History of Doping
Doping has been part of cycling for so long that it has become part of cycling culture. Huge names in cycling such as Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso, Fank Schleck, Akberto Contador some of the biggest names in cycling all have been found guilty of doping and had titles stripped away and suspensions served. (McLean) For the past 15 years nearly a third of the top 10 finishers in the Tour de France have been busted for doping and years before that cyclists have been using types of doping to increase their own chances of winning races. Big names of the past like Eddy Merckx and Tom Simpson have been caught and some have died trying to shave off that extra second off a race, to gain that extra push in a sprint, or that place in a finish.
Many cyclist have been caught doping either by testing for being pressured into admitting their guilt and having to answer to the proper authorities. In an recent interview Levi Leipheimer a former teammate of Lance Armstrong stated, “a sport where some team managers and doctors coordinated and facilitated the use of banned substances and methods by their riders. A sport where the athletes at the highest level — perhaps without exception — used banned substances. A sport where doping was so accepted that riders from different teams — who were competitors on the road — coordinated their doping to keep up with other riders doing the same thing.” This shows the culture that has been developing in cycling and that testers and new cyclists have been fighting to overcome, the culture of doping. In the same article the author Robert Mackey says that many of the cyclists that have admitted to doping saw nothing wrong with what they were doing they were just trying to stay on the same playing field as their rivals and many of the other riders. There is no way that even someone who has the natural talents can compete against those who have been doping just because of the unnatural edge that the drugs give to a rider.
Cyclists in this day are now fighting to maintain their own integrity and show the doping is only part of the past and riders have moved past the need to dope and are truly using their natural talents and grueling training to improve themselves and their teams. Team Garmin-Sharp was created as a team that tolerates no doping and has been working tireless to keep their team and their athletes clean. The creator of the team Jonathan Vaughters quit cycling and created a team after he felt that he could no long stand the pressure to show results while also trying to stay clean. (Mackey) Vaughters decided that his team would have a strict no doping policy after feeling that it was not the better athlete that could win a cycling race, but the better doper. (Mackey) Many cyclists now are still trying to fight off the stereotype that they are doping and the only way to make a successful career in cycling.
Mark Cavendish is a sprinting star in recent years coming from the Isle of Man he is one of the many cyclists facing the doping scandals of the last decade. Cavendish has done so well in the last couple of years that he was once the most tested athlete in the world. (Francis) Cavendish insists that now cycling is the cleanest sporting in the world. (Francis) “It’s virtually impossible for riders to dope without getting caught,” he said. Test are taken after every race for the winner of the race or the stages as well as other cyclists as part of the random screening that the race organizers do to try and keep the races as fair as possible. “On a race the top three riders will be chaperoned the moment they cross the line, even when on the podium, until they have given a urine sample. That is standard.” says Cavendish The sport has tried to increase it testing and many people are wondering how some people still think that they can still get away with doping. Cyclists are not only subject to testing during races but also during the year when they are training at different location or even if they are on a vacation. The world of cycling is trying to pick itself up after the loss of its hero Lance Armstrong, but like many fan and almost all the athletes they are trying to show the world that these actions are form the past and are no long a method used by the sport now.
Many cyclist have been caught doping either by testing for being pressured into admitting their guilt and having to answer to the proper authorities. In an recent interview Levi Leipheimer a former teammate of Lance Armstrong stated, “a sport where some team managers and doctors coordinated and facilitated the use of banned substances and methods by their riders. A sport where the athletes at the highest level — perhaps without exception — used banned substances. A sport where doping was so accepted that riders from different teams — who were competitors on the road — coordinated their doping to keep up with other riders doing the same thing.” This shows the culture that has been developing in cycling and that testers and new cyclists have been fighting to overcome, the culture of doping. In the same article the author Robert Mackey says that many of the cyclists that have admitted to doping saw nothing wrong with what they were doing they were just trying to stay on the same playing field as their rivals and many of the other riders. There is no way that even someone who has the natural talents can compete against those who have been doping just because of the unnatural edge that the drugs give to a rider.
Cyclists in this day are now fighting to maintain their own integrity and show the doping is only part of the past and riders have moved past the need to dope and are truly using their natural talents and grueling training to improve themselves and their teams. Team Garmin-Sharp was created as a team that tolerates no doping and has been working tireless to keep their team and their athletes clean. The creator of the team Jonathan Vaughters quit cycling and created a team after he felt that he could no long stand the pressure to show results while also trying to stay clean. (Mackey) Vaughters decided that his team would have a strict no doping policy after feeling that it was not the better athlete that could win a cycling race, but the better doper. (Mackey) Many cyclists now are still trying to fight off the stereotype that they are doping and the only way to make a successful career in cycling.
Mark Cavendish is a sprinting star in recent years coming from the Isle of Man he is one of the many cyclists facing the doping scandals of the last decade. Cavendish has done so well in the last couple of years that he was once the most tested athlete in the world. (Francis) Cavendish insists that now cycling is the cleanest sporting in the world. (Francis) “It’s virtually impossible for riders to dope without getting caught,” he said. Test are taken after every race for the winner of the race or the stages as well as other cyclists as part of the random screening that the race organizers do to try and keep the races as fair as possible. “On a race the top three riders will be chaperoned the moment they cross the line, even when on the podium, until they have given a urine sample. That is standard.” says Cavendish The sport has tried to increase it testing and many people are wondering how some people still think that they can still get away with doping. Cyclists are not only subject to testing during races but also during the year when they are training at different location or even if they are on a vacation. The world of cycling is trying to pick itself up after the loss of its hero Lance Armstrong, but like many fan and almost all the athletes they are trying to show the world that these actions are form the past and are no long a method used by the sport now.