Steve Bauer: "cycling is cleanest sport in the world"

[Merckx index]

With the most stringent anti-doping protocol in world sport in place, cycling is catching athletes who dope. There will be a few more stupid cyclists who are willing to take the risk and be caught, but there cannot be many left considering the stringent monitoring.. Cycling is arguably the cleanest professional sport right now.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...t-anti-doping-rules-in-sports/article2094076/

I agree with him that cycling has more processes in place than any other sport that should, in theory, catch dopers. What he doesn't point out, of course, is that cyclists are much more knowledgeable about certain substances and procedures than other athletes are, and that in cycling, far more than in other sports, doping is a team endeavor.

 

[Ferminal]

What risk? No risk when you can pay off the UCI, or try and arrange an excuse behind closed doors.

I assume those "few more stupid cyclists" are those without the clout or finance of others, or the literal case of stupidity i.e. Ricco. I don't think most dopers are unintelligent, even those who test positive.

Wouldn't say cycling is the cleanest or the dirtiest, who really knows, I don't think it's valid to use the level of anti-doping practices as a sole indicator of the level and depth of doping. Cycling does have very tough anti-doping protocols, and the ATP not so, but how can anyone say which one is cleaner based on that alone.

 

[Pedaaldanser]

I agree with the writer of the article.

I also think I don't hear this message as often as I would like. 99% of the time cycling is portrayed as a dirty, dirty sport.

Which it is, but not any more (and most likely less!) than any other professional sport in my opinion.

 

[Benotti69]

I agree with the writer of the article.

I also think I don't hear this message as often as I would like. 99% of the time cycling is portrayed as a dirty, dirty sport.

Which it is, but not any more (and most likely less!) than any other professional sport in my opinion.

well that's ok then

 

[The Hitch]

Im very glad to hear this line come out more and more.

Particularly Cav when asked always says it and so it should be said.

The way cycling is portrayed as a dirty sport wit bad guys is a disgrace.

 

[Bag_O_Wallet]

I'm not sure any views have changed since the last time this was discussed.

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=12038

 

[D-Queued]

Im very glad to hear this line come out more and more.

Particularly Cav when asked always says it and so it should be said.

The way cycling is portrayed as a dirty sport wit bad guys is a disgrace.

The fact that there is more than one bad guy who make the sport dirty, and who have profited greatly by it, is a disgrace. That some of these are running the UCI is an even bigger disgrace.

I'm not sure any views have changed since the last time this was discussed.

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=12038

Agreed.

Sounds like Steve is doing promo again. Comparing cycling with entertainment sport is silly. He should know better, given his pedigree.

I am sure Steve wishes his medal was gold and not silver. How would he feel about the sport not being Olympic eligible?

How would he feel if he were in the Tour right now and the favorite tested positive in last year's Tour, and the appeal process hangs over the results of both years?

Cycling has big doping problems. Trying to sweep that under the rug by suggesting it is cleaner than other professional sports hides the problem and allows it to fester.

I admire Steve, but this is the plaint of the apologist.

Dave.

 

[Andynonomous]

Don't agree

Although cycling does have a more rigorous process in place to catch dopers, you need the will to catch the cheats (no matter how popular the cheat is). The UCI has shown over and over that it does not have this will (ie. trying to hide Contador's positive).

In the end, if a sport has a high propensity for cheating (a highly physical sport that requires speed, and or strength, and or stamina), and there is no will to catch the cheats, the process is almost irrelevant. I suspect that cycling has about the same level of cheating as other "stamina" sports (triathlon, marathon, biathlon, cross country skiing,...).

 

[D-Queued]

Although cycling does have a more rigorous process in place to catch dopers, you need the will to catch the cheats (no matter how popular the cheat is). The UCI has shown over and over that it does not have this will (ie. trying to hide Contador's positive).

In the end, if a sport has a high propensity for cheating (a highly physical sport that requires speed, and or strength, and or stamina), and there is no will to catch the cheats, the process is almost irrelevant. I suspect that cycling has about the same level of cheating as other "stamina" sports (triathlon, marathon, biathlon, cross country skiing,...).

The fact that the UCI, or certain persons within the UCI, are almost certainly part of the current FDA/DOJ/FBI/Gendarmes/Interpol investigation speaks strongly about whether or not the 'sport' itself ought to be placed on any sort of pedestal. Suggesting that cycling itself is doing more in the face of this investigation is a joke. If it is, then why are these guys investigating at all?

Yes, there are more FDA/DOJ/FBI cases right now in Baseball, but that sport's brass do not appear to be a core part of what has been going on.

