Stage 19 cancelled; A good time for a positive drug test for Di Luca then?

There was two big pieces of news coming out of the Giro today. The first, which should have been the most important -- and was so to me -- was that the days stage had been cancelled due to terrible weather across the mountains in which they were due to travel. Freezing temperatures and snow left the race organisors with no choice but to call off what would have been an epic day of racing. Mark Cavendish -- fighting to hold onto his Red points jersey from Cadel Evans -- will have been delighted, while those climbers still looking for a stage win will have been disappointed. The other news was the positive drug test by Danilo Di Luca.

Positive test news is normally reserved for rest days when the media are looking for a story, but given that non had surfaced in the two rest days of this years Giro it seemed only fitting that this story would break on the day of an impromptu rest day thanks to the heavy snow.

Di Luca has had past issues with performance enhancing drugs and has recently come off the back of serving a suspension. Some poor team -- Vini Fantini -- believed in second chances and gave the Italian another shot, clearly believing that at the age of 37 he would have moved on from the dirty game and just enjoying his twilight years in the peloton. Well, today they were bitten hard and reacted with grave disappointment. So upset that they didn't offer Di Luca a ride away from the Giro, telling him to find his own way home.

Di Luca's positive was for EPO and it's a sign of the times that a number of his opponents took to Twitter to voice their anger. Andre Greipel, Alex Dowsett, Nicholas Roche and Geraint Thomas were among four doing so. Thomas went as far as to call for a life-time ban for those caught using EPO and other blood doping products. It's hard to disagree with such a stance on the most evil of performance enhancing substances. Even good old Lance Armstrong weighed in saying, "Knowing I have 0 cred on the doping issue - I still can't help but think, "really Di Luca? Are you that f***ing stupid??".

Still, those out there who love a good drug scandal in cycling because they love the doping angle more than they love the sport itself, were jumping for joy at this one and using it yet again as a stick to beat cycling with proclaiming that this was proof that nothing had changed and the drugs still ruled the professional peloton despite many signs to suggest otherwise. It's amazing how by picking and choosing certain little numbers and facts you can try convince yourself that cycling is still a mess. Anyway, that's an argument for another day.

It just bothers me that this is what will make the headlines in the sport right now when it should be a side story to what has been great about this years Giro. Di Luca is no longer a big fish in the cycling game, he's a has-been, a washed up aging pro coming back from a suspension and who was clearly desperate to land a contract. I actually feel a little sorry for him because he clearly has a problem and like any addict, it's no laughing matter. Di Luca is addicted to the fact that he believes he cannot compete in cycling without using drugs and that he couldn't have gotten his contract and ride in the Giro without it.

We seen him on the attack at times in this years Giro despite the fact he's 37 now and had little to no racing in his legs so far this year. It raised eyebrows, not just with fans but in the peloton. It's why nobody was shocked today to learn he had tested positive. Mind you, the positive is from way back in April (not sure why it takes this long?) but that was is preparation time for this race. Thankfully he never won a stage this year but don't be fooled into thinking because he didn't win and because his attacks were never successful that those who reeled him in and beat him must be suspicious themselves. The simple fact is, Di Luca is not the rider he was when he won the Giro in 2007 -- likely via drugs. You could put me in front of the peloton loaded to the gills on EPO and every other drug known to the testers, but the bunch would still haul me back.

As a result of this positive test, more people are asking questions about the man set to win this years Giro, Vincenzo Nibali. That is kind of understanding given what cycling fans have seen from past winners of Grand Tours and it's not surprising given that such questions about the winners seem par for the course in modern cycling, but it's still a little unfair.

I have no concern about Nibali. He's always been a supreme talent and until now there has been no evidence against him whatsoever. If we're going to question everything we see and believe there's no future for clean cycling then we might as well find another sport to watch. until such times as Nibali fails a test or is implicated in something, then I can only admire his riding and achievements. And besides, with Bradley Wiggins and Ryder Hesjedal leaving the race early, it's not as though Nibali has been up against a talent laden group of contenders this year. (I should point out that given the way he has ridden I still think he'd be in Pink today even with Wiggins and Hesjedal around, it's just been that kind of a Giro for a man on top form).

And to dispel this myth that Nibali has made some meteoric rise from nowhere to this all conquering cyclist here in Italy 2013, let's remember that he was third in the Giro in 2010 aged just 25 and won the Vuelta that same year. He was second in the 2011 Giro, third in the 2012 Tour de France and had podium positions at Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Milan San Remo that year. And regarding his time-trial last week: He was third at the Junior World time-trial championships in 2002 and third in the U-23 World time-trial championships in 2004. At the 2011 Giro he was second in a similar time-trial stage behind Alberto Contador. Is Nibali on drugs or has he been on drugs? I've no idea. I doubt it but I certainly wouldn't stake my savings on it either. But he's always been a good rider and until which times as some proof surfaces, what's the point in throwing up flags?

Unfortunately I've gotten off on a bit of a tangent here when the subject was Di Luca's positive test and the fact the pitchforks and torches are out against for the entire sport of cycling. For those who want to tar it with the one brush -- something Di Luca has a large part of the blame for, for giving these folk the ammo -- let me ask a question: Would we prefer they didn't catch the cheats and instead buried their heads in the sand like almost every other sport as cycling did in the 1990's and 2000's?

You'll never get rid of cheating entirely, but cycling is doing more than most and catching Di Luca and announcing a positive test from April in the thick of the Giro proves cycling is not shying away from the issue that's prevalent in all other sports.