Is Pogacar's Performance Too Good to Be Clean?

[@JohnMFlores]

The tell is that Martin repeatedly refers to it as "entertainment" and not "sport". In entertainment, the ends justify the means.

[@oliverlennard]

It’s obvious he’s been on it too

[@johnxxx5085]

Eye movements Up & Down to his right when lying.

[@Wonderkid44]

@@oliverlennardthey’re all on it so they have to defend each other.

[@nigelduckworth4419]

I have been watching the TDF since the 1980s and just at the moment, I can't believe what I am seeing. Two riders are leaving other top riders in the dust and some of those top riders are previous grand tour winners. Yesterday, Pogacar not only left everyone trailing badly behind but also broke Pantani's record for the last climb by a large margin and seemingly without being absolutely exhausted at the end. There is a theory that there are non humans walking amongst us and it almost feels like that.

[@EgeOnatDoguslu]

'catching the doper' is bad business. UCI learnt that from the Lance case.

[@tt-tk9076]

exactly and letting the 2nd main contender/defender being crippled for your biggest event of the season is also not good for business

[@odd-devices]

Dan kept saying “there’s only one person that knows the truth and that’s the rider”. I think the future of doping in sport is that athlete won’t even know they’re doping/being doped. With the amount of control a team has over a riders diet and nutrition and bottles growing every day I think it’s conceivable that a team would dope their riders or a rider without them even knowing it. Can’t lie about something you don’t know. Rider is clean as far as they know.

[@danielbarron8294]

That would be the end of a whole team and all of the sponsors. You can't dope someone without them knowing there would be prison time for everyone involved and huge lawsuits, probably a RICO case. You make it sound like the athletes don't want to dope but in reality they do. They want to win and the money is huge. If dope was legal and they were allowed to have "this" much, you would still get cheaters taking "this" much + more illegally to get an advantage. Dope is in all sports but it's sad that cycling has to deal with the most haters, just look at tennis for example, in the 2024 French Open Novak Djokovic tore his knee (meniscus) he got treated by the doctor quickly and finished the match after winning it. This is not possible without doctors and dope. Nadal uses dope for his foot pain as well but no one ever mentions tennis players as dopers. Look at some of the Basketball players before they get to the NBA and have access to the big sports doctors that put them on dope, they are skinny with no muscles on the arms before but then they get huge in the NBA I wonder why lol. American football is insane do you think they don't use dope products? I respect all the cyclists in history but the sad truth is all the champions doped. Even LeMond imo. It is something you have to accept if you love watching professional cycling / sports. It hasn't changed at all since Lance. So silly to wipe those years from cycling history.

[@odd-devices]

@@danielbarron8294 the easy out is to say “oh no it must’ve been in the meat from last nights dinner” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it only takes one crazy person on the team to spike the punch - nobody will get caught. New drugs all the time (I presume) that either aren’t on the banned substance list yet or they find a way to administer in intervals that are undetectable. I think A-Rod was eating some gummy bears in certain quantities at certain times that evaded detection. Soccer is a sport that is probably the biggest in the world with a lot of players and leagues from pro to amateur and nobody ever seems to get busted in that sport.

[@cricketyosh]

Doping their bottles😂. The enhancements that matter are injectable.

[@DomestiqueKoch]

Ofcourse there are more who know. At a drugdeal there are 2 parties at least involved

[@leodesforges161]

Yup. Same with mechanical doping. So easy to do it without riders knowing.

[@leeford-f6h]

He's not the only ex-pro I've heard struggle to give a coherent answer, when asked a question like this. I believe he/they know more than they are willing to say, as it makes very little sense for them to be on record saying so. I think many professional riders are not "doping" but they are also not winning much either. There are many different forms of illegal performance enhances, which i believe some riders will take at particular times in the season to give a much more favorable chance of that winning outcome. If Pogacar is not doping, then it makes it even more spectacular that he is beating (& sometimes humiliating) others that almost certainly are.

[@82vitt]

So why ask a daft question like that to begin with? Anybody with any grey matter between their ears knows they won't ever give a coherent answer. I remember once a journalist asking Kwiatkowski if he had ever doped lol. I mean, what did he expect to hear other than a firm "no".

