Is the Tour De France rife with cheats?

9/30/2010

Another winner from the Tour de France tests positive for drug abuse. Does this sport have the highest amount of cheaters within it or is another sport rife with cheats?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11441045

25 Comments

Stefan Winder

9/29/2010 10:16:50 pm

I do not fully agree with the statement about it being a sport with the highest amount of drug cheats, but I think it is more to do with the fact that it is one of the most competitive sports in the world and everybody is desperate to be the best. Therefore I think it is more to do with pressure and becoming the champion than just being a sport with a lot of drug cheats.

Adam Goodsell

9/30/2010 01:43:01 am

Cycling has clearly got alot of problems regarding Doping. However, this is not the only sport to have problems and I believe that there needs to be complete clarity on National Rules throughout every sport. This means that the confusion will no longer be there if a certain drug is banned throughout every sport.

I also think that Doping in sport is influenced by the amount of money is at stake, meaning that many performers believe doping is a worthy risk to take if they can gain such high amounts of money, and not be banned for a lifetime.

Alex Penfold

9/30/2010 06:39:08 am

Drugs cheats goes on in a lot of sports, its going to go on if you bad it or not.Cycling doesnt nessasry have the highest amount of drugs cheats becuase in different sports drugs vary that are banned.EG in ahtletics a drug that lowers your heart rate or removes water may not be banned as it is a disadvantage however in archery or boxing may.So in cycling there must be more drugs banned.

Also the media may have something to do with it, as they want to inform the public. So if 1 cyclist gets tested possitve they are likely to continue to try and find cheats in the sport.Such as why the media pokes into players lifes in football to find cheats.

To sum up i dont think that cyclists have more cheats it may be more drugs are banned.

Mr Spelling Bee

9/30/2010 05:53:56 pm

Alex Penfold the correct wording for your sentence should be:

Using drugs to cheat happens in a lot of sports.

Many thanks

Mr SB

Charlie Keeley

9/30/2010 06:58:27 pm

i do not agree with the statement because i believe the tour de france is one of the most difficult competitions to compete in, and therefore there is a lot of pressure to win, so athletes who wish to make a name for themselves may turn to drugs to help them win.

Johnny Cook

10/4/2010 07:25:39 pm

I do not agree with this statement because i dont believe that there are any more drug users in this sport than any other, it only seems this way because i believe the performers think that as it is a high profile sport but is not under the public eye 24/7 they believe they can get away with using drugs easily. All that is happening is that WADA and the UCI are doing their jobs efficiently and very well.

Lewis White

10/4/2010 09:34:46 pm

I am split down the middle by this question as i do not believe that the sport is full of cheats, as it hasnt been proven, as only a few participants have been found out to have enhanced their performances through drugs.

But i also believe that even though it is one of the most physically demanding sports, you shouldnt use drugs to help you win, which therefore is cheating.

Kieran Wright

10/4/2010 09:41:56 pm

I agree with the arguing statement made, due to the fact that ever since 1903,(when the tour de france started) has their been doping and it was legal for the first 60 years, but since then it has been made illegal in the sport. Yet atheletes still decide to dope, so therefore i belive that it does have the biggest amount of cheaters within the sport.

Jack Harding

10/4/2010 09:51:43 pm

I do not agree with the statement as all high profile sports have drug abusing participants, it is not a matter of how many cheats there are, more about how can the NGB's stop this from happening.

Even though there is alot of pressure and media attention on the cyclists, it is so unfair on the other cyclists who have wasted all that energy travelling that far just to get beaten by someone who has cheated.

Stefan Dumitrascu

10/4/2010 10:53:58 pm

I do not agree with this statement because there are many athletes in different sports which use drugs but dont get caught because their sport doesnt get so much media coverage. For example small sports or sports which are less common to use drugs therefore they do not get the same media attention and not many people find out about that.
To sum up I dont think its fair for this to be said about the Tour de France. This only distracts the viewers from concentrating on the beauty of the sport itself and more on cheating.

daniel fanthome

10/4/2010 11:16:17 pm

i do not agree with this statement.

i believe that there are alot of drugs involved with sports however the winners are shown to be the worst people when the winners just as much as the losers take drugs.

there are many drugs involved with sports not just in cycling as there are just as many sprinters found of drug use as cyclists.

