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I usually straight up say that I love freakshows and doped-up performances. I would say that most people usually get that top athletes in (almost?) all sports are loaded with PEDs.

That's not my stance. In a sport where physiology doesn't enable you to do something better, but is the lone decider about winning or not winning, it's crucial for me to at least hold doping down a bit. It can't be prevented entirely, but it should be possible to cut it down. Make sure the teams and athletes don't overdo it. Obviously it doesn't here. Nobody gives a ***.
 
When I see Wout I just think "steroids". The invincibility reminds me of Trump in his video where he just had survived covid thanks to a huge dose of steroids among other things. I cannot find a link but I've laughed so hard at it so many times. :joycat:
 
When I see Wout I just think "steroids". The invincibility reminds me of Trump in his video where he just had survived covid thanks to a huge dose of steroids among other things. I cannot find a link but I've laughed so hard at it so many times. :joycat:
Different steroids though, for recovering from illnesses like that (I had to use them) but our pro riders use both kinds (anabolic and corticosteroids-)
 
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Different steroids though, for recovering from illnesses like that (I had to use them) but our pro riders use both kinds (anabolic and corticosteroids-)
Thanks! I forget the English names for them. I mean the corticosteroids. Those who makes people be absolutely hilariously invincible.

Not saying that's what Wout is on, but whatever he's on seems to have gotten into his brain :D
He looks high :D

Maybe he's just on cocaine (ok kidding)
 
That's not my stance. In a sport where physiology doesn't enable you to do something better, but is the lone decider about winning or not winning, it's crucial for me to at least hold doping down a bit. It can't be prevented entirely, but it should be possible to cut it down. Make sure the teams and athletes don't overdo it. Obviously it doesn't here. Nobody gives a ***.

I'm strongly against doping, but I agree with your general view here. That's why I pay some attention to the differences within the peloton, and I must say that the dominance of certain teams makes me somewhat worried. Also a couple of riders who have not had significant results in their youth have really grown recently - that's a worrying sign as well.
 
I'm strongly against doping, but I agree with your general view here. That's why I pay some attention to the differences within the peloton, and I must say that the dominance of certain teams makes me somewhat worried. Also a couple of riders who have not had significant results in their youth have really grown recently - that's a worrying sign as well.

Laporte didn't have a WT win until this year but then again he spent his career at Cofidis.
 
For the Danes that keeps an eye on what happens with the Danish cycling scene, you can't really say that The Duck (let's be honest, look at the beak!) has come from out of nowhere - or that he hasn't been expected to do well as a GT contender. I know it's been mentioned by others already... Just to give the necessary perspective on his junior years. He's a scrawny guy with, apparantly, huge lungs - but he comes from the flattest, most windy place in Denmark (where the wind always blows!) - The Jutland West Coast. He had a tough time competing as a junior, where it's every rider for themselves - but i wouldn't have scored a single point as a rider myself if every race i did was in the mountains. Not as much of a disadvantage for a small guy in the wind, i know - but it's still gonna be hard to pick up the wins. As he came into his mid teen years, he started to rack up the results. At age 21, riding for Danish Conti-team Colo-Quick, he had a test with Team Danmark, who manages the national teams across a multitude of sports, and several articles was written on these tests:

"21-year-old Jonas Vingegaard rides around Thy with a physique, many cyclists have good reason to envy. - He simply has a pump and heart that is in a class of its own. This is the assessment from Lars Johansen, who is a sports physiologist at Team Denmark. He is deeply impressed with the cycling talent Jonas Vingegaard, who has delivered a test result that Danish experts have not seen before. - Hans is clearly free of the average of Danish, male cyclists. He has a plus maybe 15 percent and that is marked. In other words, Jonas Vingegaard is a name worth noting. The 21-year-old North Jutlander is blessed with optimal physique and an extraordinary talent for cycling. - If his development can continue, then he will come a long way. As in really, really far, says Christian Andersen, who is sports director at Team ColoQuick. - He can ride in all kinds of terrain, and then he is extremely good uphill. When he is completely down to weigh 58 kilograms, he steps really, really many watts per kilogram. Right now Jonas Vingegaard is driving around North Jutland and hopes that with a professional contract he can get the opportunity to settle in Spain, where the hills are significantly higher than in Denmark. - The first dream is to become a professional, and then you have a dream to win the Tour de France one day, it sounds from Vingegaard himself. "
(translated from Danish TV2 - original found here: https://sport.tv2.dk/cykling/2018-07-26-dansk-talent-med-saerligt-hjerte-spraenger-testrekorder

Now, i've followed cycling for too many years to really believe that the riders at the very top are doing it clean. So i'm not even gonna get in to that side of the discussion...

You gotta hand it to the Danish birds, though. First flew the Eagle. Then the Chicken was plucked and slaughtered. Now we've got a Duck taking off - not to forget the Singing Bird also worth mentioning! :sweatsmile:

I would really like to see similar analysis for WvA. During his youth he was already a phenomenon, but anybody with numbers on V02Max, etc?