[Steve355F1]

About 3(?) years ago, when one of the stages started in Mawson Lakes, I took the dog for our morning walk around the local streets as I always did.

200m from my house there was a team Skoda wagon parked with a couple of support staff standing around, and lying across the back seat of the car with his feet hanging out the open door was LA.
Dog sniffed his feet, I said G'day, he said Hi and we carried on our walk.

That was the last year he was here, when we SA taxpayers forked out $1m for his cheating arse to show up.

That's my Tour Down Under experience.

IMO, cycling is not a sport.

[amgsl55]

The sport is rooted, everyone on drugs

which then makes it a level playing field.

[amgsl55]

Should be fun for you guys in Adelaide -

http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/

the hills have been full of cyclists the past 2 weekends - the lead up is agony for anyone wanting to go for a drive through the hills.

[dodger]

About 3(?) years ago, when one of the stages started in Mawson Lakes, I took the dog for our morning walk around the local streets as I always did.

200m from my house there was a team Skoda wagon parked with a couple of support staff standing around, and lying across the back seat of the car with his feet hanging out the open door was LA.
Dog sniffed his feet, I said G'day, he said Hi and we carried on our walk.

That was the last year he was here, when we SA taxpayers forked out $1m for his cheating arse to show up.

That's my Tour Down Under experience.

IMO, cycling is not a sport.

When he had cancer he told the docs to double the dose of chemo , to kill it off, if you read his books you'll see that apart from any drugs that might have been involved he and his peers are the fittest and hardest sportsmen on the planet.

[amgsl55]

When he had cancer he told the docs to double the dose of chemo , to kill it off, if you read his books you'll see that apart from any drugs that might have been involved he and his peers are the fittest and hardest sportsmen on the planet.

with or without drugs, LA is an exceptional athlete.  In fact all those that compete in such cycling events deserve praise, it's a hard slog to be pushing themselves as hard as they do, in at times extreme heat, for hours on end.

[Steve355F1]

with or without drugs, LA is an exceptional athlete.  In fact all those that compete in such cycling events deserve praise, it's a hard slog to be pushing themselves as hard as they do, in at times extreme heat, for hours on end.

True. He, and the other nutters who do this are exceptional athletes.
In fact what they do to themselves is absolutely extraordinary.

But, cycling is not a sport. It's an activity.

Just like walking, running, climbing, breathing, etc.

[goober]

whats a drug and whats not…. every sportsman takes 'drugs' in some way or another, most are considered legal, but some are not.
the reality is, no pros in any sport are wolfing down big macs and diet cokes… they are all taking supplements, hormones etc… its just a matter of whats frowned upon and whats not.

i don't know enough to talk specifics….

i say, let them all take whatever they want, that way no one can cheat.

Tell that to flo jo, won olympic gold, now dead

[dodger]

Not with standing anything else, if you go and see these guys you will be gob smacked.

[amgsl55]

But, cycling is not a sport. It's an activity.

Just like walking, running, climbing, breathing, etc.

by definition, it's a sport.

[dkabab]

Tell that to flo jo, won olympic gold, now dead

I'm no doc, but what I just read points to being unrelated. I'm sure it didn't help. Who knows.

I bet if you told all these cyclists they could legally drug up as much as they want and the only risk is potential early death, you would see 99% of them still competing.