Le Tour 2015

[Dante Lavelli]

You know what I've often thought this, particularly in relation to the tour, but I don't really care if they are doping. Drugs assisted or not you still have to be an incredible athlete to do what they do. And I include Armstrong in that. There, I've said it.

The danger of this stance is that the doping will start younger and younger in order for the benefit to still have effect.  This has already happened in East Germany were girls were unknowingly pumped full of so much testosterone that they chose to have sex changes once they became adults because their bodies were so so altered.

[Meanwood Villa]

You know what I've often thought this, particularly in relation to the tour, but I don't really care if they are doping. Drugs assisted or not you still have to be an incredible athlete to do what they do. And I include Armstrong in that. There, I've said it.

The danger of this stance is that the doping will start younger and younger in order for the benefit to still have effect.  This has already happened in East Germany were girls were unknowingly pumped full of so much testosterone that they chose to have sex changes once they became adults because their bodies were so so altered.

Fair point, I suppose you can't just give a total green light to this sort of thing when people's health is at stake.

[simon ward 50]

Last Friday and Saturday's stages were some of the best road cycling we have seen for ages!

[DB]

In a weird way, their certainty that froome is cheating is likely to encourage more cheats.  By saying that Sky are doping and winning, but we haven't caught them yet,  then is almost gives the other teams carte blanche to do this themselves.

Sky cheating, based on what???
Stories in the French media as they have not had a tour winner for a long time.

Based on nothing, but it is how it is being reported by large chunks of the media.

French media. The way he ended the tour shows the fine margins...he was slightly better than his nearest competitors, therefore he is doping. The French media are basing it on past tours with no actual data or evidence.

[JD]

Last Friday and Saturday's stages were some of the best road cycling we have seen for ages!

Agree Simon, the last few days were pretty exciting with attack after attack on Froome and Sky. it was great to watch. 

[aj2k77]

In a weird way, their certainty that froome is cheating is likely to encourage more cheats.  By saying that Sky are doping and winning, but we haven't caught them yet,  then is almost gives the other teams carte blanche to do this themselves.

Everyone who will cheat will already be cheating right now. Pressure for contracts, vanity, glory, peer pressure. I all the books I've read these were the reasons given for doping. The  French media accusations are the same ones thrown at them when they wanted Armstrong outed. By and large they love the sport of cycling. Wanting a cleaner more transparent sport doesn't mean they are being mental, nationalistic and jealous. They want proof. And why not. The same people running the show, very little changed.

Sky started with their own doctors. Within a year after poor results they employed Leinders, Rabobanks doping doctor. Co-incidence? Who knows.
Cookson, President of the UCI, his son works for SKY. Not a good position for neutrality I'd say.

Their is a lot of insinuations. Can anyone come up with a reason for teams not being more transparent?

I'm not limiting this just to SKY, it's something the whole peleton needs to do.
Thibault Pinot has a 5 yr study on him, available on the internet for anyone to read and make their own assumptions, very detailed. Why don't more teams and riders do it? The data is available but the will isn't their yet.