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OPINION

Missing the point?

by James Warrener
Thu, Jun 11, 2009 13:08
3

I don't want to disturb you readers but I sometimes get the inspiration for this blog whilst in the shower after a ride. Last night I led a charmed life arriving in village after village just after the rain had been dumped from the sky.

I did get a little bit wet, but no-where near the level of soaking I had been anticipating. Last summer the skies were deposting on me every time I seemed to step out of the door. So the cycling gods must be smiling on me at the moment and I am grateful for that. Anyway I digress.

The main point of this blog was to bring you the shock news that I am known to flirt with other cycling website. Both RoadcyclingUK and Bike Radar are frequented by my good self and I am happy to while away time on either forum.

For me Road.cc sits in the middle of their stance on the dirty d word of drugs. RCUK seems to travel along oblivious to the obvious issues the sport has. BR on the other hand has a forum filled with clued up fans of the sport who pour over L'Equipe and Gazzetta for the latest news on cyclists and their habits. But is it too much the other way on there? I am beginning to think it is.

The phrase coined for Lance Armstrong supporters/sympathists/believers is "Fanboi" and the whole mood of the place has become cynical as fanboi's and Lance haters battle it out for the drug high ground.

But are they missing the point?

For me, cycling is becoming less about having heroes at the top of the pro tree who you want to aspire to and more about enjoying riding a bike. For me Greg LeMond called it right when he recently said that the sport would be struggling for a future. Drug suspensions are becoming less big news and I think that people who follow the sport either ignore the situation or turn a blind eye. Where do you stand?

Tour de France
drugs
Bernard Kohl

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3 comments

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TRs Blurb n Blog | 14 years ago
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I'd like to see a 'pro modified' division where contestants are allowed to nosh up as many drugs as their bodies can digest. We might not see any difference in performance to what we are seeing now. It would make great television too, imagine a whole peleton of riders chasing down a massive sound system...

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John_the_Monkey | 14 years ago
0 likes

Well, in terms of karmic balance, your non-soaking explains why I ended up skidding along the tarmac after either a) hitting a patch of oil+rain or b ) having my cleat unexpectedly disengage from my pedal.

Just what I needed after riding 13 miles in the rain, I tell you.

Avatar
Tony Farrelly | 14 years ago
0 likes

I'm interested in what the pros do but I'm not going to let it get in the way of me enjoying riding my bike.

Drugs are bad for all sorts of reasons, but you could argue that it's not the pros that have changed it's our attitudes to them - cyclists are no different from any other professional sportsmen, when high stakes are involved they seek an advantage wherever they can find one… I think it's called cheating.

The UCI keep a lid on bike development which would offer a legal and safer form of gaining advantage (and would benefit the wider cycling public) so denied being able to really tinker with the chassis and bodywork teams, national federations, and individuals turn their attention to illegally enhancing the engine… and these days with sports psychologists, the engine management system too.

Here's a novel idea, why doesn't the UCI relax it's outdated and daft laws on bicycle design and instead really get tough on illegal engine enhancement - Greg Lemond could tell them how to do it.

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