Doping megathread - I can't even think of a witty tagline

Tramadol is also still currently allowed in rugby I think but getting phased out.

But that is kind of the point. Nothing BOD did was doping or against rules. Just because cyclists are not allowed take some of the supplements.

last year people were in awe of Vingegaards performance which was thought he knocked out 7.5watts/ kg in the TdF stage 16! It seemed to get forgotten about until Pogacar assumed 7.0 watts/ kg for this years stage 19.!

Someone a few posts back said the WADA banned substances list is the same across all sports and its just the testing regimens that differ. Are we saying they are or aren't?

If they aren't, it does actually go to the point - cyclists being hammered for a) clearly having a stricter banned substances regime as well as b) clearly having a more regimental testing regime.

Do you ever hear of non-cyclists or non-track athletes talking about the inconveniences of the Whereabouts rule? Or is that another thing that doesn't apply to the big money ball sports?

So its not so much BOD being caught for admitting to doping live on air - I highly doubt he's that stupid - it's more about the average barstool sports fan getting their knickers in a knot about cyclists all being dopers cos 'Lance Armstrong'. Its the apparent double standards and consequential skewed perceptions that annoys me.

Edit: sorry, this should probably be in the Doping thread too!

You are not comparing like with like.

Vingegaard performance was for a 11min climb in a 22km TT, finishing at 800m asl.

Pogacar did 30m-40m climbs at the end of the 4 hardest stages in the tour, and was performing north of 2000m.

Vingegaard didn't get exactly a free ride after lasts year's TT

Interesting tidbit from a BBC podcast Ten Second Showdowns about 100m Olympic sprints.

There was no test for human growth hormone until 2004.

Rumoured to be a factor in eaŕly death of Florence Griffith Joyner - thats from a Guardian article.

Because it's not spoken about, those fans tend to assume it doesn't happen. I'm not sure that's necessarily a bad thing, given how the sports cycling community use it a stick to beat themselves with 😄.

Ah, they would be fairly apt at claiming because of the level of skill there's no need. Obviously they ignore the amount of running that modern styles of play necessitate. Or the extra mental clarity not being completely f*cked physically may bring.

It was fairish in the sense it set the bar. It wasn't fair in that some riders have naturally higher levels, so even if all were on EPO, some got far more benefit that others (who probably would've been contenders in other eras). Since the test for EPO and Biological passport, iirc there is no limit. I would assume the rebreather is just a more accurate measure than hematocrit of the adaptations they are chasing.

If only fans of other sports were as obsessed about doping and the ethics around medicating for performance as cycling fans.

Rugby players load up on heavyweight prescription drugs so they can compete - ok because signed off by an in-house doctor. And rugby is clearly clean because we never hear of test failures.

Froomedog takes a few puffs of ventolin as signed off by in-house doctor - cycling fans around the world loose their s**t. And cycling is clearly dirty because the top athletes are cycling too fast and, well, people were caught rapid 20 - 50 years ago.

Rugby players are physical monsters compared to the physique of players in the pro game just 20 years ago. But that's all down to professionalism, hard work and sports science.

The likes of Pog or Vingo put in a beast of a performance and they immediately have to answer questions from journalists about whether they understand why people are suspicious as to whether they're clean.

Doping is never mentioned when it comes to big money sports - and I find it very hard to believe that that's because they have an unbeatable testing and detection system. I want a clean peloton, especially for the young riders coming through, but I'm not sure I have the energy to care that much if most other sports don't take the issue seriously and the world basks in their glory.

When you factor in the flood of sportwashing and explosion in wealth associated with a number of sports over the past 20 years, has sport ever been dirtier? For me, cycling is one of the best at actually having the discussion and proactively trying to stay ahead of the cheats.

From my reading of it, they didn't even stop competing at all, just carried on as usual.

She missed 4 I believe. One was successfully appealed, but the other three saw her banned. Zero doubt in my mind as to why those were missed. But so little chat about it really, certainly outside of Irish circles where we're hoping for a rare track medal in her event. Not wanting to sound like a broken record, but compare that to cycling. Argh, the double standards in sport really p!sses me off. I wouldn't necessarily mind but it's almost impossible to enjoy a season of pro cycling without being dragged into the usual "wow, that was a 'superhuman' performance" debate.