- Jun 16, 2009
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I would be very interested to know how many of you think that all of the top riders dope/ take drugs?
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auscyclefan94 said:I would be very interested to know how many of you think that all of the top riders dope/ take drugs?
blackcat said:really should qualify "top pro".
Define it AusCycle.
I classify it, a pro who can win a selective stage in a Protour race, or get on the podium of the GC in the selective stage. Podium of a doyenne.
bicing said:So a sprinter or classics rider is not a top pro? That's ridiculous.
"I'm sure I've been beaten by cheats before, I know I have, and I'm sure I'll be beaten by cheats in the future, so I just go and do the best tour I can and people who believe in me and people who know me respect me for that. [I can think] 'oh well, I did my best' and my conscience, I'm very happy with that [for] I just race my bike and do the best I can."
bicing said:So a sprinter or classics rider is not a top pro? That's ridiculous.
skidmark said:I put 'no'. I'm certainly skeptical of riders, but I'm also skeptical of the "I know a pro who rolls his eyes when I suggest that not everyone dopes" confessionals. Sure, you can't be naive and believe in the word games and false contrition of dopers who are caught or almost caught, or of the UCI for that matter.
The problem is that there is no way to prove he's clean. Even if all top riders are doped as I believe, it stands to reason that dome of them would not have been implicated yet. After all there have been top rider who were never implicated right up until the point that they were implicated. Or confessed to boost the sales of their new book. Or tested positive.ImmaculateKadence said:Since the question includes "all top riders." I'd say the answer is no. Consider a rider like Cadel Evans: consistently a GC contender and has never been linked to doping, to my knowledge. His attitude toward doping is something I've always admired:
He acknowledges that it exists, but doesn't concern himself with it. He just rides; there should be more riders like him.
+1.R.0.t.O said:When I asked a (recently ex-)pro that I know about a few top riders that some suspect to be clean, he just laughed. Noone you see racing on TV is clean.
Cerberus said:The problem is that there is no way to prove he's clean. Even if all top riders are doped as I believe, it stands to reason that dome of them would not have been implicated yet. After all there have been top rider who were never implicated right up until the point that they were implicated. Or confessed to boost the sales of their new book. Or tested positive.
As for his attitude towards doping it does sound admirable, but ultimately it's just words. There's nothing preventing a doper from saying whatever he thinks will convince the most people that he is clean.
Escarabajo said:+1.
I know some forists in here that have ridden in the Peloton at Pro-levels and they are the most skeptical about clean cycling. That's coming from people who know what's going on in the inside. Not coming from armchair cyclists.
It makes you wonder.
Sometimes I wonder if I should stop watching or just accept it and pray that the teams where the Colombian riders are racing have a good "health package". That way I can enjoy cycling again.
BikeCentric said:All that being said, yes I would prefer the sport to be clean but I feel that my views are those of a cynical realist and I prefer to attempt to see and understand the world as it really is.
blackcat said:yes. I believe what Kohl (and other pros tell me)
Question: are all of the top cyclists evil?
No
Question: why do you resent doping?
Cos it makes a crapshoot of the sport, often the result of preparatores, and not the legs of the riders.
BikeCentric said:I still enjoy watching the sport and I have come to terms with my opinion that basically all the top riders are doped up.
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