Watching Le Tour on television provides a much
needed break from the shit problems in the real world.
Until last week, that is, when in ITV’S second rest
day Tour de France review, fronted by Gary Imlach, devoted time to the scandals
surrounding French oil company Total Energies, who sponsor a World Tour team on
this Tour.
They are accused of “green washing” in sponsoring
cycling, of creating an image of being environmentally friendly when they are
anything but. Quite the opposite in fact, hugely expanding their oil business. The
burning of Oil – carbon - is we know, the main driver of climate change which,
science tells us, is leading to the collapse of our environment and life on
earth as know it.
As if this wasn’t depressing enough for our usually
happy go-lucky Tour coverage, we were also subjected to the issue of the German
doctor convicted of doping offences. This is Doctor Mark Schmidt. Of particular interest is an alleged message between someone at Team Sky, now INEOS, and Schmidt.
First, the Total Energy story.
Those attempting to bring Total
Energies to book - Greenpeace France, Friends of the Earth France and Notre
Affaire a Tous, supported by Client Earth filed a lawsuit in France in March
2022 against the company. A year later
the French courts agreed the case could go ahead.
It is claimed that the company’s ‘reinvention’ ad campaign violates
European consumer law, misleading the public by claiming to be a major player
in the energy transition” depicted in the design of a logo on the team jersey.
It has pledged to reach
company-wide net zero emissions by 2050 and denied that it is
greenwashing.
Countering this, it is being claimed that Total’s business plans include
a far-reaching expansion of fossil fuel production and any significant
emissions reductions are doubtful over the next 10 years.
This matter also concerns an issue with the rights of the Native
American Indians in Peru. The ITV programme featured Marcel Garcia Apagueno,
Kichwa community leader, who took her people’s case to France to pursue the
matter in the courts.
She said her people have been restricted by Total Energies from
gathering food and harvesting plants. She claimed the oil company had made an
$84.7million dollar purchase of land and is using t heir forests to sell carbon
credits to high polluting corporations.
Her people have been excluded
from making policy decisions concerning the development of green energy
projects.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Chair of the UN Permanent Forum
on Indigenous Issues, says:
“We are custodians of the natural world who are committed to
maintaining the natural equilibrium of the planet for the generations to come.”
Laura Quinones writing in Climate and
Environment says
“While Indigenous Peoples make up just six per cent of the global
population, they safeguard 80 per cent of the planet’s remaining biodiversity –
yet receive less than one per cent of international climate funding.”
The Scottish organisers of the Tour de France Grand Depart in 2027 have taken
a stand on this matter, saying they will not tolerate any team strip such as
the Total Energy team clothing bearing controversial environmental claims in
the design.
And now, onto the hoary subject of doping and the jailed German doctor.
This concerns Dr Mark Schmidt, who
worked as a doctor with the Gerolsteiner and Milram pro cycling teams. He was
investigated for his role in helping athletes from cycling and cross-country
skiing to blood dope, until a cross-country skier blew the whistle on his
doings.
Subsequently, Schmidt was jailed
for five years in 2021 for his doping activities between 2012 and 2019.
Journalist Sebastian Krause who covered
the Schmidt trial every day looked through his many notes taken at the trial and identified a person who worked for INEOS/Sky and
who had been in contact with Schmidt. Some of the messages allegedly
sent between Schmidt and the INEOS/Sky worker were aired in court.
The reason all has blown up now is that the Schmidt affair was the subject of a German TV documentary last month. The story was picked up by the Sunday Independent, in a piece written by Paul Kimmage, the former pro who in 2007 published his book, entitled, “Rough Ride”, his story about the culture of doping within cycling.
Daniel Friebe who is working on
the Tour for ITV asked INEOS Team Principal Dave Brailsford about the Schmidt
message story but he declined to comment.
Instead, INEOS issued a short
statement to Friebe, as follows: “INEOS
Grenadiers Cycling Team is aware of recent media allegations relating to the
2012 season and a member of its staff. These allegations have not to date been
presented to the team by any appropriate authority.
“The team reiterates its policy
of zero tolerance to any breach of the applicable WADA codes historic and
current.”