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Why follow cycling?

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Jan 18, 2010
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Individual and team aspects

I enjoy cycling because I've not watched any other sport that has the individual and team aspects that cycling has.

I enjoy the NFL as well, but individual performances there are much more dependent on the team.

In cycling a talented individual can still excel on a mediocre team.

As for the doping, it's prevalent in ALL sports, it doesn't take away from the entertainment IMO.

I wish cycling did a better job dealing with it, but the best scientists aren't interested catching dopers, and even if they were the rules need reworking for the best science to be applied fairly.
 
I follow the sport because I liked it since I was a kid.
I found it intriguing, a seemingly individual sport that was a teamsport after all. At first I didn't understand that, but eventually I learned how team tactics influence a race and why it helps to be in the middle of the peloton, instead of in front of time.
We've all been through that process I think ;) Although I'm talking ancient history now (I was 6 or 7 at the time).
Nowadays I try to follow as much as possible. And yes, I do like it when countrymen do well, but I've followed the sport with the same pleasure when there was no good generation coming up and only Boogerd
or E.Dekker would sometimes get a result. So it doesn't really make a difference.

And as for doping, sometimes I don't like it but generally I shrug, hope the guy gets banned, and then move on
 
Dec 7, 2010
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auscyclefan94 said:
How can you watch the sport when you could make a plausible case to say that it is just based on lies and corruption?

Because here's what's not corrupt:

The Alps
The Pyrenees
The Dolomites
The Cobbles (wherever they may be found)
The wind, rain, mud & snow

(Deep rim carbon wheels are cool too ;))

That's why I still watch. :)
 
Apr 18, 2010
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Is cycling that easy, or are some cycling fans too naive?

for every contador, mosquera, pellozotti case there are fans crying how dirty the sport is. sometimes i think really. I have to admit i am new to cycling, but in the past i have practice other sports at collegiate level with former semi pro and olimpic level athletes. I remember my college running coach will always downplay epo and vo2 max, because he said that they were not the main factors deciding a race and he told me that most runners that win the marathon have a vo2max of around 75. there are runners with higher vo2 max # but are not any better. Soccer is another example I mean i can be as large as ronaldo but that does not mean i am going to be as strong, and even if i was that strong, i willbe rally hard to posses a combination of size, strenght, explosiveness, and mental ability to play the game. cyling seems to be one of those sports (at least to some cyclist fans) where vo2 max is king and whoever wins the race is he who has the highest vo2 max. i mylself do not see it this way i mean look at cadel physiology he should have been able to win a gt, but he has not. look at diluca's vs menchov did the most doped guy won. what gets me sometimes is people like mercx, come on cheating is cheating; and then there is guy like ribellin claiming to be clean. should we frown upon doping as much as we do now. lets face it 90+% of professional athletes do it. sometimes because they love the glory, sometimes because they are made to, and sometime because it is the only option for winning something. what is so morally wrong about doping. Unless somebody is a vegan that lead a nomadic life style. i hope that nobody here drives a car owns a windows computer, has done coke or any illegal gray market or own silk products recreational drug etc. as you see there are worse things than supporting a doper. why don't we just appreciate the finer things in cycling like the suffering, tactics, superhuman feats, and tragedy and stopp hating.
 
Jul 15, 2009
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images
 
Have a quick search for drugs in NFL, NRL, football, baseball, athletics. They're there all right. How about the regulation-pushing F1 teams?

As long as there is competition in sports, there will be cheats. As long as there is reward for achievement in sports, there will be people willing to take the risks. I accept that in all the sports that I watch.

So then we come to what cycling offers. I love the cast of thousands that lets me have multiple likes and dislikes in a single race; that I can support a range of riders and teams to different levels, that there isn't generally the tribalism of fans of one rider or team that you get with sports like football. And I like endurance sports; sports in which tactics play a major role and where something you do now could impact something that happens much later; sports that slowly develop rather than explode. It's why I'm not all that fussed by F1, but I love the 24h du Mans. It's why I don't much care for Alpine Skiing, but love the Nordic disciplines. And it's why I don't much care for track cycling (or sprint stages) but will lose hours on end watching people climb and descend mountains.

The riders I like most are breakaway specialists and climbers. I know that liking those kinds of riders carries de facto a greater risk of them being caught doping. And many of my favourite riders have been caught doping. And we've long since known that the rules are inconsistent and contrary, because we have a wide range of different vested interests at play. We knew this long before the João Cabreira and Alejandro Valverde cases played all this out in public. But that then means, why would this particular case, with this particular rider and this particular set of mismanagements, be any different?

The saddest thing about the Contador case is that he tested positive, and the whole case appears to be searching for a reason to exonerate him, and he's back riding in the Algarve right now. At the other end of the country, Rui and Mario Costa will be back at home in Povoa de Varzim, neither have a ride for 2011. They tested positive, and they were exonerated by way of being actually proven innocent.
 
To anyone who followed the sport during the 1990's and early 2000's, the period we are in now seems spotless.
We climbed the Galibier of doping then and these times feel like the descent into Briancon.

