Apropos Of Nothing

Rémy Di Gregorio

I am not a Bradley Wiggins fan, but I do share his disdain for the sorts of journalists and other commentators who feel compelled to look for doping offenses in every cycling achievement.  There are doping offenses in cycling, of course, and it appears that we have a fresh one today involving Rémy Di Gregorio of Cofidis.  Sad if it’s true: Di Gregorio is a talented young climber in whom the French had high hopes.  But in the wake of controversial remarks made by Wiggins on Sunday, one has to question the motives behind this reference in the story about Di Gregorio:

“In 2007, current Tour de France leader Bradley Wiggins (Sky) was part of the Cofidis team that went home after the 16th stage.”

Yes, and … ?  While that statement is factually true, it’s also true of many other riders not named in the article.  To single out Wiggins just smells of an attempt to discredit him by association.  But we all know how the 6 Degrees of Separation theory works, don’t we?  You would be hard pressed to find a single rider in the professional peloton who has not at least been the teammate of a teammate who had a former teammate who turned out to be a doper.  How far are you willing to take it?  Five years ago, Wiggins had a dirty teammate.  Today that same team—for which Wiggins has not ridden since 2007—has a new doping scandal involving a rider who has never been Wiggins’ teammate.  Implying a connection is bullshit journalism.  If the writer of the article has more information, then let him present it.  Otherwise, let’s stop with the sneering cynicism.