Cycling triggered dope clean-up

Recent Manila visitor Robbie McEwen, a three-time Tour de France green jersey winner in the sprint category, said while the doping scandal tarnished the reputation of cycling for a while, the sport has rebounded to become the world’s leader in cracking down on drug use through initiatives like the use of the athlete biological passport and the application of the whereabouts system to allow out-of-competition testing.

McEwen, 41, was in town as Cycle Asia ambassador to promote the BGC bike event last weekend. From the glint in his eyes, it was evident that McEwen relished his role as a goodwill emissary. The event, organized by Sunrise, was such a success that McEwen said he was bowled over by the enthusiastic response of 2,300 riders who participated in the first-time bikefest.

McEwen said Australia has produced a slew of bike stars like Brad McGee, Cadell Evans and Phil Anderson because of its rich cycling culture covering the elite, basic and recreational categories. Coaching is a key factor, he added, and the Institutes of Sport in each state linked to the national academy are a major boost in identifying a clear pathway for cyclists to progress to the elite level.

“The stepping stones are clearly laid out,” he said. “Every Institute of Sport has a support staff that provides for the athlete to become world-class. It’s a feeder system for the national team. Kids can identify with us because we essentially come from the same background.” McEwen and the other Australian cycling stars pave the way for others to follow in their tracks.

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McEwen said his most memorable experience as a cyclist was when he won the first of his 12 stage wins on the last day of his third Tour de France in 1999. It was Stage 20 and McEwen won the sprint in Paris on the Champs-Elysees. Three years later, McEwen repeated the feat, topping the print in Stage 20 also in Paris. That was in 2002 when he claimed the first of his three green jerseys as the overall sprint champion in the prestigious tour. “That doesn’t happen very often,” he said. “I won it in 1999 in Paris and three years later, I did it again in Paris. Of course, the first time will always be the most memorable. I’m quite proud of this achievement.”

Regarding the doping scandal, McEwen pointed out that cycling is the only sport that went on to fix the problem inside-out. “The scandal has definitely affected the reputation of cycling world-wide but cycling isn’t the only sport with problems,” he said. “Cycling went out to clean up and when that happens, you’ll find some nasty things. In the short term, it was harmful to the sport. But in the long term, cycling came out in the forefront of fighting doping. A lot of the initiatives made by cycling are now incorporated in the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) code. Cycling has set the example for what other sports should be doing.”

McEwen said it was startling that Lance Armstrong, a seven-time Tour de France winner, turned out to be the biggest cheat. “But the good thing is sponsors are still involved, crowds are still coming to the races,” he said. “So much has changed in cycling over the last seven or eight years since the bad publicity about Lance. Today, the net has become so small that anyone doing something wrong is going to get caught. At this time, I think it’s best to forget about all that. It’s not helping the sport to keep dragging it up. That stuff is old news. It’s time to move on.”

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McEwen said there has been a cultural shift in cycling with a lot of positive developments that augur well for the sport’s future. “It’s not just the riders but also team management, the doctors,” he said. McEwen said it’s unfair to judge sport by pointing to the “unscrupulous people who wanted to win at all costs.”

McEwen said in 2011, he rode on the same Radio Shack team with Armstrong in a Down Under tour in Adelaide. “We were teammates for six days,” he said. “I joined the team at the last minute. Lance was back after another retirement. Before, he was aggressive, on edge, then when he came back, he was more easy-going, he was fine. He was a different guy.”   

Cycle Asia is owned by Spectrum Worldwide which staged events in Malaysia and Singapore before breaking ground in Manila this year. “We are delighted to be expanding Cycle Asia to the Philippines and we look forward to working alongside Sunrise who has built an outstanding reputation for delivering first-class sporting events,” said Spectrum Worldwide managing director Chris Robb. Cycle Asia held its first event in Singapore in 2009 and plans to establish beachheads in Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Myanmar, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam in the coming years.

Sunrise is headed by chairman and president Fred Uytengsu of Alaska and was organized in 2008 after gaining the license to host the Ironman 70.3 by the World Triathlon Corp. Sunrise stages at least 12 events a year and has the exclusive rights to the Ironman 70.3, 5i50, XTerra and Ironkids. Its vision is to showcase the Philippines as a prime sports tourism destination of the world.