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

[TubularBills]

after reading through the thread - which is a good one - perhaps context is important - I raced in my teens and twenty's and then my answer would probably have been much different, with the attraction - lust, for a pro career versus the me, now. - looking back in my 40's as an avid armchair fan. Perspective vs. Aspiration.

 

[Maxiton]

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 of thee f1 guys who get more money power prestige and respect without having to dope

Um, I hate to tell you this hitch . . . OMG . . . but a little googling might reveal that F1 drivers are doping, too, apparently to improve reaction times and endurance. Sorry.

 

[Maxiton]

Or, more likely still, "Junior, I mixed up your protein shake for you. Don't forget to take it."

Dave.

Word.

⌸⌺⌼⌾⍔⍫

 

[The Hitch]

Um, I hate to tell you this hitch . . . OMG . . . but a little googling might reveal that F1 drivers are doping, too, apparently to improve reaction times and endurance. Sorry.

i figured that might be the case, but surely that would be small potatos to what cyclists have to take. In f1 your team can give you a faster car, you dont need epo to do that for you.

 

[Maxiton]

i figured that might be the case, but surely that would be small potatos to what cyclists have to take. In f1 your team can give you a faster car, you dont need epo to do that for you.

True. Car doping.

 

[sadfitty]

Well, how fast you can drive also depends on your stamina. Guess what's cheaper: making a F1 car 0,2 seconds faster around the track or doping the driver with HGH, testo and epo to be stronger, fresher and therefore more alert(and faster) after 1,5 hours of driving? F1 teams don't spend millions on making their cars faster only to have the advantage neutralized by an unfit driver.

 

[JibberJim]

I would take a couple of days worth of anti-biotics and then not take the rest.

Please don't do this, either take none, or take the full course, otherwise you're just helping bugs breed resistence to the anti-biotic strains which isn't going to help anyone.

 

[craig1985]

If I'm flogging myself on some random mountain at the Volta a Portugal in 38 degree weather, dropped a long time ago by the leading group, and well ahead of the gruppetto, in no man's land, on a small random Portuguese continental team making €900 a month (what Paco Mancebo was earning), then I would have plenty of time to do some deep soul searching, then I would work that a) It's not going to happen, time to step back and find a real job, or b) if all I have to do is extract some blood and re-inject it back in at a later date, and get some results, and therefore get noticed by a bigger team and earn more money, then I would probably lean towards option b.

Whether you dope or not isn't going to change anything, and if that is the system, are you doing a disservice by not taking option b?

 

[python]

only if caffeine got banned again

 

[Sørensen]

Feck yes I would... Would take everything available and also do lots of coke in the off season with my mate Boonen as well.

 

[Ferminal]

If that's what I had built my whole life around, then I probably wouldn't resist for long.

But I'm not in that position, I'm me with my own life experience etc which basically says don't do it under any circumstances.

So yes, I would probably dope if I was a borderline pro cyclist trying to make a living, but if I was in that position in the first place I would be a completely different person... no doubt the doping culture would have convinced me that it's something I have to do.

 

[Magnus]

I think the question is rather academic since most people on this forum will never be pro cyclists (at the level described by Tibbs).

If I had the opportunity to become a pro I'ld take it.

 

[Boeing]

It is easy to take the moral high road on the internet with all the historical hindsight.

I will admit that I would likely have considered it if it was ingrained in the culture of the team and the sport like it has been to date.

 

[L'arriviste]

With the head I have on my shoulders now, I'd go pro and I'd do it clean. It would be an honour and a priceless bit of self-discovery. Even if it meant poor performances because I was clean.That way, I would know the truth of the whole business and I'd have the stories. I wouldn't be there for pots of cash anyway.

I'd try to get a diary published for the duration in which I'd not offer any excuses for getting dropped other than, "I was good enough to be offered a deal, so you know exactly why I can't even hang on to the back of the bunch now."

Even now, cynical as I am, I still find the whole business of pro European road cycling attractive. So yes, I'd do it.

 

[forty four]

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.

geeze glad im not a friend of yours flandis

 

[BotanyBay]

Lies come back to haunt. Always. Either you or the ones you care about (or both). So, the short-term gain is not worth it. Of course, ask me this when I was 18 (and desperately wanting to win), I might have told you otherwise. Thank God this stuff did not exist during my time as a junior. I'm pretty sure I know which guys would have said yes.

