Very true, but in my opinion a groomed response would have been to make an easy and plausible excuse (oh, it’s our special lube) to dismiss it. Not hearing just sounds like doubling down on it.
But yeah, no way there’s a motor. I’m just fascinated by the response to the allegations.
Edit: I mean, he could have said they use unicorn tears in the drivetrain and that causes it. Would have caused a good laugh at least.
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Correct, but I was very much a fan of baseball and vividly remember the Bonds, Sosa, McGwire scandals–Barry Bonds was my childhood favorite. I was definitely bummed out, but I don’t speculate about doping in MLB when another super start comes along. There’s so much technology, recovery, and knowledge around human performance today than there was 20+ years ago. I attribute that to a lot of the dominance we are seeing with Pogacar. Lest we not forget he was an incredible U23 racer, and wasn’t just some guy like Froome that all of a sudden got really good.
Ever since I started watching cycling (only about 5 years ago) I’ve noticed one glaring difference between fans of cycling and other sports. Fans of cycling, to no end, speculate more than fans of any other sport. I realize that’s because no other sport, outside probably some or every eastern block sport in the 60’s - 90’s has had such a tarnished history of doping.
Call me naive.
The sad thing is that every phenom cyclist (present and future) will have to endure the speculation for decades to come.
Why do you think Pogacar is doping?
Unfortunately I think they will. There will be many fans who can watch without any second thoughts and that’s great, but many can’t shake the bad taste from the past.
Baseball is an interesting comparison, I don’t know if it’s specifically an MLB thing, or an American sport thing, but the PED users don’t seem to be judged near as harshly. I don’t follow the sport much outside of being a casual Dodgers fan, but I gather there are still PED athletes that are up for HoF nomination and/or already in.
I don’t know the answer, and I want to be able to just follow the sport without trepidation. The history is what it is and it’s hard to shake the doubts.
…
With regards to Pogacar doping, it was last year’s performance that didn’t pass the smell test for me. I have my doubts that the anti doping was completed at the same level last year during Covid in Slovenia in particular. It felt like he never had a bad day which reminded me too much of the bad old days. I’m no expert though, as I said, it’s only a hunch/doubt.
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Oh I totally understand. I think Americans are by and large much more willing to forgive and forget those sorts of things. However, I do remember it was a big deal with Bonds, Sosa, and McGwire were popped.
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He’s not…he can be on select days, but he is not one of the best climbers in the race overall.
Other days he gets dropped early and he rides easy, which allows him time to recover and then be at the front on days when he wants to be.
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Yup….and we heard those exact same stories 20+ years ago. “Oh, the bikes are better, we know more about nutrition, we know more about recovery, we train by heart rate now (swap to power later).
Turns out it was mostly bullschitt.
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Been enjoying it for decades now and, of course, this has always been embedded in its DNA. To me, it’s weird that some folks want to draw a sharp line between the race and the hidden race—it’s the two together that makes pro cycling fascinating.
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Gasp! What are you implying, sir!
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It truly is a Golden Age: Thanks to advances in wind-tunnel testing and nutrition, we’re treated to 2-3 new “once-in-a-generation talents” every couple of years!
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The problem with doping that I’m starting to see is the trickle down and how it is accepted as normal by the masses. I now know so many masters who dope/lie/cheat I worry about their kids. I mean once you start cheating it just gets habitual if not careful. And this behavior get passed on to kids who then grow up cheating not just at sport but, whatever get them ahead.
Maybe I’m being too black and white. Just fcking pisses me off what people will do for $$ and ego.
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He beat everyone to the top of Ventoux. TWICE! if he was protected, he could do it. He needs rest because he is often pulling for someone while the GC guys don’t have to do that extra work.
Sorry…but that just isn’t accurate. Wout is far away from being a contender in any GT, let alone the Tour.
Maybe if he dedicated himself to becoming a GT rider and lost weight, he could contend in the Vuelta, possibly the giro if the course favored him. But that kind of singular focus is nit in his nature, IMO….which is awesome.
Let Wout be Wout.
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He was in a breakaway and wasn’t a threat to the overall general classification. It was set up perfectly for him to win that stage, his talent also helped.
Ask anyone who has raced at any level, winning a bike race is very difficult, and I’m not even talking about the sheer talent it takes. It’s all the situational BS and other contributors that factors into a win.
Sure. But who else was in that breakaway? I can’t remember exactly but on a stage like that, it will be climbers who want to either get the dot points or stage wins.
Also on many occasions, he has been pulling the whole peloton up the mountain for Roglic.
He let Mollema and Elissonde do a bunch of work and then dropped them, and Alaphilippe—who looked really bad.
Maybe Ventoux is a great climb for him at 8.7%, his FTP is well over 400w and while I don’t know his race weight it was probably around 75-77kg.
I was surprised to see him in the lead group and definitely didn’t have him winning the stage, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility if everything aligns.
And on many more occasions, Castroviejo was pulling the whole group for Carapaz ( and before that, for Bernal in the Giro). That doesn’t make him a GT contender.
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my family is very much into baseball, and another 50+ home run hitter from the derby era lives nearby and helped my nephew get drafted out of high school. Year after year after year I hear speculation about who is on the juice - at HS level, college level, and pros.
How many mountain stages or sprints has castroviejo won?
Most of 2020 in Slovenia was completely without lock-down, there was a little bit in the spring, but it was lifted very early and then after the tdf again. The only time testing might have bern really difficult would have been when Pogačar was locked up in a hotel after the tour of UAE in march or april or whenever that was.
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I don’t know. I live in Houston, and while I forgave Jeff Bagwell, I could not argue with the baseball hall of fame keeping him out for many years. I was shocked when they let him in. I have a beautiful Bagwell jersey hanging in my closet, but I haven’t worn it in a decade.
Over the years, I let my trust build back up and was a massive fan again about 5 years ago, and got to see my team go all the way to the top…and then the scandal broke. I let myself use all the excuses, “oh, it can’t be true, there’s no way they would do that”, “ahh, well if they did it, it was just for a few games”, “oh, well I’ll bet everyone does it and they are just the only ones being singled out and punished because they’re so good and everyone is jealous”…and then I realized I was an enabler. I watched my friends act like it didn’t happen. I watched the city rally around them and defend them because they’re “Our Team, and you always support and never question Our Team” because if you don’t support them, “You’re not a Real Fan”. I realized I’d had enough, and I just don’t watch baseball any more. I’ve quit the sport for good.
I first watched Indurain. Then came Lance and the fully doped peloton. I gave up on the sport for a while. I’m back watching, and it amazes me that people make all the same excuses we saw in the Lance Era. It wasn’t that long ago. How could everyone have already forgotten? It’s on video and in print. And now we have riders only half answering questions and zipping their lips on camera again. I forgave the sport once, but if it comes out we’ve all been duped again, I’ll be done watching.
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