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Andy Murray slams cycling for lack of skill and too many drugs… not like tennis

Yet another top star from another sport neglects to leave glasshouse before throwing stones

Andy Murray, the world number three ranked tennis player, says his sport needs to step up its anti-doping efforts including out-of-competition testing – but maintains that tennis differs from cycling in being primarily focused on the skill of the athlete, something he believes doesn’t apply in cycling, which he claims is more about physical attributes.

“I think there's very little skill involved in the Tour de France, it's pretty much just physical," said Murray, quoted in the Herald. "A lot of the way the teams work now is just science whereas with tennis, you can't teach the skill by taking a drug.

"Virtually the whole of the Tour de France was taking drugs 10 years ago,” he maintained, claiming that since 1990 tennis had seen around “65 positive tests, 10 of them recreational and 30 to 35 performance-enhancing in that time.”

The Olympic and US Open men’s singles champion, speaking in a press conference ahead of this week’s Paribas Paris Masters that was reported by Mail Online and The Herald, added in a sweeping generalisation that apparently went unchallenged: “In one year of the Tour de France you had more than that so I don't think tennis has been that bad. But that isn't to say that more can't be done to make it 100% sure there are no issues."

Admittedly, in the notorious Festina Tour of 1998, there was clear evidence of wholesale doping involving a number of teams, and fewer than half the riders who set out from Dublin finished the race in Paris due to expulsions and withdrawals, but not a single rider actually tested positive.

The truth is that with no test for EPO at the time, the riders had an advantage over the testers, and it was only by seizing the physical drugs that the authorities were able to unravel the scale of the problem.

While cycling clearly still isn’t rid of doping, and in all likelihood never will be, there is a much higher level of testing than is the case in tennis. However, Murray implies that due to the nature of their sport, tennis players have less to gain from using performance enhancing drugs, although there are longstanding rumours linking several leading tennis players to use of steroids in particular to help build their strength.

In the past, he has criticised the intrusiveness of random testing, but now believes it is essential to combat doping, especially in the off season.

“The out-of-competition stuff could probably get better,” admitted the 25-year-old, who revealed he himself had been subject to a random blood test at the weekend.

“When we’re in December, when people are training and setting their bases, it would be good to do more around that time.

“On Saturday night it was completely random and that’s good because we’re not used to doing many blood tests.

“I’ve probably had four or five blood tests this year, but a lot more urine, so it’s obviously completely necessary when you hear things like about [Lance] Armstrong.

“It’s a shame for their sport but how they managed to get away with it was incredible, for so long.”

Critics of tennis’s approach to doping argue however that that the sport must do much more to address the issue and that it does far too little testing particularly of top players.

In 2010, for example, a year that Murray spent ranked between third and fifth in the world, he did not undergo a single out-of-competition test.

During the same year, there were no out-of competition tests on three of the top five ranked women’s players – world number one Caroline Wozniacki, plus Venus and Serena Williams. 

Earlier this month, an article on the website of the US magazine Tennis Now explored various hypotheses regarding doping in tennis and pointed out that while according to World Anti Doping Agency Statistics for the period from 2007 to 2011, the International Tennis Federation showed 53 positive tests, there were only 21 anti-doping rule violations recorded in the same period.

The magazine quoted the blog Tennis Has a Steroid Problem as asking: “What accounts for the difference between positive tests and violations? Did players have Therapeutic Use Exemptions allowing them to use a banned substance? Did their 'B' Sample test negative? Did a tribunal find that the players did not commit a violation? If so, what was the reason for their finding?”

While high profile doping cases in the sport remain few and far between – the biggest in recent years being when the American player Wayne Odesnik was caught red-handed with human growth hormone at Brisbane airport, eventually serving a 12-month ban, reduced from an original two years – tennis itself is now facing some uncomfortable questions.

In August, when former US Postal Service team doctor Luis Garcia del Moral was handed a lifetime ban by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, the ITF acknowledged that he had worked with “various tennis players.”

It said that it would help enforce and give effect to USADA’s decision, including “not permitting Dr Garcia del Moral to participate in any capacity in, and denying him accreditation for or access to, any sanctioned tennis event or activity.”

The ITF added: “Players are asked to take careful note of the above when considering who to seek treatment, guidance and advice from in the future.”

Also in Spain, Dr Eufemiano Fuentes, the sports physician at the centre of the Operacion Puerto scandal in which athletes sanctioned were almost exclusively cyclists and non-Spanish nationals, has maintained in the past that he counted tennis players among his clients.

