witch hunt

marie blanc

Was anyone shocked by the way Moreni was dragged off handcuffed at the end of the Aubisque stage, in front of the crowd, humiliated, frightened, and bundled into a police car? Crime: murder? Rape? No, testing positive for testosterone.

The way Rasmussen was singled out for especial hatred, being jostled and insulted, partly because he’s ugly, uncharismatic, and unFrench.

In this lynch-mob atmosphere, it’s safer to grind your way up mountains, and not show any special talent for climbing. Better be Australian, because they’re somehow all decent good blokes, while the Spaniards have all made pacts with the devil (Fuentes).

It’s a good time for the less talented to vent their frustrations: the “Taliban” sector, ie. weak French teams, can feel righteous and threaten to knock the “impure” cyclists into ravines.

ricadus

I suspect that the Little England mentality of the tabloids and broadcast media here would ensure that if the world's biggest bike race was a British national event, rather than a French one, the same thing would happen.

TheBigOne

felt v sorry for Moreni...
slogging his guts out all day to be met by that at the end of the stage.
Sure, he's a cheat... but look where it got him.. mid table in the GC.
thats the REAL problem... that its the 'workers' who appear to be turning to the juice to assist them...

ricadus

An ambitious worker perhaps – he was Italian national champion in 2004.

LangerDan

I would guess that in France, as with a lot of jurisdictions, whether or not you go off in cuffs depends on what you are being arrested for. If the protocol for sporting fraud or drug possesion is to be cuffed, the police may not have any discretion in the matter. In any case, I didn't think Moreni was "dragged" - he certainly wasn't pleased but appeared to go along with it.

What was avoidable was to have this done in front of the press but I believe that much of the past few days has been orchestrated to ensure maximum negative exposure for those in breach of the doping rules. I think it sends out a more serious message then letting Moreni get into a team car during the stage and slip off. I'm just a little sorry that Vino wasn't cuffed in front of reporters as well.

TheBigOne

the list of those who have NOT been national champions is always more impressive than those who have been....

marie blanc

The French media and the atmosphere around the race would calm down if only they had a national contender to root for.

PeteinSQ

Chucking Rasmussen, Vino and Moreni out has not made it any more likely that a french rider will win the tour this year so I'm not sure I follow your logic. Why is Contador still there if it is all a big french conspiracy?

Also, aren't Cofidis french?

lanterne-rouge

I think that there's another issue - this isn't about possession/use of a controlled substance to the French - it's Sporting Fraud, and it's in their biggest sporting event, worth millions to them, but more importantly valuable to the national psyche. Everybody in this bike race knows the score - so I have no sympathy for riders (who have admitted guilt in this case) being made to do the "perp walk" when they get caught. He may be a mediocre domestique, but his cheating has, at the very least, cost the rest of his team their day on the Champs Elysee and dragged a sport through the mud - costing it millions of Euros in TV money and sponsorship if you want to be money-minded about it.

marie blanc

Half the peloton could be thrown out and there would still be no French contender, that’s the problem. It’s left their media with a bit of a problem about how to engage with their national race. The aggressive witch-hunting approach has helped fill the gap.

I don’t think there’s any conspiracy. It’s far too chaotic for that. It's all about behaving under a media-generated pressure that other sports don't have to face.

AndyGates

Public executions make for great telly. Moreni and the gendarmes is a real keeper of an image. "This is how unfunny we think doping is."

And don't forget that his crime is fraud - cheating in professional sport is a fraud-type criminal offence in France.