AP News, March 8th, 2007
This weekend's opening event of the cycling season is known as the "Race to the Sun." Hard to ignore, however, will be the cloud over the sport.
Cycling has been torn by drug scandals, disputes and power struggles among the governing body, organizers, riders and anti-doping agencies. It took last-ditch negotiations for the ProTour season to begin Sunday with the Paris-Nice classic.
"Cycling has taken a lot of hits the last few years but it can take a lot because it's a strong sport," CSC team manager Bjarne Riis said. "There is a history in the sport and we cannot run from that. But I'd say all the problems the last few years aren't all bad. It ripped open many things in cycling that need to be better."
Nine hours of haggling Monday averted a boycott of the Paris-Nice race, which runs through March 18.
"I now see the season unfolding fairly well," International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid told The Associated Press. "Racing is the most important thing right now, not the politics."
Since setting up the ProTour in 2005, UCI has clashed with Tour de France organizers, who are furious at having to pay for the right to host a race that dates more than a century.
Though most teams support the ProTour model _ which aims to have the elite riders racing for the top teams in the best events _ there are problems. Too many riders dilute fields and cause logistical headaches, and simultaneous races reduce showdowns among top riders.
Organizers of the major races _ the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Spanish Vuelta _ complain that the ProTour format prevents them from inviting popular national teams, decreasing the value of their TV rights. The three tours held their events separately from UCI's calendar last year.
Under the new compromise, the big tour organizers won't need to invite all the ProTour teams as the rules require. Instead they'll invite just the top 18 teams and assess "with a positive spirit" the last two smaller teams as wild-card entries.
Then there's doping. Critics accuse the sport of being unable to get its doping problem under control, but cycling's defenders say the zero-tolerance stance to clean up its image has led to summary suspensions.
UCI is planning to unveil a new anti-doping program for ProTour teams in Paris on Friday. The program reportedly could include blood volume testing and checking for human growth hormone. UCI refused to comment on the new plan.
"UCI has, in fact, just started to implement a new doping plan which is excellent and which I approve of," IOC president Jacques Rogge said. "I think if it continues on that path they will be finally able to gain control of the scourge of doping."
The sport's credibility was hit by two major doping scandals in 2006 _ Tour de France winner Floyd Landis' alleged positive test for testosterone; the "Operation Puerto" case in Spain led to the exclusion of Giro d'Italia champion Ivan Basso and 1997 Tour champion Jan Ullrich from the Tour de France.
Teams are taking different approaches to the doping scourge. Some, like T-Mobile and CSC, have conducted private testing of their riders. Others feel existing controls are sufficient.
"The doping affairs, the battles between all the parties are both dangerous for the image of cycling," Lampre team spokesman Andrea Appiani said. "For the real fans it's not a problem. They understand the sacrifice the riders and teams make. But for the people who don't follow cycling, those we are targeting to bring over to cycling, that is a problem."
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AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire in Paris contributed to this report.
