Reading the quote from Road Bike Action website in regard to the Katusha boss it is little wonder why riders are enticed to dope, This quote in in regard or pointed toward Gert Steegmans, who has had injuries etc,

 Tchmil compared the situation to that of a normal company. "If I work for five months for a company and all that time would not perform, what would my boss say? Here is the same. We do not give gifts. The riders are paid to drive results. If that fails, then they change teams. It is possible, even likely, that some contracts this season will again be reviewed, and possibly canceled. I do not speak specifically about Steegmans. I am referring to the entire team. Katusha is just a professional company, focused on achieving results. Those unable to do so must be replaced."

and why I feel so positive about Cedrvelo Test Team, Team High Road etc who push back against doping.  But in particular I am very impressed with the Cervelo Test Team focus on product development with a lower pressure philosophy, and still stand on the podium.  So hopefully this attitude can be wiped out just like the doping it pushes.  I love the idea that Cervelo has fan travel options to meet the teams, ride the courses etc, they are showing a revolutionary new way to do things, just like their bikes are revolutionary.

Cervelo has been on the ultra cutting edge since its inception

Agreed the higher profile teams with the money to push back against doping and to hire apparently clean riders is all well and good .But until they reduce the Grand Tours stages or increase the number of rest days these races are inhuman .Today was the "Queen 'stage Stage 10 - Tuesday, May 19: Cuneo - Pinerolo, 262km .Before a 214km on Weds,Before A 60km TT . This is impossible and 746km over the following 4 days before the next rest day.

I had the opportunity to ride(very slowly) Ventoux, Courchvel , Telegraph and part of Galibier in 2005 while watching LA with Discovery and found it amazing day after day at such a high tempo was difficult to comprehend .

Just my 2 cents

Steve Ward 

 

You are right, it is a multifacit problrm, teams/ powners/ sponsors that want only to win, and races that stretch the limits of human capacity.  There may be a few riders that have the capability to do such feats but others may only be there with outside help.  That urge to win at any cost is the fuel that stokes the fire of doping, along with the pressure to perform nearly inhumane feats.  Ket's hope there is a tide turn coming and that the sport rises above the recent past.

Ron

Katusha is a big budget team and Tchmil is under just as much pressure as the riders to get results. Nowhere in his quote is doping implied. Everyone understands the current realities in cycling now: if anyone on a team is caught doping the whole team may be banned from not only grand tours but the other races controlled by RCS, ASO, etc. The consequences of getting caught can be fatal for a team. I'm sure Tchmil is making that known behind the scenes. And why do you figure everyone on CTT are saints? Haussler could be found positive tomorrow. You never know.

 

What you say may well be true, but many of the people that have succumbed to doping have publicly admitted the pressure to perform, especially after an injury comeback enticed them to dope.  It was a matter of doping or not having a job, the outcome was the same in either direction in their minds.  There has been much said about the whys and wheres of doping, just this sort of public statement by the boss, and assuming behind the scenes the pressure if greater than what was said in the media, reinforces the issues that lead to cheating in sport and in business.  Inordinate pressures make normally good people do things that they may not normally do, this is no different in business or sport.  I agree there are no guarentees of piety on CTT, but if the team is not solely focused upon the race result and first place finishes at all costs then maybe the pressure to cheat is reduced as well.  It is still a cultural (meaning team/ sport culture) thing in my thinking that leads people to do bad things in the face of pressure to perform.  I believe pressure and fear is the crucible that puts the integrity of individuals at test.  The statement definitely panders to the fear side of reinforcement.

