The tour de France,

The tour de France started last weekend. It is a sporting event which divides and polarises opinion. There are two reasons for this. The first minor reason is that some people can not understand the excitement of an event that lasts for three weeks versus the opinion that it is a gruelling physical test over three weeks, the ultimate test in sport. The major reason for the division and polarisation over the tour de France is that some people see it as a pharmaceutical game of cat and mouse between testers and athletes. The other side of the equation is that the sport has cleaned itself up and is back to the great test that it was in the days of Eddy Mercyx.

The truth is that professional cycling is in a real mess it. It is a sport that has possibly pushed its athletes too far 3400 km in a in three weeks. A public that demands faster speeds and higher climbs. Cycling has always pushed the boundaries of what is physically possibly. In the early age of cycling it was common to have races lasting twenty four hours, some of the biggest crowds that were drawn to Madison Square Garden when it was built were for a cycling race that was named the Madison. The idea of the Grand Tour such as the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia were publicity stunts for newspapers. The idea of a Corinthian sporting ideal was along way from the early days of cycling. Drugs especially stimulants were necessary. Unfortunately those days of drug abuse have continued and permeated the sport.

Unfortunately the tour has not had a champion without scandal whether proven or not and the scale of doping is astounding. Some of the stories include the doping of blood with horse medication, the transport of fresh blood too tired riders and the deaths of riders such as Marco Pantani with blood so thick that treatment by cardiologists was impossible. Even Britain's most successful tour rider of all time Tom Simpson who died on the summit of Mount Ventoux was full of amphetamines and brandy.

So the tour has been fighting a losing battle to keep drugs out of cycling. Yet cycling was built on drugs otherwise the riders would not have been able to complete the mammoth taks that were expected of them by their professional paymasters. Now it is fighting to retain its credibility by blood profile testing, and trying to maintain the idea that it is a creditable sport and that the tour de France is the toughest sporting event in the world.

Personally I think the tour de France is a great sporting event that is not just as simple as a race round France it is like a soap opera in terms of the team politics. It is like a chess match, when to go or when not to go. Hopefully it will continue and the drugs will be become part of its past.

Can't wait for for Australia, since t...

Can't wait for for Australia, the lions tour is over and we lost. The lions brand has won, the last two lions tours had forgotten the brand ethos of the lions. This tour has restored the importance of the lions and gone back to the brand that is the lions. Where did the lions lose its way as a brand? It started in 2001 when they selected a Kiwi, Graham Henry as head coach. The theory behind this obviously was that he had done so well as Wales coach that this brilliant organiser would be able to do the same with the lions. Henry could not, he was blessed with a side that had the nucleus of a world cup winning side. Despite this he managed to lose the series. In 2005 Clive Woodward took the lions challenge, it was a disaster. The lions brand has suffered.

Ian McGeechan was appointed head coach, this was a simplification of the role he been given. McGeechan had been given the role of custodian of the values of the lions. The values he learnt on the 1974 lions tour to South Africa under the greatest lion of them all Willie John McBride. It was his job to make the lions special again, not only that it was his job to invigorate a younger generation of lions to appreciate what it means to be a lion. The historical parallels can not be ignored. Willie John McBride went on a losing lions tour in the 60's and was bullied ,in his words . This formulated his philosophy that led to the victories in 1971 and 1974 he refused to take a backwards step and if the opposition went after his forwards he would make sure his forwards should not step backwards. This lions team has learnt similar lessons, they came together well. In the first test they were blown off the park by aggressive South African scrummaging in other words they took a step back.


The second test came and the lions showed up with strength and aggression and barring injury would have won the test match. The lions won the third test, the players looked like they were genuinely happy. More importantly they played with such a sense of joy  that it has added to what has already been a fantastic test series That is the important concept about the lions. In most sports it is about the trophy, next paycheck etc. The lions is about four nations who spend four years battering hell out of each other then coming together to try and beat the southern hemisphere nations. They did not win but they came together and held up the traditions of the lions.

So what next for the lions? A tour Australia in four years time, but this tour will not be about lions survival. This tour will be about beating Australia. The great thing will be the amount of young players who were on this lions tour They were also on tour with Ian MCGeechan this means when the lions go to Australia they will full of traditional lions spirit. The key will be the hosts. If Australia treat the lions like a cash cow. They make them criss-cross a continent to milk them them and remarkable fans the tour will fail. If the Aussies keep the lions in a smaller geographical area such as Canberra and Sydney the lions may have a chance. They will also have a chance if the warm up games are competitive. Part of the problem with this lions tour is the warm up games were so poor, the lions were undercooked going into the first test. The consequence of that was the lions got destroyed in the first half by South Africa. These remedies put in place and the lions could be competitive.