World Cycling 2015 - 2020

[TubularBills]

Vision.

Describe the desired future.

Where does it go after this?

What does Cycling 2020 look like?

 

[Ferminal]

I do not know what cycling will look like on Monday, let alone a decade's time.

Overall I think some progress will be made, as the power will be shared across the stakeholders rather than a few ignoramus in Aigle.

 

[blackcat]

cycling will be a charade til someone presents a new vision. I cant see it happening in the medium terms future. I am looking decades, not 2020

I would like to see Julian Savulescu come in and shake things up.

 

[ElChingon]

In 2020 Hein Jr. has been rumored to have taken a bribe to cover an assortment of racing infractions from the ORT (Omerta Racing Team) managment (now official name of a team!) but there is no solid evidence as it is rumored the bribe was in the form of a newly manufactured form of Aluminum, Transparent Aluminum. No one seems to have actually seen the transfer of this rare material, for obvious reasons. All governing bodies are puzzled at the dominance of ORT this year as they have won every single race on the Supreme Deluxe Cycling Racing calender and top all podium up to the number of entries by a team (placing first through eight in one day events and ninth in GT's, stages and GC!) more inquires are being processed as we write.

At the same time opposing teams have been seen with jersey pockets full of cash! Gold bullion on some occasions and diamonds have been seen falling out of riders pockets post race as they cool down. Not one complaint or comment from said riders, but plenty of laughing and yells of "I'm RICH *****!".

In a related matter there have been numerous reports from Switzerland of a man floating in the air watching a TV also suspended in the air. More news as it happens...

 

[Yingge]

In that case its time to watch something else on TV and trawl the Internet for different subject matter.

 

[PCutter]

in 2020 the Spanish judicial system opens a case looking at the disclosures of the USADA case against shamed former rider Lance Armstrong and any Spanish connections.

But more seriously, Rupert Murdoch, with his son as Chair of the new company, sets up a break-away league with ASO, RCS and the owners of the major classics following their first foray into professional cycling via the British registered Team Sky.

Rights and revenues are divided up between the owners of the races and NewsCorp, with road racing shown on Sky/Fox/Star in the US, UK and Asian markets and traditional holders of the rights continuing to hold them in home/European markets. Teams receive funding from the broadcast rights ensuring security for both teams and riders. A number of teams are not invited to the new league following damaging revelations linking them to an Italian investigation into money laundering and doping.

Cycling is kicked out of the Olympics due to the incompetence and corruption shown to be rife in the governing body the UCI, only re-admitted in 2020 having re-built their brand with the governing body now separate to the professional league cycling teams. The UCI sets up the doping control body as a separate independent body. Cyclists stop complaining about the inconvenience of doping testing, realising given the sports history it is necessary for them to give blood 15 minutes before the grande depart. Cyclists are not permitted to get reductions in their doping penalties unless they contribute to the conviction of the doctor that facilitated their doping. Said doctor is pursued to prosecution after being banned from the sport and reported to their respective medical board where they are struck off from the medical registry, leaving them both disgraced, and without their qualifications.

China has its first winner of the Tour de France, however the English press suggests he must have "buckets for hands" to go that fast as it is inconceivable that someone from the worlds most populous country could possibly win without assistance.

Women, whilst still second class citizens in the world of cycling, can make a living from being a professional cyclist, and actually get paid by their teams.

But the reality is I'll wake up in the morning and another sponsor will have left professional cycling.

 

[babastooey]

The new normal in cycling is that testing accomplishes nothing. It isn't really the new normal, it has just been confirmed by the USADA report.

Therefore, if the goal is to have 100% clean cycling, the current sport as it exists is unwatchable. The only way to catch cheaters is through eyewitness testimony and the only way to get eyewitness testimony is to question riders at the end of their career who have nothing to lose anyway, or to question riders who work for a team (Garmin) who protects cheaters by hiring and not firing them (in fact, it seems like being an ex-cheater is a prerequisite for working there). The race takes place and then 8-10 years later, we can find out who really won. The sport is ruined if this continues to happen.

What must change is that testing must improve. It has to. The only way this can be done is with money. If cycling teams and cycling races want to demonstrate that they are committed to restoring a clean sport, then they must fund testing technology which will outpace the cheating. In fact, I would go so far as to say that testing must improve to the point where they can test all the riders before a race, screen out 100% of the cheaters, and get the results within a matter of hours. Then they can "black flag" the cheaters before the race is finished and have them pull off to the side of the road and then quit, and then be banned for life, leaving the race itself to be decided by the honest riders.

I think it will take this level of committment to keep the sponsors and especially the fans interested in the sport.