elduggo said:
kwikki said:
"Jeff"":27gqxcj7][quote="tomycs said:
Tbh if the Clinic accepted the everyone dopes = level playing field argument, that [insert fav team/rider here] defenders like to bring every now and then, this would be a very lonely place.
What gets to me with Sky is the greed, very similar to USPS, it seems to me english speaking folk have an obsession with winning the TdF at least 5 times or they don't matter.
Pretty much.
Personally I think this British/English invasion hasnt done cycling any good.
Yes.
Things were so much cleaner before Sky came along.

I just feel sorry for all the lily-white Dutch, French, Belgian, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, American, German, Scandinavian riders who wouldn't have dreamed of cheating until those nasty British came along and made doping obligatory. Before Sky, cycling was pure. Now it's dirty.
I think your use of the word 'invasion' shows exactly where you are coming from.
I'd be a fan of British Cycling (cycling in/from Britain, as opposed to the organisation). I enjoy those Elite series races that are shown on TV from time to time, and I admire teams like JLT, PedalHeaven, etc), and enjoy watching when they come to Ireland to ride the Ras. I'd also have good time for the vast majority of British pro's.
My only real problem with Team Sky is that they seem to have budgets that no other team can come near. Thats not their fault though and I think you'll get instances of this in every sport (particularly professional sports). If no caps are in place and they can get the funding, I think any team would happily pump the kind of money Sky do, into their team.
And, obviously, its far from the first time this has happened in cycling. At a guess I'd say it started with Tapie with his La Vie Claire team? Though my knowledge of cycling prior to that time is sketchy at best.
Its certainly not a problem caused by the Brits though. Far from it. Doesn't a good portion of Sky's funding come from Italy?
Calls for caps on the amount of money teams should be allowed spend are sensible, but unrealistic. There'll always be talented creative accountants who can work wonders with the 'miscellaneous' column of the balance sheet.
It is what it is. Sky won't be around forever. Someone else will come along (Bahrain, probably), and the same complaints will be leveled at them.