Brave New World

I bumped into a story on velonews.com headlined "ProTour teams and (most) riders commit to DNA tests." The story is here. at the bottom of the column.

The story was both scary and encouraging. If the UCI creates a DNA bank for some of the world's best athletes, that's troubling to me. Over-analyzation is my default position, and while reading the story my mind drifted to the opening scene of Brave New World where the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning leads students on a tour of the the fertilizing room. Of course right to privacy is the immediate issue for the riders, but whenever I read about DNA being stored for any purpose, I take logical leaps and I bound off in the direction of a Brave New World.

The encouraging part is what DNA testing can do for the sport. I can't imagine how a doctor's program could sneak past such scrutiny. Plus, DNA testing could hamper the peleton from using designer drugs that alter genes. Part of why I love cycling is because I can get on the road and compare myself to the professionals (quite dimly I must admit). But when I hit 40 mph in a sprint or take a pull on the front at 33 mph, I feel like, for that brief moment, I'm doing something the pros do. That feeling is motivating; it keeps me wanting to ride my bike and train harder; it helps me appreciate the beautiful spectacle that is bike racing. If I know the pros are all pharmaceutically enhanced, the feeling is diminished.

I guess since a Brave-New-World society where elitists lead a slack-jawed, happy and complacent middle class isn't inevitable, I'm for the DNA testing.