[@bakkels]

​@@82vitt They're not the ones being daft here... For one, there's this tiny chance someone will slip up and give up something they weren't planning on revealing. But there's also the way someone answers. It can say a lot. Or not, but people can read whatever they want into it, spread their suspicions and you get another bunch of clicks, that's how it works. Oh and you're probably not going to believe me, but Pog is definitely doping. Or even worse. So are a bunch of others though.

[@82vitt]

@@bakkels Nobody will ever slip up anything, because their livelihood depends on the sport. Not only earning potential, but also losses to potential lawsuits. This topic is sport world's omerta. Lies and obfuscation is their daily bread.

[@Fabs821]

Trust what system ? The same that never caught Lance ?

[@scottwwsi]

it's called 'money'.

[@DaM.1]

The system caught Lance. The UCI just didn't want it to come out

[@Simon-xi8tb]

We need more Oprah in the system

[@petyrkowalski9887]

The system has changed dramtically since then. We have blood passports and way more sophisticated testing now.

[@Simon-xi8tb]

@@petyrkowalski9887 and yet...here we are. If you think this results are all because of superior training methods and equipment, you are naive.

[@maxrevell3830]

There isn't "only one guy who knows" though; if it's happening then others are involved in it, it can't just be one athlete cheating behind closed doors. Not saying it IS happning but I don't think one person can do it solo without any outside help

[@Phlakaton88]

I recall a time trial last tour that was exceptionally amazing too.

[@dickieblench5001]

Dan's part of the club guys. Remember he was the person who witnessed Froome's crash. The one that no one else saw or had any evidence of. Just my 2c

[@BodyByBrandt]

why can't we have LIVE power numbers from each rider available on broadcasts ? what do you think it would show

[@timmaloney3587]

Tour de suisse actually did this

[@AllMenMustServe]

@@timmaloney3587and what did it show? Anything suspect? I’m a noob on cycling btw. And also believe all of them are using enhancers. I played another sport for over 10 years and I never understood how these guys race 150-200km everyday for 3 weeks and at the end of races they seem unbothered. However I really don’t care if they’re doped or not. I find it entertaining so whatever. What I don’t believe is some are doped and others are not. It’s either all of them or none of them. But then again whatever, they’re the ones shortening their life spans and lose valuable time with their families for the sake of money.

[@zerog4261]

Dan knows.......cause he knows😮

[@veganpotterthevegan]

I don't know how any of these guys can go so long and never be offered PEDS. I was 14 when I was first offered steroids and this was in 1997. They're a lot easier to get now and there are a lot more dealers.

[@michalgniewek1147]

He struggled to give a coherent answers….

[@izmael_kneafcy]

It’s the cycling omertà. “You need to just trust the UCI doesn’t favour entertainment over a clean sport.” Superstars sell this sport very well. Not average Joe blows who can’t finish three grand tours a year.

[@johncherrington6080]

I do not believe that performance levels we are seeing especially at the end of supposedly gruelling major tours are possible without some form of medical support however legitimate it may be. A step forward in this debate would be for riders such as Pogacar to revealt details of the medical and nutritional support they receive during these events that enable them to perform at such high levels throughout a 3 week tour. Sports science has made huge advances in recent years so I'm certain that it is all quite mundane and above board but at the same time it would be nice to know. I can't think of any other sport where one of its participants would be able to compete day after day for such an extended period of time and still be able to achieve the high levels of performance that are their usual trademark.

[@simonworsley8631]

You have hit the nail on the head perfectly ! Modern tours now have every stage raced from gun to tape which never used to happen. Asgreen did a day long break in last year Tour then same again next day. I agree I think there is some sort of secret recovery product that isn’t well known about

[@plain-bagel]

I can’t think of any of sport where spectators would make such ridiculous demands of their athletes. They compete for your entertainment. You don’t get to monitor their entire life.

[@johncherrington6080]

@@plain-bagel I'd agree if doping was an irrelevance but it isn't. All I want to know is how in a relatively short period of time have we gone from a situation where the performance levels that are commonplace today were only possible with the aid of performance enhancing drugs. As far as I'm aware there was no test to identify the doping method Lance Armstrong used and so it could not be banned and it was only years later when tests for blood doping had been developed that he was found out and in my opinion very shabbily treated. I have always found the attitude to doping in sport somewhat hypocritical as it seems to be a very arbitrary decision what performance enhancing substances should be banned and what deemed acceptable. What Armstrong did was was probably unethical but certainly not illegal at the time. Whether people like it or not professional cycling has always been primarily a business and results are all important to ensure continued sponsorship for the teams and another contract for most of the riders so it should come as no surprise that doping was rife in the past and why there is so much scepticism about the current performances

[@mlucienteCycling]

Why would they give away their training "secrets" like that? Zone 2 is a nice smokescreen to cover what they are really doing. The teams with the highest budgets can not only afford the best, most talented riders, but also the best training methodologies, including the best "medical" care. Nevertheless, do we really believe that Tadej excels because he does a lot of volume only?

