And a congrat to Vinokourov

Getting past the past

I remember back in 2007 when the entire Astana team quit the Tour de France because Vinokourov felt the need to cheat.  He was banned for 2 years.  Yesterday he won a gold medal for cycling and just about every article I've read mentions he used to be a cheat.  I'm doing it.  They used to say "cheaters never win and winners never cheat."  That's not necessarily the case.  A number of American cyclists did not go to the Olympics, among them Levi Leipheimer, one of our best.  Rumor has it he was kept back, along with 4 others, because he happened to have been riding on the same team as Lance Armstrong during the period of time authorities are investigating.  It's almost unAmerican to think Armstrong could have been a cheat, yet it may be true.  If he was, is he still a cheat today?  I'd like to think not, just as I'd like to think Vinokourov has cleaned up his act.  So, I'm going to congratulate him on winning a gold medal.