Would you?

[Cimber]

Lets say you were a pro back in the days before the bio-passports etc. Back in the 90s or first half of the 00s.

Do you think you would be an angel like Bassons or do you reckon you would jump the juicy bandwagon to stay competitive?

 

[spalco]

[x] Probably yes. But who knows without having been in that spot.

 

[hrotha]

I don't know. The vast majority doped, it wasn't even a moral issue for most of them, and I have no right to claim I'm a better person than the vast majority of people. Faced with the same pressures, I imagine I would probably have doped too.

 

[ebandit]

NO

100% NO

but i would never have been a pro cyclist.....winning is not that important to me

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Yes.
Can't say to what level.
The idea of blood transfusion would scare the living *** out of me.

 

[Cimber]

I guess I probably would given the group pressure from the team and that I probably would have known everybody else did it.

One thing that might have stopped me though, would have been the risk of long term health issues.

 

[spalco]

Yes.
Can't say to what level.
The idea of blood transfusion would scare the living *** out of me.

I agree, I think that would have been my line in the sand too.

 

[wannab]

No,

I don't see how you could enjoy "victories", are they? And even if every one else was doing it .. would you enjoy a sport like that? Not me

 

[Cimber]

No,

I don't see how you could enjoy "victories", are they? And even if every one else was doing it .. would you enjoy a sport like that? Not me

I probably would. I might look at it differently later on after my career was over though

 

[JPM London]

Always a great poll

This non-rider voted YES. I have no reason to believe I would not have followed suit.

Not sure - though - what I would have done if I was a rider at either end of the spectrum (with dope) as that must've made you wonder. At the tail end you'd have to wonder what you were doing there in the first place. At the top you'd have to wonder if you took it too far. Or maybe you wouldn't. Seems like they didn't. And in any group someone has to be at either end.

There's one line in the sand though. I don't think for one second I'd have started after Festina - or continued had I already been doing it then. That would have been the wake-up call for me. I'm not sure either I'd have continued to lie about to this day - maybe for a few years, but with the old skeletons that came out from T-Mobile in 06-07 I don't believe I'd stuck with denial any longer.

 

[Pentacycle]

If you haven't done any higher education and you've put all your life in cycling since you were 16, then hell yeah! You have to level the playing field at least just once to see what you can really achieve.

 

[LesCombes]

Definitely yes. I don't see why I would have to be the one sitting at home while my fellow cyclists race on.

I'm in 1994, EPO cannot be traced and speeds go up because of it. I'll find a good doctor and hope it works well for me.

Hell, I'll even celebrate each and every success.

That's exactly why I don't blame a cyclist from that era for going along.

I do blame people who do not regard it as being a big problem. Or worse, hire folks like Ibarguren and act like nothing is wrong when asked the most logical questions.

 

[wannab]

I probably would. I might look at it differently later on after my career was over though

I don't see how you can put your head in the sand like that and one day look back on it with no remorse,regret. Actions count and you can't reverse them.

Of course you could do it for the money but is that the motivator (capitalisme 101, do whatever it takes)? How can you look yourself in the mirror when ejecting EPO, how can you be smiling on the podium afterwards?

What about the day you turn 60, diagnosed with cancer, thinking about it might have to do something with it.

So many idealistic views, maybe, it might be totally different in another perspective, as for now, I like to hold on to these idealisms and believe I would pursue them in that situation.

 

[Miburo]

In that time most likely yea, if i had the potential to be a real good rider.

If i was just a waterboy I might have quit or maybe still take the dope. Not sure about that one.

 

[Bratam]

If it was in my blood, my passion and suddenly I started seeing everyone that I used to be better than start overtaking me then I probably would. So it's a YES from me under those circumstances.

On the other hand, If I was never quite good enough, then NO I wouldn't get on the bandwagon just to try and stay in the job.

I voted Yes.

 

[deboat]

(Honestly) YES !
When I was young and in my 20's I drank lots, smoke dope and took pills that I knew then can cause damage. And all of that was only for fun.
Now I don't smoke, drink very little and enjoy a very heathy lifestyle and as far as perforance drugs go for me now have no reason to take anything because I am not racing anymore.

 

[Lanark]

Wouldn't hesitate a second, yes.

 

[Catwhoorg]

I don't use anything stronger than coffee and aspirin now.

I don't think that would change if I ever had been good enough to be a pro in any sport. (Was closer in rugby than anything)


I know a couple of older guys on "low-T" therapy, thankfully I don't race against them, but it would **** me off if I did and they beat me.

 

[cineteq]

Most likely NOT, since I don't do drugs of any kind.

 

[brilleaben]

Drugs are fun, count me in. You could potentially go from pack filler to winner with no risk of getting caught. Really, the most interesting psychological aspect is why someone didn't/wouldn't do it.

 

[The Hitch]

No. Not for moral reasons though, but because I'm far more scared of the side effects than I am attracted to winning, which is a temporary pleasure anyway.

However since in the 90's this wasn't as well known its perfectly possible I could have been convinced into thinking the drugs were small time and had no side effects. Only as long as I believed that story though.

 

[martinvickers]

Lets say you were a pro back in the days before the bio-passports etc. Back in the 90s or first half of the 00s.

Do you think you would be an angel like Bassons or do you reckon you would jump the juicy bandwagon to stay competitive?

I think i'd have long since simply quit the sport, to be honest. Would not dope. full stop. But no appetite for repeated whippings by superhumans either; so walk away I suppose.

 

[sideshadow]

No

Depends. If I didn't complete school or get a college degree first and made cycling my only option at age 18 without knowing whether I truly had the talent or not, then probably yes, because I need to eat. However if I had my college degree first and then went pro the answer is definitely NO, and I also would've busted as many riders as possible, if they were doping.

 

[veganrob]

Honestly I would have tried test and hgh maybe for short while, but the EPO and transfusions are just way too creepy for me. So I wouldn't have lasted long.

 

[maltiv]

Definitely not. I'm fairly competitive already at a national level. Who knows how far I could reach with doping, but I don't care. I certainly wouldn't be more happy with such a life.

It's not like I'll have problem finding a good job with my education anyway. But I can totally understand how it's a more difficult dilemma for people in economic difficulties...but I don't think that excuses them nonetheless.

Money doesn't buy you happiness, particularly not when it comes with a bad conscience and a constant fear of getting caught. I'm absolutely convinced that the dopers in the peloton aren't happy with their lives at all, even though it's easy to think so as they have money, fame and probably a hot wife. However, none of those factors are good predicators for sustainable happiness.