignon race as a truth but so many other moments are now tainted with suspiscion.

 

[Skip Madness]

For me:

Rider: Mancebo. Nice guy, etc and I really liked his style.
Event: Landis on THAT stage to Morzine.

I think I would agree with both of these. I was always a big fan of Mancebo, and I thought the way he was often tarred with the "follower" brush was a bit unfair. He was a quiet but classy rider and seemed like a good guy. I was gutted when his name came up on the Puerto list, and even more so by his weaselly behaviour since. When he immediately "retired" upon being named, I thought it was an admission of guilt and that he was at least doing the most honourable thing under the circumstances. Then he threw his arms in the air and made some evasive bullshit statements, pissed off for a while, came back and asked for his salary for the second have of his season at Ag2r despite not riding, then slinked back into the peleton with Relax (nothing suspicious there) and now is at Rock Racing. Get lost, Paco.

The Landis win in Morzine was probably the single most enthralling thing I had ever witnessed in pro cycling. Even believing now that he was on the juice I still get the urge to go and watch it on YouTube again.

I will also add Leonardo Piepoli from last year. I have always been a massive fan of his, but now I can no longer call him the greatest climber of the last five years.

 

[Keith Oates]

I was a bit let down when Tyler Hamilton was found out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Steve Austin]

Strange one. but i was really miffed by the whole Virenque Festina thing. Virenque cried and denied it, and should have never been allowed back into the peleton.
And when he did come back he won the polka dots again.
Was never suitably punished for doping
and is a hero to the french, when he was cheating for years.
Can't stand the bloke, and the deception that came with him.

 

[onb]

Ricco last year I thought he had so much to offer ,I wasnt surprised when he tested positive but nowadays Im not surprised when anyone tests positive.

 

[chfp77]

Where to begin! Every positive is a kick in the teeth.Like many others,one of my biggest disappointments was Landis. Museeuw's admission was a bit hard to take especially as i have always loved the spring classics.

 

[CotterPin]

Oh it would be too long a list. Every year I anticipate the season with great anticipation only to see it all crumble to dust as the dopers exposed.

Last year Schumacher was disappointing although with hindsight... At the time though I seem to remember a lot of people were trying to find a genuine explanation for his success in both Tour time trials.

And then the Frank Schleck thing which hasn't really gone away...

So my big letdown these days is not so much a person as the entire racing season - somewhere along the line I know will be disappointed.

 

[MacB]

Am I alone in not feeling let down at all? Same for every sport, I really don't care about doping. I only view a sport to be entertained by a skills level I'll never attain. I don't place the exponents on a pedestal, nor consider them as role models for myself or my children. They are paid entertainers and, once the shows over, I forget all about them. If they are so desperate to beat others and get in the limelight to showoff, that they'll wreck their lives with drugs, then fair enough.

I'll watch the tour as usual, I'll think 'bloody hell' that's impressive, I'll get marginally irritated by the focus on drugs tests and then forget about it until next year.

 

[rich p]

Am I alone in not feeling let down at all? Same for every sport, I really don't care about doping. I only view a sport to be entertained by a skills level I'll never attain. I don't place the exponents on a pedestal, nor consider them as role models for myself or my children. They are paid entertainers and, once the shows over, I forget all about them. If they are so desperate to beat others and get in the limelight to showoff, that they'll wreck their lives with drugs, then fair enough.

I'll watch the tour as usual, I'll think 'bloody hell' that's impressive, I'll get marginally irritated by the focus on drugs tests and then forget about it until next year.

Hows impressive is it if the winner cheated? It's a bit like being impressed by the bloke who joined the marathon halfway through and won.

 

[Chuffy]

Another vote here for Hamilton. Especially after his stage win in 2003. No amount of drugs will give you that level of courage and grit. Same with Landis on Morzine. Juiced or not (and was no-one else at it that year?) that was an amazing fightback. What makes it worse is the subsequent storm of lies, obfuscation and bullshit that they both came out with.

Surprised that no-one has mentioned Vino. He always seemed to have many fans for his style and panache, two things that drugs won't give you.

 

[Chuffy]

Macbludgeon - I can see where you're coming from. For me the drugs circus is all part of the fun, but I still want a clean winner that I can believe in. Lemond is the last winner who that can be applied to (with apologies to Carlos Sastre) and he's someone who I'm coming to like and admire more and more.

 

[Dave5N]

I was a bit let down when Tyler Hamilton was found out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know what you mean. I was very disapointed too.

And I was absolutely gutted when I learned his twin brother was caught up in it all as well.