The Outer Line  http://www.theouterline.com/anti-doping-is-the-cure-worse-than-the-disease/

I don't completely agree with them, but their view is a breath of fresh air.  (I see Armstrong's lifetime ban as completely fair since he actively and deliberately ended the careers of those guilty only of telling the truth and he/others in his behalf threatened several in a manner that could well lead to jail terms anywhere else.  USADA couldn't address that per se as that wasn't their mandate.)

Those testifying against Armstrong got 6 months vs AC who served two years and had 2 Grand Tour wins removed for testing positive to 1/400th of the WADA minimum.  (And it was UCI that penalized AC for this gregarious offense and that fought tooth and nail to have the Armstrong case stopped in its tracks.)

I hope Cookson and others at UCI are listening to what The Outer Limit is saying.  I believe there is a place for good drug testing and controls, done in an even, above board manner.  It won't stop all drug use, at least as long as we humans are still human, but we can make bike racing a sport that parents will no longer discourage their kids from because of the doping.  (It appears this is starting to happen in France; the country hardest hit by the doping scandals of the late '90s.  THe young French riders at the Tour this year were both a revelation and an inspiration.)

Ben