 

[gobuck]

I have had some success in aerobic sports but couldn't dope. I would tell on anyone including myself. I couldn't cheat on my wife for the same reason.

 

[Darryl Webster]

I`ve faced this very question.
As an amatuer I took the stance I`d never dope as an amatuer and when I turned pro I`d dope if I a) became a genuine contender at the highest leval, B) Knew that that was the only way at that leval and C) there was a clear understanding in my mind between "doping" for health preservation and PEDS.
As it happened when I did turn pro I found that doping at levals far bellow the very best was so widespread and the peloton so cynical I never got to be in the poisition to face the choice...I certainly wasnt gonna dope merely to hold a pro licence!

 

[Angliru]

snip
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...

I'm curious to know what Roberto Heras did to end up on the black list? Also Koldo Gil. I'm certain these riders tried make it back into the sport after their suspensions were over/ or were cleared in Gil's case but no one would touch them.

 

[BotanyBay]

I'm curious to know what Roberto Heras did to end up on the black list? Also Koldo Gil. I'm certain these riders tried make it back into the sport after their suspensions were over/ or were cleared in Gil's case but no one would touch them.

Worthy of a thread of its own (exploring the subtleties of Omerta). The basic jist seems to be that if you seem in any way unstable, a potential "cooperator", a loose-lipped person, and in any way an implicator (or blamer) of others, you're 100% finished.

Millar gets to play because he took the pinch, did the time, etc. He's free to preach the anti-dope mantra because he's a good soldier and its good for cycling for the fans to think that there is a clean riding element in the peloton. He never ratted anyone else out.

We have a growing list of riders who are persona-non-grata because they've not mastered the subtleties of Omerta. I hear Lance is got a killer powerpoint deck going and he has a class that he offers for $200 per hour in the back of Ferarris motorhome.

 

[Polish]

With the head I have on my shoulders now, I'd go pro and I'd do it clean. It would be an honour and a priceless bit of self-discovery. Even if it meant poor performances because I was clean.That way, I would know the truth of the whole business and I'd have the stories. I wouldn't be there for pots of cash anyway.

I'd try to get a diary published for the duration in which I'd not offer any excuses for getting dropped other than, "I was good enough to be offered a deal, so you know exactly why I can't even hang on to the back of the bunch now."

Even now, cynical as I am, I still find the whole business of pro European road cycling attractive. So yes, I'd do it.

L'arriviste, I think you misunderstood Mr Tibb's offer....

He is NOT going to pay you the big bucks to drift off the back of the Laughing Group as you make your way back to the hotel to post you experiences in the Clinic or personal blog. Heck, all the slackers on the forum would jump at that 300,000 euro/yr offer lol.

Mr Tibb's expects you to join the Team Doping Program. He will then give you some results...classic and TdF stage wins. No training, no meticulous attention to diet, no recconing courses or sleeping in a tent.

Mt Tibbs will TRANSFORM your donkey **** into a thoroughbred if you DOPE.
I know, I know - it is a fantasy "unicorn" scenario, but that is what Mr Tibbs is proposing....

So, do you accept his offer?

 

[El Pistolero]

If I could win without doping, I wouldn't. If I couldn't win without doping but get close to it, then I would dope.

 

[BotanyBay]

I'm floored by the polarization here.

 

[flicker]

If I could win without doping, I wouldn't. If I couldn't win without doping but get close to it, then I would dope.

I would agree with that, also the dope would need to provide a euphoric feeling.

 

[ElChingon]

I'm curious to know what Roberto Heras did to end up on the black list? Also Koldo Gil. I'm certain these riders tried make it back into the sport after their suspensions were over/ or were cleared in Gil's case but no one would touch them.

That list or what ever it is, is the oddest thing yet. I have a feeling the Black List has other issues tied to it that we don't know of, my guess would have to be some UCI clause/issue that we don't know about. The odd ball riders who were caught and are now back in full swing, cough cough Ricco & Basso and soon to be Di Luca, all without a year on a Conti team or out on the streets selling newspapers. Makes one wonder...