Manoraj Sivantharajah

10/5/2010 04:37:43 am

I personally think that it is harsh to say that "the tour de france is rife with cheats. As not everybody that takes part in the cycling event have taken drugs only a handful have. So that why it is harsh to say that.

Any way at the end of the day if they do cheat it is themselves they are letting down. As if you won the tour de france whilst using drugs you will never get the same feeling as winning it on your without cheating.

Louis Montebello

10/5/2010 06:21:44 am

I agree with a lot of what many people have said. Cyclists shouldn’t be all categorised under the same heading of “cheats”, as this status is only due to individuals. People like Lance Armstrong, who won seven consecutive times proved that hard work, not doping pays off. Most cyclists are dedicated and innocent professionals and hence we shouldn’t treat all the same, but instead punish those guilty as we did with the recent Pakistan Cricket Scam and admire those that achieve fair and square.

Jamie

10/6/2010 06:12:21 am

I don't think that cycling has the most amount of cheats but rather has the most amount of cheats who get caught. Therefore it is not fair to label the majority of cyclists who are competing fairly as 'cheats'. If harsher punishments were put in place rather than just a suspension, this could help reduce the number of athletes who decide to use performance enhancing drugs.

Jess Lee

10/7/2010 07:11:24 am

Just by researching this topic, it is clear that there is a huge amount of press surrounding cyclists inparticular.
However, I do not believe that the Tour de France can fairly be put down as the sport with the most issues with drugs. There are numerous reasons as to why this view has been created: It is obviously a well known sport and it gets a lot of media attention. Therefore if a few people of the many taking part are found to have banned drug contamination, the media will of course try and find out more just for a story. And indeed, the press WILL exaggerate!

Moreover, as some people have mentioned, depending on the sport, some drugs are not banned. This will therefore alter the statistics of drug abuse in sport - the Tour de France may have several more banned drugs than others. This could make the sport stand out as much worse off, unfairly.

Using drugs in sport is not new, but it is becoming more effective. Whilst the use of a banned drugs is illegal, some may even argue that drugs that enhance performance, promote equality (between an amateur and a pro for example).
But taking banned drugs of the sport does mean an unfair advantage. The sport would almost have no point if the winners were always drugged. But whilst this may be frustrating to the other competitors, it is the cheaters who will lose credibility.

Myles McAneny

10/7/2010 08:57:02 pm

Although it is clear to see that cycling has a major problem with drug cheats i dont feel that this is the only sport that suffers from the problem and feel it is unfair to point all blame in its direction. Athletics especially in running events has also had problems with athletes competing at the top level using drugs to enhance performance over the years and i think they should be given some of the blame. I therefore beleive the only way to cut out this this problem that continues to plague sport would be for more frequent testing and harsher punishments put on any performers found guilty of the offence.

Adam Brewer

10/8/2010 01:49:45 am

I believe that many sports have drug cheats, but cyclists are labeled as some of the worst as there are more frequent tests for them. Furthermore, i think that the Tour De France winners are often highlighted as the cyclists who take performance enhancing drugs, should in theory do better. However, throughout the sport i doubt there is a huge number of cyclists that test possitive for drug use.

In addition to this, i don't believe cyclists should be labeled as the biggest cheats, as there have been many cases in sprinting and weightlifting for example, where drugs have been used. It only takes a few individuals to test positive, and bring a bad name to their sport, but on a bigger scale these athletes still have great ability, and have got to the top through talent, not drugs.

