Cycling

Cycling, A Shadow of Itself

Athletes in today’s cycling world have been taken to new levels and heights of performance. At the same time questions have emerged about of the validity of their accomplishments. Is it drugs or ability that has caused the achievements?

The world of cycling reached new heights in part as a result of American Lance Armstrong’s winning of seven straight Tour De France titles. His abilities were questioned, leading to repeated drug testing. His tests all came out negative. Armstrong may have come up negative for the use of drugs, but many cycling competitors have come up positive and been stripped of their titles. World championships, tour titles, and gold medals have been taken away because of drug use.

Traditionally the performance level of a cyclist was built by going out on long bike rides, of five, six, or seven hours a day, to train and test the ability of his or her body. These principles of training and hard work were seen as critical. Cyclists would attribute their success to pure skill, hard work, and faith in their training.

During the last ten years cycling seems to have made a jump in the way training is viewed. Now performance enhancing drug use appears to be part of many cyclists’ preparations. Some of the same cyclists who have made statements about being “pure athletes” have tested positive over and over again for drugs. This brings about the question of whether the cyclists are good athletes or is it the drugs that allow them to perform at these levels? Are they as athletic as their race results make them to be, or are their accomplishments lies? These doubts cast a shadow over the whole sport.

To me cycling is fundamentally a challenging and adventurous sport. But is that really true when drug use can take the place of hard work in a cyclist’s training? This brings me to a surreal sense of what cycling can be: what is human accomplishment, but in reality is not possible at all? As the new heights in cycling are reached, are they as real as I think/want them to be, or are they only the effects of drug use. How can I think that there is any real glory in winning when every time one wins his or her integrity is questioned? When unscrupulous people with smug attitudes trample the sport how can I find pride in what it takes to be a cyclist? Are my dreams just that: dreams never to be realized?

Cycling as a sport has many controversies surrounding its new levels and heights of performance. The new focus on drug use/abuse however lets us look at it with more truth than before. The finding and weeding out of positively tested drug users, who should not be considered pure cyclists, makes room for the rise of a new generation of cyclists that will no longer linger in the shadow of these past mistakes.