Michael Barry: Cycling’s New Path to a Clean Sport Must Continue

[Tony T]

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/10/16/sports/cycling/16barry-pic/16barry-pic-articleLarge.jpg
Michael Barry, left, with George Hincapie, calls for a complete restructuring of professional cycling.

Cycling’s New Path to a Clean Sport Must Continue by Michael Barry (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/sports/global/cyclings-new-path-to-a-clean-sport-must-continue.html?hpw)
"Professional cycling needs to be completely restructured."
"Cycling must follow the long-established pattern of most pro sports, developing a league where teams are stable and sustainable and where all profits are shared. "
"For six years I have raced clean and performed. Many of my teammates, whom I am confident were also clean, won at the highest level. But there is still work to be done."
"Races have become increasingly dangerous in the last 10 years, and serious injuries more common. Yet, as it once did with doping, the U.C.I. denies there is a problem or blames the riders. As a governing body, its role is to ensure we race on safe courses and to protect the athletes."
"The greatest shift can occur if federal governments have a role in forcing change. They have a stake in the sport, as road cycling is reliant on public roads, city centers and national parkland, as well as police services and planning departments, among others."

[fiamme red]

"For six years I have raced clean and performed. Many of my teammates, whom I am confident were also clean, won at the highest level. But there is still work to be done."For one thing, hideous sunglasses (such as those worn by Barry in the photo) should be banned.

[flydhest]

Good lunch break. That was an interesting piece. I wonder how effective the league system would be for cycling. I wonder also if that would or could curb doping. I guess I just don't see how doping gets ended short of making races shorter and easier and ending the grand tours. No real thinking here on my part, just musing with the post-prandrial espresso.

[johnmdesigner]

Really I think these two need to spend a year in Siberia and keep their mouths shut until this thing blows over. Would be a bit more dignified.

[firerescuefin]

Thanks Mike..made your money, wrote your books...criticized those that told the truth and called them liars..saying that (doping) wasn't the way you were raised. Your opinion means less than most IMO. An apology for you being a hypocritical @ss would be a better start...than telling us how it should be.

[fiamme red]

I guess I just don't see how doping gets ended short of making races shorter and easier and ending the grand tours.How would that end doping?

[goonster]

". . . developing a league where teams are stable and sustainable and where all profits are shared. "
The only leagues I can think of that have actual profit sharing are the NFL, MLB and NHL, where each team is merely a franchise (not truly independent), the commissioner is all-powerful, the athletes have a union, and everyone is equally motivated to sweep any scandal under the rug.

(And none have an anti-doping program nearly as effective as even the one that was unable to curb rampant doping before the bio passport.)

[christian]

Really I think these two need to spend a year in Siberia and keep their mouths shut until this thing blows over. Would be a bit more dignified.Full spec!

[christian]

Bike racing is like rallying, not F1. They have effective rules in motorsports to curb cheating, and share in TV profits don't have anything to do with it.

I liked Barry's prior writing, but this seems like a load of horsesh*t. Also, I feel like shouting, "Oh, just shut up. We're not asking you to fix it. We're asking you to shut up."

[CunegoFan]

Vaughters says that many team managers want to give more money to the anti-doping system, which would make it more effective, but they do not trust the UCI. Not long ago the UCI borrowed the pot of team provided anti-dope money and used it as seed funding for its own race promotion company. Nobody trusts McQuaid and Verbruggen.

In order for teams to get some kind of financial stability, the total revenue coming into cycling would need to be at least quadrupled. It is not just a matter of putting someone else in charge and changing rules. The pie needs to be grown significantly larger.

[jr59]

No way to stop the cheating in almost any pro sport where millions are at stake.

Shorter races won't stop anyone from cheating. Lifetime ban, nope!
Just no way to do it. The Drs will always be ahead of the testers.

So if you want to stop it. Then as e-ritchie says "burn it down".
But I would say, burn it all down. Outlaw bike racing. No more TV, or prize money! No more pro bike racing at all.

That would do it! And I don't expect that to happen! So get use to the idea of some people are going to try to cheat!

