burnthesheep wrote:
So, here's an honest question.........what's the testing like in running, swimming, triathlon versus pro cycling?
I find the news cycles and grandeur of cycling pops to other endurance sports a bit odd when it basically took an award winning documentary to get the public onto the whole Russia/Olympics athletes thing revived. I say revived as it's always been there in Olympic sport.
It's like cycling is the public whipping boy for the rest of the dirty crowd in sports. By all means, keep up the work of getting the bad guys/gals..........but I find it hard to believe the news cycle by coincidence mostly hits cycling the hardest. It's not a conspiracy against cycling, I think it's the fact other groups aren't doing the same things to catch and shame people at the same level.
We've still got people outing Lance in public, today, but I don't see people routinely booing the Russians when they show up to something.
I wonder if the cycling general public has higher demands than the other sports. Like an elephant, we never forget.
The fact is testing in cycling is now very strong and thorough. Probably because of past history. Discussing regularly with pro / international elite, they are really under pressure with this.
Much more than in many other sports :
Tennis testing is a real joke, for exemple AMA peoples are excluded from Roland Garros area during the tournament, these guys can enter only a spectator, it is important to protect players (WTF ??)
Football (soccer), such a joke also. If applying cycling rules, IMO 95% will be positive.
Triathlon : no continuous testing, no electric bike testing (?)
...
But, however, even if regular and serious testing in cycling, it is not perfect due to :
1) doping research : always something new not yet searched for of included in "the list"
2) AUT were used by Sky, and others, for years.... just get a medic signature, a nice approval, and that's it... it is "the fortress open backdoor"
AUT are not illegal, they are just not well regulated.
They should be much much more regulated.
So, IMO, UCI is doing a good job, but should do even more !
Many other federations are just at the "joke" level, comparatively. Essentially protecting financial interests, not safe and equal competition.