Whether he will name names or provide further details of his activities when the case goes to trial in Madrid in the new year remains to be seen.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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83 comments

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Simmo72 | 11 years ago
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He's entitled to his opinion but that also means I'm entitled to shove his racket up his mouth/backside (sideways). Insulting to say cycling requires little skill, what a stupid comment.

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badback | 11 years ago
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What a load of crap.

As someone said, if he wins the Sports Personality of the Year I'm gonna cry foul 'cos the boring tw@t does not have one.

I've never liked the miserable git and this has just confirmed my suspicions.

I don't think any sportsmen from other sports should comment on drugs until they're tested as much as pro-cyclists are.

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dodgy replied to WolfieSmith | 11 years ago
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MercuryOne wrote:

'Golf same'??

The rule of thumb is that if you get sweaty and/or out of breath whilst letting your boss win it's technically still a sport.

Golf is not a sport - it's a leisure activity like darts and dominos except more expensive.

Yes, 'golf same', it's a sport/game (whatever, I don't really care), I was just trying to point out to the hard of thinking of this usually intelligent forum that tennis is actually quite difficult to play - no matter how fit you are, which goes the same for golf. Understand now?

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hairyairey | 11 years ago
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Talking rubbish

Skills in professional cycling include the ability to ride downhill at 80kph or more with only a thin layer of lycra for protection.

Stamina is required in Tennis to make it through five sets when both players serve at over 160kph.

Both sports require skill, stamina and strength.

If the standard of testing in other sports is as bad as that exposed by USADA then all sports have a serious drugs problem. That for me was the main reason to disbelieve that Lance was taking drugs, hoping against hope that USADA had it wrong.

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SimonT1971 replied to phazon | 11 years ago
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Best input on this list - top work mate!

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leedgreen | 11 years ago
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He is dull and so is tennis.......

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Bob McCall replied to Hopalongsteve | 11 years ago
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Murray put so much effort into improving his physique and strength when he was struggling to win games. Now that he is benefiting greatly from that extra advantage it seems strange for him to refer to Tennis as being purely a skill game. That's nonsense as performance in most sports would benefit from that bit extra strength or stamina. Therefore, drugs and doping will always be a temptation in any sporting field.
As for the skill element, I will refrain from commenting on such an intricate point as I admit that I do not have sufficient knowledge to allow me to do so. Perhaps Andy Murray should have a rethink on that basis himself, or at least have a word with his Mum.
As a fellow Scot, I have always supported his efforts on the Tennis circuit, but I have to admit that his personality is not on the same level as his game. Perhaps the success of the GB cycling team and Brad Wiggins has made him a little envious?  39

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Lungsofa74yearold | 11 years ago
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Don't disagree with his comments re tennis skills relative to bike skills. That said, there is no way Nadal and Djokovic would have ever got near Federer without huge quantities of PEDs.  39

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phazon | 11 years ago
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F*ck me, 90% of these comments are an embarrassment. If I was a non-cyclist who came on here and read this I'd be leaving with a very low opinion of the cycling community. Read it back - school playground-level name calling based on a tabloid interview, which undoubtedly will have picked out the bits that made the best story. Chill out!

And road.cc, p1ss-poor "journalism". You should write for a red-top.

If you can't see that in general the skill of the participant makes a bigger difference in a top-level tennis match than it does in a bike race then you may as well give up now. Cycling is MASSIVELY about fitness, strength (mental & physical) & the ability to suffer - and it's all the better for it.

An unfit Roger Federer will still beat most opponents outside the top 4 - an unfit Bradley Wiggins would not have a chance.

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Squiggle | 11 years ago
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For the skill level comment I'd pretty much agree with him, anyone arguing otherwise is having a laugh. Ivan Basso is not Danny MacAskill. Although Pozzatto's bunnyhop over Cav was something pretty special!

I think Andy's had enough shit journalism written about him to last several lifetimes without this crap too... "Slams" is a bit of a pisstake. Anyone above resorting to Nationalism can fuck off too!

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Martin Thomas | 11 years ago
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+1 for not getting quite so worked up about this. I also think Murray has a point on the skill thing - even though I acknowledge there's a lot of skill involved in cycling, there's more in tennis - so much more subtlety and finesse (imagine Wiggo on a tennis court (!) and then Murray on a bike if you don't agree). This is a great example of what happens when relatively complex thoughts are expressed less well than they could be, then get twisted all over the shop in the public arena until they turn into something completely different in people's minds. I think the worst you can say about Murray as a result of this is that he's a bit naive - but he's a 25 year-old professional sportsman for crying out loud! what do you expect? Chomsky?

