5 ms·

I used to really like to follow cycling -- I have now concluded it is the dirtiest sport there is. They are the original dopers -- note that the list starts in

I used to really like to follow cycling -- I have now concluded it is the dirtiest sport there is. They are the original dopers -- note that the list starts in the 1800's: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doping_cases_in_cycling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doping_cases_in_cyclin... e.g. 1930 "The acceptance of drug-taking in the Tour de France was so complete by 1930 that the rule book, distributed by Henri Desgrange, reminded riders that drugs would not be provided by the organizers." Now their "doping" the bikes.

davidw 11y ago
Oh, bullshit. Look at how rotten soccer is from FIFA on down. Look at US sports where those guys were oozing steroids out there ears with basically no consequences. It's just that cycling is kind of a working man's sport in Europe and is sort of caught in a no-man's land: it's not wealthy enough to buy its way out of trouble like soccer and US sports, but does have enough money to attract cheaters. When the scandal linked below hit, all the cyclists got caught and punished (rightfully so!), but people in other sports? The judge has ordered the evidence destroyed! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operaci%C3%B3n_Puerto_doping_case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operaci%C3%B3n_Puerto_doping_c... This was roughly the time period when the Spanish soccer team was running away with all kinds of international success. Cycling has surely had its share of problems, but it is also making a big effort to clean things up, with fairly draconian out of competition testing that would no way, no how be accepted by stars in other sports. See also: https://twitter.com/veloropa/status/725359244443262976 https://twitter.com/veloropa/status/725359244443262976 And like the response says, the only reason soccer doesn't have a bunch more is because they don't test well. If there's doping in cycling, you can bet that, at 10X (at least) the money in soccer, there's some serious doping going on there too.
- heartbreak 11y ago
  Do you have any evidence of FIFA matches having rigged equipment? And the Spanish national football team's string of success would have been after the investigation you linked to.
  - davidw 11y ago
    There were a bunch of rigged matches in Italy a while back. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Italian_football_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Italian_football_scandal > And the Spanish national football team's string of success would have been after the investigation you linked to. The one where no one but cyclists got singled out? Looks like they figured out they were pretty much in the clear.
- waynecochran 11y ago
  I get it -- you like cycling -- I do to. I think the races are so grueling that it was the first sport to find methods to endure the inhumane distances and terrain. But if you really like cycling you got to come to grips with how dirty the profession is -- real change won't happen until the organizers pull their heads out of the sand. Take a look at the leaderboards at the Tour de France -- these are just those that are caught: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_at_the_Tour_de_France#2008_Tour_de_France https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_at_the_Tour_de_France#2... It doesn't do any good to point at FIFA soccer... their dirt is more in the power and financial aspect of their sport -- and its horrible. Cycling has far higher demands on the human body in terms of endurance and a willingness to suffer -- thus drugs (and hidden motors) will always be a real temptation.
  - davidw 11y ago
    I like cycling, and I like clean cycling, and it does not do any good to smear the whole sport with "dirty!". What's that do to the guys who are competing clean? It pisses all over their efforts is what it does. It's not fair, and it does not help. Soccer is certainly not as hard as cycling ( https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/55/b5/51/55b551bfa7e05c39e32972920940e16c.jpg https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/55/b5/51/55b551bfa... ) , but with that much money involved, being relatively fresh after 80 minutes can count for a lot.
    - mikestew 11y ago
      What's that do to the guys who are competing clean? And just who would be on that short list? Like the commenter to whom you reply, I too used to be into cycling. Paid for streaming all the races. Used to race myself, and was a race official. But one after another got popped. I used to say that if Jens Voigt ever tested positive, I'd quit watching the sport, because I thought him to be the epitome of the hard-working rider who gets by on hard work and talent. Now I'm pretty sure Jens is on the juice, too. Hell, amateurs are getting popped for doping in Grand Fondos, where there's no money and no one gives a shit. Yeah, I'm going to smear the whole sport, because it's demonstrated to be dirty top to bottom. Go read A Dog in a Hat, about an American's time low-level racing in Europe. In that author's experience, everybody dopes. Doping defines cycling, IMO, and it's been that way for years. So I don't pay any attention the sport at all and watch MotoGP instead. Because playing the game of "who's clean and who's not" is not why I watched the sport. Sure, the sprinkling of clean riders get caught in the downward spiraling revenues, but that's not my problem.