[@johncherrington6080]

@@mlucienteCycling it's not the training regimes that need to be transparent but the medical support that underpins them. Until someone comes clean about how such sustained physical performances are now possible there will always be the suspicion that something untoward is going on. Whatever it is the riders still have to do it and so Pogacar and co deserve credit for what they have done and will undoubtedly continue to do for some time yet. I saw a programme about sorts science many years ago ancd the conclusion was that such were the advances in sport science that in the future competition it could well be about lab v lab rather than competitor v competitor. I wonder whether that prediction has come true

[@paulweber4661]

My theory is that pro cyclists' blood and urine samples aren't even tested anymore to prevent anti-doping labs from exploding and contaminating the local populace with every pharmaceutical concoction imaginable

[@АнтониоРодригес-ф4т]

They all dope and that's not the problem, the problem is when some riders are so above the rest that races become unwatchable.. Like the giro or strade bianche. Doping should be legal - they are doing it anyway

[@atb89]

Well, if it's legal they should still put a cap on it or else riders/teams would push way beyond what's healthy for the rider. Maybe they're already doing that idk.

[@mickrogers2572]

Problem now is the sport isn't entertaining with the supposed big 4 making a clean sweep of all events , eventually , like lance Armstrong the truth will come out

[@DesertOryx]

I think its enormously entertaining with several riders on super good level competing in the same event. Has nothing to do with doping. Its about one guy dominating or not if its entertaining. Not doping or no doping. Edit: Youre talking about all events, not just the tour. Well we have some nice battles I think, like Pogacar vs Van der Poel etc.

[@MartFish]

I want way more transparency from the UCI on this matter… correct is not the riders problem it’s the UCIs, they seem to be doing nothing of late to improve our confidence in their ability to catch dopers. All TUE’s should be public and so should all passport test results. It’s a fascinating area of technical development… how sensitive are the current tests? This was discussed loads when Contador ate his contaminated steak in Spain…. Why do we not hear any such stories these days? It’s a suspiciously quiet topic now.

[@veganpotterthevegan]

The UCI isn't creating drug tests and they'd be bad at if if they did. The issue is that testing will always be behind the drug makers. You can't test for something you don't know about. And it's easier to make drugs that clear tests vs creating tests for every analog of a drug. A lot goes into improving these tests, but they'll always be behind. Thankfully we have retroactive testing but that won't catch everyone either since some substances break down in storage and they can't wait forever to test those samples. And by the time a test is made for a certain substance, the sample may already be gone. It's a very difficult task

[@veganpotterthevegan]

Erryon Knighton, a 200m sprinter just got off a provisional suspension for contaminated meat. He's got Olympic trials next week. The AIU will likely appeal to the CAS and he may get suspended before the Olympus. His provisional suspension was ordered in April but kept quiet.

[@MartFish]

@@veganpotterthevegan I understand the basic issue of testing struggling to keep up with performance enhancing drugs development but my real issue here is the lack of insight we seem to get. All sports seem to just wish to hide this, but how can we have confidence in the anti-doping processes if no one is sharing any insights to them these days? So my confidence is dropping as we learn little about any new tests or violations.

[@englishdecorator]

He fukin knows...

[@Warrior-eq9qh]

There are so many items on that list of banned substances. I would say that all the riders are guilty of doping in some form or another. The question we should be asking is what is Pogacar taking and why aren't the other riders taking it too? I say we level the playing field and allow the riders to take whatever tickles there fancy. You guys were right when you said that there is only one person who knows if the riders is doping or not, and that is why the playing field should be leveled.🤔

[@Nosh_Feratu]

ive heard this doping 'free-for-all" idea quite a lot and while i can see the logic honestly its so skewed its just horrendous. Imagine youre a pro cyclist who is absolutely against using any kind of performance enhancing drug (probably most of the current peloton)...your career is over simply because the less scrupulous riders are rewarded and you are not, youre literally forcing riders to take drugs...i'm sure I dont have to say why this is simply bad on so many levels, physiologically, morally and ethically....i could go on.

