mechanical doping (cycling)

bone

bone

"bangle for president"
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any cycling fans on here?


what do you think?
they convinced me. if you see how Cancellara shoots up on de muur in the ronde van vlaanderen or how he leaves everyone sur place when he accelerates in paris-roubaix.
Cancellara is a great cyclist, but not that great.

there's quite a fuss about it around here (he beat tom boonen twice with it), and some people say he should be punished the same way as someone who has taken doping would be, but i don't agree with that.

there is nowhere in the rules an integrated engine in the frame is illegal, and it's just called innovation. if they were to punish everything new, there won't be a lot of progress made in the sport.

now they know it exists, they should make a rule allowing/forbidding it, and start punishing afterwards. congrats for cancellara for staying under the radar for that long...
 
*Groan* I stopped following cycling years ago because of the doping nonsense. This makes it even better...
 
Surely the rules state that you can't have mechanical assistance, otherwise you might as well ride a motorbike?

Yep:
Propulsion
1.3.010: The bicycle shall be propelled solely, through a chainset, by the legs (inferior muscular chain) moving in a circular movement, without electric or other assistance.
 
^didn't know there was anything about it in the rules

darkshark0159 said:
*Groan* I stopped following cycling years ago because of the doping nonsense. This makes it even better...
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you expect the cyclists to go on for 3 weeks in temperatures of 35?C+, on altitudes over over 2000m, on chicken and pasta?

i think they either have to make the roundes less hard, or allow them to at least take something.

american footballplayers for instance, survive on doping and hormones, everybody thinks it's normal (while they only have to run on a field for an hour), while when a cyclist takes something, it's blasphemy
it's simpson his fault he took to much, no need to punish everyone!
 
Erm, don't they inspect the hell outta these bikes and wouldn't you be able to hear the motor?
 
not realy. there isn't that much to look out for they can hide. most rules according to bike are easily noticeable (like only wheels with metal spokes, no armrests on the handlebar, ...)

and the sound...in a silent environment maybe, but during the races the streets are filled with yelling people, don't think a small electric motor will be heard on top of this
 
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Additionally, there are motorbikes going in front of/next to the bicycles... those ought to be more audible.


On topic, ingenious idea if it wasn't outlawed :lol:
 
bone said:
you expect the cyclists to go on for 3 weeks in temperatures of 35?C+, on altitudes over over 2000m, on chicken and pasta?
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It wasn't the doping itself that caused me to stop watching, but the fact that every race was turning to controversy with multiple riders, sometimes winners, being ejected.
 
The one that really annoyed me was Rasmussen in the 2007 Tour de France. He seemed to have been chucked out on nothing more than hearsay.
 
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Peter3hg said:
The one that really annoyed me was Rasmussen in the 2007 Tour de France. He seemed to have been chucked out on nothing more than hearsay.
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Yep, nothing more than rumours. Fucking ridiculous. He mullered Contador.
 
Cancellara is guilty as sin! We should rename Cycling into Cheating, we wouldnt even have to change very many letters.
 
Viper007Bond said:
Erm, don't they inspect the hell outta these bikes and wouldn't you be able to hear the motor?
Click to expand...

Yep.

[video=youtube;7ZpT8QO4-JM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZpT8QO4-JM&feature=player_embedded[/video]

Even though there is audience screaming, that is one freaking loud noise.

Cancellara was as good as the clock shows. Boonen has said himself that he was empty on the Muur and in Paris-Roubaix he was in the wrong place (almost last in the stars group) at the wrong time.

And before you get all crazy about this mechanical doping thing, read this:
http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2010/05/did-cancellara-use-illegal-motor-power.html
 
The way Cancellara accelerates head of the competition looks very unnatural indeed. His pedaling doesn't change speed but what gives it away to me is the way he stays planted on the seat without rising up and rocking the bike with extra effort. It really does look like he's just along for the ride at that point. I've done a bit of competitive cycling and believe me when I say it's much harder than it looks. If anyone is cheating, whether mechanically or physiologically, then it's stealing from the efforts of everyone, even the clean rider who finished in last place.

The only thing worse than doping is the witch hunt the sport engages in trying to clean up its image. The question of who's shooting up what overshadows some really great competition and unfairly judges some truly great athletes.
 
KaJuN said:
The way Cancellara accelerates head of the competition looks very unnatural indeed. His pedaling doesn't change speed but what gives it away to me is the way he stays planted on the seat without rising up and rocking the bike with extra effort.
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It is really weird indeed, It's like he moves to a much smaller cog and is somehow able to keep the same cadance without the rocking like you say.
 
there is nowhere in the rules an integrated engine in the frame is illegal, and it's just called innovation.
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That's ridiculous. Even if it wasn't actually in the rules (Peter3hg has pointed out that it is), it would be implied.

if they were to punish everything new, there won't be a lot of progress made in the sport.
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That makes no sense. Why does a sport need to make progress?

Actual pedal-cycling is supposed to be a race of endurance and strength. Of course putting a motor in is cheating.
 
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I think the accusations against Cancellara are absolute bollocks & those spreading them should have a good look at themselves. You only need to look at his sleeves when he's in a time trial jersey to see how good he is, & look back at the 2008 Olympic road race that he nearly pulled off - he is that elite. The noise of that motor is clearly audible, so if he was using it, the cyclists around him would've heard it. Look at the Saxo Bank team he had around him in the classics - ex winners & national champions, so the fact that he had plenty left when no one else did is no surprise.

So what it comes down to is a guy who adjusts his grip when he's about to have a dig (who doesn't?), & a former cyclist trying to pump himself up. Real convincing.
 
epp_b said:
That makes no sense. Why does a sport need to make progress?
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so you think they all should keep using the bikes they used in 1902?
what about the swimsuits they used on the olympics
what about tennis rackets? they used to be made of wood.

innovation is the only justification for top-sport!!

(i do wish they kept driving the 50's F1 cars though...)
 
The bikes have evolved alot since 1902. Even the modern football is completely different from the past. But there is a clear difference between development of tools and using hidden assistance. That is cheating, whatever sport it concerns.
 
Exactly. If they want to choose to change the rules and allow electric bikes, that is progress (for better or for worse). But doing it directly against the rules is not.
 
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