the nature of the bike.

its a sad day when the doping controversies have repercussions on a corporate level. But i guess it shows the relations between the events of the protour and the reputation of a company. The protour and its sponsors and riders share a complicated relationship. Here you have a brand like Trek which prides itself as being an American brand sponsoring a team from Kazakhstan (borat anyone?). But then again, Alberto Contador is a Spaniard, Levi is American. So the nature of the team's sponsors have absolutely nothing to do with the team's riders. Cycling, at least on a protour level has always retained a small level of hostility and competition. But i would say from an onlooker's perspective, that the relationships and sportsmanship of the riders are on better terms than their management's. Cycling is a poorly managed sport, with massive egos and full of scandals.
I propose we distance ourselves from the world of professional bicycle racing, and go back to basics. We should focus on the bigger picture of how to bring cycling to the masses, how you can solve envronmental/transportation problems via cycling. How to make roads safer for cyclists. How to make cycling a sustainable form of transportation. How to convince entrenched bureaucracy on the benefits of cycling. In the light of all these issues, the small teething problems of the protour seem awfully insignificant. Its really easy to get caught up in a world of performance machines and fast aggressive riding. But i think its time for a cycling revolution. And we should be at the forefront.