An interesting interview with Taylor Phinney over on Velonation, which can be summarised as - never mind EPO and blood bags, stop popping the painkillers and caffeine pills, guys!
http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/13076/Taylor-Phinney-Interview-Getting-the-pill-culture-out-of-the-sport.aspx
Thanks for that link Spesh, it'll strike a chord with PBP veterans. I've gone to Brest and back four times, and I've used a lot of Ibuleve, Ibuprofen and Caffeine Gum in three of those journeys. Last time I didn't go beyond espressos and Coke, but I did have a soigneur at every controle, and the back of a car to lie down in. I was filming so I needed the battery back-up, and I paid back some of the time I saved with roadside shots.
I can't honestly say that I did any of the 1200+ rides unaided, there's so much in the background making it easier.
I can think of some 400 and 600 Permanents that I did on my own which had a certain purity to them, and which I can draw on the memory of to sustain me, but Perms can be ridden in good weather.
So much is down to aesthetics. I still remember the Landis lone break, he was on performance enhancing drugs, and I enjoyed the performance. It's a shame that Floyd can't look back at it with unmixed pride, but it was a good show at the time.
Taylor's point is an interesting one, who is the show for, the fans or the riders. With Wiggins we've moved into cycling that has conscious elements of Rock Star culture, a world where drugs inform performance, but Brad is living clean.
