Will it make any difference?

[SirLes]

Yet another thread I know and a topic that has been debated in bits and pieces in several other threads but worth bringing together as I feel it is the most important aspect of the the whole Landis thing.

Assuming that all those mentioned by Landis are convicted, (whether that will happen is the subject of other threads) will cycling become cleaner as a result?

My personal feeling is that it will make no difference whatsoever to whether cycling is cleaner. I actually think it could be quite bad for cycling.

This may sound as if I'm condoning doping but I'm not. Given what happened in Germany and the collapse of cycling there I can see a similar thing happening in the States and possibly elsewhere leading to a reduction in media coverage and subsequently investment by companies.

At the same time , just like after the Festina scandal (and all the others) other people will just fill the vacuum left by those removed from the sport and the cycle, if you'll excuse the pun , of doping will continue. (just as it has since the 1890s)

Strangely it may be in cycling best interests to hope this scandal comes to nothing whilst continuing the fight against doping in other ways.

Maybe the fear of being ratted out in years to come might put people off but I suspect many of these guys don't think that far ahead. Who does when they're 21?

 

[thehog]

I don't want to reply to another thread.

But this one caught my eye.

Too many people are saying this is a bad thing or its wrong to bring up the past. This is good. Very good. Believe me. Armstrong runs an Under 23 team. If we didn't find out what has been released in the last few days Armstrong in 3-5 years time would be coaching and managing younger riders who would later join the ProTour. With his connections and know-how of doping he could easily lead those riders down the same path he took a young Floyd Landis down. Levi would be the same as would Hincapie. That’s what happened to the last era. The EPO riders of the 90's became the DS's and the trainers and the advisors and guess what? They taught the riders of the 2000's how to dope.

Only good can come of this.

One last point is its very important for the public to see what USPS did on the bike is not possible. We see too many posts on the race threads about certain teams "not controlling" a race. Which is a reference to the old days whereby one team would control an entire Grand Tour. It’s important for the viewing public to know that while teams can control certain parts or stages of a race they cannot sit on the front day after day for 21 stages. Its not possible.

I think this year we've seen a cleaner style of racing and the its a lot more interesting.

Lets see what happens.

 

[santacruz]

I'd rather see cycling as a whole shrink in popularity with the media if it means cleaning it up a little bit more. What's the alternative, to let these guys get away with it? There is only one option, to bust them and try to catch the next guys even harder. We have to strive for a future where we can look back at the doping of the 90's and 2000's and cringe at how foolish we were to allow them to get away with so much doping.

 

[Benotti69]

There is only one option,....

when someone cheats, we have only i option and that is to bust them otherwise we are complicit in the crime but allowing it to continue

...to bust them and try to catch the next guys even harder. We have to strive for a future where we can look back at the doping of the 90's and 2000's and cringe at how foolish we were to allow them to get away with so much doping.

to bust them, the riders who dope, the dealers, the DS who knew and encouraged, the UCI(bribery), testers (according to Kohl) the ASO who allowed it....get them all...then everyone who wants to ride a bike fast against other riders can feel that they will be treated, when cheating, with the life bans or if they win fair and square with the deserved plaudits...

 

[hektoren]

With just as much joy as I've derived from cycling, both by being a part of competitive cycling as well as being a spectator to it, I'd like to be able to let my children go into cycling, with dedication and love for the sport, knowing that they'll be able to compete in a clean(er) sport than recent history has shown it to be. That's about it for me, really. I'd like to leave this world with cycling in a better shape than the one I met. Turning a blind eye on cancer personified in cycling is so not the way to go forward.

 

[SirLes]

I agree with much of what has been said.

I'm just not sure that it will have much of an impact on making the sport cleaner.

The information is 5 years out of date so doesn't give an indication of the current situation but reinforces the message that a) everyones doing it b) they're getting away with it.

I take the point that some of the riders are in positions of authority but I think it's fair to say that there will be very few people in cycling currently without skeletons in the closet.

If cycling is going to clean up then it will require the help of many ex-dopers. I wonder about some of the implicated riders responses and whether they are due to the fact they used to dope and are now clean. One can hope!

Maybe in time it will be seen as another small yet significant victory on the rode to clean cycling. I just can't help feeling there will be plenty of negative fallout followed by a new set of dopers taking their places.

depressing

 

[VeloCity]

Depends on how the UCI responds. If they just close up ranks, then no, I doubt anything will really change. But if they finally see that the writing is on the wall and actually take active, constructive steps toward cleaning up the mess - both internally and in the sport itself - then yeah, I could see the sport becoming cleaner. Totally clean, no, but cleaner, yes.

 

[ggunbu]

I say allow everybody to dope and we'll see who really is the best!

 

[buckwheat]

I say allow everybody to dope and we'll see who really is the best!

Welcome Lance!

 

[rafifi]

The Hogs post does not make sense to me.

"One last point is its very important for the public to see what USPS did on the bike is not possible. We see too many posts on the race threads about certain teams "not controlling" a race. Which is a reference to the old days whereby one team would control an entire Grand Tour. It’s important for the viewing public to know that while teams can control certain parts or stages of a race they cannot sit on the front day after day for 21 stages. Its not possible."

So am I assuming no one else is doping? Or, was USPS the best at doping? I acknowledge there is a problem but I don't understand the logic in that comment.

Is doping a systemic problem or a USPS problem. I'm trying to educate myself on the subject.