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I returned home from covering another Tour
de France for SBS dismayed by some of the comments from the main stream
media in Australia. The Tour was a raging success. The three week
marathon attracted a national audience up almost 30 percent on last
year's figures, and judging by the feedback from viewers, friends,
colleagues and all-round critics, the coverage was seen as the best
ever. Sure the scourge of drugs and doping took centre stage in a final
week which was most disappointing, yet the problems in the sport failed
to take away from Cadel Evans' magnificent performance. By finishing
2nd, he is the best credentialed Australian in the Tour's 104-year
history.
Some commentators went so far as claiming it was the best sporting
achievement by an Aussie ever - period. I don't know about that, but it
was a top effort nonetheless. What infuriated me was learning that
highly paid commentators appearing on high-rating radio and TV shows
were happy to kick the sport and the event when it was at it's lowest
ebb. Radio broadcaster Alan Jones labelled the Tour a "pharmaceutical
journey around France", while 2GB sportscaster Andrew Moore had his say
on the event by calling it a "Tour de Farce." I'm told David Koch on the
Seven Network's Sunrise programme also got his kicks out of slamming the
Tour almost every morning. Jones even had the nerve to complain that he
was "inconvenienced" by the Tour as he was in London on the day of the
prologue. The hypocrisy of the man who has been a regular sponsor of one
of Australia's best track sprinters, Ben Kersten, and who is linked with
the Australian Sports Commission. My response to these so-called
"respected commentators" is that, by making these claims, they have
highlights their ignorance and arrogance.
They prefer to shoot from the hip without fear, substance or research
and this, I feel, is their downfall. The above-mentioned names react the
way they have because they feel threatened by a sport and event that has
been instilled in European culture for more than a century. They cannot
understand how the Tour receives worldwide appeal.
These guys are consumed in their own sporting environment which revolves
around NRL, the Wallabies, AFL and cricket. I'll be the first to admit
professional cycling has big problems, but what sport in this modern age
of multi-million dollar contracts doesn't?
Ben Cousins is a case in point. This guy who plays AFL with the West
Coast Eagles is worshipped by fans and sections of the main-stream
media, yet he is a proven drugs user who has an addiction for cocaine.
Remember when Shane Warne was banned for a year for taking a banned
diuretic? Yet he'll go down as arguably, Australia's finest-ever spin
bowler. And what about those shameless Bulldogs players alleged to have
raped a woman in Coffs Harbour after a pre-season game some years ago?
And don't start me with the doping cover-up that continuously occurs in
US sports. Baseball, basketball, American Football - you name it, all
have a history of players who resort to using performance-enhancing
substances. Do the Jones', Moore's and Koch's of this world make
scathing comments about these sports? I hardly think so.
My point is this: cycling is doing all it can to clean the dirt and weed
the cheats out forever. Former Kazak hero Alexandre Vinokourov is a
prime example of this. I'd be naive to suggest the peloton in the Tour
will be devoid of cheats in future. Having said that, I'm confident the
numbers will be reduced regardless because riders have seen what the
consequences are if they are caught - they will be shamed forever!
I feel commentators such as those I've mentioned are somewhat threatened
by world cycling's momentum. And as long as Cadel Evans, Michael Rogers,
Robbie McEwen, Stuart O'Grady, not to mention the next generation of
Aussie stars continue to exploit the roads of Europe, these ill-informed
"shock jocks" may have no choice but to shut up.
Michael Tomalaris
Journalist/Presenter/Producer
+61 2 9430-3043
+61 (0)414 586052
Official Live Broadcaster of:
2007/2008 UEFA Champions League
2007 Tour de France
2007 IAAF World Championships
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