Greg LeMond: Doping and the Pressure to Win as a Cyclist
Commonwealth Club - The Commonwealth Club of California
Ethics, Doping, and the Future of Cycling with cyclist Greg LeMond.Greg LeMond has long been a critic of doping in cycling. During 2007, he played an unexpected role in the international arbitration hearing that eventually decided American cyclist Floyd Landis should forfeit his 2006 Tour de France title due to testing that found abnormally high levels of testosterone. LeMond testified that he had spoken with Landis after his "A" urine sample had tested positive, urging him that if his "B" sample was also positive, he should come clean, help his sport, and "more importantly, help himself." Before his testimony, LeMond had been threatened by Landis' manager.The doping problem has been most public in the Tour de France - two stage winners of the 2007 Tour withdrew from the race amid doping allegations - but its influence is so pervasive that T-Mobile recently withdrew its sponsorship of a professional cycling team, stating that the company did not want to associate its brand with doping.In the face of such problems, how can cycling restore its integrity and have a vital future? LeMond will speak about why cyclists resort to doping and about what cycling should do as it looks to the future - Santa Clara University