Cycling has Contador's appeal hanging over its head.

Cycling has the Armstrong money laundering, drug trafficking FDA/DOJ/FBI/Interpol investigation hanging over its head.

Perhaps if we only had one of these two, then maybe someone could proclaim cycling cleaner than all the rest. (Edit to <insert sarcasm smilie here>)

Nothing like doing the full Ostrich.

And, no, speaking out about this does not make me non-patriotic, or non-loyal to Steve and/or his efforts and/or the future of Canadian or North American cycling.

Sorry, but there is a lot of dirt in the sport and I didn't put it there.

Dave.

 

[T_S_A_R]

cycling seems to be getting things under control and has at least cut back on doping. let's not kid ourselves on though, the only reason for this is financial things hit a tipping point and fans and sponsors demanded it, the same thing happened with major league baseball.

in plenty of other sports fans and media don't care despite mounting evidence.

tennis - probably the top sport for PEDs these days. no one cares because the matches and the rivalry at the top of the men's rankings are very entertaining.

football - no one questions the fact that barca's team of small guys can outrun every other team in the world. you barely ever hear mention of the juve epo scandal or the impact it may have made on the '98 world cup.

nfl - they don't test for hgh, a player would be an idiot not to take it.

boxing - hopkins 45 year old world champion? pacquiao winning titles at 8 weight classes?

athletics - victor conte has highlighted how usa athletics cut back testing in the winter before major events.

cycling probably isn't the cleanest sport but it is certainly the most transparent and at least has dopers on the back foot.

 

[ricara]

What risk? No risk when you can pay off the UCI, or try and arrange an excuse behind closed doors.

It seems clear that Lance and/or Bruyneel paid off Verdruggen. And it also seems clear that McQuaid is covering up for Verdruggen's past crimes. But I can't believe that this is happening still. Do you?

I agree that McQuaid did not want another scandal and did everything he could to give Contadope time to make up an excuse and so on. But I believe he did that because he thought it would help build up cycling, not because Contadope put $500,000 in McQuaid's Swiss bank account.

In short, I think the situation is very, very slowly improving. I can't wait to see Lance go down, as I believe that will send a bigger message than anything the UCI could do.

 

[D-Queued]

....

cycling probably isn't the cleanest sport but it is certainly the most transparent and at least has dopers on the back foot.

Which dopers would that be?

Dave.

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

football - no one questions the fact that barca's team of small guys can outrun every other team in the world. you barely ever hear mention of the juve epo scandal or the impact it may have made on the '98 world cup.

Why should anyone question that, genius? There's a reason why distance runners are short and skinny rather than tall and muscular.

 

[pleyser]

I think that Steve Bauer is correct in saying that cycling does have stringent testing in comparison to other sports. Most other sports often don't even pretend to care about PED's.

He loses me a bit with being naive that it's only the stupid few who get caught now. The risks of getting caught doping in 2011 are likely higher than previous years, but the advent of micro-dosing and new drugs usually keep potential offenders ahead of the testing curve.

Stage racing is unique in the realm of sports where you compete for hours almost every day at a high level for three weeks. It's not like playing baseball every day, where you sit between innings, take days off and have substitutes. In discussion with co-workers who are not cycling fans, I think even casual sports fans are coming to the conclusion that it's probably not possible to be competitive in the Tour de France at 38-40 km/h average speed over massive mountain chains without a little pharmaceutical "help".

 

[T_S_A_R]

Why should anyone question that, genius? There's a reason why distance runners are short and skinny rather than tall and muscular.

football isn't about distance running though, is it genius?


a midfielder in a champions league game only covers around 10km in 110 mins.

Which dopers would that be?

Dave.

although there seems to be plenty of doping going on it doesn't seem to be at ONCE, festina, us postal or marco pantani/bjarne riis levels.

i thought most people agreed doping had been reduced (though obviously not eradicated) in the past decade.

 

[Bag_O_Wallet]

The fact that there is more than one bad guy who make the sport dirty, and who have profited greatly by it, is a disgrace. That some of these are running the UCI is an even bigger disgrace.



Agreed.

Sounds like Steve is doing promo again. Comparing cycling with entertainment sport is silly. He should know better, given his pedigree.

I am sure Steve wishes his medal was gold and not silver. How would he feel about the sport not being Olympic eligible?

How would he feel if he were in the Tour right now and the favorite tested positive in last year's Tour, and the appeal process hangs over the results of both years?

Cycling has big doping problems. Trying to sweep that under the rug by suggesting it is cleaner than other professional sports hides the problem and allows it to fester.

I admire Steve, but this is the plaint of the apologist.

