Almost non-existent: Only 5% of anti-doping tests carried out due to lockdown | Cyclingnews
I just don’t think the tech is quite there yet. It doesn’t seem like power meters are universally accurate enough for this to work. You’d have to normalize the data on each ride for wind and atmospheric conditions. We also rarely have an uphill TT where you potentially see riders data without the interference of drafting.
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Can’t we just have one manufacturer create one system that must be used in all UCI events. For example let’s just create a hub based monitor (that’s probably the most generic part of the bike) that every team had to use.
I’m all for 100% data collection - just not necessarily making it public. I can just see the interviews - So Primoz last week you train on Mt Ventoux and average 440 watts over 45 minutes. Does it worry you the Pogacar road the same ride four days ago and averaged 460 watts?
till someone runs 12s and the other team runs 11s and some are running 12mm through axle and some are quick release for rim brake
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And then boost comes to road bikes! Haha
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Currently watching the Lance doc on BBC. Don’t want to get sidetracked on Lance, but it’s interesting viewing in the context of this thread…
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Who?
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Lung capacity has nothing to do with aerobic ability though. Our lungs are capable of taking in and exchanging significantly more oxygen than we can use.
Oxygen delivery is the limiter.
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I agree with this almost entirely. Think about this in the context of non-cycling work places. Do the dirty cops let a kid right out of the academy in on the racket? Of course not! You have to prove you won’t be a rat first, maybe they need to pick up some dirt on you, to make SURE you never squeal.
The other reason is probably power meters. If you can do X watts for Y minutes, well, it doesn’t much matter if you are 21 or 28 does it? My bet is that if PM existed in 1980, then 21 year old riders would have been winning in 1980, too, but because of “tradition” and “paying your dues” they never go the chance until they were older.
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It has been said the one in a trillion (or more) freak who had ALL of the endurance genes would be so good that they could win the TdF off the couch while 10 kg overweight and chain smoking the whole time.
Although it’s likely that this person has never been born in all of human history.
I’m not entirely sure what that connotes when you consider the sport is still decided by razor-thin margins at the highest level.
It just occurred to me that I saw him race at the Japan Cup in 2018. Come to think of it, I have a bottle signed by his whole team. Haha. I think the signatures wore off, though…
I wish we’d just accept the presence and incentives to use performance enhancing drugs and embrace them creatively.
What if every rider had to declare whether they were juiced or not. You declare not juiced, you are tested rigorously and have big disincentives for drug use (like you forfeit huge $ bonds, have to buy expensive insurance policies against giant doping penalties so insurers are motivated to effectively police clean riders and teams, whatever). Drugged riders and teams can do whatever they want. Now you have a fascinating dynamic between clean riders / teams and juiced riders / teams. You bring in lots of new sponsors - pharma companies, tobacco companies, supplement companies, cannabis companies, alcohol companies, five hour energy, red bull, etc. can sponsor juiced teams. A bunch of other new sponsors can come in to the sport to support clean teams. Great as a spectator - can the clean teams compete? how far behind will they be in the TTT? how many extra watts does drug x give on a climb? Can the organic food sponsored team with the great nutrition program and lots of yoga and meditation beat the pharma or tobacco sponsored jacked up steak eating, cigar smoking team?
As for Pocagar, as mentioned above, no bad days has always been a signal for suspicion. Amazing to watch juiced riders do amazing things day after day, such a great spectacle. Hope he is clean, but history gives caution. Anti-doping controls will always lag in ensuring a drug free sport, there will always be questions around great performances under current regime.
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It sounds interesting but I think you’d have to divide the sport in two. No way clean riders stand a chance against the juiced ones especially if it is sanctioned.
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Awesome, thanks for pointing that out. I didn’t consider looking that far back into his year.
The key to this year was the the guaranteed safe window without out of competition testing due to the pandemic. They all got to use all short half-life stuff with impunity. H
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Rise of Slovenia? They’re two cyclist, with very different backgrounds, racing for different foreign teams. What’s the connection, them being born in the same country? 
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So, out of the two possible scenarios, you’d rather believe that Pogacar is doping than that Roglic had a bad day?
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The problem is that Roglic did not have such a bad day, he rode a good TT. I am big fan of Tadej as it ads so much panache to the boring, strong team destroys everything, riding. I suspect if this TT was on the first day, no one will bat an eye but such a performance at the end of three weeks raicing is highly unusual (not implying Pogacar is doping, it is only unusual). On the other hand when you remember his jump into the podium on Vuelta 2019 and his brakeaway and how he destroyed everyone on the climb and then TTed to the finish was no such different performance.
On the other hand Porte also had an amazing TT and no one cares.
Roglic looked pretty broken. I’m not saying his time or numbers were bad, I haven’t seen his numbers. But he was suffering. If he’d been his usual imperious self he would’ve looked incredibly comfortable and wouldn’t have got out the saddle at all.
Yeah, as others have mentioned, suspicion is always saved for the winner. It’s a real shame
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Until proven otherwise I will be more than happy with Pogacars win. One thing that I sometimes think though is that maybe the TDF is just to hard. If these pro riders need to consider drugs to win such a tough event, is the event itself beyond what a human should do.
Are they doing to win or all doping just to be able to complete such and extreme event.
I love watching it though