FOOT in MOUTH disease !

WADA chief John Fahey was the Premier of New South Wales with the Largest Population of the Australia not so many years ago ! The saying that " A day is a long time in Politics  " could not be more true of his recent statement to those practicing " Sports Fraud " !  Politicians have  the habit , of saying , what they believe that the populace want to hear !  Certainly those wishing to see Great Sports Action at the London 2012 Olympics will want an incident free experience !

Can you remember where you were when you heard of Ben Johnson's disgrace in 1988 ? John Fahey may well have used the same escalators in Grace Bros of Broadway , opposite Sydney University , that i was riding , when i saw the news flash on the TV's in the sales area there . Must ask my partner of that time if she recalls that event . Most older Aussies will recall where they were when Alan Bond achieved the " impossible " and won the America's Cup !

Fact is John your warning to those Athletes planning to defraud us is redundant rhetoric ! This warning was no doubt a repeat of earlier warnings which the cheats chose to ignore . Now that they have been selected for their National Teams , there is no escape , even if they lose their nerve ! What do you suppose people will think if they suddenly decide to not appear in London ? Yes , right first time , THEY LOST THEIR NERVE ! They were set to try and cheat their way into the record books .

 Nearly every Olympic Games since 1936 has had some question mark that has detracted from the luster that " TRUE SPORTSMANSHIP " deserves . One wonders what the Athletes selected to take the " OLYMPIC OATH " thinks when they make that declaration ?

John Fahey as the chief of WADA and Jacques Rogge of the IOC , COULD if they wished , put an end to Sporting Fraudsters using PEDs ! All it would take would be a line drawn on the past ! Declaration of the errant ways and the associates involved , WITHOUT SANCTIONS , before the due date would cause a tidal wave of revelations ! Those choosing to ignore the opportunity would when discovered face " Life time Bans " from Sport and Employment in any Sporting Employment . Within a short time after the deadline , those associates , managers , coaches , mechanics etc , that see their proteges had not taken advantage of the " moratorium " and disclosed their misbehavior would need to " blow the whistle and own up to their participation Or they too would suffer the same sanctions of Life Time Bans !

Whilst Sporting Fraud is a crime , very few countries treat it as a punishable offence with Jail penalties being an option . Time that the Sporting bodies acted in concert to make the penalties punishable throughout the World with minimum uniform sanctions of 5 year suspensions !

Laugh of the week was the disclosure of that Cofidis Cycle Racer ! Di Gregorio claimed he acted alone , saw some pigs airborne too ! Realistically , could this guy share a room with a fellow racer whilst being supervised by the team Medic , Seigneur and Director Sportive  , all of whom are supposedly highly intelligent people ? 

Chris Prudhomme chooses not to read my mail , better things to do ,  i suppose ? Wrote him after speaking with him at the Dauphine Libere about the " Cities fit for Cycling " campaign , started by the " Times of London " newspaper . As the face of the " Le Tour " he could have chosen to involve ALL cyclists by encouraging follower of " Le Tour " to be more aware of Cyclists . Seems that ASO the owners of " Le Tour " are too busy raking in the cash to be bothered what the ordinary cyclist think of their creation ? 

Last week the media was full of the leaked story about 5 American Racers at " Le Tour " . Since this news broke , many people are of the opinion that the five are performing at a standard below their usual efforts ? Could it be to the detriment of their teams ? When there was a suspicion of misbehavior in 2006 , some Racers were requested to not appear . Where is the difference on this occasion ?

WADA must be aware of the behavior of USADA and the news reports this past week so surely they should act ? Is it not detrimental to Sport in general for what is taking place to be allowed to continue ?

John Fahey and Jacques Rogge need to seize the initiative and ACT NOW !

Addition :

We all saw Jacques Rogge at the Opening Ceremony , mention " Doping ", not really surprising that he passed over this subject briefly ?

SBS BLOG PERSONNEL ATTACKING CYCLING

Tomalaris recently wrote a blog article which i thought offensive and denigrating to Sydney Cyclists.

Yesterday i found on Cycling Central yet another offensive and denigrating blog entry but this time by Gomez, below is my reply. I also commented on the Daily Telegraph site enclosing a google link referring to the attached comment:

" The article was an "April Fools Day joke"? Right? Thought Cycling Central was about supporting cycling in all it's aspects ! Gomes & Tomolaris recently



both seem to sit on their butt in a vehicle and denigrate cyclists, will the next articles they write be about the "wittisms" they call out to passing cyclists or even worse what they offer as they pull alongside a cyclist that they choose to offer advice. Worldwide the English speaking cycling blogs tend to highlight the frustration that everyone is experiencing as they try to ride to their destination in safety. Cadel today tweeted another cycling casualty, who knows what the circumstances are other than the father was on the scene. Politicians worldwide are taking up and talking up cycling as they realise the benefits to their electorate. We all know of the minority who cannot cook and are useless motoring correspondents who denigrate cyclists so as to grab the "headlines/sound bites" , guess we will see the "anti cycling Lobby" now quoting "Tomalaris/Gomez" to reinforce their point of view.


Marc of Gympie is correct in saying more consideration should be given to where bike lanes are. On the Tour de Suisse i had to ride up hills without bike lanes but going down the hill there was a bike lane, now what does that tell you ? Personally i thought the slow cyclist needed the protection , not those descending at or above the speed limit. Thecyclingsilk.blogspot recently wrote the "Home Sec. of the UK" to ask that there be more uniformity of Police/CPS attitudes towards cyclists, every where there is a variation in attitudes to cycling. On the harbour there are rules and generally you give way to the smaller vessel and the bigger vessel is held liable in an incident and generally the vehicle running up the rear of another is held liable. When Insurance Companies start cancelling the policy or increasing the premiums of Vehicles held responsible or involved in cycle accidents we will see a marked change in driver attitudes, no longer will some see how close they can get to spoiling a cyclist's day. Whereever i am in the world i see people in every form of locomotion breaking "rules" imposed to achieve a level playing field, "Throwing a "Uey", running a red light, Jay walking, we are all as bad as each other but it is the attitude we adopt to each other that needs modifying. Tolerance seems to have disappeared as we all leave everything till the last moment and then look for the excuse to present as justification for our late arrival. Take a look at Fatcyclist.com 's latest contest, in fact any of his blog entries and have a good laugh , lighten up and don't jump down the throat of the next person who breaks a law( Don't throw stones in glasshouses) ! Happy Festive season and safe cycling in the New Year. "

What more can i say , other than Cyclists should ALL decide to put on Cycling Clothes, put their bike on the roof of the car , post a large explanation note on each side of the car and each first monday of the month everywhere in the world and join the rush hour to and from work and let those naysayers realise not only how WE the cyclists have helped reduce congestion but ALSO how many of us CHOOSE not to drive during this period of time.

Could the Cycling Fraternity consider how this idea alone would drive home the message that people currently choose to ignore.