Former junior champion back on his bike after dark period

This is a refreshing story. We all love to read about the drama of an athlete giving everything else up to go for broke in an attempt to reach the pinnacle of their sport. I, for one, will stay tuned to learn of the exploits of AJ Smith and I am pulling for him 100%.

doping is the least of this guys problem
a lack of talent and an ability to see the facts through the sensationalistic haze of current media fixations with the involvment of doping on pro cycling is his greatest fault
naivete runs deep in this young man
talk is cheap boy- stand up and be counted- we'll see where you are in two years- likely questioning your decision to turn down discovery!

Is he serious??? Come on Dude--do 'something' before you lash out like that!

He said it himself he is nobody. He has no idea about the drugs in the sport. There is far more drug use in football than cycling. It is because of people like AJ that cycling apears to be so dirty. If you tested any major league sport as much as cycling there would be far more positives.

Let's see this guy put his money where his mouth is and return all the "prizes" that the Discovery Team gave him. If he doesn't return them, then we know he is a publicity-seeking hypocrite.

Are you kidding me? This bike dork says he turned down a discovery ride that would equal countless bikes $40,000 salary, training camps, and endorsment deals for a team that would get him a deal on herbalife supplaments? He he never had the option of joining the team. My little sister could have won that publicity race if she went.

Man has this kid found a way to abuse Discovery for doing him a favor.

He wouldn't even have a soapbox if it was not for Discovery's charity event that he "won".

What a clown, as if he could get on Discovery Channel, and as if he has anything resembling the talent to make it on a Euro-Pro team. He couldn't even make it on one of the smaller US teams.

Good luck with that yellow jersey, perhaps you can pick one up on E-Bay.

I agree that pro cycling is a very dirty sport and a hoax because of that. The sport will continue to be a charade until the teams and riders themselves decide to clean up. Unfortunately, they will need to be hurt in the pocketbook before that will ever happen.

Where Smith lost my support was with all the boastful talk at the end of the article. He could have made his point, and won a lot of support without all of that. I wish him luck in racing against a doped peloton.

This guy is a total shmuck if he thinks he will ever get signed by a pro team. Obviously he is totally out of touch with reality.

Doppers suck. But so do people who brag. Better polish up that resume for "Circle K" or any other Cnvenience Store that might be willing to hire a tallent like you, pal.

Less talk, more walk.

What do each of you do in your individual lives that isn't a sell-out to money? What do each of you stand up for that makes a difference? Big thumbs up to A.J. for using his newfound notoriety and soapbox to make a point.

This guy is a tool. He will never make it as a PRO.
He is another dilusional wanna be pro cyclist. Do not blame your bad choices on CYCLING. Go find another sport! We do not need your kind of publicity, oh yeah you still suck!

This guy is arrogant, and he has a right to be. A three time junior champion. He may be rusty, over weight and has goals set high. But so does Lance. AJ Smith has a winning mentality. He isn't bragging, boasting or anything like that, he is making his goal public so that it's harder to "just give up" and stay a nobody in cycling. Give the guy some credit, unless you have raced pro, won nationals and are ex-olympian, you have no right to say whether AJ can do what he is saying he can do or not. If more people would set high goals instead of being "realistic" we wouldn't have such problems with doping and drug use in all our sports.

Good luck!

Smith seems to be a bitter old man that likes to accuse everybody else, even without one schred of evidence in order to make himself feel better for being a quiter. Talent alone will not make up for a poor mental condition, I doubt we will ever hear from Mr. Smith again in terms of cycling accomplishments

If I remember right not many people went to the race to replace and he just sat in to sprint at the end. He did not do well at the time trial, what a joke. Give back your prizes buddy put up or shut up.

First, I applaud his cycling accomplishments, however then...
Second, I put them in perspective: Winning the Race to Replace is hardly a grand victory in the world of cycling. That race was a publicity stunt at best for the recently demoralized Discovery Channel Team. AJ Smith certainly did NOT line up against the best amateur road racers in the U.S., which is to say nothing of how the race would have been blown apart by real pros, who would have eaten him alive.
Third, how does he expect to be picked up by a "clean pro team", if he is so sure that pro cycling is entirely dope poisoned? It seems like he's contradicting himself a bit.
Here is something for him to think about:
Ivan Basso has not been convicted of any doping offense, and therefore is not "guilty". In democratic societies (like the one he lives in) people are presumed innocent until there is enough evidence otherwise. There is no failed drug test, no concrete evidence. So Discovery Channel may not be harboring a doping fugitive.[Before you discount what I am saying, no I am not even a fan of Lance Armstrong or Discovery]
Discovery basically made AJ Smith "king for a day", however they did not plan to give him a contract to ride for their team and contest the grand tour races or even lesser profile domestic ones. This guy basically trash talked them after they were really cool and generous to him. That is not a quality that serious race teams respect, it is dishonest and conniving so good luck with your goal of finding an open door into pro road racing.
Last and MOST IMPORTANT: AJ Smith is wrong that cycling is the dirtiest sport. Cycling has done the most out of any sport on earth to actually combat doping through extremely rigorous testing methods and punishment of persons found guilty. It has its problems yes, but we know beyond the shadow of a doubt that baseball, football, golf and other sports right here in America are just as dirty. The difference is in those sports if you get caught doping you sit out 3 games and still get your full salary. Cyclists are the most tested athletes in the world and they are scrutinized more than anyone. Yes, there is a doping problem in cycling but the doping problems in other sports are overlooked and not given media attention. AJ Smith has fallen into the media trap of overemphasizing the prevalence of doping in cycling, kind of like "going postal", which is certainly not backed up by methodologically sound research and data collection.
AJ should just admit that he really wants to dope and he's afraid he will get caught by the rigorous tests in the world of cycling. He might just be mad because he knows that his own personal talents are not really that deep.

CAS wrote:

This guy is arrogant, and he has a right to be. A three time junior champion. He may be rusty, over weight and has goals set high. But so does Lance. AJ Smith has a winning mentality. He isn't bragging, boasting or anything like that, he is making his goal public so that it's harder to "just give up" and stay a nobody in cycling. Give the guy some credit, unless you have raced pro, won nationals and are ex-olympian, you have no right to say whether AJ can do what he is saying he can do or not. If more people would set high goals instead of being "realistic" we wouldn't have such problems with doping and drug use in all our sports.

Come on, 3x sprint champion as a junior, he probaly only had 2 or 3 real competitor. You pretend like he won the World junior road race!

If AJ Smith thinks that there aren't drugs in South and Central America Cycle Racing, he is delusional. Unless things have changed a lot since the 60's, drug use in Cycling south of the border is greater (with less drug testing) than in Europe.

Did he even have an offer from Discovery beyond the one race that he 'won' the right to be in?