News editor at Cycling Weekly, Adam brings his weekly opinion on the goings on at the upper echelons of our sport. This piece is part of The Leadout, a newsletter series from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. As ever, email adam.becket@futurenet.com – should you wish to add anything, or suggest a topic.
At his coronation as Emperor of France in 1804, Napoleon put the crown on his own head, to mark that he was the one with the power, the man who had brought himself to this point. The pope was there, but he had no part in the crowning, that was left to the man who was about to become emperor to do himself.