Doping: Has It Threatened Cycling As A Sport?

[Beowulf]

LONDON -- Cycling must take action over doping in the sport or risk losing future competitors, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Sunday.

"The image of your sport and right now your flagship event [the Tour de France] is in the toilet and you've got to do something about it or the risk is that your sport will be ignored by everybody, marginalized by others and it won't be sport any more," WADA chairman Dick Pound said on BBC Radio.

"Under these circumstances, if I had a child who showed some potential in this I'd say 'it appears that if you want to get to the top of this sport you've got to use all these drugs and why don't we find some other sport for you'," he added.
The Tour de France was stripped of three of its main contenders on the eve of the race on Friday when 1997 winner Jan Ullrich, Giro d'Italia champion Ivan Basso and Francisco Mancebo were implicated in a doping investigation in Spain.
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=2507329

I can't help but wonder if France went on a doping detection binge to bring down the top 3 ranked riders in the tour to help it's own countrymen, Jimmy Casper, win the first stage:
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2006/news/story?id=2507382

[DeclinetoState]

Has It Threatened Cycling As A Sport? Aside from the Tour de France, I doubt that many people think of cycling as a "sport" in the first place.

[Lubbock]

You bet your bottom dollar, Beo. That's exactly why!!!

Did I mention that I utterly despise the French!?!?!

Too bad we can't move the Tour de France to somewhere in the Rockies!!!

[BEST45CAL]

Cycling is a sport. How could it not be? :question:

Even if you're not riding under a set of rules, it's still a sports activity.

[BEST45CAL]

LONDON -- Cycling must take action over doping in the sport or risk losing future competitors, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Sunday.

"The image of your sport and right now your flagship event [the Tour de France] is in the toilet and you've got to do something about it or the risk is that your sport will be ignored by everybody, marginalized by others and it won't be sport any more," WADA chairman Dick Pound said on BBC Radio.

"Under these circumstances, if I had a child who showed some potential in this I'd say 'it appears that if you want to get to the top of this sport you've got to use all these drugs and why don't we find some other sport for you'," he added.
The Tour de France was stripped of three of its main contenders on the eve of the race on Friday when 1997 winner Jan Ullrich, Giro d'Italia champion Ivan Basso and Francisco Mancebo were implicated in a doping investigation in Spain.
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=2507329

I can't help but wonder if France went on a doping detection binge to bring down the top 3 ranked riders in the tour to help it's own countrymen, Jimmy Casper, win the first stage:
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2006/news/story?id=2507382

Doping won't ruin professional cycling. Just like steroids won't ruin baseball. Just because 3 dudes out of thousands got popped, it's not the end of pro cycling.