Dave.

I can appreciate the notion that cycling and the UCI are catching and penalizing cheaters - compared to hockey and the NHL, and Bryan Berard.

However, when you've got a governing body that is in charge of both policing and promotion - I think it's reasonable to fear that the lines between each will/have become blurry. Could the governing body cherry-pick/sacrifice a few "stupid" riders for the optics of good policing? I don't think that is unreasonable to think.

 

[the delgados]

What is cycling if not entertainment sport?

Steve Bauer had plenty of opportunity to complain about drug use when he was competing. I don't know why anyone would think he would do it now.

 

[Oldman]

What is cycling if not entertainment sport?

Steve Bauer had plenty of opportunity to complain about drug use when he was competing. I don't know why anyone would think he would do it now.

Because no one complained when he was racing, including him. He also used the qualification that cycling was "arguably" the cleanest sport-now.

 

[the delgados]

No one save for Paul Kimmage.

 

[patrick767]

Stage racing is unique in the realm of sports where you compete for hours almost every day at a high level for three weeks. It's not like playing baseball every day, where you sit between innings, take days off and have substitutes. In discussion with co-workers who are not cycling fans, I think even casual sports fans are coming to the conclusion that it's probably not possible to be competitive in the Tour de France at 38-40 km/h average speed over massive mountain chains without a little pharmaceutical "help".

There's something to be said for this point. How do you recover from such a huge effort in a single day and do it again the next day? And the next? And the next? They get two rest days in three weeks. There's a reason most exercise programs tell you to work the same muscle groups intensely only every other day.

What other sport requires this level of intensity day after day after day?

 

[the delgados]

@patrick 767:
I've mentioned this several times on this board, but people just get mad.

Just take a look at the history of the Tour; it was tailor made for cheating.

I wish I was smart enough to know when and why the backlash began. I suspect it started around the time when riders were injecting epo like addicts at a crack house, but I could be wrong.

 

[Silver]

Bauer could be right.

Of course, that would mean that every other professional sport in the world is horrendously dirty. So cleanest, in a relative sense. Like if you spend all day submerged in sewage with 9 guys, and you climbed out and wiped your face with a towel, you'd be cleaner than the other guys, even though you still smell like ****.

 

[Zweistein]

boxing - hopkins 45 year old world champion? pacquiao winning titles at 8 weight classes?

Bernard Hopkins doesn't fight a high speed fight. He losing to people that overwhelm to the point where is craftiness is useless. Pascal is a good but flawed fighter and was not an surprise that Bernard beat him. Pascal can be tricked and doesn't have the endurance to overwhelm Bernard for more than a few rounds.

There are more weight classes now days than in the past. Winning in 8 of them is not surprising for that reason. Also, Pac started his pro-career very young, long before he had filled out. Moving from 105 to 145 isn't surprising.

It is nice you want to include boxing into this discussion but don't make generalizations with little to back it up.

 

[blackcat]

I think that Steve Bauer is correct in saying that cycling does have stringent testing in comparison to other sports. Most other sports often don't even pretend to care about PED's.

He loses me a bit with being naive that it's only the stupid few who get caught now. The risks of getting caught doping in 2011 are likely higher than previous years, but the advent of micro-dosing and new drugs usually keep potential offenders ahead of the testing curve.

Stage racing is unique in the realm of sports where you compete for hours almost every day at a high level for three weeks. It's not like playing baseball every day, where you sit between innings, take days off and have substitutes. In discussion with co-workers who are not cycling fans, I think even casual sports fans are coming to the conclusion that it's probably not possible to be competitive in the Tour de France at 38-40 km/h average speed over massive mountain chains without a little pharmaceutical "help".

cos they aint got Marketing and Communications 101 down yet, and dont need to engage in Bernays hogwash. It is Kantian no? They are doing this, for expedience, that is their motive. Not to clean up a sport. Its the greenwash of the biopassport.

Places vigilance on the doorstep of the teams, instead of the doorstop of Politicians in Aigle@UCI hq.

Like Vaughters.

When JV was given the opportunity to pass the ethics test, he failed. Ethics are only ethics, when they are tested. Hifalutin rhetoric, which is what his Bauer article and JV talking points, are, is just marketing and propaganda. Sorry.

 

[Ferminal]

It seems clear that Lance and/or Bruyneel paid off Verdruggen. And it also seems clear that McQuaid is covering up for Verdruggen's past crimes. But I can't believe that this is happening still. Do you?

Contador's positive? No I don't think it was a pay off, but that doesn't seem like the only reason for the UCI to try and hide a positive.