[@Fabs821]

Except that drugs are not exactly healthy. And so the riders who do not want to dope but have huge talent should stop their career? Would you accept the same for your job ? And so cheating is ok on every level of the society if we apply your logic.

[@aleksanderstojnsek9879]

What about Jonas, his Time trial last year was insane. (and Pogi was wining when he was a kid, Jonas was a fisherman and now he is the best GC rider in the world).

[@tedchen1009]

performance wise it's hard to say but as a preparation, he was engaging at training for this stage almost once a week soon after the route had been declared.

[@markwhitham1169]

Jonas took all the time on that TT in the down hill sections( though I am very suspicious of Jonas aswell as Pog)

[@fangru7294]

​@@tedchen1009yeah because all the other guys were just chilling and did not prepare at all Jonas was obviously only one. bro come on.

[@tedchen1009]

i don't know how others approached but according to the report, he spent a lot of effort to figure out how to accompish this route. not only in climbs he even gained less time in descents.

[@fangru7294]

@@tedchen1009 come on, you do not just ride on 22km TT more than 3.2km/h faster than 3rd WVA and the rest. Even best TT guys in the world like Remco, Ganna or Kung never ride 2km/h faster than top5 and Jonas rode over 3! Even 2020 great TT by Tadej where he won TdF he barely rode 1km/h faster than rest....

[@derekpugh5457]

When that trust has been broken so many times, no wonder people ask questions and remain skeptical. I watch and love the sport and get emotionally involved in it, to then find out they cheated makes me feel cheated too

[@puckloki873]

It's a big money sport. I wanted lance to go down. When he did I saw how the sport reacted, the faux transparency etc. he was a sacrifice. Then I realized I was the problem. I insisted on believing that million or billion dollar interests should compete clean. And what is clean anyway. The only insult to me now is that they continue to lie...but, that's life. It's a necessary lie. What is clean sport anyhow? Can you find a clean elite sport? Not even Olympics. Doing goes back thousands of years. It's part of competition at that level.

[@derekpugh5457]

@@puckloki873 really well put, it needs a change in my viewing of sport I suppose, sad really…but it’s the truth of what sport is now

[@miketumelty8183]

‘There’s only one guy who knows’….well that’s rubbish! What about his whole bloody team! If pogacar is, guaranteed the uci is turning a blind eye…doping is definitely a team sport, let’s be frank!

[@dickieblench5001]

It's not in the interest of the sport to bust its own cashcows is it

[@odd-devices]

@@dickieblench5001 I can’t remember what I was listening to recently but it was a guy telling a story about how he tested positive (like 20 years ago I think) and “they” ended up sweeping it under the rug because it wasn’t a good time to have another positive and it would look bad for the sport (I don’t remember the sport).

[@grosmince]

How do you break all dopers’ set records ?

[@THECONTROVERSIALCYCLIST]

😂 It is what it is😂. Dan Martin seemed to get a bit angry when he retired and no 1 really seemed to care for all his wins & so called talent?? He was pretty anti doping if I remember rightly, now on pogi, only he knows & that's all that matters in the entertainment of cycling. IS it now the WWE & what's the point of drug testing???

[@davidmartin305]

It's not enjoyable when there are "unbelievable" performances. These are the words of the media. They used the same description when Lance was unbelievable.

[@alwaysglamorous8941]

They are all doped either accept and enjoy or not

[@petyrkowalski9887]

Proof?

[@ryanphelan6861]

