Why do we still all follow cycling despite its problems?

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[Polish]

43 votes for "beautiful"
Almost 80% of Clinic responders.
Thats nice. Precious.

"Oh look mumsey, a butterfly has alighted on Hinault's shoulder"
"He will have good luck in this race for sure"

"Is that a rainbow on Eddy's jersey?"
"OMG, it's a double rainbow"
"What does that mean?"

Maybe it means "that one day it will be a "clean" sport".
15 votes for that one. Hopeful. Golly.

If you hate the way Armstrong treated Simeoni you should hate the way the media treats cycling.

Stand by your sport as it gets attacked by the media.

Do you mean "stand by as your sport gets attacked by the media"?
Or do you mean "chase down the media and tell them to back off!"?

The Media is spitting in Cycling's Soup at an incredible pace.
Spit Spit Spit Spit Spit Spit Spit
Spit Spit Spit.
Spit.
haterz spitting too. spit spit.

Simeoni would say "back off dudes".

Even a Honey Badger would look at Cycling Soup and say:
"No thanks guys, I'm not that hungry. Really, I'm full"

 

[thirteen]

we know you where you stand, Polish... i can't recall you ever going to other forum

there was no option for multiple answers, so many of us chose the primary one.

spit on those of us that still love the sport, go ahead!

still, hmmmm, i wonder what your answer would be if you were to be honest rather than simply be Polish?

 

[Polish]

we know you where you stand, Polish... i can't recall you ever going to other forum

there was no option for multiple answers, so many of us chose the primary one.

spit on those of us that still love the sport, go ahead!

still, hmmmm, i wonder what your answer would be if you were to be honest rather than simply be Polish?

I ride my OWN bike for the beauty and excitement.
Fabulous. Ride clean too.

I watch PRO Cycling for fun.
The "thrill of victory and the agony of defeat".
Badgers and Cannibals. Chasedowns.
Rooting for and Booing against.
Safe and healthy races are important too.

That said, the French Pro Television coverage is spectacular.
Artistic. It really is.
Between the moto cameras and helicopter shots and stationary cameras at strategic spots.
The TdF is a masterpeice to watch. Beautiful.

 

[Magnus]

I don't really care about the doping. I think a lot of people are very irrational about doping. I see it more as some arbitrary limit for what drugs are allowed and what drugs aren't. It's not that I don't think you should play by the rules. I do. I just think that as long as everybody is subdued the same control system everybody has the same possibility to dope and that it then makes no difference.

 

[ludwig]

Doping itself has never turned me away from following cycling races.

It does bother me that there are double standards for different cyclists, and corrupt governing bodies, in addition to the slander and abuse of whistle-blowers. I think that to some extent this stuff can take anyone's enthusiasim away.

For example, back when I was following cycling closely I was very good at predicting races. That was because over time I came by solid theories about which teams were in favor with the UCI (eg which teams had the best doping regimens but were unlikely to receive positives). Most of these teams are still intact today--albeit with different sponsors and riders--but with the same staffs of DSes (think Bruyneel, Riis, Echevarri) and doctors.

This double standard strips the sport of fairness. Omerta strips the sport of honor. Eventually, fans tire of these factors, and it becomes tempting to find a sport where doping does not play such a critical role. It's still fun to follow the races but most knowledgable fans have an idea how the decks are stacked.

 

[Pantani_lives]

I watch it because I'm addicted. However it sometimes makes me vomit, and i hope somebody will finally clean up the mess. I grew up with the TdF in the 80s, before the EPO era, and it was never more exciting than then.

 

[pmcg76]

There are a number of reaons for still watching the sport, I think I fell in love with the sport because of the beauty of it, the scenery in cycling is just amazing. How could anyone who watched the recent Giro stage over the Marmolda fail to be blown away by the beauty on display. Cyclists and natural beauty just seem to go so well together, that hasnt changed.

I keep hoping it gets better but if I give up on cycling, what sport can I believe in? Too many of cycling's scandals have come about because of police raids, I mean it all started with a random police checkpoint for the Festina affair and ever since them, raids have continued on cycling events. What other sport is kept to this high standard of intrusions from non-sports related officials? Put simply I dont have much faith in other sports and until they are held to the same level of scrutiny I will continue with cycling.

Puerto is the perfect example, it still irks me that cyclists were the only athletes sanctioned or even named in the whole Puerto affair. How was it possible we had Basso, Scarponi, Valverde banned and seen many others have their careers finished whilst not another athlete from other sports was named. Its just BS.

I mentioned this elsewhere recently but in 2008 I went to see three stages of the Giro and two at the Tour, those stages were won by Sella(2) Pellizotti, Ricco & Piepoli, all later suspended for doping infractions. You know what? I enjoyed every one of those stages, cycling up the mountain before the stage finish, the crowds, the excitement, the spectacle, I loved everything about them, yes it was disappointing to later see each winner busted but my memories of those day are still great.

I think I will always love cycling regardless of the other crap, well except for too many sprint finishes that is.

