What a sad day for sports. After years of suspicion, accusations, and denial, George Hincapie, one of the most respected figures in modern cycling, has admitted to doping. I'll leave the obvious conclusions alone, other than to say if Hincapie -- a man by all accounts to have incredible integrity, compassion, and courage -- has confessed to doping than it is hard to believe that others have not. As he wrote, "Early in my professional career, it became clear to me that, given the widespread use of performance enhancing drugs by cyclists at the top of the profession, it was not possible to compete at the highest level without them."
We all do things we regret, and so I give Hincapie and the many others releasing statements today a lot of credit for having the courage to admit they did something wrong. At the same time, there were many others we'll never hear from who were robbed of a chance to compete because of the ambition of others. My heart goes out to those athletes whose integrity and love for the sport was greater than their desire to win at all costs.