I have to admit, my enthusiasm for this year's Tour de France is significantly lower than it has been in years past, and the reason is that I don't know whether Alberto Contador is clean. His case is still pending. Spanish authorities cleared him to race, but how do we know they weren't playing favorites? What if we watch the Tour, see Contador win, and then have him disqualified because he tested postive for a performance-enhancing substance during the 2010 Tour? Just knowing that this is a possible scenario ruins the enjoyment.
For the life of me, I don't understand why professional cycling doesn't crack down. Simply provide a list of banned substances to every rider and say that any amount of any banned substance in one's body at any time means banishment from the sport for five years. Tests would be frequent and there would be neither excuses nor justifications. It's strict liability. The cyclists would have to monitor what goes into their bodies.
I used to watch every stage of the Tour live, even if it meant rising at five o'clock. This year, I'll probably watch a handful of stages live (those with mountaintop finishes) and the rest, if at all, on tape replay or the Internet. If the Tour is losing diehard fans like me, it is in a bad way.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 