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So after a weekend of running our first ever mountain bike festival into the history books and pouring a week’s worth of Deschutes Brewing’s production down my neck I felt pretty good about the world.
Then this morning I returned to work and began the day with my usual “Coffee and Scandal” fifteen minutes on cyclingnews.com. Oh the juxtaposition between the recreational life and the pro life!
Cyclingnews’ Bjorn Haake reveals the contents of Jörg Jaksche’s interview with Der Spiegel, where the suspended Tinkoff Credit Systems rider confessed to using performance enhancing drugs and blood doping.
Jörg Jaksche appeared at his Der Spiegel interview with just a cell phone and a black plastic bag. Inside the mysterious black bag was a binder, containing documents and letters compiled by or from his lawyer, Michael Lehner, during the Operación Puerto investigation. For those who recognise Lehner’s name, it’s likely because he also defended Danilo Hondo and Dieter Baumann, an Olympic track and field champion.
Despite his recent admission to having used performance enhancing drugs, Jaksche still trains six hours a day, holding onto the hope that he may be allowed to race again someday. The German rider hopes that offering to be a key witness will be rewarded with a reduced sentence, which could see him return as soon as next year, according to Jaksche.
The 30 year-old’s admission to Der Spiegel sent shock waves through the cycling industry. Jaksche said that the Omertà, the law of silence, works because everyone, including doctors, soigneurs, riders, and team managers, complied to the vow of silence. Even the recent wave of doping admissions couldn’t break it, Jaksche said, as all riders who admitted to doping in their careers only implicated themselves, and usually to events which have long since transpired.
Seems like the wheels on the cart are about to fall off and the Tour starts Saturday. Why should we give a fuck what these guys are doing to themselves? Check out the picture of the kid’s race from our Festival. There were over 50 little ankle biters out there givin er’ like there was $1,000,000 on the line.
Big deal, eh? When I first started racing, all I wanted to be was a euro-pro mixing it up in the big leagues. But when I got there I realized it was not all that I had expected. The disillusionment led me to quit the sport in 1996 after the Atlanta games and take up mountain biking. Of course those assholes had begun making their move into cross country and it was more of the same. Talk about pissed. When I hear people who want to “build the sport” you immediatley think of kids. Well what the hell are you going to do? Lead them their entire lives to an end which will ultimately end with one massive confrontation: Do I dope or not? The culture of the sport is ill and something needs to dramatically change otherwise we are better off grooming our children into recreational cyclists. Fuck that. I want my goddmanned Tour and goddamned sport back. Pronto.
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Hear! Hear!
Put a pint on the counter for Chopper!
i donate it to the bloke from Scotland…there is still a full keg on ice from the weekend awaiting me in the garage.
I think you should send the keg to the Scottish dude. He deserves it more.