Reputation of cycling

[tonyzackery]

Mazzoleni, Elisa Basso Plea-bargain In Drug-dealing Case | Cyclingnews.com

Another beacon of light for the reputation of cycling...

Until the punishment is actually punishment, not simply a reprimand/slap on the wrist, dope dealers will continue to ply their trade. Laughable...do you think he made more off his dirty trade than the fine he must now pay???? Do you think any of the profits from the dope dealing were washed clean by way of the restaurant he and his wife operates? Of course not...

Pathetic...appears very similar to the Canadian "justice" system where illicit drugs are concerned...don't know all the facts and/or extenuating circumstances around this charade of a sentencing, and don't really care to...a drug dealer is a drug dealer - more scum of the earth...

 

[tonyzackery]

University of Waterloo holds firm on football team ban, players look to transfer - News1130

Hmmm, do you think players at this university will think twice about using steroids in the future? I think they'll be more than little bit deterred...

Pro cycling's gotta start hittin' everybody immediately involved when someone's busted - the whole team is suspended for 60/90/120 days if one of their riders gets popped...that'll definitely change the culture surrounding doping's current ambivalence...

 

[swampy1970]

Pro cycling's gotta start hittin' everybody immediately involved when someone's busted - the whole team is suspended for 60/90/120 days if one of their riders gets popped...that'll definitely change the culture surrounding doping's current ambivalence...

I'd like to see that in amateur cycling - especially the more organized teams full of good Cat 1 racers that the national level guys ride in.

Can't see it flying at Pro level though, especially in Europe. When sponsors are hard enough to get for the Pro Tour teams as it is, I can't see anyone pouring in millions into a team and effectively risk the entire classic/grand tour parts of the season due to some c0ckjockey doping on his own.

 

[tonyzackery]

^^ I fully comprehend that pro cycling's already doing everything that at can with the resources it has to combat the scourge of PED use amongst its rank and file...

 

[swampy1970]

^^ I fully comprehend that pro cycling's already doing everything that at can with the resources it has to combat the scourge of PED use amongst its rank and file...

What really needs to happen is to have an appointed 'panel' of people to quickly decide on doping cases and have a preset "standard" timeframe that applies to 99.999% of cases - eg, you fail a test so one calendar month from the date the non-negative result was declared the rider would appear before 'the panel' and plead his case. During that time frame the b sample test would take place if requested. Public announcement of the doping infraction to only be made public following the hearing with something simple like "Fred Bloggs was found guilty of doping following a test on blah blah blah date and following a hearing on yada yada yada date has been suspended for xx years. The substance in question is xxxxxx."

 

[tonyzackery]

^^ Too much status quo, IMO. Does not address the current doping culture.
Making everybody involved (the entire team) hurt is the only way to change the culture. An enema is necessary in pro cycling. Tough love is the only way here.
Your suggestion involves no deterrent feature - and that is what really needs to be in place...

 

[tonyzackery]

UCI Supports Longer Doping Suspensions | Cyclingnews.com

Surely but very slowly, they'll (UCI) be getting around to really putting some effective deterrent factor into the punishment for dopers...

 

[swampy1970]

Four years wouldn't make it hard for a rider to come back physically, unless the rider was getting on in years. Financially it would but you just need to look at guys like Basso, Vino and Ricco to see that a couple of years away from racing and all of the out of competition testing doesn't seem to detract from their ability to race at a high level.

Pat McQuaid would love stuff like this because it makes him look like hes doing something useful when in fact he couldn't tell you whether having riders go over the edge of the cliffs at Morzine would be harmful to a riders health...

 

[jock.c]

Reputation of cycling as a sport... after the latest drug scandals... hmmmmm...

I don't see it being any different. Same as baseball was no different after all the big hitters came and a sobbed about being pincushions, tennis was no different after Agassi confessed to whatever he confessed to, same as soccer was no different after Maradonna was discovered face down in a pile of Columbia's finest, and so on.

I get the feeling that the general public are less sensitive (or should that be just plain apathetic?) about the whole mess than the sponsors are. Sure, some fans might get upset and antsy if their favourite rider turns out to be less than respectable, but there's a whole production line of new heroes to support and you can pretend the fresh faces are clean for at least two or three years.

On the other hand sponsors want to make money, and generally don't want to be associated with anything that might tarnish the good name of their brand(s). So you can excuse them for being a little upset if a Tour winner is stripped of their title.

What's puzzling is the lack of drive shown by the administrators (of any sport) to eliminate drug use. The administrators need media coverage (which generates $$$) to retain credibility for their sport, and therefore need sponsors. So you'd think they'd be creating an environment that makes drug use so totally undesirable that it rarely happens.

But I do love the media's continuous efforts to beat every drug infraction up into something bigger. It's a great business plan, especially if it sullies a sport enough for it to lose some cred. Means TV rights might get cheaper for a little while. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif

And so, as we head towards Europe for 2011 the sins of the past will be forgotten in a new tide of enthusiasm and optimism. The fans will still be there. The riders will still be there. The sponsors will still be there. The media will still be there. The Devil will still be there. And Phil and Paul will be sure to mention Lance Armstrong even though he won't be there.