Professional Cycling - Over 300 people on the TDF thread is never a good sign

When I see a huge spike in the number of people looking at this thread I always shudder.

I’m curious to know how other people take this news. When you hear a new doping story pop up what is your first reaction? I used to get mad at the rider and blame the individual but lately I just feel bad for the sport. My non-cycling friends (yeah, I do have a few) always rib me after news like this.

p.s. anyone out there want to get crunk tonight?

This is an absolutely devastating blow. Like the Landis scandal wasnt bad enough, its followed up with the current leader under huge suspicion and the pre-race favorite caught doping and his team leading the overall team competition withdrawing.

How much longer will this wonderful sport last under such massively poor decisions.

ugh, the secretary at my work just said to me "wow, looks like the Tour results should always be written in pencil hu?"

har-har-har, thanks for that one Cyndi

This is an absolutely devastating blow. Like the Landis scandal wasnt bad enough, its followed up with the current leader under huge suspicion and the pre-race favorite caught doping and his team leading the overall team competition withdrawing.

How much longer will this wonderful sport last under such massively poor decisions.

Ummmm - its toast. This will go down as the final straw. And people need to realize, once sponsors start dropping, it has a kind of self-reinforcing effect. The bad news from major sponsors dropping out will cause other sponsors to consider dropping out etc...

Astana is done for the year.

T-Mobile may drop the team immediately.

Funny as it may sound - The Vuelta may be more like a typical smaller race. A few Pro teams and some national teams from 3rd world nations vying for practice for the Olympics.

I worry that this really is the end of Pro Cycling in any meaningful way.

holy **** i laughed, i think i'm going to have to turn in my bike =( @ the pencil remark

seriously though, i move that this forum be permanently deleted and replaced with Cycling for Druggies. "Drug abusing bicyclists are the fastest growing segment of the sport! Come in here to discuss needle preferences, shooting techniques, and schedules."

Professional rasslin' is fake. The NFL favors teams with big TV numbers. NASCAR is fixed. The NBA is fueled by cocaine of various prescriptions. Pro baseball is for juicers. All pro bike racers are dopers.

It's not just cycling.

But that's not much of a concession.

I hear pro ping-pong is a pretty clean sport....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGtZ7ul4jRY

maybe I'll start watching that. But as soon as any player starts to looked juiced I'm turning it off.

The NFL favors teams with big TV numbers.

incorrect. NE and Indy both have minimal TV numbers and are smaller market teams. Yet have won super bowls in 4 of the last 6. Tampa and Pittsburg are also smaller market teams.

The high post numbers for Vino and doping threads indicates to me that many in here know little about tactics and the riders. But when it comes to pointing fingers, wagging tongues, witch trials, and jumping ships, there no satisfying the appetite.
For me, the Tour has been filled with legitimate excitement, competition, and drama. It would take a hell of a lot more than one rider, not in contention, testing positive, to ruin the race for me. In my opinion, the dependence on race radios has done more to ruin the true nature of the sport than individual riders testing positive.
There's something disingenuous about people who post here day after day, joining in on the excitement, then claim one positive has ruined the entire sport for them.
Maybe I'm naive, but I don't see why people should witness all great things with Tour has provided, and be so quick to give up on it. Are NBA fans giving up on the sport because one ref was caught betting? Are they going to declare all of basketball to be a fraud? Are all referees now assumed to be crooked?
If the positive proves solid, then we have evidence the testing works. So in the big picture, we have to assume 99% of the riders in this years Tour are clean.

There's something disingenuous about people who post here day after day, joining in on the excitement, then claim one positive has ruined the entire sport for them.


But that one positive, on a guy that everyone rooted for because of all the heart he demonstrated, casts a doubt onto everyone. That's the bigger picture. Now I think, when are they going to catch Contador, or whoever else I've been rooting for? I'm still going to watch, but it's with suspicion for everyone who turns in a gutsy performance. It taints the whole race when you're waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I'm not saying that this ruined me for this year's tour, but it has deflated me somewhat. Everyday at work I am stuck with my nose in cyclingnews reading the up to date text of the stage. Oh well.

incorrect. NE and Indy both have minimal TV numbers and are smaller market teams. Yet have won super bowls in 4 of the last 6. Tampa and Pittsburg are also smaller market teams.

Yes, Boston is a small market. :rolleyes:

I guess that UCI agreement really scared everybody.

What a crock. Make them sign something with some TEETH, damn it!

The NFL favors teams with big TV numbers.

In the days before salary cap (especially after free agency grew in the late eighties), this was true.

Not any more.

waa ooo- here we go again, 300 +

What is the point of this stupid thread about the other thread?