there has never been an inclusive and friendly dirty athlete. It becomes a crisis of conscience and they become stand offish and like bullies, Tadej is the happiest , friendliest, purist talent ive ever seen in my 35 years of being a cycling fan. Hes a kid on the bike he rides for fun with his partner and has ridden since very young he really reminds me of messi in that he luckily stumbled upon his calling very young. He gives his trophies to his parents for christ sake hes never going to test positive and he will never cheat he will leave sport if he cant win or simply loses love of he activity. Any athlete and cyclist specifically can tell there are things that hormones specifically not only do to physiology but ot your emotions and you cant hide iit your human. They eye test is truly the most trustworthy I genuinely feel in this sport ive been following snice 89 its what made me enjoy dan martin he rode on instinct and joy. Tadej has had bad days n tour hes not a robot hes an incredible athlete doing something he loves. Conversely I actually dont feel comfortable watching jonas from the sunken face at his age liike lance to the changes in his physiology to just few years ago when he performed great in tour but looked normal. I also enjoy that tadej mentality is not all ecompassing on "an edge" from fairings in time trial, to craziest aero gains and technology he wont wear an absurd helmet ever its not why he rides its counterproductive hed rather lose enjoying himself than win miserable and thats sign of a clean athlete riding for right reason. Greg lemond was always a authentic human from how he answered qiestions to socialized with other riders and he served as great example like dan martin of a trustworthy rider and person. Tadej has all the same qualities thankfully hope whether your a fan or not you know he may disappoint you with results but not as person. He rides because its his calling not his occupation you can see it from the races he chooses to compete in to how he competes just focusing on GC and tour is always a massive red flag. Winning races is always the best feeling and not seeking out one days that suit you best has always been a huge red flag too and in that jonas reminds me exactly of froome or Bradley where as cavendish or vincenzo look like a kid on a joyride with emotion. I felt same watching stage 16 ITT as I did watching froome on mont ventoux or mont saint michel tt same tour. STefan shumacher beating fabian in ITT had same effect on me one was strong athlete oozing class the other beyond performance behaved off. Like jonas lookinig behind himself over and over like some ego maniac in that spanish stage race hes competed ini now last two years. Its really uncomfortable to see

[@Nyarlathoth]

All doped or all except Pog?

[@erikt8116]

Man that's Awesome Daniel Martin, please feature Healy also, you are great guys , wish I'd knew you better, kind regards from Germany

[@kevinsmith2349]

Not sure I agree with “there’s only one person who knows” assertion. Modern doping requires expertise and a support structure to do it successfully. The riders can’t be the sole parties involved.

[@gedammedhanie6427]

Wow, the amount of cycling youtubers tactics to defame, instill slow public suspicion on the performance of this young kid Pogi is beyond the pale ( maybe most of you were born there too). In the case of Armstrong's veiled threat not to win more stages (not from the mouth Visma in his case) and Pogi throwing it on his face and winning two more is admirable. I wish you try this on Remco, Van der Poel, or Jonas and hope to see how you react to their fans. Somehow you all look like you are being sponsored by someone or trying to get one. Remember the Ometra days, you are starting to look like you missed it or you want to start one. In case you need a leader Armstrong will be willing to lead you and may be he already started, andgood luck with a leader like him.

[@jonathanpurves2627]

As per usual the argument drifts towards legalities. He's right in saying only the rider knows. This is a moral issue, not a legalistic one. Anyone can circumvent the law. You have to have a more noble motive than not getting caught or only doing what other riders may be doing. Gaining any unfair advantage should feel morally objectionable to you. That's what stops cheating. Same reason morally sound persons would find it abhorrent to cheat on their partner, even if they could do so without getting caught.

[@englishteacherdon]

I think Dan Martin just wanted this question to go away. You answer it honestly, and you are in serious trouble.

[@kpsig]

Knowing that all of the top would probably be cheating, takes away “guilt”.

[@Pixxelshim]

What I detest is the deliberate insinuations created by other teams so as to put the accused on the defensive.

[@josephlupien]

He said it best, ''Its an entertainment business'' Basically, maybe he is, maybe he isn't. Dont be surprised either way.

[@markohabjanic7212]

Did this questions pop up when Jonas did the really incredible TT last year?? And his performance this year after an injury he had??! He is more suspicious

[@wolfharthiphop]

Let's be real... These cycling teams run through more dope than the cartels. You really think any of these riders are clean? Come on bro

[@Nowayfrrrrrrr]

It’s clearly the aero socks that make these performances possible

[@tt-tk9076]

@@Nowayfrrrrrrrits the keytonys bro🤓

[@John_Wood_]

@@tt-tk9076 It's the pillows brah

[@ssanderson12]

I think power meters should be mandatory on the tour with live data.

[@Murda2615]

They are. They had them in the giro

[@ssanderson12]

@@Murda2615 mandatory for all riders in the Giro??

