Cycling Team Suspends Tyler Hamilton

Yikes, what a mess for Tyler Hamilton and professional cycling. And there's no end in sight.

Tinkoff Credit Systems announced in a press release on Wednesday (May 8th) that Hamilton was suspended along with teammate Jorg Jaksche until their role in the Operacion Puerto blood doping scandal has been sorted out by "competent authorities," whatever that means in professional cycling these days.

And all this on the eve of the Giro d’Italia, the biggest chance for Hamilton, a former Olympic champion, to show he could still run with the best after being idled for the past two years from a previous blood doping charge.

Don't misunderstand: I'm not defending Hamilton. But this has to be hugely frustrating for him. He's watching his future in professional cycling quickly slipping away as the grandstanding continues by the officials who, by ignoring the cheating scandal for far too long, have nearly run the sport into the ground.

• Talk about it in the forum
• Cycling News coverage of the story
• What is blood doping?
• More articles on professional cycling

Image (c) Frank Steele