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Contador stripped of 2010 TDF title

vadimivich will be most displeased by this
 
Also lost his 2011 Giro title, which is nearly as important.

Because of the length of this case, his 2 year ban will end this summer - he'll miss the Giro and TdF, but he can ride the Vuelta (and will be a huge favorite to win that).

Every major cyclist throughout history has doped. It's simply humanly impossible to physically survive the sport otherwise. You either make peace with it, or you don't follow the sport. I guess that's the point I'm at.
 
vadimivich said:
Every major cyclist throughout history has doped. It's simply humanly impossible to physically survive the sport otherwise. You either make peace with it, or you don't follow the sport. I guess that's the point I'm at.
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BS. The running world is full of people completing extremely grueling events without doping.

Would the sport slow down without doping? Yes. Would riders be unable to physically survive without doping? Hell, no.
 
lol if you think the running world isn't full of doping (it just doesn't attract nearly the scrutiny, money or testing) - and it's not just individual events that make cycling so brutal, it's the relentless schedule of races on top of each other.

Cycling, in the form the sport is now, would not be recognizable if it was "clean". Always has been that way. Fans say one thing, but want another.
 
And not to come off as "defending" blood doping and the like - it's more a resignation to the reality I have to live with if I want to enjoy the sport.
 
vadimivich said:
lol if you think the running world isn't full of doping (it just doesn't attract nearly the scrutiny, money or testing) - and it's not just individual events that make cycling so brutal, it's the relentless schedule of races on top of each other.
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I'm talking the really grueling running events...not the Olympic style races. The guys running 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states. Ulrich completing back to back to back to back 150 mile Badwater ultramarathons in some of the highest temps on earth, with crazy elevation gain (19000 cumulative elevation gain). Essentially 26 marathons in 10 days, in some of the toughest possible conditions where runners actually run on the white line to keep their feet from burning:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badwater_Ultramarathon

These events make the TDF look like a bike cruise, and they are completed by non-dopers. Could they go faster by doping? Absolutely. I'm not arguing otherwise. But, is doping necessary to survive? No. Cycling would be a far more interesting sport without the doping.
 
RacerDeac said:
I'm talking the really grueling running events...not the Olympic style races. The guys running 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states. Ulrich completing back to back to back to back 150 mile Badwater ultramarathons in some of the highest temps on earth, with crazy elevation gain (19000 cumulative elevation gain). Essentially 26 marathons in 10 days, in some of the toughest possible conditions where runners actually run on the white line to keep their feet from burning:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badwater_Ultramarathon

These events make the TDF look like a bike cruise, and they are completed by non-dopers. Could they go faster by doping? Absolutely. I'm not arguing otherwise. But, is doping necessary to survive? No. Cycling would be a far more interesting sport without the doping.
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I find it hard to believe that marathon runners are doping, but I guess some of them could be. Ryan Hall is such a jesus freak that I can't believe he'd do something like that. He has been running sub 2:05 for some time now, but maybe I'm giving him too much credit.
 
It is a shame for the sport. Love or hate him, Contador made the TDF pretty damn interesting. He was kind of smug and arrogant but he was clearly the best rider for Astana a couple of years back when Lance was trying to be the main guy for that team.
 
vadimivich said:
Also lost his 2011 Giro title, which is nearly as important.

Because of the length of this case, his 2 year ban will end this summer - he'll miss the Giro and TdF, but he can ride the Vuelta (and will be a huge favorite to win that).

Every major cyclist throughout history has doped. It's simply humanly impossible to physically survive the sport otherwise. You either make peace with it, or you don't follow the sport. I guess that's the point I'm at.
Click to expand...

LeMond?

Part of the doping is driven by money, just wondering how much money is involved with these ultra marathon type events. Seems that most of the 'cheats' are either driven by money (winning the TDF is a big pay day) or the Olympics (which is really money, winning gold medals means money).

Of course there always is the story of amateur cyclists that are competing for a $100 prize doping as well. Fairly rare but it does happen.
 
Deac83 said:
LeMond?

Part of the doping is driven by money, just wondering how much money is involved with these ultra marathon type events. Seems that most of the 'cheats' are either driven by money (winning the TDF is a big pay day) or the Olympics (which is really money, winning gold medals means money).

Of course there always is the story of amateur cyclists that are competing for a $100 prize doping as well. Fairly rare but it does happen.
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There's no doubt that the lack of money helps keep doping down in ultra-running. Totally different culture. I'm not looking to discuss the why's of doping or to compare the sports in any other way...only to counter the "cycling would be impossible without doping" justification argument by providing examples of athletes completing more grueling events without doping.
 
vadimivich said:
Also lost his 2011 Giro title, which is nearly as important.

Because of the length of this case, his 2 year ban will end this summer - he'll miss the Giro and TdF, but he can ride the Vuelta (and will be a huge favorite to win that).

Every major cyclist throughout history has doped. It's simply humanly impossible to physically survive the sport otherwise. You either make peace with it, or you don't follow the sport. I guess that's the point I'm at.
Click to expand...

How come Lance hasn't been convicted then? He's the most tested athlete ever right?

vadimivich said:
Cycling, in the form the sport is now, would not be recognizable if it was "clean". Always has been that way. Fans say one thing, but want another.
Click to expand...

And this statement seems ridiculous to me. It would be exactly the same, just a bit slower.
 
Lance definitely doped. He didn't get charged with fraud on the government (doping isn't against any civil or criminal laws in the USA), but that proves nothing.

I don't think Lemond doped, but I could be wrong. He whines like a baby about having to compete against doped athletes, which is atypical for top cyclists but to be expected of somebody who is clean.

Cycling has cleaned up its act significantly in the last 2-3 years, which is one of the reasons Contador got caught. And, yes, the sport has gotten much more interesting because of it--this year's race was fantastic. I think a large proportion of the peloton competes clean, though there are still plenty of bad apples, including at the very top of the sport, the UCI, which is at least as crooked as FIFA, the IOC, and other top sporting entities.
 
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