[@Murda2615]

@@ssanderson12 they had monitors under the seat. I know tadej did. I believe majority of them did

[@matthewjam3s]

The only thing this would prove is motor doping. You can’t say because a guy is pushing 7.5w/kg for 20mins that he’s doping. It’s too easy to counter that argument.

[@Murda2615]

I think you all cry about it too much. Most the guys that’s in the top 1% in their respective sports are on something. Just move on

[@CFCMahomet]

An athlete could always be doping, the temptation to do so is prevalent in the sport of cycling and the organization only pretends to care, but if you look at his numbers they are not as crazy as you think. What is crazier is his ability to race and win a diversity of races.

[@charlybeagrie1119]

I hope he is clean. Fastest Giro ever?

[@michaelweizemann2076]

Since the beginning of bicycle racing, there is doping involved.They are always people or teams who try to get an edge.... There are instances where people have died in the race. Also the big names.Everybody took something Including the greatest of all ..Eddy...So during his career there were questions about him.. Actually more than this, there were accusations all the time, but at the time it was Hard too to get caught.

[@76egbert]

As long as the potential gain of doping is millions of Euros on your bank account. And the risk (chance times effect) is low it makes sense to cheat. Chance of getting caught we don't really know, but effect is low. You are robbed of titles and some price money.. but who has ended up in jail? Which crime that could bring millions has this low of a risk profile? Just saying doping yourself is a rational choice.

[@dolophonic]

haha "Armstrong era " how about "SKY train" ?

[@jodaefauser2911]

Clean until prooven different...... - although not even close to understand the performance of ALL pro riders......

[@isidoro8566]

This is quite comical. Most riders in grand tours are juiced one way or another, and Dan knows it very well.

[@ks-li4ic]

If pogacar is doping then vingegaard is doping times 10…what he did to pogi last year was soooo suspicious…he gain 7 minutes on 2 stages…pogacar this year is probably in the best form ever and he has 3 minutes on him after 16 stages…I THINK JONAS IS DOPING HONESTLY

[@francisdelacruz6439]

Trust? With the record of cycling? Accept that its never clean in this sport.

[@Aka_daka]

Of course, he is doping, his feats are too incredible for it not to be a lot of riders would have been training to peak at the Tour De France, where as Pogacar did the Giro & TdF B2B not only would he be hitting a wall look at Geraint Thomas who came 3rd in Giro look how poor he has performed at the TdF, he is beating doped records and not only beating other elite riders in consecutive stages but is smashing them & not looking tired where his rivals are literally drenched in sweat.

[@angelovq]

In general, top pro top-level teams are so dirty. UCI and other WADA controls are a total joke. Simply google and you can find publicly available info on what programs you can do to dope throughout the year. Thus stands to reason far more effective methods of doping exists within top pro teams. Let's not be naive about this INSANELY dirty sport

[@Joda5212]

Here are the new substances vadadustat, daprodustat, roxadustat

[@chivacetana]

Yes, remeber he did the giro and won also.

[@lordpalacekrystal4114]

you don't only need a positive doping test to prove you're guilty. According to several experts who are based only on data. And with the data that the UAE has put forward about TP, they all say the same. A top-trained athlete will not be able to reach those numbers with diet and exercise alone. There is something that doesn't add up. In addition, they also look for signs such as fatigue, sweating a lot and showing pain. And here again TP shows no signs of anything ahead of his competitors who are completely finished when they reach the finish line. another huge sign of something mysterious.

[@mytinplaterailway]

Entertainment business? You can 'cheat' in entertainment. There are rules in sport. Weak, silly answer.

[@xGshikamaru]

You're making him say things he didn't say. If you believe they're cheating, why do you even watch cycling ? Of course races are covered on TV because it's entertainment. If you don't treat it as such, you probably have something better to do rather than watching it. Just think about it for one second with some empathy and what you could answer to that question.

[@mytinplaterailway]

@@xGshikamaru You aren't making any sense.

[@xGshikamaru]

@@mytinplaterailway english do you speak it? 2 simple questions : what would you answer in his position, and why do you even watch cycling if it's not some form of entertainment. Show the world how strong and smart you are, champion 🙂

[@mytinplaterailway]

@@xGshikamaru Why?

[@kevincockburn7805]

Professional sport is entertainment. If you think it is pure sport "chariots of fire style" then you are naive. Top level sport is driven by marketing dollars / euros / pounds. It has about as much in common with the mythical ideals of sport, as does the latest transformers movie.

