Double Standards on doping...

[Morgazano]

It seems that there are double standards in regards to doping and who it involves. Cyclingnews and cycling media in general seem to romanticize the riders of the 40's and 50's such as the recent acticle on Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali. Yet drug use was just as wide spread, if not more back then, to quote Coppi when questioned about drugs: "You don't win bike races on mineral water alone..."
Yet this is left out of the article along with most other examples of drugs use when talking of past eras.

Yet whenever riders like the members of the former team T-mobile that have since been outed for doping get mentioned they are always ridiculed and their cycling exploits never mentioned.
Will cyclingnews write heroic stories and acticles about recent cyclists who have been tainted?
Or does it depend on your nationality???
Or how much panache and charisma you had???

I don't mean to single out Cyclingnews, they are clearly the number 1 cycling website. It is the cycling community in general who seem to have this idea about cyclists of bygone eras, and defend them by saying "everyone done it back then, it was normal."
So if everyone was a thief does it make it alright to steal??

 

[Leopejo]

There is a thread on this exact topic started a few days ago.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

It's actually a no-win situation. If we write about racing, people ask, why don't you write about doping? If we write about doping, people asky, why don't you write about racing?

Susan

 

[ingsve]

I think the biggest reason for a possible double standard between recent doping in the 90s and 00s compared to in the 40s and 50s etc is that most people that are into cycling right now has some sort of personal relationship with following the riders of the 90s and later but not many people were there when Coppi et al were racing so they don't really care as much because they don't have any emotions invested in those riders.

 

[Animal]

Also, as pointed out in that other thread, the drugs used in the "old days" didn't change your physiology to such a great extent. They in no way extended your O2 capacity. CERA can turn a donkey into a racehorse.

 

[RhodriM]

Also, as pointed out in that other thread, the drugs used in the "old days" didn't change your physiology to such a great extent. They in no way extended your O2 capacity. CERA can turn a donkey into a racehorse.

Maybe I've got the wrong end of the stick here, but were some they used not illegal at the time?

 

[franciep10]

Also, as pointed out in that other thread, the drugs used in the "old days" didn't change your physiology to such a great extent. They in no way extended your O2 capacity. CERA can turn a donkey into a racehorse.

Actually that's wrong cera can make a good racehorse a great horse, and average to good, but you have to have that talent before, but it's not that powerful yet.

 

[ElChingon]

The reporters can only write in detail of the years they are experiencing, the past is only read by people at this point so what you read is biased on what and who you read. That is true of all historical events including cycling, what are you going to do?

 

[Escarabajo]

It seems that there are double standards in regards to doping and who it involves. Cyclingnews and cycling media in general seem to romanticize the riders of the 40's and 50's such as the recent acticle on Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali. Yet drug use was just as wide spread, if not more back then, to quote Coppi when questioned about drugs: "You don't win bike races on mineral water alone..."
Yet this is left out of the article along with most other examples of drugs use when talking of past eras.

Yet whenever riders like the members of the former team T-mobile that have since been outed for doping get mentioned they are always ridiculed and their cycling exploits never mentioned.
Will cyclingnews write heroic stories and acticles about recent cyclists who have been tainted?
Or does it depend on your nationality???
Or how much panache and charisma you had???

I don't mean to single out Cyclingnews, they are clearly the number 1 cycling website. It is the cycling community in general who seem to have this idea about cyclists of bygone eras, and defend them by saying "everyone done it back then, it was normal."
So if everyone was a thief does it make it alright to steal??

I tend to agree with you. The only difference the media is trying to make is the big impact that today's drugs have on their racing capabilities as compared to the 50's or 60's. So they can conclude that in the 50's or 60's, although the top riders could be doping, there is a good probability that they still were going to be the best anyway.

On the other hand, I don't doubt that if Coppi and Company were riding today they would be doing CERA or blood doping as well. Is in their genes to win.

Thanks.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

This topic was discussed ad nauseum a week ago. Do we really need to go over it again?

 

[BigBoat]

This you could write>>>


"Riis had boatloads of talent and he slimmed down from 165 pounds to 150 at 6 feet tall. His sustainable power output went from 400 to 475 watts in a year too. He was a hard hard worker and nicknamed the "grim reaper." He was a true freak of the modern era and his exploits deserve no to be forgotten.

Ullrich fought hard for his Tour win in 1997 and finished 2nd several times to Dr. Ferrari client Lance Armstrong, but his mentor Riis was jacked on EPO to a 60% crit, and also used "growth" (HGH), testosterone, cortizone, 02 carriers and other drugs. Jan learned from people like this and he blood doped with his own blood throughout the modern era to avoid the EPO test. Everybody doped, some doped with better drugs and had more scientific programs with doctors than others. But it was still great TV and they all have good talent and big blood refills. Some teams couldnt blood dope, but survival of the strongest, smartest and fittest; T-Mobile was LEGEND for this reason.

Ivan Basso has been a consistent hard worker and he also had blood bags in the Hemonetics freezer in Cryopreservation Bags. Along with a close working relationship with Dr. Fuentes, he was best buddies with Riis. HGH, IGF-1, Insulin were all on tap. The empirical evidence suggests that every single top European pro has doped with atleast corticoids, EPO and other drugs since 1992. Any rider who does not is racing at some lower level.

 

[Greg Johnson]

This topic was discussed ad nauseum a week ago. Do we really need to go over it again?

We sure don't. Consider it closed.

Cheers
Greg Johnson