THE TOUR DE FRANCE wants its yellow jersey back -- specifically the one Danish cyclist Bjarne Riis took home for winning the race in 1996.
Riis and six others -- all among cycling's most successful competitors -- last week revealed that they used performance-enhancing drugs while riding for the Telekom team in the 1990s.
The admissions came in the wake of leaks from a book by Jef d'Hont, a former support worker for the team. D'Hont didn't implicate riders, but he did name two doctors who gave them EPO, which increases the number of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. The doctors denied the allegation and vowed legal action against D'Hont. It was then that Bert Dietz, a stage winner at the 1995 Tour of Spain, came forward. Others followed -- each of his own volition, without implicating others -- culminating in Riis' bombshell Friday.
Anyone who believes that Riis didn't use EPO on his way to winning the Tour de France also probably believes that the moon is edible and that large waterfowl deliver babies. But his regret-filled confession was a stunner -- not the least because it came at a news conference, not under interrogation.
Meanwhile, in Malibu, 2006 Tour de France victor Floyd Landis has been fighting to retain his title. Landis tested positive for synthetic testosterone during the race but has firmly maintained his innocence. His defense centers on the incompetence of the French laboratory that provided the analysis. A review of the expert testimony reveals serious questions about the lab's staff, equipment and even computer software. One suspects that this lab might find synthetic testosterone in the urine of a cat.
But as Landis' case shows, cycling's anti-doping system pursues the athlete as the root of the problem. In fact, if riders are the users, it's the team managers and doctors who are the corner dealers.
Each of the riders for Telekom -- now known as T-Mobile -- who came forward said he felt coerced to take the drugs and to keep quiet. This should give us all pause. These athletes, mostly now retired, knew their jobs were on the line if they weren't fast enough, if they refused the doctors' "help," if they didn't go along. They felt extorted.
Today, three professional teams -- CSC, T-Mobile and Slipstream Sports -- run the most stringent in-house testing programs. All are managed by former riders who have said they don't want their athletes to face the decisions they confronted.
