another angle.

hi there. i am saddened to read on blog.twitter sites (sic )the ongoing rubbish people post about the LA affair and after... OK OK i know i am an old age pensioner BUT i have been in this game virtually non stop for 55 years..NUMBER 1,,pro racing at elite 1 level is NOT a sport its a job..the pro's ride all the events they are entered in not for fun, not for a quick peddle up a big hill or a quick sprint for the local town sign,, no they ride because they have to,,they are being paid,, just like all the guys who are working to pay off big mortgages. school fees or even to buy the smelly family dog a big bone.Look at it this way..old Fred has just fallen off his bike or horse ect, he sits about at home and then he decides, stuff it i will go back into the office tomorrow,, so full of to( cyclists) illegal drugs, he pops off, fiddles about at work, after a couple of hours he is in pain,,no problem, 2/3 extra strong paracetamol tablets and he carry s , ACE.. well not really,, he is working full of drugs...get it..no , think again. would you expect the CEO to march in and suspend Fred for life and tell him to pack his bags, no you would not,,,,to some one in the sport for all this time i personally believe Wiggins was or is the 1st ever tour rider to win the TdF clean..the rest and i mean all of them it was all in a days work..G...

Interesting angle Geoff ... and I truly wish I could pop a few painkillers and get back to work as normal

Personally in the particular case you talk about I separate the achievements of LA the cyclist from LA the person(ality).

And if you listen to a few of the guys in the more junior ranks people are getting it as caffeine supplements/painkillers in their bidons in the kms of a race. Alleged to be behind an increases in stack ups before the line as people lose focus.

Not really sure I see the angle but what do I know?

The drugs are stated as being illegal and BANNED in cycling. Working on a farm and taking a performance substance is not illegal.

On the other side you could liken illegal performance enhancing drug taking in sport to something like tax evasion, profiteering, racketeering, parallel trade and fraud in business. Yes in some cases you will not be found out for doing these things but expect the consequences when you do.

In my view its clear that in cycling the consequences havnt been serve enough nor testing/investigating strict enough. Yep its a livelihood and people are prepared to take the risks to pay the bills - this isnt sustainable.

Lets hope that this isnt the case anymore! (Agreed RE wiggo)

Big G, can't believe you blew me/us out at the awards evening!

You better make the Christmas Social a good one...