Absolutely - he was such an inspiration for so many. So many young cyclists that took up the sport because of him. Like you say, "an example to follow". And then to discover he's cheated from the outset.

Fortunately, those who took up the sport and continued to make it popular stayed interested but it would have been nice if such an iconic figure had been "a good guy". But then if he was a good guy, would he have been such a good cyclist and able to promote the sport so much. Quite a contradiction.