Norwegian Pipped To The Post As Cycling’s Ghosts Return

With Norwegian rider Kristoff out of the running, it’s Chris Froome about to take the win in the Tour de France, but now the press have him in their sights at what cost for cycling does this victory come?

Fans who like to bet on sport in Norway will have seen Alexander Kristoff come close on Sunday to winning the 15th stage of the Tour de France only to come in third behind the German John Degenkolb and the winner Andre Greipel who took his third stage win of the tour this year. The sprint finish came at the end of the 183 ride from Mende and ended a week of some controversy in an event that now seems to court it.

Froome Goes Zoom Into Paris

• Tour de France leader doping?
• Was climb “abnormal”?
• Are the press lynching Chris?

Cycling’s image, we are constantly told, has been tarnished. This is a rather obvious deflection tactic that implies something outside of the sport itself has made it grubby and suspect, when the truth is its been the cyclists and teams themselves that have done that. Lance Armstrong wasn’t a spectator, he was an established central figure in the sport, there was no external mudslinging, the sports main star rolled around in the stuff and then stood up claiming he wasn’t covered in it.

His shadow will hang heavy over the sport for some time to come as it has now become almost de rigeur to make accusations of doping against anyone you don’t particularly like. Opposing teams, other riders, those chaps with the cameras who face the wrong way on motorbikes to bring us close ups of sweaty legs, whomever you like, just throw out a rumor about them medicating and lo, you’ve a brand new scandal to mess with their heads.

Better yet it gives perfect excuse to that small minority of spectators that believe there is an element of audience participation missing from this lycra-clad advert for the French countryside. Riders thus far in “Le Tour” have been spat at, punched, and in one particular case had urine thrown over them. Of course instances of this sort are nothing new. In 2009 two riders were shot with an air rifle, and various protests have disrupted proceedings over the years.

Leader’s Performance Data Released

The urine was thrown, we’re told, over Chris Froome, the British rider currently leading the Tour by quite a comfortable margin, who has also been accused of doping. Norwegian gambling laws probably wouldn’t permit me but I’ve a feeling were I to wager most people in the world consider leading the Tour de France to be proof of sporting drug abuse, I’d win. This is, of course, most unfair and until real evidence is produced we shouldn’t assume anyone’s guilt.

Team Sky, for whom Chris rides, has wisely released some of the rider’s performance data as part of their defense against the accusations, with their boss, Sir Dave Brailsford, saying he’d like people “to be able to judge for themselves.” This is all well and good, but given most of us wouldn’t know where to begin in analysing a professional cyclists performance data we’ll have to go with the opinions of experts, or people claiming to be them in the media.

The media are huge fans of drug scandals, and indeed as Chris Froome made his 15km climb last Tuesday the oh so originally named French broadcaster “France 2” displayed pictures of Armstrong alongside the coverage of Froome’s efforts. The channel claims to have had an “independent expert” analyze the climb who suggested the amount of energy he generated was “abnormally high”. Abnormally high probably being an apt description of the independent expert’s fee.

“The atmosphere,” we were told by the BBC’s pundit Matt Slater, “with all journalists the last few days has been very, very tense.” Which isn’t surprising given the rider, the team and their boss are all aware of how quickly this could turn into a feeding frenzy of finger-pointing. Chris himself described his critics on social media as being “clowns” (in response to their amateur interpretations of the data) which may or may not transpire to hubris depending on how events play out.

Froome Accused But Not Beaten

Of course if you’re gambling news coverage of a negative nature will put Froome off at this late stage you can forget it. He’ll ride into Paris victorious barring calamity, and if the pressure of the press is doing anything it’s making him more determined to take the win. “I’m not sure,” he said, “If numbers are going to fix everything. I feel as a team, we’re definitely trying to be as open and transparent as possible.” Which is, of course, all they can do in the circumstances.

Proving doping is far easier than proving you aren’t. A simple test will prove you are doping, but proving you’re not on some sort of enhancer for which they’ve yet to develop a test is all but impossible. As the President of British Cycling, Bob Howden, said “You cannot prove that you are doing nothing, all you can do is create a culture where people develop trust in what you are doing.”
Trust, however, is not in great supply in cycling journalist’s circles these days.

Froome’s fellow riders however, even those we should consider his rivals, have been quite critical of what they see as a lack of respect for Chris, sportsmanship rising above petty team affiliations, but each of them know that the accusations against Froome today could easily be accusations against them tomorrow. Alejandro Valverde described it as a “lynching” which is perhaps an exaggeration, however with the whole sport swinging in the breeze there’s a certain ring of truth about it.

Froome is now down to 1.10 at ComeOn! Sportsbook to take the trophy in Paris, nearest rival Nairo Quintana is back on 6.70, Alberto Contador is at 41.00 and the outspoken Valverde is way back at 111.00 which is, frankly, nowhere. The fact is however, that the real loser won’t be the last rider on the list come the finish, but the sport itself that hasn’t managed yet to drag itself from out of the cursed valley of mistrust, accusation and ignominy that Lance Armstrong heaped upon it all those years ago.