jasonatwood.com

One of my favorite movies is Breaking Away, an earnest tale of a group of recent high school graduates in the university town of Bloomington, Indiana learning to manage both their own and society’s expectations. It is a sincere and humorous coming-of-age story–and winner of an Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

The movie’s protagonist is Dave Stoller, played by Dennis Christopher, who dreams of being Italian and a world-class cyclist. Part-way through the movie, after months of training, Dave receives some of the biggest news of his life: the Italian national cycling team will be coming to Bloomington–to Bloomington!–for an exhibition bike race.

This is Dave’s opportunity to meet and ride next to his idolized heroes. And on race day, Dave is in prime form. He is a strong rider and almost giddy with excitement when he finds himself the only non-Italian in the lead pack during the race.

The Italians, however, are not flattered or amused. They want to drop the skinny kid from the peleton. But Dave is a fast rider, good enough to keep pace with the world champions… Until the Italians sabotage his bike and put a stick through his front tire in mid-race, sending Dave flying over his handlebars and into the trees. The Italians ride on, laughing.

Dave cries. But not because of the physical pain. Rather, his tears are for an emotional pain. It is dangerous to have heroes. “Everybody cheats,” he says, almost entirely to himself, when his mother asks him what is wrong.

There is a heart-breaking sadness in his voice, a resignation of hope. No more heroes for Dave. Innocence is lost.

Everyone cheats.

A couple years ago I felt like Dave Stoller trying to keep pace with the Italians. In Tyler Hamilton I had found if not a hero, certainly someone to admire. He was a soft-spoken, quietly intense man, but hardworking to the point of being almost dogmatic. Stoic. One of the toughest athletes of all-time. And faithful.

For six years he was a journeyman on the USPS racing team, the last four as the dedicated chief lieutenant of Lance Armstrong. During the 2002 Giro d’Italia, a three-week bike race, Tyler fell and broke his collarbone. And continued to ride. And took second overall in the Giro.

At the end of the race, Tyler had to have 12 molars capped. So intense was the pain from his broken collarbone that he had ground his teeth to the roots while riding.

In 2003, Tyler broke his collarbone during the first stage of the Tour de France. Again, he stayed in the race. During the 16th stage, he surmounted what can only be called a magical and inspirational 143km breakaway to win the stage. When all the riders returned to Paris at the end of the Tour, Tyler was in fourth place overall.

Tyler continued to emerge from Lance’s shadow to become one of America’s most talented and successful cyclists. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Tyler won a gold medal in the individual time trial.

And then he failed a test for blood doping.

A few months later, at the Vuelta a Espana, Tyler again failed a blood doping test.

And I felt sucker-punched. Blindsided. Tyler Hamilton?! In all the interviews I saw of him, in all the articles I read of him, he seemed like such a good guy.

Well, he may be a good guy to his wife and buddies. But to the world of cycling, to an endurance sport fan like me who found in Tyler a rare hero-athlete, he is a cheat. And a liar.

Tyler has maintained an impressively consistent story that tries to explain-away just how his blood samples came back positive for blood doping. But all evidence is to the contrary. He was handed a two-year suspension from cycling, the most extreme punishment for a first-time offense. Tyler bitterly tried to protest.

And now, with all the drug-drama of this year’s Tour, I am reminded that professional athletes are little more than physically gifted people. They have massive VO2 capacity, and sometimes massive character flaws. They certainly are not heroes.

Too many pro athletes cheats. What a terrible thing to have to recognize.

Instead of watching this year’s coverage of the Tour de Farce on the Outdoor Life Network, I am going to watch Breaking Away with my real heroes–my dad, my mom, and my brother.

Run With It!
J.R. Atwood