Cap'n Slow's Foaming Rant

I am a 'cross racer.  Yeah, I ride on the road, too, but my racing happens on the dirt and if I'm lucky, in the mud.  I am not fast, I am not a good bike handler (but I'm better than most roadies), and I'm not exactly thin or fit.  But there two things I am: passionate and opinionated.  And when cycling is involved, my passion swells, my opinion stiffens, and I will gladly fill you with both. 

What Chuck Coyle did to my sport today has pissed me off beyond belief.  Don't know who Chuck is?  Of course you don't because you've only heard of him if live in Colorado and race 'cross in the Denver/Boulder area.  For the billions of you that don't know, Chuck is a 38 year old local 'cross racer at the PRO level here in Colorado.  He races for the Hudz-Subaru team.  And now he's serving a 2 year suspension for doping.

I'm not kidding.  He really doped.  The man cheated so he could be competitive in some local races held by promoters that give away a few hundred dollars (at best) to the winner.  Chuck cheated so he could be the tallest midget in the circus.  He cheated so he could win a box of Clif bars.

I usually just accept the fact that cyclists dope.  I do that because I figure the guys being successful at the Elite level in Europe have to do everything possible to satisfy the demands of high dollar salaries and corporate sponsor pressure.  "Its different at that level", I used to think.  And then some guy like Chuck Coyle gets busted for doping at the local scene, a place that sees ME race on the same day. 

And you know what?  THAT fact is what bugs me the most:  I race with this guy.  Not in his category, but with him on the same courses.  I see him every weekend.  I've wrenched bikes for his teammates, and cheered him on as I rest on a hill after my race is over.  If a rider feels there is pressure to do well, he needs some serious shock treatment because in reality there is no pressure to do well at this level.  We race under the ACA banner, a group that still doesn't want to use timing chips or anything else developed after the light bulb.  And you know what?  That's fine with me because 'cross is about fun.  'Cross is about hanging out with your friends after the race talking about the course and then heckling the racers to come.

When someone starts fucking with MY fun, I get pissed.  And Chuck Coyle took my fun, bent it over a chair and did it dry.  According to the VeloNews article, he did this for several years.  My beloved cyclocross has been boned by a doper since 2007 and not only did I not suspect anything, I actually cheered for Chuck.  And all the while, he was hitting the EPO and other unpronounceable drugs so he could continue to screw my sport.

I don't care why Chuck doped.  I don't fucking care because there is NO EXCUSE for doping at this level.  No one can justify the use of performance enhancing drugs at this low level of 'cross because there is no pressure to succeed.  There isn't.  Some may try to argue otherwise but they are wrong.  Cyclocross in Colorado is about fun and staying fit, not about winning, not about podiums, not about appealing to sponsors.  What sponsors?  You mean the ones that give you a free kit and 2 water bottles every year?  You're doping for THAT???

So, doping hits me personally today.  I can't even line up at a local 'cross race without knowing there are people willing and actively cheating so they can outsprint me for 35th place in the cat-4 race.  My teammate Matt can't go to States without knowing someone in his category is on drugs just so they can compete with him.  Its just unfathomable to think of, too mind-boggling to comprehend.  There are dopers at the lowest, most pathetic levels of cycling.  How disgusting.