Apr
17
Where were you when they were handing out luck? A study of Tyler Hamilton
April 17, 2009 | 2 Comments
Yet again Marblehead, MA’s most successful cyclist is in the news; this time, it’s for having traces of a banned substance in his system, which he says is the result of having taken some kind of nutritional supplement which claimed to aid in the treatment of depression. An “over the counter anti-depressant,” if you will. He says he was on a prescribed anti-depressant (Celexa) until recently, when he doubled the dose due to family health issues, and then went off it altogether. Hm.
Poor dude. He’s 38, and there will be no comebacks to cycling now. What a bitter retirement this must be for the current national road champion. Yet again he’s driven out of the sport, while concurrent headlines continue to extol the re-emergence of his former team boss and rival, Lance Armstrong. Tyler has had quite an array of poor luck, while his compatriot has managed nearly unbelievable successes. Seven Tour de France titles with barely a flat tire? That’s practically deal-with-the-devil level. (Did we consider Satan as one of Lance’s dubious supporters?)
Let’s consider the unbalanced comparisons:
Upbringing
LA: Single mother, poor, Texas
TH: Upper middle class, tight family, New England
Early results
LA: Triathlon success leads to bike racing
TH: Ski racing success leads to college; broken back leads to bike racing
Bones
LA: Just broke his collarbone for the first time; practically whined about the pain
TH: Came in second in the Giro d’Italia with a cracked shoulder and fourth in the Tour de France with a broken collarbone
Boners
LA: Once married, three children, one more on the way with current hottie girlfriend; once engaged to Sheryl Crow, linked to twins and hot blond things alike
TH: Once married to very capable and intelligent Haven, who made the error of having her name on a receipt for Operation Puerto papers
Reputation
LA: Kind of a bully
TH: Nicest guy in bike racing
Ardennes results
LA: Twice second in Amstel Gold, twice second in Liege-Bastogne-Liege
TH: Won Liege
Spanish results
LA: Won Classica San Sebastian
TH: Won Vuelta TT, lost the win due to doping suspension
Olympic results
LA: Bronze in 2000 TT
TH: Gold in 2004 TT, but with a eyebrow-raising “A” blood test and a ruined “B” one
Charity
LA: Livestrong, which overwhelmed the world with those damn yellow wristbands
TH: Tyler Hamilton Foundation, dedicated to MS, a disease which affected his ex-wife’s mother; bet he doesn’t want to be involved with that anymore
Influence
LA: People tattoo his image on their skin. He’s big.
TH: People who rode or raced with him locally still like him. Everyone else rolls their eyes.
Future?
LA: Will we never hear the end of him?
TH: Might have to finish that college degree after all
A last thought: here is Tyler’s quote about his thinking about taking his “over the counter” anti-depressant. Sounds a lot like someone that could be said by any of the dopers, no?
“What I did was wrong and yes, I did know it was on the list of banned substances. I also knew that USADA could have shown up any day and at any time to test me. But, I was going through a very rough moment and I was desperate. I heard about it and I thought I would try it out as an act of desperation.”
Can you hear that coming out of Basso’s mouth? What about Bernhard Kohl? Or any of the dumbasses who dope because they’re under pressure to perform and have to get a result?
Comments
2 Comments so far
ahahaha your “boners” category almost made me snort my coffee all over my screen.
i love your posts!
Great post.