The iconography surrounding the sport of bike racing started to change this time last year when, after winning his seventh straight Tour de France, Lance Armstrong was suddenly hit with doping allegations that dated back to 1999. We covered the attacks here on August 25, 2005.
This isn’t happening because drug use and doping in the sport of bike racing is rising. Former American champion Greg LeMond said this year's event was among the cleanest in history, and after all the allegations and angst created by the attack on Armstrong after last year’s race, LeMond is almost certainly right. As we say in this month's EWFF what’s rising is the “suspicion and control” of the bear market. We wrote that line last night. Here's the headline from the front page of today's USA Today:
"Cyclist Thrust From Spotlight to Suspicion."
Also notice that last year it was weeks after the actual event and Armstrong’s retirement that the allegations hit the papers. The gathering force of the decline in social mood is evident by the fact that this year the anti-doping forces had direct effect on the outcome of the event. In fact, their influence was profound and immediate as the favorite and other top competitors were banned before the race even began. For a full run down on our view of steroids, performance enhancing substances and their role in bull and bear markets see the Armstrong entry of August 25. For an up to date run down on some other ways in which the bear market is pressing against the icons and standards of the old bull market see this month’s issue of The Elliott Wave Financial Forecast, which is out today.
It’s interesting that the social pressure is not yet strong enough to stop the allegations and probably the doping. Bikers and other athletes continue to take a chance on performance enhancers because the desire to win still outweighs the risk of being caught. The thinking is, “If Barry Bonds and Lance Armstrong can stand up to the pressures of being perceived as a cheater, so can I.” When we are closer to a low, the vilification will probably be powerful enough to dissuade participants from such thinking. Either that or they will start their “anything goes” competitive endeavors. Something tells me, there’s no rules against steroids in the Ultimate Fighting Championships.
|
