Rant re Des Kelly, Daily Mail

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

From my friends in the 40+

[quote]Hi All including Des kelly,

Despite Des Kelly (Daily Mail Sports) whiny excuse for a journalist using sarcastic remarks and complaining about elite cyclists, two million people lined the route to get a glimpse of the greatest race on earth last weekend. We were at Kingsnorth with our family where 1000s of people enjoyed a fantastic day out FREE of charge. Some youngsters had a wonderful time racing against the tour on the other side of the dual carriageway.

Whinging Kelly grudgingly concedes that athletics has a history of drug abuse, but argues that drug taking is commonplace in cycling so we should not be giving the tour a platform. The truth is that Kelly has no more idea than anyone else of the level of drug taking within any sport including cycling, athletics, and weight lifting etc. Since it is clearly beyond dispute that drug taking is just as prevalent in athletics as cycling I look forward to reading Des Kelly’s next article claiming that we should not give a platform to the London Olympics. If not, can we all reasonably assume that there is one rule for cycling and another for athletics and hypocrisy rules within the sports pages within the Daily Mail.

I cordially challenge Des Kelly to bring his bike (after all he claims he rode the prolog route in order to check out local chemists) and come and join the Forty Plus Cycling Club one Wednesday, he would be most welcome, we are a very friendly and jovial lot; most of us are in our 60s and 70s. He would learn a lot about cycling and the pain involved from the numerous ex –racers in our group. I reckon he would enjoy himself immensely until it got to the riding. As you all know we have three groups A B C so there is plenty of choice, I believe Des would be better off with the B group, if he goes with the A group I guarantee after 15 minutes he will be hanging on for grim death, then when we start to climb our first 1 in 5 of the day up to the North Downs of Kent he will be making his excuses to return home.

Like most sports journalists I have personally encountered in my life he will find that words are easy, doing is a bit more difficult and painful.

Des Kelly should try The Guardian it would help him form a more balanced view on many sports like cycling that the Mail never normally includes in it’s columns .

Ray Ransom

Secretary 40 Plus Cycling Club Southeast

[adrian]

But it's the Daily Mail. They don't do balanced, fair and informed - their readership just wouldn't stand for it

[huw williams]

Does it still have a Fred Bassett cartoon?

[PeteS]

Q. How do you confuse a Daily Mail reader?

A. Tell them that asylum seekers are the natural predators of peodophiles!

[Mike I]

They keep me in work though. This from our latest Annual Report:

[quote]what newspapers do consumers read who complain to the ombudsman %
Daily Mail / Mail on Sunday 21
The Times / Sunday Times 14
The Telegraph / Sunday Telegraph 11
The Sun 8
The Express / Sunday Express 6
The Mirror / Sunday Mirror 6
The Guardian / Observer 6
The Independent / Independent on Sunday 4
Financial Times 4
other newspaper (including free, local and regional titles) 20