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If you follow professional cycling or any professional sport these days you have undoubtedly caught some of the buzz about doping. It seems that everyday in the news there is another allegation or confession of doping by another high level athlete.

Lance Armstrong was accused of doping but was cleared of all wrong doing. Floyd Landis is in the depths of a doping scandal that is raising questions of the validity and the reliability of the testing done at the same French labs that wrongfully accused Lance. The World Anti-Doping Agency or WADA is even under scrutiny for not following procedure and leaking information to the press. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. That’s just the two highest profile cases surrounding American riders.

The major media outlets seem to spend more time on the negative doping stories. What about the positive stories? What is the other side of the issue?

Many pro cycling teams have taken it upon themselves to stop doping on there own. Team Slipstream/Chipotle for example has started mandatory blood testing for all of its riders. Rider Danny Pate said, “I’ll give DNA. I’ll post all my information on the Internet. I’ll do anything to save the sport.”

More and more teams will have to take Slipstream/Chipotle’s lead and set strict, documented, and provable guidelines for their riders. Riders will have to take Danny Pate’s position to ensure there are no suspicions. All the team directors and coaches will have to be vigilant to make sure their riders are not compromising their sport, their team, their sponsors, and most importantly themselves.

The atmosphere inside professional cycling needs to be one that is very hostile towards doping to the point that those involved in doping activity are forced out in the open, exposed to world, and not hidden in the locker rooms and team busses. The dopers need to be made into outsiders, part of the fringe.

As a fellow cyclist and a fan of bicycle racing of all varieties I really hope for the good of the sport that all of the doping troubles will come to an end and the sport can move forward.

On a side note…Rider Brad Huff of Slipstream/Chipotle is from Springfield, Missouri and grew up in Fairgrove. Pretty cool for us fellow Missourians.