by Ron Horn.
As revealed in Bloomberg News, the Tour de France is the private property of a family who have owned it since 1940. Most of the cyclists who do the actual grueling work of competitive cycling over 20 days get peanuts compared to what the owners, who do essentially nothing, receive. However, as in other commercial sports it is necessary to motivate cyclists to compete so that a few winners do receive substantial rewards. These incentives plus the materialistic values of capitalism encourage widespread corruption such as exist in other capitalist enterprises as we've recently seen in banking and finance.
In cycling in takes the form of drug and other artificial enhancements to boost cycling performance. There have been a number of cyclists caught doing it--so much so that the sport has become a bit tarnished.
So far, the widely celebrated hero of Tour de France, Lance Armstrong, who has been accused by a number of friends, close acquaintances, and other cyclists of using such methods, has survived unscathed. As this recent article indicates, the accusations do not go away.
However, just as in the rest of the capitalist world, I doubt very much that justice will prevail.
Because Armstrong has so many economic interests (corporate sponsors, the Tour de France industry, broadcasters, etc.) tied to his victories, it will be hard for anyone to pin anything on him--as it has been. On the other hand, there are so many cyclists enraged about the injustice of the issue and continue to fight back.