Will it destroy the sport?
I admire and respect those who cycle. I thrilled along with the rest of America (and Texas!) when Lance Armstrong went on his seven-year string of victories. With my physique and stamina, I couldn't imagine becoming a competitive cyclist. I have the utmost respect for those who can make a living as a professional athlete.
These guys are incredible athletes. So how come they feel the need to use performance-enhancing drugs in the first place?
Yes, legs move bikes. But some legs are pumped up by chemicals, hormones, and various foreign and human-made substances that were injected/ingested over long or short careers.
How incriminating is it that these athletes refuse to take a drug test? They know that after every leg of the Tour de France there will be virtually 100% drug testing. Piss hot and you go home. And this isn't just 'roids, it's anything from caffeine to blood transfusions.
Don't for one minute believe that each athlete doesn't know exactly what goes into their machine bodies. Certainly not what was in those big ol' needles as they 'roided themselves up for the big gains. That's like pulling into the filling station and accidentally pumping the fuel tank full of motor oil. Not plausible for a seasoned gas pumper like me, because I have been putting gas into my car for years.
The guilty cyclists wish that the media and spectators would just get over it, sit back, and enjoy the race. You see, they have rationalized their behavior so much that they wonder why we can't rationalize it away, too. Some of my outrage is that they don't see why this is a problem. This behavior is unethical and gives these people an unnatural advantage. It casts a long, dark shadow on the Tour de France in particular and cycling in general.