Justice for clean riders

He's the bloke that finished deep in the pack. Maybe 15th or 16th, you know, right behind the peloton of EPO-injecting cheats who have ruined cycling for millions around the world.

And while what Lance Armstrong and his mates did is horrible and disgraceful, the fact the UCI isn't willing to find the real winner of the seven Tours de France is worse.

I can only put it down to one thing - the UCI is scared.

They're scared of what they'll find if they go back through the books to try to find a cyclist who wasn't injecting himself while racing.

But for the sake of the sport, the honchos in Europe need to suck it up and find the people who deserve to be crowned the 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 Tour champions.

I don't care if the clean winner came second or was the 150th rider across the line. The fact is we need a winner. Cycling needs a winner.

Why? Because until we find that bloke who didn't take drugs, cycling is a joke.

By not awarding the title to someone, Armstrong can sit there knowing none of his rivals have taken his Tour crowns. They're not in the history books, but if no one else has them Armstrong might as well hold on to them.

There will always be an asterix next to the years Armstrong won.

In 10 years' time people won't remember the guy who finished 25th but was retrospectively awarded the yellow jersey, the trophy and a bunch of flowers.

They'll remember the way Armstrong brough the sport to its knees.

Plenty argue it's impossible to award someone the title if they finished so far back in the field.

I'm the opposite. During those years there was a guy riding in the middle of the pack, busting his gut without any help from EPO and doing everything his body would allow him to.

He rode the same distance, the same mountains and backed up every morning knowing he was riding against liars and cheats.

I can understand the different circumstances surrounding the Melbourne Storm's premierships during their salary-cap rorting years.

The record books remain clean because different teams had different paths to the NRL grand final. But when it comes to the Tour de France, everyone was on the same playing field … well everyone who wasn't on drugs.

Canberra cyclist Michael Rogers was awarded an Olympic Games bronze medal this year for his time trial race in Athens in 2004 after gold medallist Tyler Hamilton admitted to doping.

If the Olympics can make the changes, why can't the Tour de France and UCI?

It seems crazy and lazy.

The IOC has a policy of an eight-year window to find drug cheats and strip them of their medals.

It's never easy to take a title off someone or kick them out of a hall of fame.

Stephen Hodge made ACTSport's decision easy this week. He wrote a letter and told them he didn't deserve a place among Canberra's sporting elite.

The decision about the criterium track at Mt Stromlo named in his honour should be equally simple.

Hodge has admitted to taking drugs for six years during his cycling career. That's enough to have his name removed despite his tireless work with the Canberra cycling community after he retired.

Until these non-cheating cyclists are found, Armstrong still has the titles. It doesn't matter what the UCI does to try to erase him, the titles are his until they're given to someone else.

The UCI has been weak on drugs in the sport. It might have come across like taking a strong stance when it officially stripped Armstrong of his titles. But let's be honest, USADA did all the work.

It's time the UCI made some tough decisions and did some hard work.

Find the poor bloke sitting at home who could add ''Tour de France champion'' to his resume.

Don't let the drug cheats have all the limelight, find that one guy who went against the trend and almost burst his lungs riding through the French Alps.

And for cycling's sake, let's hope that one clean rider who finished in the middle of the pack really does exist.