The power of scandal and celebrity

OPINION: Floyd Landis has created a stir in New Zealand cycling circles weeks before he even arrives in New Zealand for the Tour of Southland, writes Nathan Burdon in this week's Straight Up.

For my part, I believe he should be free to enter whatever event he chooses.

While he has always protested his innocence, he has served the two-year suspension handed down after he provided elevated levels of testosterone during his victorious 2006 Tour de France campaign. He's been given a chance and it's now up to him what he does with it.

Cycling people, however, have a right to hold strong opinions about the issue and that will be something Landis will undoubtedly have to deal with when he gets here.

Drug cheats are a stain on any sport. For too long doping was tolerated, perhaps even condoned or even encouraged in cycling, but serious efforts are being made to clean up the game.

A lot of cyclists are still getting caught cheating. You can view that as a negative, or you can be positive about the fact the sport is doing something about its reputation rather than sweeping incidents under the carpet.

No sport is immune. The pressure on professional athletes across all codes and across the world continues to grow. Doping and match fixing are likely to become even bigger issues than they are now and all sports must remain vigilant.

The day after the news that Landis would ride our tour was made, newspapers across the globe were reporting on it. That's the power of scandal and celebrity. But it's exposure for the Tour of Southland that you couldn't afford to buy.

Privately, many cycling people wonder whether Landis can live up to the hype.

His suspension coincided with serious hip surgery and he hasn't exactly torn the cycling scene to pieces since getting back on the bike in January.

The Southland tour is no Sunday bunch ride. The quality of the field has lifted dramatically since it became a UCI race, and the weather conditions can be brutal.

Like a links golf course, it plays best when the wind blows and rain is coming in sideways with a bit of sleet mixed in.

You have to be hard as tarseal to even finish the week, let alone be in contention to win. Time will tell whether Landis is hard enough.

•Southland's loss to Auckland last week could have easily paled in comparison to what very nearly was a nasty accident before the game.

The Southland team was walking to Eden Park for a walk-through when a car careered across the road and ended up on the footpath just metres from a group of players.

Thankfully, no-one was hurt, but it certainly had an unsettling effect on the team, although it was not being used as an excuse for the disappointing 27-13 loss.

•In another traffic-related incident in Southland sport, a visiting Australian junior was hit while riding his bike on a roundabout in Invercargill.

The driver of the car apparently stopped initially, before fleeing the scene, but not before his licence plate was noted. The driver has since been approached by Cycling Southland officials about compensating the young Australian for the damaged wheel on his bike.

» Nathan Burdon has been the Southland Times sports editor since 2003 and has won numerous journalism awards, including provincial sports writer of the year.

- © Fairfax NZ News