If Bradley Wiggins is awarded the coveted BBC Sports Personality of the Year award–and it would take a brave man to bet against it–then there is likely to be one name at the top of his list of acknowledgements: Chris Froome. Froome was instrumental in Wiggins’ recent success in the Tour de France and rode selflessly to help his Team Sky teammate become the first Briton to win the prestigious event, taking second place himself.

Just a week after the Tour ended, Wiggins and Froome were again in action, but this time at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The pair were unfortunately unsuccessful in their attempts to help another Team Sky rider, Mark Cavendish, to a gold in the grueling road race, but both picked up medals in the time trial event, Wiggins taking gold and Froome picking up bronze.

While Froome’s talents are anything but unknown, he has often gone under the radar, with compatriots Wiggins and Cavendish often in the limelight. The unprecedented success of the British cycling team at London 2012, including stellar performances from the likes of Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton, may have created the perfect atmosphere for Froome to make the step up into cycling’s elite.

With both Cavendish and Wiggins taking some time off, the upcoming Vuelta a España, or Spanish Tour, will see Froome lead Team Sky’s charge for continued success. The mountainous tour, which begins on August 18, is highly suited to Froome’s strengths and has lead to many experts suggesting that the tour could be a two horse race, with Froome facing off against former champion Albert Contador.

Although Spaniard Contador will enjoy sizeable support from the home crowd, Froome will be confident of improving on his second place overall position at the 2011 Vuelta a España. Froome enjoys the expert tutelage of Team Sky general manager Dave Brailsford, who is also performance director for British Cycling, and is currently perhaps the most sought after coach in the cycling world. His philosophy of ‘the aggregation of marginal gains’ is the driving force behind the unparalleled success of the British team at both Beijing and London, making them the most successful track cycling team in modern history.

An impressive performance from Froome in this tour could also open the door for further success in the Tour de France. With the route of the 2013 Tour likely to be far more mountainous than the 2012 route, it would not be surprising if Team Sky threw their weight behind Froome, asking Wiggins to ride in more of a support role as Froome did in 2012. This of course is only speculation at this point, but a strong showing at the Vuelta a España will help push Team Sky’s hand.

It is important to remember that Froome is just 27 years of age, relatively young in cycling terms, and to win his first grand tour at this age would be a tremendous accolade for the Kenyan-born rider. While there is quite some time till the Vuelta a España finishes on September 9 in Madrid, things are looking good for Froome. He has all the attributes required to become one of the superstars of British, if not world cycling, and a victory here could be just what’s needed to propel him to the next level.

Image Courtesy of   Yoann MORIN / Shutterstock.com

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Every week there seems to be another drugs issue in the media. Whether it is Lance Armstrong, Frank Schlek, Hope Solo, Bradley Wiggins or LaShawn Merritt, performance enhancing drugs contaminate news pages everywhere.

Last week John Fahey, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), sent out a warning to all Olympic competitors.

“If you are a doping athlete and you are planning to compete in London then you must withdraw from your Olympic team,” said Fahey.

“These will be the most tested Games in Olympic history and doping athletes must know that they will be under the severe scrutiny of anti-doping officials from the moment they set foot in the Olympic Village,” he added.

But how successful will they be in the testing, and how will we ever be sure of their success?

Let’s rewind 12 years – Sydney 2000. Marion Jones was America’s sweetheart, she broke numerous records and won five medals. Wow, a superhuman effort, it seemed too good to be true. And sadly it was.

Jones later admitted (after a lot of lying) that she had taken drugs as part of the BALCO scandal, a high profile drugs scandal involving some high profile athletes such as Dwain Chambers and Barry Bonds.

With Victor Conte as her nutritionist she had been using a cocktail of drugs including THG or,”the clear”, a development from BALCO which was undetectable.

It was only when a rival trainer sent a sample of “the clear” to WADA that they managed to develop a test for it.

Jones took over 160 drug tests during her career and did not fail one.

Neither has Armstrong. Yet, there are numerous ex-team-mates that will testify, under oath, that they were with him as he was doping illegally. Moreover, three of Armstrong’s former coaches have been banned for life from the sport. Take of that what you will.

The problem is the drug testing technology is behind the drug developing technology, and while athletes are often caught years posthumously, justice never seems to be done. And the second-placed athletes never get the right recognition for their achievement. Who knows the name of the Olympic gold medal holder of the women’s 200m from 2000? (Pauline Davis-Thompson).

LaShawn Merritt, the current 400m Olympic champion, was caught doping in 2009. He was banned for two years (reduced to 21 months) and managed to overturn his lifetime Olympic ban imposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and will defend his title in London. He claims he was using a penis enlargement product which had testosterone in it.

