Prognosis: Pro Cycling will disintegrate

Triathlon Forum
1

I just read an article form a journalist (Schallenberger), that pretty much summed up what I have been observing at this years TDF:

Right now, there are 8 Teams that decided to monitor/control their riders for drugs, whereas the other 13 decide to keep doing what they did before: Nothing
Infact, Cueva, directeur sportif of spanish team Relax-Gam (employing riders indighted in the Fuentes case) was quoted saying: “Pros don’t dope, they just take medications like all other athletes.”
Apparently there was some fallout about that attitude at the pre-race team-meeting. But the TDF organizers were able to mend things (for now).

Those 8 teams, 2 german and 6 french (T-Mobile, Ag2R Prévoyance, Gerolsteiner, Credit Agricole, Bouygues Telecom, Agritubel, Cofidis und La Francaise des Jeux), do not play any role in this years TDF. T-Mobile-Pro Kim Kirchen is the best placed, currently ranked 14th, Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) und Markus Fothen von Gerolsteiner are 28th and 29th respectively.
On the other side there are 9 riders employed by spanish teams in the top 20.

Of course there is also the financial pressure going on: The wealthy teams (Discovery) can employ those riders, that are talented without having to resort to drugs. Others, like the afore mentioned Relax-Gam don’t have the financial wiggle room to develop or buy talented riders. They need success NOW.

Best example for that is Barloworld. What a success this team has at this TDF. Barloworld has second place in points and mountains. Places 2 and 3 in best young riders, and 2 riders in the top 25!
They must have had a lucky hand building their team (with only three million $ / year). I’d really like to believe that, but if I look who is their directeur sportif:
Italian Claudio Corti, - wasn’t that the former directeur sportif of Saeco, that was involved in some nasty doping cases in the past?

I foresee that there will be either common grounds (unlikely) or a big split will be coming up. More likely, or Pro-cycling will stop to exist as a sport governed by the IOC.
I bet those guys in Lausanne have a close look at the TDF right now.

2

At the end of the day, pro cycling will continue so long as fans continue to take an interest.

Football and baseball are still doing well despite rampant drug abuse, so chances are cycling will survive as well.

3

Not to be a downer but I think things will basically stay the same. As much as all the doping brings bad press its still press. In my lifetime (im 29) two things have gotten the TDF on the local news.

  1. Lance
  2. Doping

It may be bad press but its press non-the-less and over in europe the papers are full of all kinds of smut and smear stories about the top pros anyway so I think it would roll off them a bit more than it does to some of us (i.e. more die-hard cycling fans in the US).

I see it like this. In the states we all know that your pro football players and baseball players and maybe some b-ballers are taking stuff. But it rarely gets in the news b/c most of us grew up hearing nancy reagan saying “dont do drugs” and there is such a negative stigma associated with anyone using an “illegal substance.” However in the UK and the eurpean union most of the papers are like tabloids to us and just thrive on the scandal and thats what the public expects.

just my 2 cents

4

CSC also has a testing program in place, and they are currently 3rd in team GC, and have a rider in the top 10.

Were they excluded from consideration because they don’t fit the premise of your post, or because you doubt the efficacy/honesty of their program?

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5

Not to mention fabian cancellara who puts out more power than a corvette
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6

Every team in the TDF has to have “some” sort of testing program.
Problem is, that there is no common standard.
And some teams test more often and more thoroughly than others…(factoring in the team “budget”). Or maybe are just more outspoken about it.
The author is an european cycling journalist, and may be jaded, but I am pretty sure he did not just “forget” CSC and Discovery in his analysis.
But both CSC and Discovery, with being “shakers” in Pro Cycling, have been awefully quiet. Too quiet in my opinion.

7

This is the best TDF in 20 years and it will only increase the number of fans and passion to the sport…

8

“Every team in the TDF has to have “some” sort of testing program.”

Uh, no…

“And some teams test more often and more thoroughly than others…”

Wasn’t your initial point that some teams don’t test at all (which is true…) I’m confused.

"The author is an european cycling journalist, and may be jaded, but I am pretty sure he did not just “forget” CSC and Discovery in his analysis. "

Disco would fit nicely into the theory as you describe it. Again, from your description of his thesis, one is led to believe that CSC was not included because having the number 1 team in the world already running an anti doping program as he advocates significantly diminishes the strength of his argument.

"But both CSC and Discovery, with being “shakers” in Pro Cycling, have been awefully quiet. Too quiet in my opinion. "

Whatever.
Apparently you weren’t listening when Riis/CSC repeatedly attacked Disco for it’s hiring of Puerto implicated riders early in the season.

Say what you will about Riis’ personal history of doping, lumping CSC and Disco together in this particular argument is ridiculous - unless you are prepared to attack the credibility of the CSC testing program.

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9

Guess what, Fred:

I am questioning any testing program implemented by any professional cycling team.

That is like letting convicted bank robbers watch the safe.

And you citing Riis as a credible and integer human being is just plain funny.
Newsflash: The guy cheated himself.

Sometimes I really wonder how often people have to get taken for a ride until they actually wake up (CSC is taking you for a ride right now).

10

Clearly you have serious reading comprehension issues.

At no point do I cite Riis as "a credible and integer human being " (whatever that means - he’s an integer? He’s not an integer? What does mathematics have to do with this?)

And, gee Riis cheated? Wow - what a shock! And that is germane to the conversation how?

As I stated earlier, an argument that Cycling teams with internal testing programs are inherently at a disadvantage as compared to teams without such programs must at least consider CSC, and either dismiss it’s program (and explain why,) or show how it fits in to the theory being expounded. You can’t simply ignore them, and the fact that they are one of the top teams in the Pro Tour, and do have a test program. Period.

Go back and read what I wrote, OK?

PS - what fun! I’m “being taken for a ride” and a doping apologist on this thread, and I’m the big anti-doping bully on Monty’s Chicken-love-fest thread. Sweet!

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11

Here we go:

Preudhomme just annonced that he will no longer do business with the UCI.
He states that UCI knew about Rasmussen being “on the run” and says that he had asked the UCI to not allow any riders that were under suspicion to start at the Tour.
He also states that he will only work directly with WADA from now on.

That is gonna get really interesting, with the Pro-Tour on one side and the ASO on the other.

Bye-bye
U in UCI!

12

Hmm, I wonder if they can get rid of some of the equipment rules as well.

13

Is that you Chicken Little?