davidw 11y ago

Oh, bullshit. Look at how rotten soccer is from FIFA on down. Look at US sports where those guys were oozing steroids out there ears with basically no consequences. It's just that cycling is kind of a working man's sport in Europe and is sort of caught in a no-man's land: it's not wealthy enough to buy its way out of trouble like soccer and US sports, but does have enough money to attract cheaters. When the scandal linked below hit, all the cyclists got caught and punished (rightfully so!), but people in other sports? The judge has ordered the evidence destroyed! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operaci%C3%B3n_Puerto_doping_case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operaci%C3%B3n_Puerto_doping_c... This was roughly the time period when the Spanish soccer team was running away with all kinds of international success. Cycling has surely had its share of problems, but it is also making a big effort to clean things up, with fairly draconian out of competition testing that would no way, no how be accepted by stars in other sports. See also: https://twitter.com/veloropa/status/725359244443262976 https://twitter.com/veloropa/status/725359244443262976 And like the response says, the only reason soccer doesn't have a bunch more is because they don't test well. If there's doping in cycling, you can bet that, at 10X (at least) the money in soccer, there's some serious doping going on there too.

heartbreak 11y ago
Do you have any evidence of FIFA matches having rigged equipment? And the Spanish national football team's string of success would have been after the investigation you linked to.
- davidw 11y ago
  There were a bunch of rigged matches in Italy a while back. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Italian_football_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Italian_football_scandal > And the Spanish national football team's string of success would have been after the investigation you linked to. The one where no one but cyclists got singled out? Looks like they figured out they were pretty much in the clear.
waynecochran 11y ago
I get it -- you like cycling -- I do to. I think the races are so grueling that it was the first sport to find methods to endure the inhumane distances and terrain. But if you really like cycling you got to come to grips with how dirty the profession is -- real change won't happen until the organizers pull their heads out of the sand. Take a look at the leaderboards at the Tour de France -- these are just those that are caught: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_at_the_Tour_de_France#2008_Tour_de_France https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_at_the_Tour_de_France#2... It doesn't do any good to point at FIFA soccer... their dirt is more in the power and financial aspect of their sport -- and its horrible. Cycling has far higher demands on the human body in terms of endurance and a willingness to suffer -- thus drugs (and hidden motors) will always be a real temptation.
- davidw 11y ago
  I like cycling, and I like clean cycling, and it does not do any good to smear the whole sport with "dirty!". What's that do to the guys who are competing clean? It pisses all over their efforts is what it does. It's not fair, and it does not help. Soccer is certainly not as hard as cycling ( https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/55/b5/51/55b551bfa7e05c39e32972920940e16c.jpg https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/55/b5/51/55b551bfa... ) , but with that much money involved, being relatively fresh after 80 minutes can count for a lot.
  - mikestew 11y ago
    What's that do to the guys who are competing clean? And just who would be on that short list? Like the commenter to whom you reply, I too used to be into cycling. Paid for streaming all the races. Used to race myself, and was a race official. But one after another got popped. I used to say that if Jens Voigt ever tested positive, I'd quit watching the sport, because I thought him to be the epitome of the hard-working rider who gets by on hard work and talent. Now I'm pretty sure Jens is on the juice, too. Hell, amateurs are getting popped for doping in Grand Fondos, where there's no money and no one gives a shit. Yeah, I'm going to smear the whole sport, because it's demonstrated to be dirty top to bottom. Go read A Dog in a Hat, about an American's time low-level racing in Europe. In that author's experience, everybody dopes. Doping defines cycling, IMO, and it's been that way for years. So I don't pay any attention the sport at all and watch MotoGP instead. Because playing the game of "who's clean and who's not" is not why I watched the sport. Sure, the sprinkling of clean riders get caught in the downward spiraling revenues, but that's not my problem.