It is important to note that Merritt’s was a landmark case. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in favor of WADA over the IOC that a lifetime ban from the Olympics can effectively result in double jeopardy after an athlete has served their two year ban. This ruling has had knock on effects for athletes such as Dwain Chambers and David Millar who will now compete at the Olympics after their lifetime Olympics bans from the British Olympic Association were overturned.

The fact that Merritt did not even miss a world championship, for me, is unacceptable. But then again, he may have just wanted to improve the size of his manhood and not benefit from any stimulant contained within, so who am I to judge?

How can WADA find out if these stories and excuses are true or false? Are some athletes making innocent mistakes because the list of performance enhancing drugs is too extensive and complex? How long should they be banned for? How much of a substance is needed in order to benefit the athlete? So many questions, and the problem for WADA is that there are no clean cut answers.

Fahey is currently asking sports governing bodies around the world about what they would prefer the doping policy to be for the next Olympic cycle. It seems, and I hope that, the maximum ban will be increased to four years, so an athlete will automatically miss the next major championships in whichever sport it may be.

Two years doesn’t seem long enough, and for me a lifetime ban is too extreme. While I do not agree with doping, I think that many athletes do not use drugs intentionally, and many of them will hugely regret their decision – if you make a serious mistake in the office, you may get fired, but you won’t be banned from the industry for life.

A four year ban is severe enough to provide a deterrent, but the most dedicated athletes could still come back to prove their true talent and skill.

WADA faces many challenges in an ongoing uphill battle. Implementing a decent ban time that is uniform across all sports (including baseball and American football) will be a big step in the right direction.

WADA claims this will be the most tested games ever. But how will they test their success?

By catching more cheats, they will be showing their techniques are successful, but people will become more disillusioned with certain events. If they don’t catch many dopers, people will believe the sports are getting cleaner, but how will we ever really know? It could just be the result of some really advanced drug technology that WADA is not yet familiar with.

It seems to be a lose-lose situation.

Will there be one day where they give up and legalize all performance-enhancing drugs to create another level playing field? I hope not. It doesn’t fit in with the whole idea of sport.

However, the problem seems to be so large in sports such as sprinting, boxing, cycling, wrestling and weightlifting that it makes me think this could soon be the only viable option.

I am sure London 2012 will expose some depressing truths and churn up some bad surprises. But it will also showcase some immense talent, determination and hard work. It is just a shame that I, like many others, will question the authenticity of some of the great genuine sporting achievements that we will see in a few days time.

Image Courtesy of  Paul McKinnon / Shutterstock.com

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Traveling for many people means spending a lot of money for leisure and fun. It can also mean harming the environment. The fact is, it is entirely possible to travel in an environmentally responsible way while saving money. Walking is the simplest and easiest option to save money, improve your health, and help the environment.

By leaving the car behind and simply walking or riding a bicycle, you are doing both your health and the environment a favor. Of course, walking for long distances is not a good option for far away destinations. Renting a bicycle for those trips rather than renting a car can strengthen muscles, improve cardiovascular health, reduce congestion, and generate zero emissions.

Public transportation is widely considered to be the holy grail of environmentalism. Buses, trains, metros, subways, and trams are great ways of getting around. Most towns and cities have adequate coverage. Furthermore, the tourist will not get lost as easily because the driver knows where they are going.

It would be an adventure from buying tickets to finding a seat to knowing when to get off plus saving energy. Also, public transportation is the cheapest method to travel around the city compared renting a car or hiring a taxi during the trip. Tram and metro networks can be found in a lot of cities around the world such as Tokyo, Vancouver, Baku, Rome, Valparaíso, Paris, San Francisco, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, and Pittsburg.

Many airports have good public transportation links, which means getting a bus or train to reach to the airport instead of driving there is easy. In some countries, carrying a bicycle onto public transportation is accepted, especially in Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands. In cities that do not allow bicycles on their public transportation systems, using foldable bicycles is a good choice.

Simply choosing an electronic ticket rather than a paper ticket would reduce the wasted papers and inks. It can also help in reducing the number of trees cut. If you are flying, it is better to bring light luggage rather than a large suitcase. The more a package weighs, the more fuel the plane uses, which affects the surrounding enviornment.

Many airlines also have a weight limit, and will charge you for luggage that exceeds the limit. That might lead to unexpected charges to the travel budget you have planned. Selecting a green hotel during the trip is also a great way to save the environment. Tourists can find numerous environmentally friendly hotels, B&B’s, and lodges for different budgets and rates on the Internet.

While staying in the hotel, try not to waste resources. You can do this by turning off the TV, switching off all the lights off, and turning off the air-conditioner or heat down when no one is in the room. Opting for short showers and using your own toiletries instead of the small and usually over-priced toiletries provided by the hotel can also help reduce your carbon footprint.

Last, try to avoid disposable cameras and bring your own digital camera. Like other modern devices, which takes loads of energy to make and only get used once before being dumped, disposable cameras can be wasteful.

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