Editorial: Dumping dopers

Saturday, July 1, 2006 | 8:10 a.m.

The Tour de France bicycle race will begin today without the participation of two of the event's favored racers, who were banned from the competition on suspicions of doping.

Ivan Basso, of Italy, and German Jan Ullrich - 1997 Tour winner, five-time runner-up and longtime rival of seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong - are among nine cyclists barred from this year's 21-stage race because they have been implicated in a doping probe in Spain.

It is the latest in a string of such scandals to hit professional sports, particularly baseball and cycling. Just last month federal agents arrested Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jason Grimsley after he allegedly admitted to using human growth hormones, steroids and amphetamines.

It makes one wonder whether any of these athletes can - or bother to - read. Headlines of the past few years have been rife with allegations, suspensions and arrests regarding pro athletes using banned performance-enhancing substances. At some point, one would think, or hope, they would learn.

As for the Tour's errant cyclists, their teams are not allowed to replace them, leaving some teams without their star riders. One team won't even be able to compete. These athletes have let down their teammates, their sport and their fans. Winning at all costs isn't winning at all.