Pro Cycling is a Sham

[andy1234]

Nope. NFL football is way better. NHL hockey is way better. College football is way better. College lacrosse is way better. Tennis is even better.

Pro cycling full of drugs blows because you never know who shoulda/coulda won cause of drugs and then the winner gets stripped of his title anyway due to drugs and then police bust the race hotels and blah f'ing blah ad nauseum.

The sport has like 20 times the market size of the NHL but makes peanuts in revenue because it's a joke. Yeah I'm pretty much done with it, will spare you all my rants soon enough.

I always thought that the NFL almost invented the concept of professional organised doping
Just out of interest, how many Top level pro bike races have you watched.
Not on the TV, but at the side of the road?

 

[Cloxxki]

If local "laps around the church" races are bought (and they just are), why wouldn't ProTour races be bought, at least to some degree?
The local guy that wants to win on home turf, train hard all year to be a sure contender for the win, and then talks to his most likely adversaries. In stead of riding him into the barriers, they allow him to do shorter or fewer pull, and win it by just a tire girth. I've heard great accounts from sellers, who would make it an extra big show, throwing in grimaces as he would lunge across the line, just losing out to the popular winner. The "losers" would receive shoulder pats from all of the village. "Good old chap", and he'd get the winner's prize money on top of his own, and a free diner prepared by the winner's wife. All in good sportsmanship.

But wait, now it's a ProTour race, we have more bookies than fans lining the track, and a sponsor or two are considering whether or not to stay on for another year. Why would the race be bought and sold?

 

[flicker]

That's it! Onto the ignore list!

I think one of the great things about cycling is if you really pray hard and see the bright white lite beaming from your favorite riders eyes, and if you get close enough you can caress his aura, inhale his essence you as a fan can levatate your champion onto a victory Aus podium position.

It is really a triad of authentic victory.


Our superior champion




me the fan Higher Power

 

[flicker]

I think one of the great things about cycling is if you really pray hard and see the bright white lite beaming from your favorite riders eyes, and if you get close enough you can caress his aura, inhale his essence you as a fan can levatate your champion onto a victory Aus podium position.

It is really a triad of authentic victory.


Our superior champion




me the fan Higher Power

Our most exaulted and Beutific cyclists

 

[Hugh Januss]

Flicker you should really shuffle on over to the "When did Lance start doping" thread and give SC1990 a lesson in proper Trolling technique.

 

[Darryl Webster]

I think one of the great things about cycling is if you really pray hard and see the bright white lite beaming from your favorite riders eyes, and if you get close enough you can caress his aura, inhale his essence you as a fan can levatate your champion onto a victory Aus podium position.

It is really a triad of authentic victory.


Our superior champion




me the fan Higher Power

Someone take the shrooms of him and call a clinic FFS!

 

[Polish]

I think one of the great things about cycling is if you really pray hard and see the bright white lite beaming from your favorite riders eyes, and if you get close enough you can caress his aura, inhale his essence you as a fan can levatate your champion onto a victory Aus podium position.

Just don't step on his Dog.
Major Smote Down

 

[Galic Ho]

TO continue this, many sports now have seeding systems.
worst of all tenni has a seeding system which guarantees the top 2 guys can not play eachother competitively outside a final(s) and 2 of the top 4 cant play eachother unless they both reach at least the semi final. As a result, the current top 2 have played eachother a grand total of 4 times in 2 and a half years. They went a whole year without playing eachother, May 2009-10.

On a more conspiratorial note, why is it that tennises most markable player(Murray), has been in the opposite draw to roger federer in 12 of the last 13 grand slams even though its supposed to be a 50:50 Coin flip.

Hahaha. Nice one. Andy Murray the most marketable guy in tennis! I'm assuming you meant marketable rather than markable. What the hell is markable? This isn't football, hockey or basketball where you have to mark your opposite number. There is one other guy in tennis. No marking needed.

