I don't know Lance Armstrong.

And I have never met Floyd Landis or Johan Bruyneel.

Landis won the 2006 Tour de France, then was stripped of the title after testing positive with an abnormal testosterone/epitestosterone ratio.

He spent four years vehemently denying doping, and managed to convince hundreds of people to financially support his appeals and his 'fight for truth'.

His trials and appeals led to overhauls in the US and French anti-doping systems, and cost millions of dollars in legal fees.

Now, he has confessed to using testosterone and EPO, and alleges there was systematic doping in Team US Postal, naming Armstrong and other riders.

He alleges that Director, Johan Bruyneel, engaged in bribery of the UCI to suppress positive test results.

Like a lot of cyclists and fans, I've read a lot, seen a lot and have my own completely unsubstantiated ideas about what goes on in the pro men's peloton.

Given this bombshell to the cycling world in the past 48 hours, it would be tempting to write an article about rumours, theories and what went on between 2002 and 2006.

But there's something much more important to say that banter over who did what and whether Landis or Lance are lying.

Thanks to a few wealthy and desperate male cyclists (because let's face it, no female professional rider is making enough money to pay Dr Fuentes the fee required to store her blood for the opportune moment), hundreds of amateur and professional cyclists are affected.

Sponsors get nervous, weigh up risks and decide to pull out. Races are cancelled. Teams fold.

2009 Tour Down Under winner, Allan Davis, was in contractual limbo for years before QuickStep offered him a gig. Teams elected not to touch him because his name had been tenuously linked to Operation Peurto, despite a complete lack of evidence and his willingness to cooperate with any investigation.

2008 World and Olympic Road Champion, Nicole Cooke, arguably one of the greatest female riders ever, was left without a professional team this year when proposed sponsor, Skyter, pulled the pin at the 11th hour. She is now riding with the GBR National Team.

That team had signed a myriad of extraordinary internationals and was to be the first pro contract for Adelaide's Tiffany Cromwell, a stellar climber and great young talent, now riding for our AIS National Team.

Trust me, to run a women's cycling team costs less than 10 per cent of an equivalent men's team, but if the sport of cycling is tainted, then it's a no-brainer for a wealthy company to put it in the too-hard basket.

That's why the only thing more damaging to the sport than cheats, is cheats who start to feel bad about being cheats that got caught. It opens the wound all over again and perpetuates the myth that all cyclists dope.

Doping is essentially motivated by greed. Riders want more fame, more money, better contracts and a taste of immortality. No one ever took EPO just to be a better (but anonymous) domestique for someone else.

Landis may be getting in before the statute of limitations runs out in a feigned act of 'clearing his conscience' but really, it's just another act of selfishness. It's neither cleaning up the sport, nor helping anyone but himself.

Millions have been spent by the UCI in introducing the Biological Passport, allowing analysis and assessment of riders' changing blood values over time. Testing has evolved to detect newer generations of drugs, and the likelihood of blood transfusions.

If only narcissistic individuals weren't on endless campaigns to put themselves first, there could be greater opportunities for all.