Greg LeMond, who for my generation provided the single biggest cycling thrill in history with his come-from-behind, final-day time trial victory in the 1989 Tour de France by 8 seconds, feels that Floyd Landis’ depiction of rampant doping validates LeMond’s criticisms over the years.
In his talk with USA Today, LeMond rightly notes his reputation has taken a hit because of his allegations against Lance Armstrong and the cycling establishment.
But we appreciate his pointing out that jealousy had nothing to do with it.
We consider both LeMond and Armstrong to be American icons — heroes of cycling and professional sports in general. But like fans of all sports, from track to baseball, we’re dismayed at rampant doping, steroid use and other synthetic enhancement.
Jealousy has nothing to do with it, of course, any more than jealousy would motivate our opposition to oil spills based on us not being billionaires.
Our motivation is simply that sports should be all about fair competition. Otherwise you’ve got the moral equivalent of fascism — corporate-based governance over a system designed to support only those who ally with corruption while eliminating those who resist.