Guilty by association?
[ posted by iain Tuesday, January 13, 2004 ]
Just a few weeks after Charlie Wegelius was cleared of any doping charges [
BBC Sports News - 2 December 2003 ] one of Britain's higher profile riders has been seemingly unfairly associated with another drugs scandal. The Cofidis team headquarters were raided today after it was announced that the team physio Bogdan Madejak and former Cofidis rider Marek Rutkiewicz are suspected of supplying drugs to riders.
However, although many of the press reports were keen to point out that the team has two cycling World Champions in Astarloa and Millar (in fact they have a track world champion also, Laurent Gane) there is nothing yet to associate any of them with the current issues. It's unfortunate that it takes something like this to get Millar's name in the British press.
British press coverage is something David Millar talks about in procycling February 2004, not just for his own achievements but also for the sport as a whole. Maybe he could take his place on the start line for the planned "Tour of Britain"; as a world champion, I reckon his parcipation in events in Britain would do a lot to raise the profile of the sport.
