Blood doping has become popular in recent years but is just one way that cheating riders seek to gain unfair advantage over their rivals.
As investigations into the past ramp up and new UCI president Brian Cookson attempts to put his stamp on eradicating doping, the penalties need to become so harsh that the tempted are immediately dissuaded, writes Anthony Walsh of www.A1coaching.net
The issue of doping has attracted widespread media coverage in the last decade. Athletes convicted or accused of doping often invoke boundless disdain.
It is difficult to articulate why the public feel so passionate about the subject.
Often, in the post World War II period, athletic achievement has become synonymous with national prosperity. Sport can provide a form of escape for the sometimes harsh realities of life.
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In times of economic recession or hardship, the social utility sport provides should not be underestimated. Examples are plentiful: football in Brazil provides identity to the people, offers hope for a better life and instils national pride in a country where the distribution of wealth is wholly inequitable.
Similarly, the success of African middle and long distance runners has been inspirational for certain African regions.
The athlete who cheats by using performance enhancing substances has defrauded the sport in which they participate, duped their fellow athletes and also betrayed the support of the wider public.
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Public policy considerations compel authorities to attempt to address the problem. A system that operates a policy of handing out life time bans leaves little room for flexibility.
The problem of doping in cycling has become so widespread that drastic action is needed and justified.
With such a system in place there would be causalities; there would be innocents who, through stupidity and ignorance, are caught by the system.
The question should be posed: Has the problem reached a level that necessitates lifetime bans?
Drug cheats, in order to maintain their way of life, look to exploit any legislative shortcomings for their own gain. The system needs to be ‘excessively harsh’ to eradicate not only dopers but also the would-be dopers.
The penalties for failure to comply with the rules must be so harsh that cheating becomes incomprehensible.
Athletes competing at a very high level are subjected to so many controls that they are acutely aware of everything they ingest. Anybody who comes into modern sport, or aspires to participate in sport at its highest level, must take responsibility.
It is more important to protect innocent athletes from competing against dopers than to implement a flexible system to accommodate those lazy individuals who have failed to check the nutritional information on labels of food supplements correctly.
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