I concede your point and admit that CTT seems to be doing things the right way, but they are one team in a sport where doping is well established. A fat contract and job security waits any rider, regardless of team, that produces a big win. Remember that Stapleton took over the T Mobile team and firmly established zero tolerance for doping, only to have a positive (or two?) his first year. Cycling is doing way more than any other sport to combat this, but there will always be cheaters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saddly though I wish it was not true, your are probably right that there will always be cheaters, when the stakes are high, the dark side of human nature pushes through.  I guess we can only hope that more teams like High Road, CTT, and others come forth and hope that though they have zero tolerance they can also influence the individual to stay clean.  There has been both systemic and individual cases and though CTT does say as a team they are against it the individual is still the wild card factor.  So let's hope that in time they can reduce the cheating to a level that is the envy of other sports.  It is a real downer to see an extrodinary performance only to find out it was fueld by doping.....

One need only look towards Bernard Kohl for why riders dope....he clearly explained his decision to dope was based on a season full of lackluster performances on a team that would be dismantled.  He chose to use PED's for the TDF to get a good contract.  He probably would have signed a deal with out doping, but if he had not been caught he would have had the KOM title on his palmares.

FWIW if every rider on Garmin, CTT, and Highroad is clean I'll eat my hat!!  I firmly believe PED's are in EVERY team to some extent. 

 

Sadly, I hope you are wrong.  The unfortunate point is that the tainted situation now has created the environment which assumes guilt not innocence.  That as well as the pressure to perform, the difference in a contract with KOM on the palmares vs not, and the length of the time a cyclist can make top dollars is a very intoxicating brew that would test the mettle of many a good person.

Let's hope that maybe the teams are clean as the purport to be and that no "PEDs" are part of the daily or occasional use by team members.  I am probably over optimistic, but I do want to believe there is a chance for good to prevail and that the time will come where we have clean preformance in sport, but in particular in cycling. 

peislc:

The unfortunate point is that the tainted situation now has created the environment which assumes guilt not innocence. 

Interesting statement.  Personally I have always "assumed" guilt from the time I started watching pro cycling.  I knew as a young child pro wrestlers used steroids & the eastern bloc countries were cheating, but it doesn't take long to realize A LOT of people at all levels are doing something "wrong".  With that said, the use of PED's has never really bothered me. 

Lawrence Taylor (pro US football for the non-Americans) was coked out of his head, but he's still the best linebacker I've ever seen.

I don't think even 1% less of Pantani, Virenque, Merckx, or any of my other favs because they used drugs.   

My feeling on PED's summed up = "You don't ask a magician how they do the tricks, just enjoy the show!"

 

 

kkjellquist:

My feeling on PED's summed up = "You don't ask a magician how they do the tricks, just enjoy the show!"

 

 I'm OK with Pantani using PEDs.  He knew what he was doing.

I'm not ok with over-18s not being able to cycle unless they're willing to take PEDs, because the pelotons too fast.  Then it's not their choice.

I'm NOT OK with under 16s taking 'roids because their sporting heroes take 'roids.

I'm NOT OK with under 16s taking roids or anything else because their chosen sport has all the elite athletes taking it, and to join is the only way to enter the sport.

It's not just PEDs.  I'm not OK with under-16s being bulimic to wrestle in a lower weight class.  There are thousands of unhealthy examples.

I don't believe anyone under 18 can make an informed choice about the long-term effects of taking PEDs, and some of the PEDs will seriously hamper your puberty.

And yes under 16s take PEDs.  Under 12s sometimes take it because their parents push it.  In all sports.  That's child abuse.

That means that I want the over-18s to be clean, so that the under-18s can safely emulate their heroes.  And that means I want the peloton to be clean.

I'm not OK with the sporting organisers covering it up, but everyone knows you gotta do it anyway.

I can't enjoy the show unless it's clean.

Barend makes the case for why doping has to be cleaned up in sports. The assumption is already pervasive that one has to dope to be competitive in pro cycling, among the casual public as well as many riders. It's got to be discouraging for kids coming into the sport. And there are many aggressive parents who want to give their kids every edge to succeed. I just wish other sports would go after dopers as much as cycling does. I know European football has got to be really dirty. As far as Boonen snorting cocaine outside of racing, I could care less. Let him get high, he's already under enough pressure.