 

[tubularglue]

got the hook' from winning mag. early/mid 80's when young,

quit high school sports, and got a job at Bike Manufacturer during junior/senior year (mid 80's)

started racing

been in and out ever since

doping is just part of my fascination with the bicycle

 

[Pedaaldanser]

All sports benefit from doping, I actually think cycling is one of the cleaner sports due to all the testing

 

[saganftw]

i watch it because of entertainment value,not because whats behind it

fake bewbs dont mean you cannot enjoy the movie

 

[DISTRICT 9]

Cycling is an incredible sport. In every way including the doping.
I hate to say it, but I am glad Senor Contador is riding too.
The podium girls are cute and the doping makes it even spicier.

 

[Pantani_lives]

We simply watch it because there's nothing else on television, especially in July. It's hard to accept, but for years we've been watching a bunch of criminals with high entertainment value.

 

[Benotti69]

If you read a tenth of the posts in the road racing section of this forum, you'd see the maturity level is an average age of 12 never mind their refusal to even accept doping. Easy to watch it at that level.

 

[blutto]

If you read a tenth of the posts in the road racing section of this forum, you'd see the maturity level is an average age of 12 never mind their refusal to even accept doping. Easy to watch it at that level.

...just curious if you see yourself bringing up the maturity level of this forum ( and by how much ) or do you see yourself bringing it down ( and again by how much )????...

...us members of the lower part of the Bell Curve in these matters need to know...

...in the spirit of full disclosure I believe I operate at a level that can only be expressed by negative numbers...in the words of Coleridge I have oodles of negative capability...

Cheers

blutto

 

[Benotti69]

...just curious if you see yourself bringing up the maturity level of this forum ( and by how much ) or do you see yourself bringing it down ( and again by how much )????...

...us members of the lower part of the Bell Curve in these matters need to know...

...in the spirit of full disclosure I believe I operate at a level that can only be expressed by negative numbers...in the words of Coleridge I have oodles of negative capability...

Cheers

blutto

I have oodles of cynical activity

 

[MR_Sarcastic]

The only thing that I "follow" is the guy in front of me.

Accorging to "some people", all the top Pro riders get "little bags" (of swag??)
Haven't watched a professional race in quite some time
(except when I'm on the trainer in a 35 degree garage)

The "solution" to the doping problem is to ban all professional cycling for a 10 year period, so that a whole new crop of dopers...(I mean ..riders, can start)

If Professional racing is banned, maybe Cat 3's will become the new "Giants of the Road"

 

[Frosty]

The only thing that I "follow" is the guy in front of me.

Accorging to "some people", all the top Pro riders get "little bags" (of swag??)
Haven't watched a professional race in quite some time
(except when I'm on the trainer in a 35 degree garage)

Wow, thats a bad angle, have you got someone in to look at the subsidence? (or even better, treat it?)

 

[Frosty]

Suppose its just a sport that im fated to like, ever since the Roche La Plagne 1987 comeback. Guess i watch it hoping that everything will clean up. Part of the fun can be working out who is going to get busted. Kind of a gutting kind of sport though when someone you think is clean suddenly starts winning...

I class myself as a watcher perhaps rather than a fan though as i dont buy team shirts or anything that i think is directly connected to Pro endorsement.

 

[MR_Sarcastic]

I enjoy "doing", not "watching".

Like I said, if you believe "some people", all the top riders of all teams are doped.

 

[Magic Spanner]

Spending time in the clinic for the last couple if weeks has changed the way I think about pro cycling. I'm even more realistic/pessimistic. The thread "rediers we can trust" really told me! I always knew Armstrong was a cheat, bully and liar and suspected many others but I'd hoped that new young riders in new teams with anti doping protocols were clean. Not so sure now.

One thing gives me hope.

I race clean and I know that my clubmates do to. Some are obsessed by heart rate monitors, power meters and training blocks. Some can talk of nothing but diet, weight and energy drinks. We are sad cycling bores but we don't cheat. I'm confident that there are guys like us that become elite athletes and who make the right decisions. If it's not possible for these riders to be competetive as pros then they are racing at a lower level but they are racing clean.

 

[Van der Slagmollen]

I like the scenery and I can't afford a holiday any time soon.

 

[erik saunders]

I only follow the problems

 

[DISTRICT 9]

Anyone who believes "doping" in cycling is problem must be one of the bad guys from the USADA. For those of us who have enjoyed the sport for the last 5 decades plus, we enjoy the enhanced position that the "elevated" enjoyed in the cyclesport tradition. As long as cyclists are safe, healthy and happy, let them enjoy their "white lunch bags" or Bento boxes. Dr. Ferrari has it right.

 

[the delgados]

I follow cycling for the same reason I follow baseball, tennis and football--suspension of disbelief.

For instance, I'm a huge fan of the Toronto Blue Jays. They recently acquired a journeyman named Jose Bautista. He went from a previous career high of 16 home runs to 54 in one season. He claims he (cough) "tweaked" his swing.

Ya right.

Do I think he's juiced? Yep.

But that doesn't stop me from going to the park and sitting on the edge of my seat every time he steps to the plate.

Por sports is nothing more than entertainment. No need to get all uppity about something you can't control.