SO what, with DOPING?

redLantern

what does it matter if the riders dope?... does it make the race less exciting?no in fact it makes it more exciting,does it diminish their accomplishments? NO, do you really expect the riders to ride these extremely difficult races in the worlds toughest sport on just WATER and GRANOLA BARS!!! i for one do not think less of "dopers" , at all. im convinced that every one in the peloton needs to "dope" to keep up and be competitive in this grueling sport,i have tremendous respect for each and every rider, regardless if he "dopes" or not. and another thing why do you call the "dopers" liars, liars to whom? the fans? do you think that when they climb a mountain they are thinking about the fans? this is their JOB they do this to make a living.

redLantern

so the last 50 years has been "boring,stupid and tedious"? really?these people are human, not robots on bicycles.there will always be fans because not everyone thinks the riders are some quasi-maniacal greed machines,...are you a cycling fan or do you work for usada, just curious.

redLantern

the blue train?,thats called teamwork.. "doped" or not, i pity you,your life must be miserable, you seem to have real issues , are you an orphan by any chance? let me guess, the pentagon was hit by a missile? well if theres one thing im thankful for its that there arent more like you, or else we would all be living in socialist paradise right about now. btw stop drinking the cow blood.

redLantern

how am i in denial? i said i dont care if they dope.i have respect for them either way.and it does not diminish their accomplishments.and no one can judge them unless they were in the riders shoes.

bikerboy

Nascar is more even now than it was many years ago. Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt SR, Gordon??

Cycling is more even then it ever was before as well

You point is that everyone is so strong it comes to team tactics, not rider individuality.

On a final climb, how many teamates of the GC riders are realisticaly left?
1 or 2 tops, and usually coming back semi popped from a break.

The sport is the same as its always been, they race bikes around France for crying out loud.

Look at Vino's team, he had the whole team to support him up to the final climbs then Kloden, kashenkin to deal with everyone for him. But instead he crashes out at loses all the time required to have a chance in the end.

How many still have a shot, Evans, Valverde, Rasmussen, Contador, Leipheimer. Even Moreu who lost time, and Vino is looking stronger and stronger.

You cant say Evans has a lot of support can you, say compared to Vino. But he's doing pretty well huh?

Last year Landis pulled off one of the most epic breaks ever, controversially from a blood transfusion. His team wasnt exactly CSC or T-Mobile.

You say Nascar is boring, technilogicaly bent towards heavy finances. But dont the best drivers deserve the best teams?

Doping is probably a pandemic. I would like to know, how many people in this forum have actually experienced pro racing???

But can your really positively know how it is until you have seen it?

Cycling is a jumbled set of specialities unique to itself. You cannot say its dry because of doping. Its an aquired taste. Its fun to look at, visually appealing. It appeals to the French populace because of this. It thrives in European glamour. Millions watched it in the UK. And Billions like never before watch it worldwide. In the Most northern, center of America, thousands of miles away from the event, people sit down in a restaraunt and dont watch Barry Bonds break the home run record, they watch the Peleton roll through the foothills of the alps, at the pale exhasperated figure of Bradley Wiggins digging deep into his suitcase of courage to last one more mile with the TV Motos riding a full minute in front of 186 of the best professional cyclists in the world.

Solving doping as I said before, is a matter of catching NBA Players doing street drugs, and ordering them to pay the same price as say, Patrick Sinkewitz.

But its not $80,000--- No its like $$80,000,000

BarryB1124

Doctor House...I have some questions. I am new to cycling. I read David's Walsh's book From Lance to Landis. I also read Daniel Coyle's book Lance Armstrong's War. I am very much inclined to agree with you about the level of doping in the cycling world. What I am wondering is if you were ever a fan of the sport or if you have become knowledgeable regarding these things strictly from the doping perspective.

I want to enjoy the sport. Unfortunately, no matter how pervasive doping is according to whomever you ask, there certainly has to be agreement that it exists and can have a major influence on the results. I really want to enjoy this sport..but it is hard for me to imagine that I can knowing that riders are cheating. Is it as simple as to say that it all comes down to who dopes the best? Or is that too simplistic?

redLantern

yes that is way too simplistic, look.... doping does not make you a superstar,think about it . how many riders in the tdf "dope"? ..probably all of them.thats 189 riders......now how many have a legitimate chance to win the tour each year? 5 to 10, if not less....doping doesnt make you a winner.....talent does.and you should enjoy the sport, these riders cannot possibly ride the worlds toughest sporting event in the world on just water..people are just going to have to accept that, and enjoy the race, because it is so special.

BarryB1124

Do you think that shortening the stages would lessen the drug use in the sport, or would it not matter? I am asking as a person who knows very little about the sport other than what I have picked up in the past few months.

redLantern

some riders have hinted at that as a possible option, but honestly, i think "doping" has always been part of the sport , jacques anquetil(5 time winner of the tour) admitted to doping and this was in the late 50s early 60s....look, either you can accept this or you cant.riders will aways look for a competitive edge and as a fan, i feel that it is none of my business what the riders put in their bodies.im an observer of the sport and i am not in the position to judge any of them because i dont know what it feels like to be them.thats my opinion, but whichever way you choose to see it, cycling is a beautiful sport and it will never be stopped by doping controversies.

Gregers

Au contraire. Read some of the posts of Ti Man who has more experience of this than most. He will tell you how individuals of lesser ability were able to out-perform their inherently superior and equally hard working peers simply becuse they responded better to the identical drugs that they were taking. Thus, pharmaceutical products were THE determinant as to who won. Do you also want the winner to be the individual who was most willing to risk his life in taking an excess of dangerous PEDs. Don't forget how many athletes have actually died going down this route. At the risk of bringing up this old chestnut again, LA was just another reasonably gifted performer before he started responding to a very effective drug regime. It is clear to all but the most deluded that his great success was down to a combination of his ability, hard work and yes, the drugs he took. The first two factors would have been largely irrelevant without the huge influence of the third. Of course he was not unique, and exactly the same could be said of many others.QUOTE=redLantern]yes that is way too simplistic, look.... doping does not make you a superstar,think about it . how many riders in the tdf "dope"? ..probably all of them.thats 189 riders......now how many have a legitimate chance to win the tour each year? 5 to 10, if not less....doping doesnt make you a winner.....talent does.and you should enjoy the sport, these riders cannot possibly ride the worlds toughest sporting event in the world on just water..people are just going to have to accept that, and enjoy the race, because it is so special.[/QUOTE]