How Many Here Would Dope?

No way...too much long term health risk. No sport is worth dying at an early age, so I think I'll take my local Saturday crits instead.

No doping. There's just no honor in winning with false strengths.

I am happy being mediocre.

I guess those that dope believe they are smart enough about it that they feel they have 0% chance of being detected. That would be a better poll equation in hindsight.

Crankyfeet said:

Just interested in the outcome. Given that so far 4 out of 190 guys tested positive for PED's in or just before the TDF, let's assume near enough to everyone was doing some form of doping so your chance of getting caught for doping was 2% (maybe less if you're not a doping dope like Vino). And the benefits of doping lifted you're performance significantly, let's say 10% whatever that means and turned you into a potential winner and cycling star. Would you dope if you were a Pro-Tour rider?

given the state of doping and the quality of the medical staff available to top riders, yea, I probably would. And I kow its cheating, and I hate it. But, its the state of the sport.

I wouldn't dope because I would be worried about long-term health effects and unintended health effects, regardless of what I thought about my personal integrity (another reason to not dope, of course).

does it matter what we think??? i dont think so

i've experimented with steroids and liked using testosterone especially. i would definitely be prepared to dope in a pro cycling environment as long as i was working with compounds that weren't especially deadly or i was working with a real pro like cecchini or ferrari.

is it cheating to eat pasta? take a mulitvitamin? eat well? get enough sleep? use an oxygen tent? the sport would be much safer if they just accepted doping so these guys could get safe treatment. a sport where you race alongside other guys over 50mph down a mountain with only a 250 gram styrofoam helmet for protection isn't safe anyways.

Crankyfeet said:

Just interested in the outcome. Given that so far 4 out of 190 guys tested positive for PED's in or just before the TDF, let's assume near enough to everyone was doing some form of doping so your chance of getting caught for doping was 2% (maybe less if you're not a doping dope like Vino). And the benefits of doping lifted you're performance significantly, let's say 10% whatever that means and turned you into a potential winner and cycling star. Would you dope if you were a Pro-Tour rider?

Another way you could put it to relate to Joe Bloggs regular guy would be to say, 'how many of you have taken some drugs to aid in your work &/or take recreational drugs'

In essence thats what the pro athlete is doing, an equivalent circumstance I guess.

Trev_S said:

Another way you could put it to relate to Joe Bloggs regular guy would be to say, 'how many of you have taken some drugs to aid in your work &/or take recreational drugs'

In essence thats what the pro athlete is doing, an equivalent circumstance I guess.

You normally post some good stuff Trev but thats [censored] [censored].

I'm not too into back acne.

I have a good friend who has taken ephedra-slash-pseudefed before training rides...many times.
He's also consumed 'energy' drinks (watered down and full-strength) before and during rides...

so he'd certainly never dope if he were a pro-rider :eek:

...

c'mon folks...be honest with yourself here....or at least:::: be good to yourself when nobody else will....oh-oh be good to yourself. 😉

The temptation to 'cheat' when all that money and fame is on the line must be amazingly strong--and of course not just in sport.

so--we'd all be tempted right? and some would give in....some wouldn't
wow that was so profound a statement right there... 🙄

as Elvis proudly said, "I've never been high on anything jack, except music!"
and you could take THAT to the bank jack

Mmmmm.... It was 12-2 against doping before everyone in eastern US went to sleep, then it has gone 10-4 in favor of doping when the west coast after-midnighters were online with Aussies who'd come home from work.

Crankyfeet said:

Mmmmm.... It was 12-2 against doping before everyone in eastern US went to sleep, then it has gone 10-4 in favor of doping when the west coast after-midnighters were online with Aussies who'd come home from work.

And it will be 50/50 soon :p My answer was also yes by the way. I wouldnt like to dope but I definately would if it made the difference between a 2nd rank rider and a cycling star. I wouldnt want to push the limits and become a human guinea pig but I would listen to my Dr. Miracle and take some of the basic stuff. Sad but true

it isn't just about the individual though.

If no one doped and then a doctor said to 1 athlete your good but if you dope you will win 100%, then instantly that guy has a complete unfair advantage.

But if you go into a race and you are the best athlete and you have trained forever and put your whole life on hold to obtain victory and then the doctor/trainer comes to you and says heh you are the best but there is no way you will win. Rider B is doping Rider C is doping and Rider D E and F are doping and they will all beat you. Now what do you do, you do not want to dope but if you don't dope then is all the training, the pain, the work worth it?

Pro cycling as in many sports has let this go way past when doping was a rarity and so those that did it were out and out cheats, now it is so entrenched that I would expect many sportsman dope not because they want to but because they feel they have to.

On this topic, there is 1 argument that I can see for Armstrong using Ferrari but still being clean and that was so that Ferrari could tell him exactly how he stood against the best doped athletes.

Oh and by the way I'd dope, I wouldn't want to but there really is no choice at present, if you dont dope you may as well take up cycling as a hobby and go into investment banking.

Europe are now having their lunch, East coast is waking up, and Aussies are going to sleep.

This exercise has taken me off my soap box a bit. Its easy to rail against the athletes as cheats, but put in their position on a personal level, it is a very difficult decision.

I already spend upwards of $1k/month and so far it's paying huge dividends. I can maintain a speed of almost 19 mph for 15 miles (17-18 mph on a hillier course) and my trainer says I'm a shoe-in for 08 in Beijing as long as I can pass the tests! 😄

I assume that most posters on here are adults and can answer a hypothetical question like this using their inbuilt values and belief barometer. It is akin to asking a junior manager if he would cheat in an exam to get a promotion if there was no chance of him being caught.

This question is far more pertinent to 13-18 year olds who love the sport and are developing their racing skills in local, regional and national events. How they answer it would depend largely on who is influencing their cycling development and what advice and guidance they are receiving from parents and other mentors. No matter how talented a youth may be, making the step up to the professional ranks will mean being exposed to the many forms of doping. Talent alone is not enough to become a leading pro.

In such circumstances, I would currently steer a child away from pro cycling as a potential career. It is a corrupt world that poisons almost all that enter it. It is short-lived, not particularly well paid and potentially ruinous to your long term health. It needs to be explained to the child that the stars of the sport are not good role models - they are cheats.

Until there is a much better structure in place that effectively discourages any cheating and severely punishes riders that are caught then it is a sport that youngsters should be told by their guardians to avoid.

Would you encourage your child to take EPO and steroids and practice blood doping in order to win a race?

Well, there's one thing that these responses are lacking. Pro cyclists are EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE. They look for any edge or advantage and in the case of cycling it is doping.

There has been a poll like this amongst athletes done somewhere. The question was if you could be #1 in your sport for one year, and then be out of it/dead, would you do it? While you can discount my credibility since I can't remember the source, but the response among the athletes was an overwhelming yes.

It's that edge that helps them get to their level and it is that edge that in many cases lands them broken without hitting #1