I'll keep it short since the subject is doping. Het Laatste Niews' revelations about QSI Manager and ex-pro Patrick Lefevre may seem like pointless sensationalism, given that past doping problems shouldn't distract people much from confronting the more modern -- and crushing -- problem. But according to the paper, it's no mere coincidence; it's a byproduct of the current situation. On the flip...
From CyclingNews, as always:
So why did Het Laatste Nieuws go after arguably Belgian cycling's most influential figure? It started the reporting by explaining how the reporters found their way to the sources. They claim that since Opéracion Puerto broke mid last year, Lefevere was under fire after he took a rigid position against riders implicated in the affair.
Lefevere was quoted at the time as saying: "the criminals [have] got to get out of the sport!". But riders reacted by saying that Lefevere was being hypocritical, while Ivan Basso said that Lefevere shouldn't pretend he was more holy than the Pope himself. Het Laatste Nieuws states that they received numerous reactions from people with more stern comments on Lefevere, but didn't name those sources.
In other words, had Lefevre not gone on a six-month rant against due process for Cyclists, he might not be in this pickle.
Now Lefevre is headed straight toward a date with disgrace, and today his ace flahute Tom Boonen says he's depressed. Not a good quality considering the swarm of strongmen training their asses off to beat him this spring. All because Lefevre couldn't stand to look in the mirror.
Sounds bad? Maybe, until you consider who the big winner is: Cycling.
Step one: admit you have a problem. Check.