Former Tour de France champion Miguel Indurain was recently interviewed by Spanish newspaper El Ideal, where he was asked about issues on doping and the ProTour. Speaking about what induces a cyclist to take drugs, Indurain said: "It is difficult thing. It can be due to the pressure to obtain good results, but it is necessary to know clearly that this is a sport with rules which must be respected.
"The fight against doping is well organized and those who do not respect the rules are punished. I think that the problems of this sport are based on the fight for power among different cycling stakeholders: national federations, squads, and organizers."
Regarding the ProTour, Indurain believed it to be a positive idea and a natural step to progress the sport. "It [the ProTour] has been designed with the understanding that cycling evolves, although there are people who do not want to admit that cycling changes," he said.
On Spain's lack of success in other sports, Indurain said: "In Belgium and in Spain, there are [a lot of] very good cyclists, but it is very difficult to find new champions in the other sports, like Rafael Nadal in tennis and Fernando Alonso in F1 in Spain. It takes a lot of work and much patience."
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