British rider David Millar has urged fans not to abandon cycling after the expulsion of Riccardo Ricco from the Tour de France.
Millar, who served a two-year ban after admitting to blood doping in 2004, said he could understand fans' anger after it was announced Thursday that Ricco _ a double stage winner in this year's Tour _ had tested positive for EPO.
"If you're close to giving up on cycling, I can understand that," Millar wrote in his Tour diary Friday. "I almost did after all. But please don't give up on us."
The Team Garmin-Chipotle leader acknowledged his own past as an EPO user.
"Because I am an ex-doper, I have to earn my right to be believed and trusted," Millar said, adding he was pleased but not surprised at Ricco's positive test.
"It was gratifying to see him get caught and taken away by the police," Millar said. "I had a feeling (about Ricco) ... And unfortunately of late, when I have that feeling, doping is involved."
The 31-year-old Briton doubted others would learn from Ricco's mistakes, citing the example of the Italian's hero, Marco Pantani, who died of a cocaine overdose in 2004 after several doping allegations during his career.
"(Ricco) will disappear from the world of cycling and hopefully from the dreams of any young cycling fans. Only it's not that simple, is it?" Millar said. "Marco Pantani was Ricco's idol. He wanted to be like him and climb like him, much of his riding style was based on him."
Ricco had failed to learn from Pantani, who won the Tour in 1998, Millar said.
"He had forgotten that Pantani doped and cheated," Millar said. "In fact most of Italy has forgotten that I think, which is sad because his memory can serve a much more powerful purpose than that of a winning cyclist."
Millar said the achievements of clean riders were being overshadowed by the scandals.
"These men, and boys, are the biggest victims of the dopers because their names are sullied simply because they are sharing the same profession and taking part in the same event," he said. "That is not fair."
Millar is worried that his compatriot Mark Cavendish will not get the respect he deserves after becoming the first British rider to win four stages of a Tour de France, including Friday's 13th stage.
"This is the dawn of his career and he has never doped," Millar said. "How do I know this? Because I know Mark and I believe in him and I know where he has come from."
