Merckx feels let down by Armstrong dope saga

By ND Prashant/Doha

Like millions around the world, legendary cyclist Eddy Merckx also feels let down and cheated by the disgraced Lance Armstrong.

Merckx is well aware that the sport he loves the most will never be the same again and he too will have to deal with the repercussions.

Merckx, who is associated with the Qatar Cycling Federation for the Ladies and Men’s Tour of Qatar, was bombarded with questions on the tainted sport following Armstrong’s doping saga.

“I don’t want to talk about Armstrong much, but yes, what he did was bad. It has hit the sport very much and unfortunately, we will have to live with it. All we can do is look forward to the future,” said the 67-year-old, who had previously defended Armstrong over allegations that he had not been clean when winning his Tours de France titles.

Merckx, who himself has won five Tour de France titles, however, was of the view that the sport can been fair and clean.

“I certainly feel that the sport can be clean. I think you can do cycling without doping and even the Tour de France can be won without doping,” said Merckx.

When asked whether he was surprised about how such a scam could go undetected for years, he said, “I too fail to understand how he (Armstrong) escaped for so many years because we have 400 to 500 dope controls. And every time it came negative.

“Maybe, he was taking small quantities and only later, after years, did it come positive. But it is difficult to understand how it went on for so long.”

He also added that what hurt him the most was to see doping being ‘related to cycling’ stressing on the need to continue testing so that the sport can remain clean.

“The only way we can stop this menace is by keep looking for more cheats. Keep testing and only more testing can keep the cyclists away from doing such things. Cycling is doing more testing than any other sport.” Despite the setback, Merckx was confident that the sport can regain its lost glory. “I very much think so, why not? The love for the sport is still there. There are kids out there who want to cycle and train hard. And as long as that will happen the sport will survive and you will find new champions.”

When asked if the world would look at every winner as a dope suspect from now on, Merckx said, “I don’t think so. Armstrong’s case happened several years ago. So I don’t think there is need to think on those lines now.”

Merckx, however, agreed that it will be difficult to bring the sponsors back to the sport. “Yes, I agree that several sponsors have pulled out but we have to win back their confidence. That’s what we have to try for. As of now, not much can be done.”

Cancer-survivor Armstrong had returned from cancer to win cycling’s premier race every year from 1999-2005 before the doping allegations came to the fore.