End of another Tour de France and Sky/Brailsford. Clean?

[stuartpaul]

I virtually laughed out loud when I heard that a bunch of MP’s had written a report that criticised someone else’s morals and ethics (hello pot this is kettle, over!).

Unfortunately I think they’re probably right and sky appear to have been removing the urine in relation to TUE’s and medical needs.

 

[Steliz]

I've always thought what an amazing coincidence it is that so many professional cyclists suffer from asthma and have to take medication that just happens to be performance enhancing. That must be so annoying for them.
Conversely, the few people I've met who also suffer with asthma can barely walk up the stairs without stopping for a break never mind cycle 2200 miles over 3 weeks!

 

[worn thumbs]

Cycling may be cleaner than it once was-thing is the damage has been done to the image of the sport over several years.I really don't care any more as I have given up watching.

 

[Smithy]

As a life long sports fanatic I find myself be coming increasingly disillusioned with sport. I suspect that the majority of professional athletes are pawns in a game played out by multinationals and sponsors who want results at any cost. In the case of Sky I suspect they have used the T.U.E système to their advantage without Breaking any Rules. I do have my concerns about the Froome case. His blood test showed levels of ventolin équivalent to 32 doses. The UCI maximum is 16 doses. Reading the NHS web site the maximum dose recommended is 8 doses. Will I watch the tour this year. Perhaps not.

Smithy

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've always thought what an amazing coincidence it is that so many professional cyclists suffer from asthma and have to take medication that just happens to be performance enhancing. That must be so annoying for them.
Conversely, the few people I've met who also suffer with asthma can barely walk up the stairs without stopping for a break never mind cycle 2200 miles over 3 weeks!

I bet the people you know with asthma don't smoke, either.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I suspect that the majority of professional athletes are pawns in a game played out by multinationals and sponsors who want results at any cost.
Smithy

Don't forget the government. How much did each medal in the winter Olympics cost the Country? Nearly six £million iirc. Whether there is any tangible benefit is debatable.

 

[bertikusmaximus]

I'm a cycling fan and I'm not sure what to think. I do believe there is an awful lot of misinformation and rumour out there. The fact of the matter is Wiggins (and Froome) would have been subject to a huge amount of drugs testing and didn't fail. Yes, its true that Armstrong was also tested a great deal and didn't fail a test, but the regime was different then. The UCI actively went out of their way to prevent discussion about doping in the 'bad old days'. That culture just isn't there anymore.

I suspect some of the recent furore around British Cycing is typical of the British disposition: we are simply unable to accept success as being something to be proud of. We seem to want to suspect every aspect of it and discredit it. Think of how the media hounded Sven (at a time when the England football team were reasonably successful) out of his job, or how Shane Sutton has been thrown under the bus.

The reality is, nothing has been proven to demonstrate that Wiggins was doping. MPs stating they 'suspect' he was is very different to knowing. But, as seems to be the case in this day and age, the way in which such matters are reported is simply yellow journalism. It can't be right that just pointing the finger, without any evidence to back it up, is accepted as gospel.

With regards asthma in elite athletes: the reality is they are pushing their bodies to the extreme. Athletes often end up with more stress fractures than the average person, for example. So it is perhaps not surprising that riding a bicycle everyday for 100km+ up and down mountains results in a higher incidence of asthma than the average population.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

... The reality is, nothing has been proven to demonstrate that Wiggins was doping?

I didn't think there was any doubt, it's just highly unlikely he was taking the stuff for legitimate reasons - the drug apparently hasn't been used for asthma for decades.