Garfield2010 Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 Watched the 100 year history of the TDF and I realised that doping is as much part of the tour as is the bikes they ride and the rest....... Winning the TDF (and keeping the title) is about getting away with "doping" as much as it is to stay healthy and on your bike. I think in general you would have to be very gullible to actually believe that any top 5 finisher has gone completely free in the past 1 or even 2 decades.... So my point is that maybe we should enjoy the TDF for what it is. It isn't perfect and there is a lot you can get upset about but I guess the most important thing is that the playing field seems level for all the team leaders in terms of doping at least (meaning the best man should still win)...... Doping has been part of the TDF for 50 years and will most likely be part for the next decade at least so enjoy it for what it is or don't watch it at all...... I used to be the tours biggest fan in the late 90's to around 2003 when I realised what was going on. Since then I didn't enjoy it and always complained. This year I will treat it like an entertainment sports soap cuz that's probably what it is. StevieL, lucmccann and urbanroyal 3
Daideron Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 Some say it is the biggest unreality show on tv. Personally I love the Tour. Pity the riders bugger it up! But I say, vive le tour!
GrumpyOldGuy Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 Yah, it is what it is, nothing more, for years I have just watched it for the spectacle, I dont really care if they dope or not, I am just interested in the event as it unfolds............and the great views of the French countryside of course!. samuelp53, lucmccann, T-Bob and 5 others 8
gummibear Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 I don't care about the doping.It's about watching a group of the best cyclists climb hills i can hardly walk up,it's about the team spirit and each riders goal at the end of 3 weeks.With so many guys on form i think the next 3 weeks will be a cracker. StevieL and ichops 2
Slowbee Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 have you guys entered your teams ...... https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/127379-2013-thehubsa-tdf-fantasy-competition/page__st__48 rumour has it there is (a lot of) prize money up for grabs ....
No Name Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 I agree with Gummi. Don't care about the doping. It is not a shocker anymore. It's about the race, the suffering, the failures and the stage win. leaboy and JGR 2
JGR Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 The dope made for some great racing that much cant be denied. Havent seen a massive successful break away for sometime ala Landis ichops 1
Prince Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 Agreed. Dont worry about the doping. Its a spectacle!
nickc Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 If you are worried about doping in sport you will have to stop watching: SoccerBaseballAmerican Football amongst others as well. Even in Rugby it rears its ugly head unfortuantly. Myra 1
SeaBee Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 What piffef me off about the doping is the beer-bellied rugby fan criticising cyclists, when their sport is doing next to stuff-all - and I'd love to see the stats if, as example, rugby players are tested to the same extremes. Drugs have been part of it since inception, even if it was just (some of them hideous!) pain concoctions to keep them on the bike. We call an Argus or a DC or such painful? We have no idea what pain is. Any one stage on the Tour will most likely leave most of us crying, let alone the whole 3 weeks, let alone at that speed. And I'm not condoning doping, everything but. All I'm saying is a lot of the people getting all high and mighty about it has stuff in their system (hey, it's just a pill for a cold/booster/anti-inflammatory/pain pill) that'll get them banned if they were tested. Aaah, I feel better now. Roll on Le Tour! Myra and dracs 2
DirtyFrank Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 Watched the 100 year history of the TDF and I realised that doping is as much part of the tour as is the bikes they ride and the rest....... Winning the TDF (and keeping the title) is about getting away with "doping" as much as it is to stay healthy and on your bike. I think in general you would have to be very gullible to actually believe that any top 5 finisher has gone completely free in the past 1 or even 2 decades.... So my point is that maybe we should enjoy the TDF for what it is. It isn't perfect and there is a lot you can get upset about but I guess the most important thing is that the playing field seems level for all the team leaders in terms of doping at least (meaning the best man should still win)...... Doping has been part of the TDF for 50 years and will most likely be part for the next decade at least so enjoy it for what it is or don't watch it at all...... I used to be the tours biggest fan in the late 90's to around 2003 when I realised what was going on. Since then I didn't enjoy it and always complained. This year I will treat it like an entertainment sports soap cuz that's probably what it is. "Entertainment sports soap" ....not quiet, some of the best endurance athletes in the world suffering in the most grueling and spectacular sporting event, yes. Don`t get too hung up on the drugs thing , this is a serious sporting event taht only a few will ever complete with any success......vive le tour !
Guest Omega Man Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 And I'm not condoning doping, everything but. All I'm saying is a lot of the people getting all high and mighty about it has stuff in their system (hey, it's just a pill for a cold/booster/anti-inflammatory/pain pill) that'll get them banned if they were tested. Aaah, I feel better now. Roll on Le Tour! 100%. The judgements come from ignorance tho. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Best athletes on the planet
kosmonooit Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 (edited) You should also look at the context of the times:- Cocaine was widely used. socially acceptable and legal at the turn of the 19th century- Amphetamine was widely given to and used in the 2nd WW by pilots and other soldiers to keep awake / energised, they had no idea of the psychotic or other side effects. Edited June 26, 2013 by kosmonooit JGR 1
SwissVan Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 What piffef me off about the ....snip edit... Tour What piffes me off are the clowns who think they are helping the cyclist by running next to them in their Borak tangas... gummibear, GrumpyOldGuy, Warren_G and 1 other 4
mr_stig Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 I think cheating in general has been part of its make up. I read a book about the tour and in its earliest days, competitors would break rules. Cyclists would carry glass milk bottles and shatter them on the ground to shred tyres of those behind them. If the tour passed through a cyclists home town/village, the local residents would often pummel other riders to give the hometown hero an advantage. I think there has always been some form of cheating. Doped or not, those guys suffer. It's excellent to watch.
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