Alberto Contador-To Dope or not to Dope

[Malbec]

I'm amazed that people treat cycling as the only pro-sport where there is doping. To my mind the difference with cycling is that they make an issue out of drug cheats, rather than sweeping the issue under the carpet. Say what you want in cycling, it's clear that people are trying to make it a clean sport. However I find it hard to believe that sprinters are doping, because much of cycling doping is about stamina during a stage, rather than just the outright power required for a sprint finish. Also remember that Cav was so far behind on at least 2 of the mountain stages that he would have been disqualified were he not in such a large bunch, hardly the act of a guy that's doping.

Its the sport where doping makes the biggest difference though.

Cycling performance is basically only limited by the ability of the lungs to take up oxygen so the body can sustain aerobic activity for as long as it has energy. The ability of the lungs to take up oxygen is pretty much established genetically and cannot be increased through training after a certain point. Its a bit like telling every racing driver at the start of their careers that they are limited to a certain maximum engine capacity for the rest of their lives. However good one guy is, if another guy has a better VO2 max there is nothing he can do about it to catch up except dope. I can see the temptations.

[MrJan]

I found it interesting how Contador struggled at the Tour last year when he'd dominated in previous seasons, almost like something was different about him. My cynical mind decided that it was down to him not doping due to being aware that he was under scrutiny having already been 'caught'.

[Alexamateo]

I found it interesting how Contador struggled at the Tour last year when he'd dominated in previous seasons, almost like something was different about him. My cynical mind decided that it was down to him not doping due to being aware that he was under scrutiny having already been 'caught'.

Oh he may very well be guilty, but I am inclined to believe his story about the clenbuterol.

[Ranger]

While there's a case against Contador -there was clenbuterol in his urine, and that means getting an immediate ban-, I must admit that I find it rather absurd. He's been penalized because of a tiny amount of clenbuterol - so little that it couldn't have had any effect on his performance - was found.

I remember reading that last year and thought about the same thing when the punishment was read out.

It's just an ugly situation for the entire sport. :\

I found it interesting how Contador struggled at the Tour last year when he'd dominated in previous seasons, almost like something was different about him. My cynical mind decided that it was down to him not doping due to being aware that he was under scrutiny having already been 'caught'.

A simpler explanation would be that he crashed 4 times and injured himself in the first half of the 2011 tour - bad fortune more than anything.

[AndyRAC]

Poor Bertie, (also known as Dopador, Contadope, Clentador, Bertie the Accountant)

Technically, he's guilty - as an athlete is responsible for everything they take. Even though it's a minute amount - he has to prove were it came from. So, where did it come from? Dodgy beef, dodgy food supplement, or maybe something more serious, i;e blood doping? As there were reports of plasticisers....which hints at blood doping - but this has been discounted.
They have traced the butcher, the farmer, the chef - everything except the cow.......Was it really a dodgy steak? Who knows.....

What I will say is that there have been rumours before about Bertie, particularly regarding Operacion Puerto, but nothing could ever be proved. However, what OP did prove is that its not just cycling that has huge doping problems; football, tennis, etc were implicated in OP, but no names were mentioned - only the cyclists.
If anybody thinks cycling is the only sport with a doping problem - then they're living in cuckoo land. Cycling is the most rigorously tested sport on the planet - most of the others pay lip service.
I have no doubt that football, rugby, baseball, gridiron, etc are riddled with doping - but try to keep it quiet.

Chapeau to cycling!!

[Jefe Máximo]

Haven't really followed this one at all. In fact the first I heard of it in a while was while watching Hardtalk today. I gather that the Spanish cycling federation is taking on the International federation over the ban?

Strange one that..

[race aficionado]

Haven't really followed this one at all. In fact the first I heard of it in a while was while watching Hardtalk today. I gather that the Spanish cycling federation is taking on the International federation over the ban?

Strange one that..

What! Jefe Máximo??? The Y-Man himself?????

Boy, it takes some dope to get him out of the weeds.

Nice hearing from you Jefe!

. . . and back to topic: Stop this war on enhancement drugs and let's see them brake some more records. And if they croak in the process, well tough luck Sherlock! It was their bright decision.

I just don't see honesty in sports with so much $$$$ and ego involved.
As a race, we are not that evolved yet.

mokin:

[N4D13]

A simpler explanation would be that he crashed 4 times and injured himself in the first half of the 2011 tour - bad fortune more than anything.

You've got to take into account that he'd dominated the 2011 Giro as well, where he'd been doing exhibitions day after day, making the rest of riders look bad. You just can't expect anybody to keep that level for that long.

Anyway, as I said, it's a shame that he's losing a Tour and a Giro for that. Yes, there was a tiny amount of clenbuterol in his urine, but I've already said that it couldn't have had any effect on his performance. And yes, he might have doped, but there's no evidence for that. Someone above has mentioned plasticisers, but even those can't prove that he used blood doping, as there are legal ways of recovering from the races that would cause a rider to have them in their blood - that's why they cannot be used to prove that a rider is doping.

So, basically, Contador is getting a two-year ban because that is what the rulebook says. But there's no evidence to prove that he doped - he might have, but that's never enough. All the other riders in the peloton might have doped as well, and there's no evidence to prove that they doped either.

[odykas]

In cycling there is only one real rule IMO - don't get caught. Sport is not what it should be.

A great sport has been ruined by drugs

[Jefe Máximo]

What! Jefe Máximo??? The Y-Man himself?????

Boy, it takes some dope to get him out of the weeds.

Nice hearing from you Jefe!

. . . and back to topic: Stop this war on enhancement drugs and let's see them brake some more records. And if they croak in the process, well tough luck Sherlock! It was their bright decision.

I just don't see honesty in sports with so much $$$$ and ego involved.
As a race, we are not that evolved yet.

mokin:

Ha! Hey race. Missed you mate.


You know, it's a bit of a useless 'war' in that sense. There is no end in sight when it comes to performance enhancement drugs. As some are banned, others will inevitably be synthesised which in time will be detected and banned.... It's never ending.
We like to believe in unaided human feat when it comes to our sports stars, but so much of it is illusion.