This Weeks Excuse

[PaulB]

A 100 metre sprint is a long way from the Tour de France but that doesn't stop the participants from doping.

Performance enhancing drugs such as steroids are tempting to sprinters requiring, as it does, real physical strength and being about beating the clock. I'd like to know what class of drug would increase a footballer's talent or give him greater ability or skill or make him more accurate in his passing, crossing or shooting.

 

[Dave_1]

I see the editor of cyclingnews is willing to report Taylor Phinney's lack of results at the yet to be raced Tour of Catalonia (Catalunya) race as the result of this relative unknown at road racing of classics/3 week tour level racing saying it is a training race. An excuse by the American and poor journalism by that editor to report it even. Cataluyna was a race great riders like Robert Millar treated with some respect by actually racing it to win in 1985 when a major player on the 3 week tour GC races rather than the dismissive attitude it is shown now as "training"

 

[Smokin Joe]

Performance enhancing drugs such as steroids are tempting to sprinters requiring, as it does, real physical strength and being about beating the clock. I'd like to know what class of drug would increase a footballer's talent or give him greater ability or skill or make him more accurate in his passing, crossing or shooting.

Drugs such as EPO which aid an athletes ability to recover quickly would be useful to any sportsman. Wenger has said on many occassions that the drug is used in the sport.

 

[Smokin Joe]

The ability of football players to give of their skills for 90 minutes rather than getting knackered after 75 minutes means stamina boosting would be useful.

Having said that, I suspect that drug use testing in European footballl is probably, on balance, less than in cycling but and I'd wouldn't stake my mortgage on it.

That reads better.

 

[raindog]

That reads better.

It certainly does.

 

[PaulB]

Drugs such as EPO which aid an athletes ability to recover quickly would be useful to any sportsman. Wenger has said on many occassions that the drug is used in the sport.

Well, I don't believe he did. And I have yet to hear of a footballer being caught using r-EPO but literally hundreds of cyclists have and some of them have died as a direct result. How many footballers have died due to performance enhancing drug abuse? It's a complete non issue in football but the last five books I've read on cycling illustrates the cancer that has wrecked professional cycling. You should read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_at_the_Tour_de_France If you've got the time, that is. This goes on for a long time indeed. I don't see one about football.

 

[beastie]

The ability of football players to give of their skills for 90 minutes rather than getting knackered after 75 minutes means stamina boosting would be useful.

Having said that, I suspect that drug use in European footballl is probably, on balance, less than in cycling but I wouldn't stake my mortgage on it.

 

[beastie]

Rich p ,
I agree that increased stamina etc is a benefit to any sportsman. Just that the potential benefit of doping is greatest when the sport is one mainly measured by physical performance like cycling, swimming, running etc.