He's Scottish. Enough said. He isn't Sean Connery, so he lacks a universal appeal and he cannot win a grand slam playing as he does and hoping in vain the 3 clearly superior players Nadal, Federer and Djokovic keep making semis and finals. Where is the money in that? That is praying for too much and hoping one of them is eliminated to make your mark as a big wig. Federer is the most marketable man in tennis and Sharapova was earning more for endorsements years back than Roger ever was. Substantially more. Grunting helps believe it or not.

As for tennis draws. They are fair. Everyone knows the drill and they deal with it. Or they chuck a wobbly like numerous players do. I can name an Australian or two who have had parents banned from venues for carrying on like idiots. If you are good enough to earn the right to be protected as world no.1 or no.2 then good for you. In mens tennis, they reallly are no.1 and no.2 players in the world. Djokovic is close though. The womens draw is another matter. World number one switches all the time. Ivanovic, Henin, Clijsters, Jankovic, Wasniacki, Williams and god knows who else have all held world no.1 at some time in the past 3 years. Most of them choke, physically break down or have a personal relationship crisis (mental issue is the claim but it really is boy trouble) and their tennis takes a hit. Note this happens halfway through a Slam quite often.

Being world no.1 in womens tennis is actually a detriment because players form in the womens game fluctuates week to week and a lower rank player can cause a shock. Worse, you can run into many potential Slam winners as no.1 or no.2 early on as round 2. Top ranked men don't run into trouble till the quarters, maybe round 4. Clijsters won the US open years back unseeded. Andy Murray has the same problem many talented female players have. He chokes and looses the plot mentally when his day arives.

Very nice. And thats not the first time ive said that these last few weeks. You come up with some very good lines.

I could say the same about you. Murray, Markable. Thanks for the laugh.

As for cycling being a sham. Riders want to win. Some dope to improve the odds. The UCI wants to stay in power but tolerates blatant doping. A big shakeup is needed for cycling to even appear as clean. But at least informed fans know what is really going on. We've seen all the PR lines and BS before. Can any other pro sport claim that? None that I know of. Take every major US sport. All drug fueled and the punishments are a pitance. Cycling cops a whacking across the board. Most stringent doping code and it still isn't good enough. Put it this way. I don't believe the line of thinking that created doping in cycling and allowed it to infest the sport for a century can be used to fix the problem. Maybe Novitsky and the USADA can crack the first big hurdle and take down the omerta enforcer. THat would be a nice start to fixing the sham.

 

[Altitude]

Nope. NFL football is way better. NHL hockey is way better. College football is way better. College lacrosse is way better. Tennis is even better.

Pro cycling full of drugs blows because you never know who shoulda/coulda won cause of drugs and then the winner gets stripped of his title anyway due to drugs and then police bust the race hotels and blah f'ing blah ad nauseum.

The sport has like 20 times the market size of the NHL but makes peanuts in revenue because it's a joke. Yeah I'm pretty much done with it, will spare you all my rants soon enough.

Better in terms of what? Cleanliness?

The only sport on your list that I can watch without falling asleep is tennis. College Lacrosse? Seriously?

So given a choice between watching Paris-Roubaix or watching the College lacrosse national championship, you'd choose the latter? Sounds like you're on the wrong forum.

 

[ksmith]

Nope. NFL football is way better. NHL hockey is way better. College football is way better. College lacrosse is way better. Tennis is even better.

Pro cycling full of drugs blows because you never know who shoulda/coulda won cause of drugs and then the winner gets stripped of his title anyway due to drugs and then police bust the race hotels and blah f'ing blah ad nauseum.

The sport has like 20 times the market size of the NHL but makes peanuts in revenue because it's a joke. Yeah I'm pretty much done with it, will spare you all my rants soon enough.

The problem with what you state is this.
1, YOU DONT PAY TO WATCH CYCLING!
How much money do you think the NHL would make if they didnt charge admission?
2,The races are run on an individual basis,being ASO, RCS, etc. They are not franchiases (might be spelt wrong)
3,How many bike races do you see on t.v. I live in Winnipeg. Last year, here we had the tour on OLN and the two Quebec races on French CBC. They didnt have it on English CBC. Now how many hockey games were stuffed down our throats?
TSN have the tour next year,we'll see how much they put on TSN2?
So with the lack of cycling coverage I'm sure you have raised your concerns with the t.v. companies!!!

