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It's worth noting though that as yet no one has been charged.
Thanks, Will, I'd missed that detail, too.
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^^ the cheats will just get smarter, and people will still take the gamble of being caught when the potential payoff is so great.
People cheat in amateur sport as well as professional. Some obey all the rules, others just try to ensure they are not caugh breaking them. There are honest people and Machiavellian types, and both can be very successful.
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That already happens, prize money has to paid back and any modern rider contract will have substantial penalty clauses for doping.
There was an interesting piece on Bruce Schneier's blog the other day about the economics of bank robbery. Basically, a rational person wouldn't go into the bank robbery game because it doesn't pay off, but people still do it because they are stupid. Same rules of irrationality apply to sports doping - people over estimate the rewards and underestimate the chances of getting caught. It doesn't help that only a few years ago, recently enough for everybody to remember, one rider hit the jackpot in terms of winning big and not getting caught (yet). Outliers like that are more persuasive to people minded to cheat than all the small fry who don't win anything and still get career-ending bans.
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It's worth noting though that as yet no one has been charged.
They have now.
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^^Not yet it doesn't. The USADA were bound to charge him - Armstrong's team are bound to appeal. The arbitration panel will decide whether to make the claims stick.
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Cycling is a bit of a joke, no?
Plenty of sports are a much bigger joke than cycling, when it comes to doping. Football (all codes), tennis, golf, baseball etc. etc. must be delighted that all the doping stories are about cyclists getting caught, not about the rampant doping in their sports which they make no serious effort to control.
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In cycling, you have to suffer to get anywhere.
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You might as well say that about the frame, the tyres, and every other component, but it's not about the bike.
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Plenty of sports are a much bigger joke than cycling, when it comes to doping. Football (all codes), tennis, golf, baseball etc. etc. must be delighted that all the doping stories are about cyclists getting caught, not about the rampant doping in their sports which they make no serious effort to control.
Cav in interviews says the same thing. I guess we should be grateful cycling as a sport is so intolerant of doping, but surely that's some delayed reaction on Lance?
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We have to lance the boil.
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I think many would prefer if Lance were boiled alive.
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Plenty of sports are a much bigger joke than cycling, when it comes to doping. Football (all codes), tennis, golf, baseball etc. etc. must be delighted that all the doping stories are about cyclists getting caught, not about the rampant doping in their sports which they make no serious effort to control.
The article below and the following comments were quite thought-provoking. Cycling comes out top (or is it bottom?) for doping, but must also be one of the most stringently monitored and tested against say, football and rugby.
These days it's a curious mix of old-school culture, big-business, and the new-wave clean-teams, with the industry trying to project a clean image every year, yet if feels like riders are still being dropped from Pro Tour teams almost weekly. As you say MDCC, every negative mark against cycling makes other sports look more respectable and attractive for investors and spectators.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/datablog/2012/jul/04/olympics-2012-athletics?INTCMP=SRCH
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Anyone seen this?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/report-hincapie-leipheimer-vande-velde-zabriskie-vaughters-give-evidence-against-armstrongYes. Tour thread.
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Plenty of sports are a much bigger joke than cycling, when it comes to doping. Football (all codes), tennis, golf, baseball etc. etc. must be delighted that all the doping stories are about cyclists getting caught, not about the rampant doping in their sports which they make no serious effort to control.
What evidence is there that there is rampant doping in football (association), tennis, and golf? That's a genuine question, I'm not trying to argue. In tennis, I've heard lots of speculation about Nadal and Djokovic, but do you know more than just speculation? I'm especially curious to know on what basis you think football has a doping problem.
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And in some of them there is organised resistance by the athletes to the introduction of rigorous testing
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About
Lance Armstrong... greatest doper there was or ever will be
Posted by
@the-smiling-buddha
I think the evidence is massively against Lance and he should get some punishment. But his cycling career is over and all of the money he has made through sponsorship and charity etc is down to his acheivements over the years. So couldn't his sponsors etc sue him for ripping them off and tainting their names which could also lead to a big prison sentence.
There are so many people who could sue him but my guess is that he will get a slap on the wrist a small fine and don't do it again.
If the UCI took the stance of lifetime bans for everyone who gets caught then sooner or later i think it will stop or the cheats will get smarter. what ever happens if riders just get an 18 month ban a la Contador who is only really going to miss half his normal season then there are no big penalties. Also after the Contador scandal there are still teams crying out to sign him for next season.