Excessive Performance Enhancement

[JohnBoy]

Doping
In the main, I reckon sponsors expect results so they encourage "whatever" to get those results and a return on their investment, then when someone is caught it's "Oh my God, how could the rider do that!" The pressure must be huge and the riders are just pawns in the money making game of cycle racing, it's called BIG Business and it's mostly a dirty game. Get used to it, some of the riders will always be on something the tests won't pick up, maybe CERA 4 is already here. Some athletes will do any thing to win given the opportunity, so say the polls.
Give the cheaters who get caught a break, the other half of the peleton are all doped as well, they just didn't get caught......YET.

 

[Stani Kléber]

It's far more nuanced. Some sponsors, for example, Francaise des Jeux, have an open pact with their team that there is no pressure for results and that the riders must concentrate on staying healthy and enjoying themselves. With guaranteed entry into the Tour de France and the publicity the team generates in July alone, the sponsor gets the return they want.

It wasn't always like this. The discovery of a stash of EPO vials inside a FDJ team camper van (in 1997or 1998) led to a big meeting between the sponsor and team management and instead of the French lottery running away, it was agreed they'd end the search for results and drop the riders who'd put the EPO there. So the team cleaned up, it's a very clean team. The same goes with Cofidis, it was a madhouse in the early days with scandals left, right and centre but now the sponsor brought in Eric Boyer to clean things up and it's working.

Not all sponsors are so progressive. Look back to last year and Saunier Duval. A simple google search would have revealed serious allegations about team manager Mauro Gianetti, not to mention the team doctor and others on the squad. But the sponsor didn't seem to ask too many questions, handing over millions of Euros in the hope of publicity... ...only they ended up with the wrong kind. I can't understand why a company wouldn't do some homework before dropping €€€s on a team?

Some teams have had organised doping, other teams are disorganised. Not in their doping but generally and so riders end up using their own private coaches and of course being influenced by witchdoctors outside their team.

If some are doping and getting away with it, it's now getting harder. Measures like targetted testing, an increase in out-of-competition controls and the bio-passport scheme are starting to pay dividends. A shame it's taken so long to get here but it's moving in the right direction.

Certainly you won't ever stamp out doping but you can begin to level the playing field a bit. But it's more nuanced than JohnBoy thinks, there is not a single mentality across all riders and all teams.

 

[arrhythmia rules]

good post Stani
Nice to see some posters are thinking about these issues before posting.

 

[53x11 in DC]

If some are doping and getting away with it, it's now getting harder. Measures like targetted testing, an increase in out-of-competition controls and the bio-passport scheme are starting to pay dividends. A shame it's taken so long to get here but it's moving in the right direction.

Certainly you won't ever stamp out doping but you can begin to level the playing field a bit. But it's more nuanced than JohnBoy thinks, there is not a single mentality across all riders and all teams.

Well said. It's your last two paragraphs around which we all need to rally.

 

[Argon Man]

More needs to be done on removing the people behind the scenes in the doping practices not just the riders. The sponsors are the ones putting on the pressure for results, but as soon as a controversy pops up, they are the first ones to ****** off. The dogey doctors and the suppliers are the ones that need to be hunted and removed from the field. Nothing appears is done to combat this. None of the products are manufactured with sporting performance in mind, they are to help combat severe illness it is these dirty practioners who are the real culprits.

 

[Tom Morris]

More needs to be done on removing the people behind the scenes in the doping practices not just the riders. The sponsors are the ones putting on the pressure for results, but as soon as a controversy pops up, they are the first ones to ****** off. The dogey doctors and the suppliers are the ones that need to be hunted and removed from the field. Nothing appears is done to combat this. None of the products are manufactured with sporting performance in mind, they are to help combat severe illness it is these dirty practioners who are the real culprits.

Some sponsors are better than others. Nike never pressured Lance to dope. If there were more sponsors like Nike then cycling would be much better off.

 

[RichardH]

Ill just reclaim this thread and agree with Kleber, sponsors certainly do have a responsibility to be ethical with there money. FdJ are an excellent example, though they are a french team and know they will always be invited to the TdF so the pressure for exposure is some what less its a team to show what can be done. I personally think alot of these internal anti-doping prog. are designed to show the sponsor "look were really serious about competing clean. Whether they work or not remains to be seen. What would really help would be for the UCI and the ASO and other organisers to keep working together on the problem and not undercut each other which is whats been happening lately.

 

[Anonymous]

Lance Pharmstrong
Ivan Basso
A-Roid (Rodriguez)
Jason Giambi
Marion Jones
Tim Montgomery
Justin Gatlin
Kelli White
Regina Jacobs
Michelle Collins
Tori Edwards
LaTasha Jenkins

Phil Knight knows doping, marketing and MBA thesis A grades.

You are truly mentally ill.