A modest proposal vis a vis "doping" in sports

[Zundfolge]

So we're witnessing all the drama and wailing and gnashing of teeth over Lance Armstrong finally coming clean about doing the very thing that most of the top cycling competitors do and lying about it (they all lie about it); Performance Enhancing Drugs.


Ok, I get it, it seems like cheating ... its not healthy for the competitors, its not good for the sport. But as long as Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) exist they will always be used.

So why not look at auto racing (or competitive shooting ... or any number of individual competitive sports)? Why not just make PED use into its own class? In NHRA drag racing (for example) you have about a dozen different classes of competition based on the modifications (or lack there of) to the cars. From Top Fuel to Pro Street to Stock.

Why not in individual competitions like bicycle racing just have a "Natural" and "PED" classes (and maybe a "Physically Augmented" class for people with artificial limbs and such that may be giving those competitors an advantage ... or disadvantage).

Then the juicers and dopers compete with each other and the "clean" athletes compete against each other and there's no more sneaking around behind people's backs ... could probably come up with a handy-capping system too allowing for determination of an "overall" winner.

[Pancho Villa]

Makes too much sense.

[Waywardson174]

They do this in bodybuilding. Guess which class is actually paid attention to . . . If America is really honest with itself, it doesn't really want true/natural sport. It wants the best.

[blacklabel]

They do this in bodybuilding. Guess which class is actually paid attention to . . . If America is really honest with itself, it doesn't really want true/natural sport. It wants the best.

I wouldn't complete agree with that. I follow powerlifting and find the raw/natural classes to be much more interesting.

[Ah Pook]

Said it before. Can you name one other professional cyclist?

Clean or juiced he is The Man. Seem like some of his other team mates were doing the same thing but still had to stand in Lance's shadow.

Personally, I think that athletes should be able to stand on their natural abilities. Add big money and the game changes.

[Pancho Villa]

Point of fact: when they stripped Lance of his Tour De France wins, they couldn't award them to anyone else.

Because of the 21 others who finished in the top 4, 20 of them are also under allegations of doping.

Cycling is a dirty sport. It needs to be cleaned up hardcore or just let to be a doping sport, but this bullshit where they have rules they very rarely enforce just delivers the sport to cheats and drives out the honest competitors.

[Jer]

My thoughts on the subject can be found in a topic from not all that long ago here.

[KestrelBike]

This is what I love about motogp/world superbike. A rider could dope all he wants and at best help his stamina, at worst frazzle his nervous system and make him crash. Stamina is important, but it will never win races.

[Tinelement]

Pretty sure all sports and physical movements should be banned anyway.


For the sake of our kids and all....

[bobbyfairbanks]

For the children of course!