There has been a lot of critical material written about professional cycling, particularly with reference to the use of performance enhancing drugs. Many writers, myself included, have made the contention that cycling is beyond hope and should be watched as a science experiment rather than a serious sporting spectacle.

While these arguments have some merit, one thing that can never be disputed is the courage of the participants. Whether or not they are chemically modified becomes irrelevant when it comes to taking on some of the roads presented in the toughest bike race on earth – the Tour de France.

Some of the routes included in le Tour, I would think twice before taking on in a car. There is almost no room for error and when an error is made it can often be catastrophic. After only eight stages of this year’s Tour, there have already been serious crashes involving large numbers of riders.

'These riders are amongst the toughest people on the planet and every now and then we should doff our cap and just say “well done mate, bloody brilliant!'


In the prologue, Australian Stuart O’Grady clipped a barrier and went skidding down the road. The very next day, Robbie McEwen was forced to brake to avoid a collision with slower riders ahead and was slammed into from behind, sending him over the handlebars, injuring his wrist and knee. He recovered, with help from his teammates, and went on to work his way through the peleton for a stage victory.

In the heat of a stage, getting back on the bike and continuing is impressive, but it is the next day where the raw courage shines through. Nursing those injuries and forcing yourself to get back on the bike, fully realising that there is still over 3,000km to the end of the race, must takes superhuman mental strength and personal valour.

As impressive as McEwen’s recovery was, the efforts of Astina teammates, Alexandre Vinokourov and Andreas Kloden leaves us mere mortals shaking our heads in disbelief. Kloden ended up laying flat out in a ditch after a nasty crash on the fifth stage of the Tour. Obviously inconvenienced, he was later diagnosed with a fractured coccyx – possibly one of the worst injury that you could suffer and still continue the race. Exactly how Kloden will cope with the pain over the next few stages will determine whether he is able to continue in the race.

Vinokourov’s injuries were equally unwelcome. He ended up with stitches in both knees and an elbow, along with numerous grazes all over his body. Lycra, it seems, does not afford much protection when a rider gets up close and personal with bitumen. I would imagine that stitches in the knees would be as inconvenient as any injury (except maybe Kloden’s coccyx injury) could be for a cyclist, although Oscar Freire’s buttock cyst could take some beating – no, not like that!

The mental strength required to complete a pro cycling race is every bit as important as the physical ability. Crashes aside, just riding the distances that they do in the hot conditions that have been prevalent, sets professional cyclists apart from everyone else. Yes, performance enhancing drugs can help in the preparation and physical ability stakes, but the mental ability to push through the pain barrier cannot be helped by drugs.

It is this factor that makes the race such a compelling spectator sport. Sometimes we forget this rather fundamental truth in our race to condemn the cheating riders. These riders are amongst the toughest people on the planet and every now and then we should doff our cap and just say “well done mate, bloody brilliant!”  They’ve earned that at the very least . Besides, if they cheat, we can always let them know about it later.