Originally Posted by
Chombi
What worries me too is the negative effect that all the recent chemical, blood and mechanical doping scandals are having on the public's perception of the sport. As it could lessen the number of potential future devoted cyclists that could eventually carry on the C&V movement in the future, because they might be discouraged to participate in a sport that most of the public might consider as "sleazy" at the highest levels.
The cyclocrosser recently caught for mechanical doping takes the cake for me. Just utterly stupid and disgusting!
Makes no difference.
There is no doubt there is rampant doping in all professional sports. Cycling takes it seriously. Football (both types), baseball, basketball, hockey, etc doesn't. Of course Manning is taking hgh, along with dozens of things that will get you a 2-year UCI ban.
But we don't care. We want spectacular entertainment and don't care how we get it. Sure, we point out fingers at cycling, saying how "evil" Armstrong was. That's easy because we don't care about cycling. With the protections of unions, I doubt the "real" sports will have a scandal anytime soon and that makes us feel good about "real" sports. We can enjoy the entertainment and make believe there is no cheating.