Your Favorite Dope(r)

gmb

While doping in cycling is absolutely abhorrent there are some names (Pantani, Millar etc.) still held up as being "heroes".

Who, despite your better judgement, can you not bring yourself to despise as you should following a doping scandal? (Please no LA - tres dull).

For me it would be Tyler Hamilton. The guy is just too nice. I was also well impressed with his performance in the 2003 TDF when he rode to win a stage with a broken collarbone (okay, I realise he was probably tripping off his ti*s).

I would suggest there be a specialist team for all dopers (including recreational drugs) so they aren't discriminated against. Perhaps they should be given really cool team kit so as to appeal to kids, maybe skull logos/something to do with rock or something along those lines? It would give all the cheats a second chance, although I'm sure Tyler would never go for something like that.

Jez mon

GMB wrote:

I would suggest there be a specialist team for all dopers (including recreational drugs) so they aren't discriminated against. Perhaps they should be given really cool team kit so as to appeal to kids, maybe skull logos/something to do with rock or something along those lines? It would give all the cheats a second chance, although I'm sure Tyler would never go for something like that.

gmb

I'm absolutely gutted. You'll be telling me next Ullrich was on E!

northernneil

Anonymous

northernneil

I'll light the fuse :-

kev77

northernneil wrote:

I'll light the fuse :-

Ha ha, tut tut!

rick_chasey

Ands

Anonymous

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/imageBan ... odium1.jpg

guinea

I don't believe any top rider has been dope free for their entire career.

Therefore, I'd just love to see a GT made of the best in previous years. Armstrong, Pantani, Ulle, Undurain, Contador, Valverde, Merckx and Coppi all doped up to the eyeballs would make an amazing spectacle.

Garry H

Merckx

gmb

There is no-one in mentioned above (including LA) that I don't admire. Is that wrong??

Why, then, is it easier to like Tom Simpson (for example) than say, Riccardo Ricco? Does it come down to the fact that if cyclists have appealing personalities we can forgive and forget?

Anonymous

TBH I liked Ricco's romanticism about the sport and the joy of attacking. Shame he's a tw@

Bronzie

Ands

GMB wrote:

Why, then, is it easier to like Tom Simpson (for example) than say, Riccardo Ricco? Does it come down to the fact that if cyclists have appealing personalities we can forgive and forget?

Maybe it's because these days we expect/hope the sport to have changed and the riders to be clean. Some of those riders above have come from the era of systematic doping and perhaps we accept that it was the system that was at fault, and not solely the riders. Not that I'm making excuses for them!

Stewie Griffin

Its like smoking cigarettes, it used to be cool, however anyone who starts smoking now is an idiot.

Cleat Eastwood

She takes an anti growth hormone.

ratsbeyfus

Bez would've beaten all the above if you could wire up the bongos to a crank:

Anonymous

ratsbeyfus wrote:

Bez would've beaten all the above if you could wire up the bongs to a crank:

Fixed

gmb

Personally I think Bowie or Iggy could easily have won the TDF at any time during the mid 70's.

northernneil

errorist

Not sure if anyone else saw this, and I wish I had a screenshot but one of funniest spectators of this years Tour de France was a guy chasing Contador up the road waving a bag of fake blood and pointing to the vein in his arm.

TV gold.

gmb

Perhaps the way forward is to allow pro cyclists to take whatever substances they want. Think of the money to be made from sponsorship. It would become as normalised as recovery drinks etc.

The only downside would be there would be no cycling coverage in the press as the only time they report anything is when there's a doping "scandal" ongoing.

Ginjafro

I suspect Mr McHenry was a doper....

sonny73

Iban Mayo