Cycling pays.

Only the most naïve think that professional sports are clean. I’m at the other end of the spectrum, depending on that old rule which applies across all fields of human endeavor:

“Go where the money is”.

Or, stated differently, I would bet that nearly all professional sports are rigged. Whether it’s the obvious – like professional wrestling – or the less so – like baseball and American football, there’s simply too much money at stake to attract the virtuous. Those icons of American entertainment are rigged, you say? Surely not.

Well, check out the most famous baseball game ever (generally referred to as “The Shot Heard Around the World”) or the New England Patriots’ more recent cheating. Rigged.

At least I take comfort in the knowledge that the only sport I actively follow – Formula One – is totally rigged. The guy with the best stolen secrets and the biggest pocket book wins every time. So at least we know where we stand. It makes the entertainment that much better when you are realistic about its parameters.

Which brings me to cycling. After weightlifting it’s hard to think of a more corrupt sport. I very much doubt that any winner of the Tour de France has been ‘clean’ in the sense we think of that description. It’s just that some are smarter than others. And boy, is there money in it or what?

That showcase of displays of wealth, Architectural Digest, profiles one such famous cyclist’s home in the current issue. Go to the home theater and there are his seven TDF jerseys, signifying an unbeaten winning streak. And one good thing about AD is that the interior photography is pretty interesting from a technical perspective, even if the displays of money on the walls leave me cold. And to show you just how much money there is in the game, the famous cyclist’s home is on the cover, no less.

The photography is great. The home of The Man who was Never Caught.

If you like good interior photography – thought some HDR might help occasionally – pick up a copy of Architectural Digest. Just don’t look for the pure of heart inside.

Update August 24, 2012:

Well, Mr. Armstrong can now continue his work as a paid spokesman for Pfizer.

Guilty as sin. Zonker Armstrong ceases denials.