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Chance to Be a Pro: Would You or Wouldn't You?

Would you dope?

  • No.

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If it meant riding professionally in the Pro Tour; earning €300,000/annum for five+ years; playing chief Lt. in GTs or monuments; helming your team at races on par with Gent-Wevelgem, Paris-Nice, or the Dauphine; and targeting stage wins in Grand Tours: Would you participate in team-organized, funded, and institutionalized doping?
 
mr. tibbs said:
If it meant riding professionally in the Pro Tour; earning €75,000/annum for five+ years; playing chief Lt. in GTs or monuments; helming your team at races on par with Gent-Wevelgem, Paris-Nice, or the Dauphine; and targeting stage wins in Grand Tours: Would you participate in team-organized, funded, and institutionalized doping?

Me no because im naturally suspicious of any medicine or drugs. I dont like anything messing with my body. I dont even take paracetamol unless i have a really really high temperature. I sure as hell wouldnt take any steroids, synthetic testostrone that makes you depressed, epo which raises your red blood cell count. God, i get weak even thinking about those.

I wonder, hypothetically, if i was a cyclist, and i was succesful, and i didnt dope, would people buy that excuse.
 
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I would say no. For one, I just dont do drugs, never have, always avoided painkillers, I would take a couple of days worth of anti-biotics and then not take the rest. Its only over the last 8 months after being ill for over a year that I finally accepted a little medical help. I also, dont think I could live with my conscience.

That said, coming towards the end of the season, wife, mortgage, and Im told i need to get a result, or I am out of a job.. Who Knows..

i dont think its a black or white yes or no. None of us truly know what the answer would be. I would like to think I would be a 100% no, but having not been in the situation.. Just keeping an open mind.

Note: its really dull when you cant see who voted what :D
 
Jul 7, 2009
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I have to agree with The Hitch.
Alcohol, nicotine and caffeine are enough drugs for me. The needles and ped's are just too freaky. My nephew's buddy was eating some sort of steroid/supplement when they were weight lifting in their teens. He is now a uniballer. I think he is also sterile. It's sad.
 
I say I wouldn't dope now, but if I was there actually experiencing it, it might be a different story. It'd be great just to have that experience of riding for a job. Depends on what is going on in whatever team it would be a little too.

TeamSkyFans said:
That said, coming towards the end of the season, wife, mortgage, and Im told i need to get a result, or I am out of a job.. Who Knows..

Yeah, I'd say this too. Maybe if I was gonna retire at the end of the season.
 
Oct 20, 2010
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mr. tibbs said:
If it meant riding professionally in the Pro Tour; earning €300,000/annum for five+ years; playing chief Lt. in GTs or monuments; helming your team at races on par with Gent-Wevelgem, Paris-Nice, or the Dauphine; and targeting stage wins in Grand Tours: Would you participate in team-organized, funded, and institutionalized doping?

How about adding that you have just a basic education and you've been in sports schools since you were 14. You're not going to become a lawyer, you've been trained to be a professional athlete. You've become the talk back home and everyone is counting on you to become something. The situation is to dope and move up on your team because you don't want to risk being on the chopping block. Also if you don't then the next guy will and take your place and you'll be on a bus back to wherever you're from, probably a small country and you were planning on someday getting everybody out of there. With the those pressures it's easy to see why it happens.
 
Impossible to tell. I'd like to think I wouldn't dope, but I'd have to be in that situation to know. It depends on lots of factors. How is doping perceived in my direct environment? How much have I been exposed to it already? What do my teammates think? How much do I know about doping in the pro ranks - assuming it really is as widespread as I currently believe in my bad days? (edit: here I was thinking more of my upbringing as a cyclist, my u23 years, than of whatever pro team with institutionalized doping I've ended up in)

Again, I'd like to think I wouldn't dope, but I don't think I'm a fundamentally better person than all those who ended up doping. We often talk about the 90s saying everyone doped then so it was hardly a moral issue, but if it's the same today and the only thing that has changed is the PR aspect of cycling, then I'd probably dope without even thinking I'm doing the wrong thing.
 
Funny. Most replies. I'd be the opposite on doping.

I don't smoke. I don't do drugs, I barely even drink alcohol (once a month is much already). But if I had any kind of talent for sport (which I don't) and I could be professional with the help of doping, yes, I would go for it. Ofcourse, if I knew I had a chance to be undetected. I would be your smart sensible doper who is very hard to get caught.

Maybe a moral flaw. But if you look at how many top level athletes, not only cyclists, have been caught sooner or later in this career, you should ask your self honoustly, would you be any different? I don't know.
 
Apr 29, 2009
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I think I would. What a fantastically cool job. Extremely hard no doubt, but when you go watch the Tour de France in person and see the helicopters before you see the riders, the millions of fans lining the road....oh man you want to be one of those guys in the break. TV doesn't convey what it must be like to race down closed roads with people 5 deep either side screaming at you. Hair stood up on the back of neck, I would love to get used to that.

I think I would dope to experience that for 5 years, at the VERY top level, monuments and grand tours. Dope to ride the Tour of Bulgaria....no thanks.

But I don't know, saying you probably would and being in the position to put drugs into your body and going through with it are very different things.
 
Mar 10, 2009
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flatclimb said:
How about adding that you have just a basic education and you've been in sports schools since you were 14. You're not going to become a lawyer, you've been trained to be a professional athlete. You've become the talk back home and everyone is counting on you to become something. The situation is to dope and move up on your team because you don't want to risk being on the chopping block. Also if you don't then the next guy will and take your place and you'll be on a bus back to wherever you're from, probably a small country and you were planning on someday getting everybody out of there. With the those pressures it's easy to see why it happens.