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Stumps | 11 years ago
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I can understand people getting worked up over the comments made, regardless of how or if the journo twisted them to suit,

BUT

my 8 year old son has just been reading the site when i left the computer on and lo and behold he has asked "whats s**t and f**k.

Can we please try and calm down some of the language used and remember who will read the comments. Thank you.

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boffo | 11 years ago
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My knee jerk reaction was similar to a lot of the other negative comment already posted, but on reflection he makes a fair point.  39

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Cooks | 11 years ago
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This site needs a 'like' button for posts.

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caketaster replied to Cooks | 11 years ago
1 like
Cooks wrote:

This site needs a 'like' button for posts.

caketaster likes this

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stupomft | 11 years ago
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Tennis ,along with football,was invented to give really dumb,boring people something to talk about.

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The Rumpo Kid replied to Stumps | 11 years ago
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stumps wrote:

I can understand people getting worked up over the comments made, regardless of how or if the journo twisted them to suit,

BUT

my 8 year old son has just been reading the site when i left the computer on and lo and behold he has asked "whats s**t and f**k.

Can we please try and calm down some of the language used and remember who will read the comments. Thank you.

Couldn't agree more.

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Squiggle replied to The Rumpo Kid | 11 years ago
0 likes
The Rumpo Kid wrote:
stumps wrote:

I can understand people getting worked up over the comments made, regardless of how or if the journo twisted them to suit,

BUT

my 8 year old son has just been reading the site when i left the computer on and lo and behold he has asked "whats s**t and f**k.

Can we please try and calm down some of the language used and remember who will read the comments. Thank you.

Couldn't agree more.

Woops sorry!  9

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shockleader | 11 years ago
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I'll probably agree with Murray about the skill - I'm better on a bike than I am at tennis (and I'm not that good on a bike either) BUT I hate tennis and pretty much everything to do with the game except that Russian bird and the girl scratching her bum in the poster.  16

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Ciaran Patrick | 11 years ago
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As a Tennis Cycle and running coach. I have lost a bit or rather a lot of respect for Mr Murray. There wasn't much there is the first place if I am honest.

However Tennis matches can exceed 5 hours if thats not physical I don't know what is. 5 hours is roughly the average of a Tour de France stage. Maybe they don't play everyday admittidily but a tennis match is much more intense over those 5 hours. You can sit in the peleton for 4 with 1 hour of activity.

A grand slam is two weeks. There is definitely a degree of physicality in the Game. Novak Djokovic for instance is an incredibly physically fit player who relies an attrition quite a lot.

I do wonder how many do dope in Tennis though and football is another sport where they play a lot of very intense games every week. Tennis and especially Football will never allow for the sport to be brought down there is too much vested interest in the game.

Notice how football never comes under the spot light. Cycling is much easier game for the authorities with little effective vested interest in the sport and as a result justification for there existence.

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shay cycles | 7 years ago
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I'm not too worried about what Andy Murray says - either about tennis or cycling.

It is likely that tennis like other sports has a drug problem that neither the athletes or the organisations want to fully acknowledge.

 

The thing that concerns me in this discussion is just how many cyclists seem to think that cycling doesn't require all that much skill. In addition to power here are just some of the skillful attributes required in cycling:

  • Riding a bicycle itself is a very complex skill (and one that we are not born with)
  • Riding fast down hill requires excellent balance, anticipation, adjustments of body weight, understanding of grip etc.
  • Excellent sprinting requires balance, controlled application of power, anticipation, tactical knowledge, very quick reactions, superb spatial awareness etc.
  • Excellent cornering requires excellent balance, awarenss of surface and grip, ability to adjust placement of body weight, excellent selection of lines etc.

Road racing (as well as track racing, MTB, cyclo-cross, BMX, Speedway etc) requires all of the above in any one event as well as the physcal attributes of strenth, power output, concentration, courage etc.

 

Someone commented that the skills will already be developed by the time a rider is physically ready to race at a high level. I would contend that skills continue to be developed even after we reach a point where our physical performance drops off (note Chris Froome having honed some skills prior to yesterday's Tour stage).

I just hope that coaches haven't forgotten about all of these skills.

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Jimnm | 7 years ago
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I like Andy Murray, he probably didn't mean any harm. Make allowances, he sucked up to Cameron during his presentation at Wimbledon. That says it all. I like him but he's a feckin wanker.

Bet his Mrs knows how to spend money haha !!! I'm off to take some drugs then I'm off out on my bike. I'll be flying lol 

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Sniffer replied to shay cycles | 7 years ago
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shay cycles wrote:

I'm not too worried about what Andy Murray says - either about tennis or cycling.

Very odd then that you decide to search out a news item from nearly four years ago to comment on.

Bizarre behaviour

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