We had Mr 60%'s by the score.
Are we expected to give the sport up over Señor 0.0000000000050 gram?
 
Mellow Velo said:
To anyone who followed the sport during the 1990's and early 2000's, the period we are in now seems spotless.
We climbed the Galibier of doping then and these times feel like the descent into Briancon.

We had Mr 60%'s by the score.
Are we expected to give the sport up over Señor 0.0000000000050 gram?

Very well put!
 
Jun 20, 2010
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step23 said:
Being honest, I have a favorite team and I cheer for them. If they quit I think I would stop following the sport as much as I do now.

However, I should admit that I started to respect and like this sport more when I started to be a cycling fan. Before I thought that this sport is for "girls" (don't take it as an offense) if you compare it to say boxing or MMA. Now I think this sport is for really tough guys and great athletes with charisma and strong personalities.

So if my team quits I would still respect cycling for its history, aesthetics, great riders and traditions, but would not follow it partly because of doping scandals.

I spent most of my adult life fighting for a living. I can tell you something, Give me a good *** whooping for 15minutes over 2300km's of it anyday. hell, 150+k per day would be more than I'd want. Tried to hang with a class mate once who rides for a conti team and he smoked me with a smile.
 
As Mellow said and I also believe, the sport is cleaner now than it's been in the past. I've seen riders I like and riders I dislike be busted. It happens; I just move on. Neither the Ricco or Contador news is even close to enough to make me lose interest.

Also, many of us here either still race or used to race so it's just second nature to follow it.
 
Aug 12, 2009
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auscyclefan94 said:
I understand that this sort of topic has come up before but I just wonder with all the doping in cycling, why do you follow the sport? How can you watch the sport when you could make a plausible case to say that it is just based on lies and corruptioin?

Look at your avatar picture. That is why. You believe in what his form of cycling represents. For you it is the closest manifestation of what cycling as a sport is at the current time and what it always has been. Same for most people. Naively most think such a manifestation of cycling is pure. That's where I laugh.:D

I accept what cycling is and have managed to understand the inner working and machinations of what it is. Is AC a doper? Yes mods that is why this thread is here, ACF94 is upset AC was acquitted. Yes. But he isn't alone and last time I checked there were many reasons people dope. I liked Bassons thinking the other week. The man is insightful. I've taken a similar approach myself for a while now. Are certain doping agencies showing support to their boys/girls when they should be throwing them to the wolves? Yes and no. I think turning on your own simply for bad PR is dispicable. I think what has happened to Ricco is horrible. You may be a *** but being made a scapegoat is disgusting. But that isn't cycling, that is politics.

I will put it this way. The four purest sports IMO are running, swimming, cycling and rowing. Wonder why I think triathlon is amazing? The simple physical mechanics of cycling are remarkable and the parts of the world we live in this sport shows are second to none (except surfing and rock climbing). That is why I watch cycling. Take away the doping and the mechanics of it are universal. They will never change...maybe the engines driving the bikes change, but the road and bikes remain the same no matter how you badge them. Cycling is a wonderful sport and you shouldn't be racking yourself ACF94. I have no doubt if AC did not beat Evans in 2007, your view of him would be much different. Your locus is of loyalty, so something that might hamper your man you look at negatively. The Clen case is the biggest so far to shake this. Is it any of your business or anyone elses to rattle on with another thread like this yet again? Knock yourself out I say, but don't forget to enjoy the racing. I'm pretty sure Issoisso will pop back up when the bigger events start and he was not a happy camper when Vino came back last year. Everyone has their kryptonite. AC is yours.

Mine...is probably jaded goofballs, but I laugh at them. I go to the SBS website to watch them at work and have a laugh. Just like I did with the AC thread here yesterday. BroDeal makes one sane comment and everyone applauds. Good on them, but it was too late. Sad thing is many have been saying the same damn thing for months here in not so many words but the message was the same. Some were laughed at, others took note...often quietly. Then AC is acquitted and those laughing and screaming he was a bad boy had to take note and question a little deeper than they had been to understand the machinations of what was happening. Yes, the $h1t got real for them.

Think of it this way, perhaps zero tolerance will be reworked by WADA and it bloody well should be. I'd love to see a system where the threshold is increased for certain drugs (yes only some) and if you get a set number of positives for any of these (but don't go over threshold) over a set time, then you get a ban. Say a one to two year ban. Make the focus blood doping, epo, HGH and naturally occuring hormonal supplement based drugs (basically add in the roids). Figure this damn BioPassport out and try and get Pellizotti nabbed. People need to be bannable on their BioPassport. Finally FFS, explain the damn thing to the community and lets see some full body haemoglobin testing. Maybe then ACF94 can sleep well at night without thinking his boy has been robbed once again.