[dancinkozmo]

I liked Barry's prior writing, but this seems like a load of horsesh*t. Also, I feel like shouting, "Oh, just shut up. We're not asking you to fix it. We're asking you to shut up."


^ this....i used to be a fan....hes so full of crap its pathetic.

[Ray]

^ this....i used to be a fan....hes so full of crap its pathetic.

This all comes down to a question of what pisses us off more, when riders play the game and lie and stay silent, or when they fess up and then voice their regrets after being caught? I figure nobody has better ideas of how to fix the system (to the extent this is even remotely possible - I certainly have my doubts) than those who were gaming it from the inside. It seems like whenever anyone who admits to having doped and, by extension, to having lied their ass off about it (like you could do one without the other) comes forward to talk after they've been busted, the general feeling around here is they're assholes and they have zero credibility because they'd been lying to us previously.

I personally find the stuff they say after they've been busted and admitted to doping to be far more credible than what they said before and more credible than those who are still lying about "never having tested positive". They're in an ideal position to give advice on the problem, from my perspective - we shouldn't discount what they have to say because they're "proven liars"...

-Ray

[goonster]

I personally find the stuff they say after they've been busted and admitted to doping to be far more credible than what they said before and more credible than those who are still lying about "never having tested positive".
I agree with this, and think that information they provide about how they cheated is valuable, but that does not mean they are natural candidates to lead the reform. Not before a significant period of "exile" anyway.

The day you confess to embezzling is not a good day to ask for a job in Accounting.

[christian]

Ray, you're bang on, and I believe Tyler (and Floyd, and the whole lot of them...)!

What I'm reacting to here is not the idea that Michael Barry Jr. can't help in determining what steps might be to improve the system, it's the unseemliness of doing it only a few days after admitting his culpability and professing his shame.

Six weeks ago: "I've never doped. And Floyd Landis is a f*cking scumbag."
Last Friday: "OK, I doped. I'm really sorry."
Monday: "Had a think over the weekend; here's how to fix doping."

Really? Add to that the poorly considered arguments and I think this is a waste of print.

[christian]

Yeah, what Goon said.

[e-RICHIE]

Yeah, what Goon said.

Agreed - what Goon said atmo.

[goonster]

Adam Myerson highlighted this disconnect in thinking in a recent Twitter exchange with Jonathan Vaughters where he said (paraphrased):

"You can't understand how angry I am right now, because you've had so much more time to process this information."

[dancinkozmo]

...hes just trying to put a spin on things so he can salvage his writing career...good luck

[cdn_bacon]

Sad thing is that I was fortunate enough to shop in his dad's store. Sr. looooved riding and barely missed a day of it going to and from work.

Wonder how he felt when the news popped.

An article on the first Michael Barry.

http://www.randonneursontario.ca/history/mbarry1.html

and his store

http://bicyclespecialties.blogspot.ca/

[malcolm]

This all comes down to a question of what pisses us off more, when riders play the game and lie and stay silent, or when they fess up and then voice their regrets after being caught? I figure nobody has better ideas of how to fix the system (to the extent this is even remotely possible - I certainly have my doubts) than those who were gaming it from the inside. It seems like whenever anyone who admits to having doped and, by extension, to having lied their ass off about it (like you could do one without the other) comes forward to talk after they've been busted, the general feeling around here is they're assholes and they have zero credibility because they'd been lying to us previously.

I personally find the stuff they say after they've been busted and admitted to doping to be far more credible than what they said before and more credible than those who are still lying about "never having tested positive". They're in an ideal position to give advice on the problem, from my perspective - we shouldn't discount what they have to say because they're "proven liars"...

-Ray

I think part of doping is lying about doping.
I also tend to believe them once they have come clean. They really have little reason to lie at that point unless they are protecting someone and that certainly doesn't seem to be the case recently at least with Tyler's book.

[Ahneida Ride]

Just what we need .... more federal government involvement.

That is the solution to all problems.

[Black Dog]

I agree with this. It is far worse when they "come clean" but still only partially. They are still trying to do damage control and are still in a state of pathological lying. If they were as remorseful as they claim to be then they would put it all on the table, all of it. I still find it hard to believe that they all quit in 2006. It stinks when they claim to love the sport and want things to be better for the new riders yet it seems that they are still, at least, partially lying and continuing the omertà.



