Yee-gads...a note from a doper bout doping

[Geeheeb]

I'd still say his biggest crime was doping.

[CunegoFan]

Originally Posted by Geeheeb

I'd still say his biggest crime was doping.

Nope. Everyone else was doing that.

[beeatnik]

Originally Posted by CunegoFan

Ricco's big crime was being too honest. When everyone else is caught they make a phony apology. It was just to recover from injury, they gave in to temptation, they made a mistake, they're so sorry for letting down their fans, etc. Ricco was unapologetic and basically said, "You caught me. I was doping. So what?"

Even today, after everything that has come out, there are fans who still cannot accept Ricco telling it how it is. Sad.

Cunego, I like your style (for the first and, possibly, only time).

[ripvanrando]

Originally Posted by CunegoFan

Ricco's big crime was being too honest. When everyone else is caught they make a phony apology. It was just to recover from injury, they gave in to temptation, they made a mistake, they're so sorry for letting down their fans, etc. Ricco was unapologetic and basically said, "You caught me. I was doping. So what?"

Even today, after everything that has come out, there are fans who still cannot accept Ricco telling it how it is. Sad.

Accept what? That he is an honorable cheater? Ok. He is still a cheater.

[dddd]

This is all very thought-provoking, especially considering that there is rather little that is fair about sports in the first place since genetics determine who has more of what it takes to be first to the line.
But doping is yet another unfairness in that the better-funded athlete can afford better "medical support".
And as mentioned doping brings additional hazards to an already-dangerous activity.
But I don't imagine that doping prevents athletes from trying their hardest and giving it their best on race day, for whatever that's worth (it must be worth something because that's what I do).
As spectators, we may feel disgusted that a rider from the team or tribe we aren't rooting for is gaining an "unfair" advantage, and this is what keeps the violations hot news items and makes for scrutiny of the controls process.

[BobO]

I have come to accept that all of this is academic. Within the next two generations champions will be made before they're conceived. Genetics itself will start creeping out of nature and into science. Then there's blade runner, who was cheered as someone breaking down barriers. What happens when the 100m record is the playing field of amputees? Maybe it's time to leave behind any romantic notion of sports and accept the inevitable?

[sales guy]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

http://www.velonews.com/2017/12/news...cycling_453986



Need a bigger->

Ricco is such a tool. I dealt with him when we sponsored him. He screwed us and started wearing someone else. I caught him and he refused to fess up. He started wearing shoe covers then. It was really funny, we started a legal case against him in Italy. I was over there and we went to the Museo Ferrari one day. Guess who I saw in the parking lot on a bike! Edoardo couldn't believe it. This time he didnt have our shoe covers on, he had the other companies and he was talking to some dude from that brand.

He was such a tool. I wasn't surprised by him getting busted and throwing his fiancé under the bus. I would never be surprised by anything he does. There are very VERY few riders who I trust and believe to be clean. He was NEVER one of them.

[m4rk540]

Sales guy, that story only reinforces the views of relativists. All pros dope and all pros wear shoes which they want to wear, fans and sponsors be damned.

[sales guy]

Originally Posted by m4rk540

Sales guy, that story only reinforces the views of relativists. All pros dope and all pros wear shoes which they want to wear, fans and sponsors be damned.

He switched shoes cause someone offered him more money to where something else. Even tho he had a multi year contract with us and cashed our check. I stand by my comment of he's a tool. My story was just a small chunk of my history with him. Only one other rider switched shoes. But we were waiting for his signed contract. He hadn't been paid yet so it wasn't a massive deal. But it was surprising to see him riding a different shoe in the Olympics at the front of the race. I called up Edo and was like dude, you need to turn on the tv. Luca's wearing something that aint us. He had on shoe covers but I could tell. Dan Martin was great to deal with. So was Thor Hushovd. Gilbert were cool and the shoes we made were sweet. There were a few that were really nice and great to work with.

[93KgBike]

It may seem distasteful, at first, to accept that professional sports outcomes are business products, not sporting achievements. But doing so encourages the realization that the effort required to achieve victory as a professional bike racer is not as simple as normative physical/sporting dominance. And that mindset is closer to the actual reality that racers face, which is ethically distinct from the business product they are both achieving and selling to us.