So not to detract from the original thread, and to allow more open discussion. I wrote this post for the other forum so avoided using doping terms like pint of blood
My argument is that doping is in response to a desire to win and to beat your opposition, not to make riding over a mountain "easier". We see just as much doping in an "easy" Tour as we do a "hard" Giro.
The difficulty of the race is determined by the opposition. Everyone has to ride over the same roads. You are still trying to beat 200 other cyclists, the gradient doesn't change that. All things being equal, the better climber will win in a MTF whether or not it's 15km @ 7% or 15km @ 9% (unless of course the two are so equal that they cannot be separated after 15km @ 7%). Likewise, the better TTer will win over 40km or 80km, despite the latter being "harder". The difference in terms of "ability" is still the same, hence you "only" need to make up that gap (via cheating) to be competitive on either of the two climbs. The harder climb will no doubt exacerbate the difference, in the way of time gaps, but the performance gap is still the same.
You are more likely to see the level of cheating determined by the level of competition and level of incentives to win, rather than the difficulty of the road.
My argument is that doping is in response to a desire to win and to beat your opposition, not to make riding over a mountain "easier". We see just as much doping in an "easy" Tour as we do a "hard" Giro.
raddone said:Of course they do. To win. Also they ride a race to win. The harder the race, the harder to win.
The difficulty of the race is determined by the opposition. Everyone has to ride over the same roads. You are still trying to beat 200 other cyclists, the gradient doesn't change that. All things being equal, the better climber will win in a MTF whether or not it's 15km @ 7% or 15km @ 9% (unless of course the two are so equal that they cannot be separated after 15km @ 7%). Likewise, the better TTer will win over 40km or 80km, despite the latter being "harder". The difference in terms of "ability" is still the same, hence you "only" need to make up that gap (via cheating) to be competitive on either of the two climbs. The harder climb will no doubt exacerbate the difference, in the way of time gaps, but the performance gap is still the same.
You are more likely to see the level of cheating determined by the level of competition and level of incentives to win, rather than the difficulty of the road.