This all comes down to a question of what pisses us off more, when riders play the game and lie and stay silent, or when they fess up and then voice their regrets after being caught? I figure nobody has better ideas of how to fix the system (to the extent this is even remotely possible - I certainly have my doubts) than those who were gaming it from the inside. It seems like whenever anyone who admits to having doped and, by extension, to having lied their ass off about it (like you could do one without the other) comes forward to talk after they've been busted, the general feeling around here is they're assholes and they have zero credibility because they'd been lying to us previously.

I personally find the stuff they say after they've been busted and admitted to doping to be far more credible than what they said before and more credible than those who are still lying about "never having tested positive". They're in an ideal position to give advice on the problem, from my perspective - we shouldn't discount what they have to say because they're "proven liars"...

-Ray

[merlincustom1]

The day you confess to embezzling is not a good day to ask for a job in Accounting.

Unless you're Frank Abagnale.

[firerescuefin]

Ray, you're bang on, and I believe Tyler (and Floyd, and the whole lot of them...)!

What I'm reacting to here is not the idea that Michael Barry Jr. can't help in determining what steps might be to improve the system, it's the unseemliness of doing it only a few days after admitting his culpability and professing his shame.

Six weeks ago: "I've never doped. And Floyd Landis is a f*cking scumbag."
Last Friday: "OK, I doped. I'm really sorry."
Monday: "Had a think over the weekend; here's how to fix doping."

Really? Add to that the poorly considered arguments and I think this is a waste of print.

"Tell him what he's won Bob"

[rwsaunders]

I read the NYT article and it's sort of a disjointed piece from someone who is known for their writing skills. Oh well, there will be more from the rest of the crowd.

[jbrainin]

Wake me up when Barry has publicly apologized to Floyd.

[Black Dog]

Wake me up when Barry has publicly apologized to Floyd.

+1

Saying you did not use PEDs is one thing but not apologizing to someone who you threw under the bus to continue your lie after you come clean is very bad form. He may have apologized privately but he should do so publicly.

[harryblack]

Somebody should ask newly righteous Michael about ol' Dede Barry's alleged doping...

Which if true, she (unlike say Genevieve Jeanson, who I think most agree was something of a victim) has nobody to blame but herself...

Just like NONE of the Postal clowns have anyone to blame but themselves...

Unless folks believe Lance is so So SO controlling he shot 'em up before AND after they had any relationship, personal or professional.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/10/16/sports/cycling/16barry-pic/16barry-pic-articleLarge.jpg
Michael Barry, left, with George Hincapie, calls for a complete restructuring of professional cycling.

Cycling’s New Path to a Clean Sport Must Continue by Michael Barry (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/sports/global/cyclings-new-path-to-a-clean-sport-must-continue.html?hpw)
"Professional cycling needs to be completely restructured."
"Cycling must follow the long-established pattern of most pro sports, developing a league where teams are stable and sustainable and where all profits are shared. "
"For six years I have raced clean and performed. Many of my teammates, whom I am confident were also clean, won at the highest level. But there is still work to be done."
"Races have become increasingly dangerous in the last 10 years, and serious injuries more common. Yet, as it once did with doping, the U.C.I. denies there is a problem or blames the riders. As a governing body, its role is to ensure we race on safe courses and to protect the athletes."
"The greatest shift can occur if federal governments have a role in forcing change. They have a stake in the sport, as road cycling is reliant on public roads, city centers and national parkland, as well as police services and planning departments, among others."

[fiamme red]

Somebody should ask newly righteous Michael about ol' Dede Barry's alleged doping...

Which if true, she (unlike say Genevieve Jeanson, who I think most agree was something of a victim) has nobody to blame but herself...Paragraph 41 of Zabriskie's affidavit mentions Dede Barry:

http://d3epuodzu3wuis.cloudfront.net/Zabriskie+David+Affidavit.pdf

"That night Michael and his wife Dede and I had a conversation about EPO and its wide use in the peloton. They proceeded to come up with justifications for the drug use."