This Sport Has a Bad Image

[BroDeal]

Check out the take on the DQ of eleven riders from the Tour of Utah

http://www.examiner.com/x-2490-Endu...heating-and-disqualification-old-school-style

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Anyone remember the 1986 Tour and the arguing between Sean Kelly and Erik Vanderarden on the final stage that turned into a shoving match? Apparently Sean wasn't pleased that he climbed over all the passes (and a very tough year at that!) with his own two legs, while Erik...well, you guess the rest.

 

[blackcat]

Anyone remember the 1986 Tour and the arguing between Sean Kelly and Erik Vanderarden on the final stage that turned into a shoving match? Apparently Sean wasn't pleased that he climbed over all the passes (and a very tough year at that!) with his own two legs, while Erik...well, you guess the rest.

but Vanderaerden was a clean rider I believe, if not mistaken. He was probably the last guy to win RVV and Roubaix clean if the common opinion on him is correct. So stuff Kelly.

 

[David Suro]

Cycling is not seen as being worse than other professional sports, at least not in the US.

NFL Football players have been found guitly of such crimes as carrying a concealed weapon to a nightclub, running a dogfighting ring, manslaughter, spouse abuse and cocaine posession. Others are alleged to have commited rape and murder.

NBA Basketball players are linked to just about every crime you can imagine that involves recreational drug use.

An NHL Hockey player was found guilty of aggravated assault during a game as he hit another player in the neck with his stick. In that sport, players are allowed to fight without penalty (as long as the fight is one-on-one).

MLB Baseball has an even larger steroid scandal on its hands that does cycling. The United States Congress felt compelled to hold a special hearing on the matter.

Professional boxing is thought by many to be completely fixed by organized crime.

College athletic programs are routinely punished for recruiting violations or forgery of documentation to establish eligibility of its players.

In other sports, players routinely break the rules. They are given a small penalty during the game (free kick, penalty yards, player fouls, time in the penalty box, etc.) and then the game resumes and little is ever heard of the fouls again.

So, a few cyclists hung onto a car to make it over a mountain. They weren't in contention for victory. They used bad judgement in order to try to make it to the finish. They were punished for their indescression. I doubt anyone outside of the sport knows of what they did or would even care.

Cycling seems to have a bad image only amongst its fans. When I speak of doping to the casual observer they act as if it were the first time they ever heard of it.

Outside of the sport, cyclists are generally regarded as men with funny hats, strange team names, shaved legs and tremendous endurance. The popularity of cycling has grown an incredible amount and the industries that build and sell bikes are doing well.

As fans of the sport, let's be happy that only one rider has been linked to doping during the sport's marquis event. Many publications have heralded the fact that the TDF this year was the first since 2000 not to be rocked by a doping scandal. The image of the sport is not perfect, none are, but it is improving dramatically.

 

[pedaling squares]

An NHL Hockey player was found guilty of aggravated assault during a game as he hit another player in the neck with his stick. In that sport, players are allowed to fight without penalty (as long as the fight is one-on-one).

Ah, you're killing me Dave! Fighting is a major penalty (ok, 5 mins in the sin bin is considered major). But yeah, stick work is a major foul and is generally treated with scorn by players and fans, because using your stick is considered cowardly, while fighting is a way of showing that you can handle the rough nature of the game. It probably only makes sense if you play the sport.

You make some very good points. All major sports are tainted by cheating and/or scandal. The NFL is often referred to as the National Felons League, it seems every player carries a gun after the games, basketball players brawling in the stands (ok, they did that in hockey in the 70's, Google 'Mike Milbury and the shoe'!), baseball has nearly as many steroids and tainted records as track n' field. So many sports are either rocked by scandal or the powers that be keep it quiet to keep profits high. I highly doubt that an aerobic sport like soccer/football is immune to PED's.

So is cycling the dirtiest sport around, or are they merely receiving undue attention because they are making some sincere effort to discover cheaters? Probably a bit of both.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

but Vanderaerden was a clean rider I believe, if not mistaken. He was probably the last guy to win RVV and Roubaix clean if the common opinion on him is correct. So stuff Kelly.

Touche!

From what I can gather, most casual Americans just assume cycling is like other sports where doping is a problem. It seems to me the MLB is a more extreme example. Most people assume there have been even more doping (steroid) issues, but they still love the sport, and hope it's getting cleaner. I think most Americans right now just assume that almost everyone in Track & Field (athletics) are doped to their eye balls and human guinea pigs, and that sport is the very bottom.

 

[Mellow Velo]

By pioneering dope testing, while other sports chose to ignore the issue, pro cycling was painting a bullseye on itself, for the press to aim it's literal arrows.
As a result, the sport is looked at as a covertly run, cheating free for all, not as a sport crusading to capture moral high ground.