Is this in line with the current thread? Yes mods it is. Why? Because all the AC shenanigans are why it was created. It needed to be addressed for me to answer appropriately. I really don't feel like replying to a 600+ comment thread that is dragging up old news again and again. As for the lies and corruption. I know it is there and can think for myself. THe UCI may be calling your bluff, but I know their number and I am not fooled. Hence, I'm not angry. I'll put it this way. Some people are raging at Floyd Landis because of what he's done this last year. I'd ask you this; did you believe him in 2006? I didn't. I did the math. He was lying. Hence his 180 last year was no shock. He said what I already had figured out. Now he admits lying in 2006 and some people get upset because they refused to question. Mu law lecturer said to always question. Approach the impending logic and psyche behind these people rationally...they're gullible and ****ed off they didn't read a bluff (there were many signs). As I said, those people are good for a laugh. Use your brain people or prepare to be let down and conned your entire life. When you do this, you can watch cycling and enjoy it, because the sport is great.
 
Jul 7, 2009
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why I watch

I watch because it's amazing what these athletes can do. Doped or not, they are all excellent athletes. To watch them climb those mountains is amazing and gives me motivation to push myself harder. The thundering sprints are just as awesome to see.
 
Galic Ho said:
I will put it this way. The four purest sports IMO are running, swimming, cycling and rowing.

I'd argue track and field, swimming and wrestling. Cycling and rowing are both pure forms of athleticism (either explosivity or endurance), but with a man-made creation to assist; if we're allowing them, then we should allow skiing too.

edit: obviously by wrestling I don't mean like Stone Cold Steve Austin. I mean actual physical combat.
 
Jul 22, 2009
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With the day-before weight ins and weight cutting in amatuer wrestling, I think many controlled substances would be downright life threatening. Those guys will shake off 30lbs of water weight in a handful of days before competition.
 

flicker

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Aug 17, 2009
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My dream that 2012 will be comeback 3.0 my Lance beats the crap out of Contador, Lance 8 a rainbow tinged reality, Levi wears yellow for a week,and my Lance autographs my chest on the Champs....
 

ianfra

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Mar 10, 2009
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Why follow cycling? (daft question) Because I AM a cyclist and have been for 50 years. All these stupid opinions that come from people who do not love the sport ignore the fact that there are cheats in every walk of life. Bankers cheat. But I still use a bank. Governments and politicians cheat. But I still vote. You've probably cheated at something or the other during your life, but no doubt some people still like you. I read so much moralistic bullsh@@ about doping in cycle sport and how people do not know what they are watching and so on. I bet the people writing that stuff still watch the alcoholics playing football.
 
Jun 21, 2010
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Pro cycling's scripted events and storylines are more complex than the WWE. This provides a slower building drama which requires a longer attention span. While I identify with the shiny bulging muscles of my favorite pro wrestlers, there is also something exotic about pro bikers, including their shaved legs. Whoever scripted the repeated doping "scandels" is a genius. It portrays biking as a 'mainstream', everyman's sport. The WWE can and should weave a doping storyline or two into the current season. Maybe Miz should be DQ'ed from his latest championship b/c he 'failed' a dope control. I predict a newcomer will 'win' the Tour this year. The Vince McMahon of cycling needs an 'infusion of new blood' to keep cycling fans 'hooked'.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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To the OPs original question...

Even with all that's going on these days, especially considering all that is going on these days, I still spent time last night to program the Tour of Oman's daily wrap-up show into my PVR and will dutifully stay away from cycling newsfeeds the entire week in order to be surprised by who wins the sprint (and TT and MTF...) for each stage.

All this for the Tour of Oman.

It kinda sums it up for me there.
 
Aug 12, 2009
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Libertine Seguros said:
I'd argue track and field, swimming and wrestling. Cycling and rowing are both pure forms of athleticism (either explosivity or endurance), but with a man-made creation to assist; if we're allowing them, then we should allow skiing too.

edit: obviously by wrestling I don't mean like Stone Cold Steve Austin. I mean actual physical combat.

No I get your points. I agree, but add cycling and rowing simply because of the simple mechanics involved. Both use a unique rhythm and require an enormous engine to win. Alpine skiing doesn't use this as much, but the cross country skiing does. However it's mechanics are a little bit more complicated that is why I don't add it to my list.

Physical combat is appealing. I'd argue for the same reasons the Colosseum was such a kick in Ancient Rome. People like a spectacle. Base raw appeal. Take the MMA, technique and mechanics in that are so advanced it is beyond normal comprehension. Most people just watch and cheer. Hundreds of techniques with only a few outcomes for a win. The other sports are more natural IMO, even though they use a machine. The basics of those sports are quite simple by comparison.
 
Jul 29, 2010
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jaylew said:
As Mellow said and I also believe, the sport is cleaner now than it's been in the past....

OK, let me check the calendar. Are we in the year 1999?
If we're not, then sorry your comment is total fantasy.

New generation, same sh*t dude.
 
Jul 29, 2010
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ianfra said:
... there are cheats in every walk of life. Bankers cheat. But I still use a bank..

Great. But what if the regulatory agencies that oversee the banks were corrupt as well, and in fact were accepting bribes. Would that bother you, or would you just write it off as the ranting of "people who don't love commerce"? :confused:
 

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