[@petyrkowalski9887]

Pog and the others are innocent until proven otherwise. If he is doping, they all are.

[@kloxikat]

Yes! But not only Pogi!

[@Sills71]

The UCI ended any chance of doping with the TUE. Teams give money to the UCI directors (the ONLY directors of a sporting body that don't have to disclose their finances for examination) and they get the TUEs that allow them to win. Cycling was NOT conceived as a "sport" but as spectacle. It has been about money from the very start. Much like boxing cycling did not grow from pure sport but from the desire to make money.

[@WhiteRabbit1980]

These pros , all started young , grafting to become pro , then when they get there the tables are turned , it now becomes about marketing sales and money 💰 , so the young riders are put on big contracts, but probably are then told are you with us on this (circus 🎪 train) or not , by then the riders have spent years of there life to get to this point , 99% jump on . Down the line the riders get caught like lance, stripped off everything, go away in the shadows with there tail between there legs, there sponsors( the circus )drop them like a stone to cover there arse ,then the new batch crop of well wishers come into the circus.

[@johngillis7625]

Omerta is stronger then ever. TP is a doped rider......or he is an alien from another planet.

[@kevincockburn7805]

That was some of the worst hemming and hawwing i have ever seen. Pro cycling is not clean at the top, but it is sports entertainment. Just dont believe the hype too much.

[@richardmiddleton7770]

Someone has to win and be in peak form! They can't all cross the line at the same time!

[@ericvanbockern2550]

smokescreen

[@ralfgroene4928]

Tour de WWFrance

[@tmilner762]

Weak journalism & a blase attitude from Martin. What about the cyclists who are being honest & riding clean??? We should be fighting for them. Bring back David Walsh ('Seven Deadly Sins' - well worth a read).

[@ChrisHall-t7q]

Are these 2 for real

[@DjayTriple8]

I think people don't realise that as a sport grows and advances people are naturally going to be better. Just look at all the facilities young cyclist have now that wouldn't have existed 10 years ago. People are becoming more well rounded.. bigger guys are starting to climb better.. You add in generational talent + general improvements in cycling tactics, training and technology to get absolute monsters and a better average quality of cyclists.. People talk about lance constantly as an example.. he was dominant until his early 30s.. no one was close to his level.. Even the younger guys didn't stand much of a chance you don't see that these days.. I think that's a good sign..

[@evoathlete]

😂

[@kevincockburn7805]

Keep on believing in unicorns and leprechauns. Cycling has been doped since day 1. The amphetamines gave way to the cortisone, that gave way to the testosterone and growth hormone, that gave way to the epo, and the blood bags. People cheat playing cards against their friends. Let alone for millions of dollars against people they are not friends with. If you don't dope, you won't cope. Not at the highest levels.

[@SF_Native]

That's silly. They're all doping. Everyone has just accepted it as being part of the sport. It's like pro wrestling. Who wants to see a bunch of natty guys running around the ring? lol

[@geoffreyfaltot1006]

Gosh, Europe. Care more about dentistry!

[@DnDMF]

Just enjoy the races and don't take it too seriously. Assume that they are clean and if in the future they get caught, that's fine too because the system worked. It won't ruin your memories. I don't see the point of accusing everybody of doping because in the past it was the norm.

[@greg4318]

Hilarious…….cut the bullshit, if you don’t dope at the top level, your not competitive. Testing doesn’t work and a negative test only proves one thing, that you tested negative at that time, not that your not doping. (Classic Lance). These guys are operating beyond physiological accepted norms for elite athletes……..suspect in the extreme….

[@milosmuncan295]

Bla bla bla Pogacar.

[@kubackjeee]

Would be nice to invited guests who can actually speak english

[@anthonyalpocetti5152]

Every single sport runs on performance-enhancers. Why is it that people who claim to watch cycling can't understand this simple fact? If you don't like it, don't watch. But moral outrage from untalented people is a little tedious.

[@Max__apex]

Such a gealous chat and white people can’t accept he is so good.

[@peaceplayinsumgames]

doping should be legalized

[@neilberry1552]

You absolute 🤡

[@jamesbondisamonkey]

i mean there's no point in speculation...either find out the info or don't...they need simple tests that cover all possible permutations of cheating, and use it...and until then, create such a device and leave people alone

[@drazenstefanovic6122]

Who gives a fuck are they clean or not