William
07-25-2007, 06:03 AM
Sports Factor (http://www.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/1999/sportsf/sf990723.htm)
...Francis Leach: The sport's been in a bit of trouble in recent times, particularly with last year's Tour, and talk of drug scandals, and very public humiliation of riders who've been caught in the midst of this. Is it in danger of fracturing, and was this inevitable? I mean when you were riding, did it seem to you at times that the drugs and money and the desire to win above all else, was pulling the sport apart?
Phil Anderson: I don't think so. I think that basically started last year just with the exposure that there was a problem, and ever since then now the riders have grown used to the testing levels which they're doing now. As you say, it's always been a problem, but cycling is the highest tested of all sports for doping, and it's unfortunate that the perception that people have when they hear stories about last year's Tour de France, and everybody's ridden a bike at some stage, and they know how difficult it is to ride around town, or up in the hills around Melbourne or Sydney, or wherever, and they can't fathom how these people can ride around France, through the Alps and the Pyrenees and 3,000 or 4,000 kilometres in three weeks. Then they hear that there's drugs involved, and they say, 'Oh, of course, that's what it's been all the time.' You know, I think there's some unqualified people out there making some huge assumptions.
Francis Leach: Former Tour de France start, Phil Anderson.
Well with so much money now riding on the race, it's little wonder teams are taking massive risks to be top of the pile. Could the pursuit of sponsors and the big bucks they bring be the driving force behind teams being willing to break the rules in order to win?
Just what does a sponsor look for in a team, or an athlete? Here's John Forbes from sporting goods company, Puma......
...Francis Leach: The sport's been in a bit of trouble in recent times, particularly with last year's Tour, and talk of drug scandals, and very public humiliation of riders who've been caught in the midst of this. Is it in danger of fracturing, and was this inevitable? I mean when you were riding, did it seem to you at times that the drugs and money and the desire to win above all else, was pulling the sport apart?
Phil Anderson: I don't think so. I think that basically started last year just with the exposure that there was a problem, and ever since then now the riders have grown used to the testing levels which they're doing now. As you say, it's always been a problem, but cycling is the highest tested of all sports for doping, and it's unfortunate that the perception that people have when they hear stories about last year's Tour de France, and everybody's ridden a bike at some stage, and they know how difficult it is to ride around town, or up in the hills around Melbourne or Sydney, or wherever, and they can't fathom how these people can ride around France, through the Alps and the Pyrenees and 3,000 or 4,000 kilometres in three weeks. Then they hear that there's drugs involved, and they say, 'Oh, of course, that's what it's been all the time.' You know, I think there's some unqualified people out there making some huge assumptions.
Francis Leach: Former Tour de France start, Phil Anderson.
Well with so much money now riding on the race, it's little wonder teams are taking massive risks to be top of the pile. Could the pursuit of sponsors and the big bucks they bring be the driving force behind teams being willing to break the rules in order to win?
Just what does a sponsor look for in a team, or an athlete? Here's John Forbes from sporting goods company, Puma......