Lance Armstrong went on the Oprah Winfrey Show this month and confessed to using performance enhancing drugs, which assisted in his remarkable run of 7 consecutive Tour De France victories.
To be honest, cycling, both sprint and distance, is on the very fringe of my sporting interest for a variety of factors.
Having said that, there’s no doubt those who follow the sport, and especially those who compete or competed in the sport, be it sprint or distance, would have strong opinions and reactions to the admission.
So I called Curt Harnett, a prominent Canadian cyclist who went to the Olympic Games 4 times for Canada and won 3 medals including a silver, and asked simply, ‘ was the confession by Lance Armstrong good for cycling or was it bad ? ‘
The answer, like the issue was complex.
First, it was bad for Lance Armstrong the competitor who will never ever be viewed in the same glowing light as when he was winning, and will likely never be viewed again without suspicion.
Harnett said in some respects, the admission was bad for cycling, tarnished by a large brush attached to its biggest performer.
Conversely, Harnett belies the revelation was also good for cycling as upgraded doping polices and testing are now in place, as the sport moves on from what he calls the ” Armstrong Era “.
And finally, again, bad and good, there’s no doubt cycling will suffer from a fallout to the Armstrong interview, but using the 2015 Pan Am Games at Toronto and the Golden Horseshoe as an example, Harnett sees terrific growth now and further growth on the horizon.
Lance Armstrong admits his wrongdoing…to Oprah and the ramifications, good and bad, will be felt far into the future according to Curt Harnett
I’m Fred Wallace