Am I too sensitive a cycling soul or does the new HBO film Tour de Pharmacy look (more than a bit) crap? It’s a mockumentary lampooning cycling’s doping culture. Wow, well done guys, only (at least) ten years late to the party.

It’s not that I’m blinkered to cycling’s issues past or present. I quickly realised that my new climbing idol Marco Pantani might not be riding pane e acqua. I was an Armstrong doubter from the first of his seven. I now watch the sport through irises scarred by Festina, Puerto, Landis, Rasmussen, various vanishing twins, EPO Cera, steakgate, Ricardo Ricco’s innumerable fuck ups, motor-doping, whereaboutsgate. You name it, I’ve witnessed a very large jiffy bag full of eye openers.

The thing is, I still love the sport. I don’t think it’s ridiculous, but that’s how this film appears to treat cycling. We all need to be able to laugh at ourselves but, and I’m only judging by the two trailers I’ve watched, the writers of Tour de P don’t love cycling. They think it’s stupid, full stop: look at these idiots in lycra, riding bikes like little kids and thinking it’s serious sport!

And Americans laughing at doping in a silly Euro sport? Haven’t they watched the NFL? Do they think those guys got so big drinking protein shakes?

I could cope if the jokes were funny, but the ones I’ve seen aren’t. To me it all just looks rather lame, and judging by the comments BTL on cyclingnews.com I’m not the only sensitive cycling soul out there.

What do you reckon?