 

[Maxiton]

There will always be motivation. If the money dries up and public interest wanes, the money for doping controls will also evaporate. Salaries will fall and riders will race to avoid the factory. It'll be like back in the 50's. A free for all.

Sounds fantastic.

That would be interesting, guys racing 180 days a year, custom builders, no more corporate sponsors.

+ 1. Steel bikes, too? Sheeee_it, awesome.

Pro cycling full of drugs blows because you never know who shoulda/coulda won cause of drugs and then the winner gets stripped of his title anyway due to drugs and then police bust the race hotels and blah f'ing blah ad nauseum.

The sport has like 20 times the market size of the NHL but makes peanuts in revenue because it's a joke. Yeah I'm pretty much done with it, will spare you all my rants soon enough.

Man's got a point.

 

[flicker]

I always thought that the truly authenticism of cycling is in the classics, no cheating there just hard tough pedaling.
The fans who wait on the Kopenburg or in a forest at Roubaix help also.

Anyone who says cycling is fake need go to those places, caress the aura of history.

 

[Maxiton]

I always thought that the truly authenticism of cycling is in the classics, no cheating there just hard tough pedaling.
The fans who wait on the Kopenburg or in a forest at Roubaix help also.

Anyone who says cycling is fake need go to those places, caress the aura of history.

I appreciate your enthusiasm but you've got to be kidding. Define cheating.

 

[flicker]

I appreciate your enthusiasm but you've got to be kidding. Define cheating.

Many races are bought. Many riders dope. I feel the classics are a more wide open, give it everything you've got, put the hammer down etc. type of thingee.

Look at Lombardie 2010, epic classic classic. The way Gilbert dropped Scarponi, in the rain in the dark. Dope or no dope, classic. Also Flanders Cancellera dropping Boonen, classic, priceless.

Paris Roubaix not so much, everyone except Boonen giving up the ghost, racing for second.. you would never see champions like LeMond, Badger, Ullrich,Lance race like that. As for the rest of that bunch, racing for second in a group like that and not chasing, that is a sham. Kudos to Cancellera and Boonen for actually racing.

 

[Oldman]

Instead of watching other people race their bikes, race your own, if you feel that way. If you feel that too many Pros are Dirty, so be it. There is nothing wrong in having opinions.
Professional bike racing is a combination of sport and intertainment. It's always taken second place, for me, next to my own racing.[/QUOTE]

That's a good way to maintain perspective and still appreciate the effort it takes to be a clean athlete. For me it's OK to have appropriate cynicism as long as I maintain the different view of the two.

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

Many races are bought. Many riders dope. I feel the classics are a more wide open, give it everything you've got, put the hammer down etc. type of thingee.

Look at Lombardie 2010, epic classic classic. The way Gilbert dropped Scarponi, in the rain in the dark. Dope or no dope, classic. Also Flanders Cancellera dropping Boonen, classic, priceless.

Paris Roubaix not so much, everyone except Boonen giving up the ghost, racing for second.. you would never see champions like LeMond, Badger, Ullrich,Lance race like that. As for the rest of that bunch, racing for second in a group like that and not chasing, that is a sham. Kudos to Cancellera and Boonen for actually racing.

See... Not so crazy...

 

[sagard]

It sure does look like the ASO is setting Andy Schleck up for the win this year. The only other TdF winner still racing was excluded along with the rider who not only placed third last year but has more GT wins than any active racer. The ASO wants a big showdown between Contador and Schleck in 2012.

Schleck will find a way to screw it up. Won't be that hard for him.

 

[JPM London]

Schleck will find a way to screw it up. Won't be that hard for him.

He'll do what he always does - he'll see all the other contenders are in trouble on stage 1, then wait a bit... and a bit more... and a bit more... and then finally attack 500m before the Champ's finish line, be surprised when Cav walks away with it and finally blame the dangerous, mena and nasty cobbles in Paris - and the Champagne he drank 2 hours earlier.