No doping, no drama

Sir, you're a complete arse!

This story is interesting for one thing only, it’s tacit acceptance that the `interesting` performances of Lance Armstrong were fueled by the consumption of `heroic` amounts of drugs, including Epo, along with regular doses of `800 ml of packed cells`. Still, looking on the positive side perhaps this story is a sign that, at last, the population of the US is waking up to the reality behind `The Armstrong Myth`!

Ring piece.

This has to be a wind-up, yes ? It's just that from the other side of the Atlantic we tend not to think of you Americans as being able to 'get', even less 'do' irony.

Did you actually watch the tour, it was exciting and the lead changed hands many times, totally unlike the Armstrong years...I guess that is what has angered you, the lack of an american winner

I also disagree with the writer. I thought the Tour was fantastic this year. And we did have an American finish in 5th place (and probably only an unlucky crash away from the podium), which was an unexpected bonus, but that wasn't really necessary for me to enjoy watching. It was cool, though, that that very rider, Christian Vandevelde, wrote regular dispatches for the Tribune, as he's been doing for the last several years.

All that said, though, the fact all the comments until now have been from Europe might just support the writer's premise.(I wonder how you guys find these stories from across the pond.) Maybe that "other cycling fan in America" is me.

love to see you try yourself out in this race, seeing you think it to be so amateurish and boring...

Sir you are a complete toolbox idiot. Even if this is satire.... you are a complete waste of space.

I found the Tour to be a bit boring this year and didn't really watch that much of it and I live in France. Gone are the days battles between Armstrong -Ulrich and Lemond -Fignon Lemond - Hinault, Indurain against the world and the climbers Pantani ( RIP) and Virenque. This year there were very few challenges by the peloton and it really played out one one day, the time trials. Having worked on the Tour in 89 and in 90 for an American sports station It really is a good race and can be extremely exciting if one knows something about cycling.

The Tour is rebuilding (Helas, again) and for the moment there is no real leader and teams are disintegrating because of the doping.

I think Mr. Klein wrote this article more for comic relief than a true desire to see doping dominate for viewer satisfaction in what is really the most difficult sporting event that exists.

No you certainly are not a cycling fan, because only an ignorant, nieve, boring and simple person like yourself would believe the tour to be amateurish. And what is your definition of exciting actually? you confused yank, Armstrong winning by 4 minutes??? riveting.
One more word for you - Poser

I utterly and completely disagree with you. This year's Tour de France was fantastic! For the first time in a decade you say tired, human riders. Riders who could barely walk, let alone speak to reporters after crossing the line. You saw humans trying to drag their bodies and bikes up a 2800 meter (over 9,000ft) mountain. They did it clean.

I do agree with you on one point - the MLB and NFL are doped to the gills. All of them - including the kickers and the guys who never leave the bench. The problem is, the MLB and NFL will NEVER do what cycling did and is doing. They will never test their athletes for every game. They will never test their athletes in the off season. They will never make their athletes register where they will be every second of the year so doping controls can test them whenever, wherever.

If the fans of the NFL and MLB think Clemens and McGuire are the only ones who dope - let me be the first to tell you - they are barely the tip of the iceberg.

You Mr. Stein, are a huge reason the rest of the world think Americans have a "win at any cost" attitude. They think Americans start their kids on doping at an early age. You don't care what others think? People - look at your own kid. Would you ever give your 10 year old a shot of EPO in the ass? You may need to if American sports continue in doing what they are doing.

Finally, a journalist with the stones to really say what a lot of fans think, but are afraid to say themselves - except me. I agree with Steins assessment and views. I love the NFL, I grew up playing and watching American football, couldn't have and still don't care less who is taking what drug.

It is a great sport with fantastic displays of human ability pushed to the very edge by drugs. Amazing. Science enhancing human performance. The perfect blend of a natural and man made combination produces amazing results, albeit sometimes deadly or debilitating. There are consequences for everything we do in life, and that is the way it should be.

All of a sudden, in the last 5 to 10 years doping has become so disdained? It was accepted as part of every sport, it was the norm. The Soviet and East German programs from the 40's were built solely around pushing the physical limits with drugs. Now we have these far left euros who profess to be cleaning up sports through their extraordinary efforts.
Yea right. They are merely trying to gain the most control over individuals and dictate a Marxist type regime even sports.

So now all the past and present hypocrites come out of the woodwork spewing their dislike with ped's. Sickening and laughable. What was once so widely accepted and participated by almost every athlete is now so damming - give me a f**king break. it's politics pure and simple.

Well that story pretty much sums up what an idiot is (the writer).

So if everyone dopes it will be exciting? No, everyone will be able to do the same feats and they will cancel themselves out, much like they would if no one doped.

I for one bid Joel Stein goodbye! Don't let your prized EPO syringe poke you on the way out!

Not having doping will level the playing field and if there is a super man cyclist they will impress us by attacking and animating the race. Not everyone can be a winner and seeking outside pharmaceuticals to do so will render them dead eventually. Sure it does not hurt me but do you really want the great riders to die all of a sudden and disappear from the racing scene?

If Joel Stein wants super human feats in cycling why doesn't he do the EPO, Steroids and any of the drugs he listed to do those super human feats? Because he doesn't want to pay the price of it, that's why, but he's so much of a chicken $#!^ that he's ok wiith other doing it for his enjoyment. Way to go Joel. Lets hope your kids, or anyone in your family becomes a pro cyclist so you can enlighten them on how they should advance their career.

Wow...what a colossal bunch of ignorance you have typed out here.

Er, I would hardly class a Tour winning attack on the Tour's most iconic climb boring...

If your comments were supposed to be 'ironic' then you don't get irony. If you genuinely believe what you wrote then you are quite the fool...

Joel Stein you are an ass. It's not clever. It's not cute. It's asinine. Obviously you missed the performances of Cavendish, Sastre, Schleck,...and Cunego riding the full stage with blood dripping from his cut up chin. Stop masquerading as a fan of cycling. You clearly have no understanding of the sport whatsoever, and by your article it appears you didn't really watch this year's Tour at all.

your an idiot i've watched the tour for 30 years (since i was 10) watching guys collapse at the top the alpe d'huez climb made it all the more real for me rather than guys getting off after a hundred miles fresh as a daisy (ala ricco watching that just screamed doper).

You are the biggest idiot I have ever had the misfortune to witness make a comment on the state of cycling. to argue that a race or any sport is less interesting because of a lack of cheating is like saying driving on the freeway in LA sucks now because there aren't as many shootings as their used to be. i guess it would be a lot more fun driving if there were a sniper at work on the freeways of LA.

Please stop following cycling and leave it to those of us who enjoy the sport.

I heard Americans can't do irony. You've confirmed it. Thanks

Joel, can I have some of what you smoked when you wrote the article ?