The media have designed our image, through negative reporting of the efforts made to combat doping, rather than applaud the stance.

Meanwhile, those sports who are aware of their "problem", but do nothing to combat cheating, sail serenely on, applauded by the press, for exceptional performances.

Had BALCO not errupted over track and field, they would still be enjoying a squeaky cleam image.

 

[beroepsrenner]

My partner is a former aerobics instructor and competetive body builder. I was dumbfounded when she told me that there were seperate competitions for natural and Steroid assisted body builders. What kind of administrators would officially condone this practise?

 

[beroepsrenner]

Check out the take on the DQ of eleven riders from the Tour of Utah

http://www.examiner.com/x-2490-Endu...heating-and-disqualification-old-school-style

LOL!! This reminds me of the 86 Herald Sun Tour. I was climbing Mt Hotham alone midfield when I was suddenly passed by British hotshot Joey McLoughlin hanging on to the back of his team car. This occurred about 3 times as he would let go whenever there were groups of spectators or officials in site and I would ride past him again. Eventually I left him behind.

 

[Cobber]

Check out the take on the DQ of eleven riders from the Tour of Utah

http://www.examiner.com/x-2490-Endu...heating-and-disqualification-old-school-style

Ironically, the DQ'd riders were probably the only clean riders in the race, since their inability to ride up a hill is pretty good evidence of NOT being on PEDs!

 

[bianchigirl]

By pioneering dope testing, while other sports chose to ignore the issue, pro cycling was painting a bullseye on itself, for the press to aim it's literal arrows.
As a result, the sport is looked at as a covertly run, cheating free for all, not as a sport crusading to capture moral high ground.

The media have designed our image, through negative reporting of the efforts made to combat doping, rather than applaud the stance.

Meanwhile, those sports who are aware of their "problem", but do nothing to combat cheating, sail serenely on, applauded by the press, for exceptional performances.

Had BALCO not errupted over track and field, they would still be enjoying a squeaky cleam image.

I agree up to a point - but I also think that cycling loves to play the victim and is in the unfortunate position that it can no longer carry on as if nothing's happening - though lord knows Verbruggen tried it for long enough.

What should have happened is a series of press releases positioning cycling in the forefront of the fight againts doping, urging other sports to join in a coalition and offering to share its superior testing techniques with all other governing bodies. Instead we've had fiasco after fiasco with our glorious leader Pat McQuaid falling out with WADA and AFLD and all but condoning all cyclists to disappear for a 'shower' when the testers come to call.

 

[fatandfast]

I am unsure if the Queens English and the version of Utah slur have the same meaning. Some clown starts his article about some racers taking a Madison sling off a car or 2 or 3. What car can 15 guys hold on to? What in the fudge does holding on to a car truck,durney,or motorcycle have to do with doping ? If you spend much time in Utah you will find that everyday is slow news day. If they held on to car with a needle jammed in their *** cheek then the doping plays a part in his stupid yarn. This guys paper is covering rodeos that have kids roping goats. Serious sport journalist...no. He is just ****ed because he couldn't get the Little League World Series job. Reading or giving credit to sports writers that don't know jack about bike racing is almost as damaging as if something to do with drugs really happened. If you want to write fiction *** pick another subject.

 

[Mellow Velo]

I agree up to a point - but I also think that cycling loves to play the victim and is in the unfortunate position that it can no longer carry on as if nothing's happening - though lord knows Verbruggen tried it for long enough.
What should have happened is a series of press releases positioning cycling in the forefront of the fight againts doping, urging other sports to join in a coalition and offering to share its superior testing techniques with all other governing bodies. Instead we've had fiasco after fiasco with our glorious leader Pat McQuaid falling out with WADA and AFLD and all but condoning all cyclists to disappear for a 'shower' when the testers come to call.

I think you know I'll just talking about perception, here. The image we have is one set by the media. We are fiasco fodder for the press.
Doesn't mean we should drop the bar to the rest of pro sports, rather the opposite.

The Tour of Utah? Well, it's just another example.
As for effecting the image of pro cycling, that's a no.
You would have to say it doesn't even register with the average cycling fan, never mind the masses.

 

[usedtobefast]

i have seen some very dirty riders at the end of a race...

 

[BroDeal]

Some clown starts his article about some racers taking a Madison sling off a car or 2 or 3. What car can 15 guys hold on to? What in the fudge does holding on to a car truck,durney,or motorcycle have to do with doping ?

The point is that cycling has such a bad image that any incident is seen as an opportunity to hit the sport about its sleazy doping problems.

