Say it Ain’t So, Ricco…

The other day I was all poised to praise Riccardo Ricco, whose two stage wins in this year’s Tour were thrilling pieces of cycling. I was going to suggest that if Damiano Cunego could show some better form there might be some hope that we could enjoy a modern rivalry that might offer a pale echo of the great Coppi-Bartali tussles of the past. Not so fast, my friends. Ricco has been kicked out of the tour (though, as always in cycling, the details remain less than clear) and the Saunier-Duval team has withdrawn from the race. Perplexingly, the organisers say this shows they are winning the battle against doping. Here’s some of what I wrote about doping last year, most of which still stands today, I think:

Cycling fans have a complex emotional relationship with their heroes, but one should never forget the role of pity. That’s not an emotion associated with many other sports.