Why do cycling journalists persist with the nonsense about cycling being cleaner?

[delbified]

after today's performance, you really don't think Basso's doping?

i'm not saying he's clean, but if you're going to condemn every cyclist who turns in a strong performance, you may as well give up being a fan.

it is conceivable that you need to be juiced to win, so giving up isn't necessarily as crazy as it sounds. but i'm not that cynical, yet.

 

[Cerberus]

i'm not saying he's clean, but if you're going to condemn every cyclist who turns in a strong performance, you may as well give up being a fan.

it is conceivable that you need to be juiced to win, so giving up isn't necessarily as crazy as it sounds. but i'm not that cynical, yet.

The trick is to mix the cynicism with either outrage or apathy. that way you can keep watching either for the drama (outrage) is the cycling (apathy).

ETA: I present to you exhibit A in the post below me.

 

[eleven]

i'm not saying he's clean, but if you're going to condemn every cyclist who turns in a strong performance, you may as well give up being a fan.

it is conceivable that you need to be juiced to win, so giving up isn't necessarily as crazy as it sounds. but i'm not that cynical, yet.

Well you raise a good point. For what it's worth, I gave up on any of them being clean long ago - I just go about appreciating the sport and the spectacle for what it is and I don't let the obvious cheating detract from it. In all honesty, part of me thinks it would be better to just legalize it.

 

[**Uru**]

I have to ask, why do you people care about pro cycling? Does it really matter to you personally if they dope or not? If it is true that the sport is really not cleaning up and this fact troubles you so, why do you keep watching?

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

Because most of us would like to hope that the sport can clean up - rather than bury our heads in the sand and say that it isn't happening, or perpetuate the illusion that the sport is cleaning up.

It's called being honest - something of an alien concept to most of the sport's administrators and the journalists who cover it.

BTW - I wasn't aware that you had to pretend that the sport was clean or that doping is just a fact of life to watch the sport.

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

Now we have the bizarre scenario of the journalist who on sunday was claiming that the sport was cleaner, is now complaining about the UCI praising Basso for being clean - and saying that they shouldn't make such statements.

http://live.cyclingnews.com/5.html

Does Daniel Friebe suffer from memory problems? Does he think this applies to just Basso or to all riders?

It seems to me that it is not just the UCI which is tone deaf to the demands of the public - the media is too.

 

[magoo34]

I have no idea if he is doping, but if i remember correctly basso destroyed everyone on basically every road that went uphill in 2006. He won by 9 minutes (18 on nr 4...). He certainly isn't doing that in this Giro (see saturday, or last week's climb).

As for the journalists, imo it's just silly to say it's cleaner, even if it actually is (or the odds of getting caught are getting higher). In holland our tv-reporter just kept on screaming "it's the new cycling" when young guys like Ricco and Kohl won, we all know how that worked out....

Could it be that he wants to low key it. Do not blow the field apart but do enough to win. Do not draw attention to yourself. We shall see in the final week.

 

[Cerberus]

Could it be that he wants to low key it. Do not blow the field apart but do enough to win. Do not draw attention to yourself. We shall see in the final week.

Last year he failed to win either Giro or Vuelta. Being low key is one thing but throwing races? His performance this year is consistent with his performance last year. Somewhat better, but not dramatically so. I don't think he's faking being weaker than he is.

 

[blackcat]

Could it be that he wants to low key it. Do not blow the field apart but do enough to win. Do not draw attention to yourself. We shall see in the final week.

but that aint how you win. He had no idea what "form" Cuddles waz gonna bring