The revelations coincide with big tours because that is when mainstream media tunes into the sport.

It is sad that tests for doping are always two or three steps behind. It would be nice to think (like Hincapie) that what happened in the past should be forgotten, except that some still benefit from past results. Should there be a statute of limitations? Riders that get caught have an incentive to deny everything until any possibility of returning to the sport is gone. Hence, I do not find the Hamilton or Landis inconsistencies particularly perturbing. What I find perturbing is the almost blind faith in Armstrong as being above all reproach despite his continued affiliation with Michele Ferrari, s doctor banned by the Italian cycling federation, despite the trickle of former teammates admitting to doping (I guess He was the only one not to do it), despite the super human performances.

I have mixed feelings on the issue of doping. At some level, I feel that the current setup at the professional sport leads many to doping or feel pressured to do so. The grand tours are like Roman circuses. How can riders do more than 20 races back to back (21 in the Giro alone) and recover from one day to the next? As spectators, we love heroic efforts and we get them, somehow... Now, I will readily admit pro riders are gifted athletes. Most of us would not survive a single racing day, even with if we doped.