Equating cycling to the NFL, NBA, NHL, etc. does hold much water. Despite lots of individual incidents, those sports are still viewed as valid sports by the population at large. Some sports have reached a tipping point, beyond which popular opinion dismisses the sport as not being a real sport.

Boxing is one of those sports. It reached its tipping point in the late 90s. in the U.S. it is a dying sport. Most weight divisions, especially the heavy weight one, are a joke in terms of the quality of competition. With rare exceptions, the top boxers today are a pale shadow of what existed twenty years ago. The competition is just not there anymore. Corrupt promoters and supect judges magnify boxing's problems.

Body building is another sport that has been in decline for about twenty years. Some BBers blame the drugs, but aesthetics probably plays a larger part. While people admired Schwarzenegger's physique in the late 70s and early 80s, the GH guts, excessive size, and freaky vascularization on current body builders is gross. That sport has such a bad image that very few take it seriously. It has completely disappeared from TV in the U.S..

If the popular opinion of pro cycling is that it is made up of a bunch of dopers, cheats, and liars then that does not bode well for attracting large mainstream sponsors. In Europe it may not mean much, but it is not good for the U.S.


BTW, I did not go to the Nebo stage but people who I know who did said it was more than a Madison sling offf a car or 2 or 3. Riders were getting towed up long sections of the climb. It was ridiculous.

 

[Dude17]

If the popular opinion of pro cycling is that it is made up of a bunch of dopers, cheats, and liars then that does not bode well for attracting large mainstream sponsors. In Europe it may not mean much, but it is not good for the U.S.

Cycling has been hit with a lot of doping issues during the Tour de France the past few years. For a lot of Americans, the Tour de France is their only exposure to cycling. So, they see doping during that and say, "Damn, it is the dirtiest damned sport out there. See even the commentators as saying so." Which is why, I think, McQuaid made his little "there will be no doping scandals at the grand tours for the next several years" comment. If they keep the doping story away from the Tour de France, most Americans will think that the sport is getting cleaned up.

It is all about perception.

 

[mercycle]

I was dumbfounded when she told me that there were seperate competitions for natural and Steroid assisted body builders. What kind of administrators would officially condone this practise?

"Used correctly, steroids are no more dangerous than orange juice"



On the other hand, could the recognition lead to "safe" usage of them, if there is such a thing?

 

[rhubroma]

By pioneering dope testing, while other sports chose to ignore the issue, pro cycling was painting a bullseye on itself, for the press to aim it's literal arrows.
As a result, the sport is looked at as a covertly run, cheating free for all, not as a sport crusading to capture moral high ground.

The media have designed our image, through negative reporting of the efforts made to combat doping, rather than applaud the stance.

Meanwhile, those sports who are aware of their "problem", but do nothing to combat cheating, sail serenely on, applauded by the press, for exceptional performances.

Had BALCO not errupted over track and field, they would still be enjoying a squeaky cleam image.

Well for other pro sports, much more rich and powerful than cycling, it would be inconceivable for them to take their doping problem seriously. Can you imagine if European World Cup Soccer or the NFL tried to implement a program of biological passports for their athletes? Ha! What a joke!!

 

[TRDean]

Doping problems or not...this sounds like serious hanging onto following cars. That is cheating, and I can't stand cheating. A little "hang on" here and there is one thing..but this sounds crazy!! These guys were doing this to make the time cut eh? Pretty pathetic.

 

[ludwig]

Could it be that cycling's international status leaves it more vulnerable and makes it harder for it to control its drug problem? Since different nations regulate dope differently, it's harder for cycling to adopt a common front on the issue?

That said I think cycling probably has a special relationship with dope since dope is such an important part of winning cycling races.

It's hard to say...is cycling on an upswing? It doesn't have much of a history as a sport here in the US so it's a good bet that it is.

 

[chase196126]

Ironically, the DQ'd riders were probably the only clean riders in the race, since their inability to ride up a hill is pretty good evidence of NOT being on PEDs!

I know you are mostly joking, but I did finish the entire race completely clean. Cut us a little bit of slack please

 

[Oldman]

Doping problems or not...this sounds like serious hanging onto following cars. That is cheating, and I can't stand cheating. A little "hang on" here and there is one thing..but this sounds crazy!! These guys were doing this to make the time cut eh? Pretty pathetic.

I know you've got tongue in cheek on this one. Riders have been doing this for*******ever. Their job is to make the next stage to help their teammates out. On the other hand, I never did it but got ****ed off when DS from pro teams pulled their fat-assed sprinters by me on a hill after 60 miles of my tempo effort; because I was a stoooopid amateur. This is minor stuff but embarrassing because several of the ****ers are our hometown locals that I recognize. Local retribution for their crimes will be just, slow and painful.