I agree with Flatclimb. It is dependant on a lot of factors and other opportunities.

It's easy to be self-righteous from where we are standing. But if your the type of person who cheats in board games, screw someone over to get a promotion or to pass the blame onto someone else, dishonest in any of your financial dealings, appear nude to get fame and glory or do something stupid just to get your face on tv, etc, etc. then the chances are you'd probably dope too. Money talks, Fame is addictive.

The argument to dope must be very convincing considering the majority of pro cyclists at one time or another did it. Considering only a very small minority didn't, that says a lot to me. Surely they're not all bad or dishonest by nature. I think most of us probably have the doping mentality in small ways, considering we are quick to jump on the newest products like sports drinks/gels, amino acids, equipment, etc that promises to give you more power, energy or basically improve your performance.
 
If I had achieved a pro contract without doping, then the proof would be there. Obviously this isn't the case yet for the peloton.

Many times have I been asked if I needed "any help", or if "my preparation is ok". And, I have definitely been shunned by a coach or two - especially those offering to help others.

Perhaps I am naive, but I have always said no. I want to know that what I did, I did.

Now, having to go pee because of the giant coffee before the race? Yes.

Dave.
 

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Mar 11, 2009
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Mr Tibbs, is the salary negotiable?
I am worth a lot more than 300,000 euros/yr FCOL.

And can I hang out with Basso's sister?
Test drive Ferarris?

OK, I'm in. Dopers gotta dope.

If it will make some of you feel better, though, I promise to snitch out my mates after I cash my final paycheck. Ahh, feeling better about my decision already.

Maybe write a book...."An Inconvenient Ride"

PS....Gosh, if I get caught I wonder if WADA will believe my excuse....
"Gentlemen, I assure you the positive samples are imaginary.
This is all just a thought expirement put forth by Mr Tibbs"

PPS....Mr Tibbs, can I have a Mullet?
 
mr. tibbs said:
If it meant riding professionally in the Pro Tour; earning €300,000/annum for five+ years; playing chief Lt. in GTs or monuments; helming your team at races on par with Gent-Wevelgem, Paris-Nice, or the Dauphine; and targeting stage wins in Grand Tours: Would you participate in team-organized, funded, and institutionalized doping?

I think in this day and age the question is posed well before the top pro rank is reached.
 
Mar 10, 2009
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For those who drink alcohol, smoke and drink coffee those are drugs no matter how infrequently you do it. Then for those who do it often enough, stop for a month or two cold turkey, I dare ya!

Back to the question, I think I'd do it if it was under the right circumstances, under supervision of a doctor (not a guy who works for a doctor or a personal trainer type). Then I'd always get a 2nd opinion and test things out. This would also be if the Team supported it, I'd hate to be caught and be totally on the outside of the financial backers. If I didn't need it as in not pressured to win or be up at the front all the time past my abilities, I'd pass on it. If the management wanted me to, to support the leader and take on a heavier work load then I'd sign on, of course with a pay increase. Can't risk it and not have a safety net, as in life/contract insurance (if possible), record the management somehow when they asked me to or delivered product. Pictures as well of the stuff and anyone involved.

If caught I'd own up and do the time (unless the management was going to deal with the PR on the matter) and get the management to pay the fines.

I can see why the riders do it and I can also see how they don't fear the UCI nor bans, if they play it right they come back as if nothing happened. Those who don't play it right end up on the black list.

It would be nice if it wasn't needed but we have the reality of the matter...
 
Oct 18, 2010
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No. I couldnt live with myself, or present myself in any way as a role model to kids. I'd probably struggle not to rat everyone out I knew that was.
 
May 14, 2010
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Hugh Januss said:
I think in this day and age the question is posed well before the top pro rank is reached.

Yeah, more like, "You're thirteen years old. Your coach/dad/mentor says you can really go fast if you take these special vitamins. Do you do it?" :D

ElChingon said:
For those who drink alcohol, smoke and drink coffee those are drugs no matter how infrequently you do it. Then for those who do it often enough, stop for a month or two cold turkey, I dare ya!

Back to the question, I think I'd do it if it was under the right circumstances, under supervision of a doctor (not a guy who works for a doctor or a personal trainer type). Then I'd always get a 2nd opinion and test things out. This would also be if the Team supported it, I'd hate to be caught and be totally on the outside of the financial backers. If I didn't need it as in not pressured to win or be up at the front all the time past my abilities, I'd pass on it. If the management wanted me to, to support the leader and take on a heavier work load then I'd sign on, of course with a pay increase. Can't risk it and not have a safety net, as in life/contract insurance (if possible), record the management somehow when they asked me to or delivered product. Pictures as well of the stuff and anyone involved.

If caught I'd own up and do the time (unless the management was going to deal with the PR on the matter) and get the management to pay the fines.

I can see why the riders do it and I can also see how they don't fear the UCI nor bans, if they play it right they come back as if nothing happened. Those who don't play it right end up on the black list.

It would be nice if it wasn't needed but we have the reality of the matter...

Honestly, I'd like to believe I'd be this reasonable about it. And it does seem this is a good illustration of how the thinking about doping, under the best of circumstances, might go in the peloton. But as for me, I like to go fast, really fast, and I'm really competitive-minded. So, speaking honestly, if I were a pro, or had any prospect of being one, I think I'd definitely dope - unless my team was truly, adamantly against it; in that case I wouldn't do it.
 
Bertie said:
No. I couldnt live with myself, or present myself in any way as a role model to kids. I'd probably struggle not to rat everyone out I knew that was.

There should be a

Agree to dope, go to clinics meet doctors see who else is doping, and then when you know everything, rat everyone out

option

also i will make the point that i would be jealous od thee f1 guys who get more money power prestige and respect without having to dope
 

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