Laura Gardner

10/9/2010 09:08:02 pm

I do not agree with this statement, many sport performers from a wide range of sports have tested positive for drugs of vary types. As cycling already has a previous reputation of its elite participants taking performance enhancing drugs when someone within this sports tests positive the media is sure to find out who and create a major story about it.

I feel that by labelling participants within the sport of cycling ‘cheats’ it may in fact encourage the use of drugs as they know that they will not be able to change this label so instead they may feel just to ‘live up to the label’ as the public do not expect anything better of them.

As a few performers have tested positive for drugs in the past it has made the public see and expect all of the participants within the sport to take drugs, which is an unfair and huge generalisation to make. However, I do not deny the fact that so many winners within the Tour De France event have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs but perhaps rather than condemning them and in turn their fellow participants, instead we should be asking why they feel they need to take the drugs in the first place knowing full well that they most likely be found out (due to the frequent drugs testing) and potentially lose their title?.

Even though this sport seems to have the media’s attention every time a drug related incident occurs, the public should not think that this is the only sport to have abusers of the performance enhancing drug (or any drugs) and in reality I am sure many more performers of much more competitive and demanding sports take drugs in a bid to better themselves from the competition.

The only way to stop drug abuser in any sport is to have more vigorous testing or to ban every substance being taken before an event, whether it be painkillers or performance enhancing drugs.

Tom White

10/10/2010 07:00:02 am

I believe that the Tour de France drugs scandal is a dissapointing event, ad proves how the drugs that are being produced are becoming more and more advanced, which is why he was not found out unil after the event.
However, this is an unacceptable event, as taking drugs is clearly against the rules in all sporting events. Also, this shows how seriously interntional sporting events are taken nowadays, as competitors resort to taking drugs to have a better chance of winning.

Josh Miller

10/11/2010 09:28:44 am

I do not agree with this statement however some participants will do what ever its costs in order to win such a big event, they might not know that doping isnt a scandal as their coach might not tell them this as they are in the need for achievement, therefore the athlete will do what ever they can to win at all costs.

However i feel its unacceptable to participate like this, drugs clearly change the way our body is meant to behave therefore it is no longer natural and you can't be called unique undergoing drugs.

The punishments clearly are not strong enough for the athlete's to feel threaten by the outcome of taking drugs / cheating. This then leads to the media taking a massive part in "name and shaming" the cheat. Without the media then most people will get away with cheating on sly, thus not making feel remorse for taking drugs. If an athlete is seriously punished by his/her fans then surely they will not be accepted by social norms and will be unrecognised by general public, but more of a hostile target.

TJ Morrison

10/14/2010 06:54:27 pm

Cycling is an extremely competitive sport, the training required to become a top cyclist you have to have an immensely hard training regime and a very healthy diet. For a lot of people it is too maintain so they use dubious means to enable themselves to win. For a lot of competitive people the thought of losing is too much and when they see rivals above them they have to cheat to win. However these aren’t good excuses as rules are rules no matter what. Overall I believe that because of the drug taking in other sports drug it is maybe difficult to place cyclists at the top of the list of cheats in sports.

Scott Middleton

10/14/2010 07:03:26 pm

I believe that there is a serious problem with drug cheats participating in cycling. However I believe that it is not the only sporting activity that is suffering to overcome this problem. There are many examples of drug cheating within sport such as athletics, the athletes will use drugs to enhance there performance and become more successful. Nevertheless I strongly believe the only approach to override this problem is to continue and increase more frequent drug testing, and to make serious action on the performers who break the rules and regulations.

Matthew Woolley

10/19/2010 05:51:36 pm

i believe that there is a probelm with drug cheats and espcially in the tour de france, as most drug cheats seem to always be in the tour de france.

i believe thart the tour de france is one of the most gruelling cycling tours around and to win it is such an achievement, therefore i believe there is many people desperate to win and show how good they are.
i believe harsher punishments should be given out to those who are caught using PEDs or any illegal drugs, in any sport, because 9/10 month ban arnt doing much in my opinion.

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Is the Tour De France rife with cheats?

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