I know there's always been strong suspicions of drugs taking, but this sport appears to be blowing up in our faces as we speak.
The Russian Leaders gone, and now another is about to be named. I believe even the mythical Lance Armstrong had his 'issues' although they were put down to recovery from serious illness. Andy, Todd, I know you two have more than a passing interest. Is it as corrupt as it looks? Can it recover?
It is very sad in one way, but good in another. It does show the sport is very serious about cleaning itself up. Just a few years ago no one person would have been thrown out for missing an out of competition test..let alone whole teams as this year. So it is nice to see the heads of the UCI, the Tours, teams, etc. no longer believing the lies some riders have told.
Remember doping in cycling has been going on for decades. Even the esteemed Eddie Mercxs tested positive two times in his career for drugs. So its great to see some much needed heavy handed disapline of the riders.
So it may be worth all the scandal, and resulting dearth of interest and revenues. As long as the Sport finally rids itself of all its ills, and comes back, as a true sport again. Hopefully being, as sport should be, a potential role model for the kids of the future, and an entertaining, and honest, spectacle, for those with an interest.
Drugs or no drugs, the Tour has always been exciting. It’s going to take a few more years before cycling is clean. The peleton needs the next generation of riders who are not suspect to doping.
I am going to watch and enjoy cycling either way. As a cyclist myself, I still appreciate the race. They are going to race at 100%, doped or not…
I do think the rules are working. I do not think the 2 year salary forfeiture is good, and can’t wait to see it fought in the courts should a rider be penalized
I would like to see team radios down to one per team, or ban them altogether.
It may be paper talk, but the Le Monde newspaper, which is big in France, is headling 'The Death of the Race'. Theres strong calls for a suspension of the whole race for a few years. They seem to be getting into quite a tizzy. I also cant really agree with that 'Doped or not' reference.
You keen cyclists may live with it, but I suspect the world at large would turn its back.
Every sport will have cheats, but you do get the feeling its endemic in cycling. Remember the same problem weightlifting had. They decided to have 'Assisted' competitions and 'Unassisted'. Either on drugs or not. It tarnished the general image considerably, and is considered a generally bad thing, historically.
Once cycling is clean it will be interesting again. The truth is that as a feat of physical achievement is not matched by anything else. Even Iron-Man triathlons, which are extreme enough, don't match the sheer stamina involved in completing the tour. Cycling has been fuelled by drugs for decades and it is time to stop
On the Lance Armstring thing, there is a theory about recovery from severe illness, that it may leave you stronger in the long term. Armstrong and Gail Devers being the most obvious examples of this, both showing a longevity, at the top, in their sports that would be abnormal for drug-enhanced performances. This does not mean that either of them is necessarily clean nor dirty, they just help support a theory, rightly or wrongly.
There should be no 'assisted' competitions in any sport. It is dangerous for the individual and shows a bad example that could affect future athletes. I could not support any sportsman I know to take performance-enhancing drugs.
It's only human ( men in particular ) to thrive in competition and to wan't to be the best in ones field . The truly talented athlete (Gretsky , Ali , Pele ) new that their talent , hard work , and the joy of the event would push them to unreachable heights .
Unfortunately , some of todays athletes see the need to get some un needed help in order to out perform the rest of the field .
The biggest change in all sports is the fact that atheletes are now bussness men and the fun of the game is playing second fiddle . . .
Alan, I can assure you the Tour is not going anywhere. Its survived almost a 100 years thus far, and this is just the typical media trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill.
However, there is a bit of good news with some of these recent doping scandels. It is showing that the sport is commited to cleaning itself up with more rigourous testing and very stiff penalties. I know of no other sport that tests as much as cycling. Removing a whole team for one persons mistake is the best thing that can be done. This puts a ton of peer pressure on the ones still doping to stop. As even the non-dopers lose a lot of money when the entire teams gets ejected and I can assure you they will not stand for that and will take matters into their own hands to prevent it.
Moses is right, it really won't be until this older generation retires from the sport that things really start to get better. But just watching the race this year, where people are having good and bad days and speeds are slower, I can assure you there is a whole lot less drugs being used.
