Giro d'Italia 2015 *spoilers*

[The Couch]

It probably has got something to do as well with the fact that as fans of the sport (which commentators should be), they probably have got a feeling that you can't keep bringing up the old stuff (i.e. past doping affairs) if you want to get the sport out of the negative spiral/attention it had/has been getting (a couple of years ago especially). I guess there are probably optimists among the commentators that believe or hope (both work) that racing these days is clean and the current clean riders shouldn't be affected by bringing up what the previous generation(s) of riders were doing time and time again.

But indeed, the legal stuff highlighted above could probably be a bigger part for the commentators.
While the races are being watched by (hondreds of) thousands people, our comments here don't travel very broad, so we should be pretty safe

If you look into some older posts on here or other cycling commenting (news)sites (or if you just stick around some time), you'll see that the overall feeling is that there are probably much more clean riders around but cheating is probably still happening in the peloton... just on a much more delicate level (e.g. micro-dosing)... but nobody will be/is absolutely sure about if it is happening or the scale of it. We will just have to wait and see if in the coming years, things pop up about riders from today (like has happened in the past)... still it doesn't necessarily ruin the fun/excitement of the sport for us cycling fans, it's just that most of us understand that we do have to look at (some of) these results with a sense of realism/doubt on how clean the performances really are.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Commentators are failing in their role imo; they lack a pair of balls to state "this is all very reminiscent of ...." and/or "remember, "x" has previously served a ban for doping and on the face of it there appears to be some questions needing asked as a result of recent results" or such like.

They did the same in the past and cowered behind the "no proof" coward's defence. Really? What I am seeing is that there is definite proof that something is very much still wrong. So, commentators, MTFU!

edit - and "celebrating" known dopers is a complete joke; they doped, they cheated. Tell everyone they did. They earned fame and fortune on the back of cheating, and mumbling something about "oh well, they all did it, that's not an excuse but "X" was a classy rider from an early age, etc" is an apologists approach. Fecking nobbers.

 

[HF2300]

I also wonder whether the commentators you might expect to be more forthright are tied by the broadcaster's editorial policy.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

I also wonder whether the commentators you might expect to be more forthright are tied by the broadcaster's editorial policy.

There will also be the fact that if the pundits in the studio start casting doubt on a team, when their reporters in the field shove a microphone under someones nose they are likely to get stonewalled. Think Fergie and the BBC in football.

Surely if the pundits can see it, the organisers should be seeing it too and trying to work out where they are being taken for chumps?

 

[smutchin]

There was an interesting moment on yesterday's commentary when Rob Hatch said something that could almost have been taken as an insinuation, and Sean Kelly suddenly got very cagey - even more umms and errs than usual...

Of course, it would be a bit rich of Sean Kelly to make negative comments about other cyclists doping.

 

[smutchin]

Surely if the pundits can see it, the organisers should be seeing it too and trying to work out where they are being taken for chumps?

Team sponsors seem more keen to take action than race organisers. Vini-Fantini* lost its sponsors after Santambrogio and Diluca made a mockery of the race in 2013, forcing the team manager to resign. They came back the following season as Neri Sottoli, but that didn't last too long either thanks to Rabottini getting busted last year.

They've resurfaced again this year as Southeast, and you have to assume the only reason they got an invite to the Giro is that they're an Italian team.


*not to be confused with the current Nippo-Vini Fantini, which is an entirely different team.

 

[HF2300]

It's also the case that the organisers have to work within a system and may be too close to the issue themselves. The sponsors are able to take unilateral action and are increasingly likely to act quickly to distance themselves from anything that might tarnish their image - after all, they're in it to promote themselves in the first place.

 

[smutchin]

It's also the case that the organisers have to work within a system

True. Same goes for the UCI - they way Astana are riding in the Giro seems to be sticking their fingers up at Cookson.

 

[400bhp]

I think the implicit buzz word, read between the lines by the commentators is "unbelievable".

There's a very good set of words from someone that said (im paraphrasing) "sport stops being sport and becomes entertainment when doping is prevalent". I think the TV channels don't see a difference.

 

[Stockie]

Thanks for all the interesting and knowledgeable insight guys. I think I will have to listen to what the Couch said and not let it ruin my enjoyment of the sport. Now I am no longer a virgin ( so to speak) hopefully I will try and contribute a little more on the forums rather than just reading other peoples comments ha ha.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

I think the implicit buzz word, read between the lines by the commentators is "unbelievable".

I wonder if you were to turn on the subtitles if it translated as "he's clearly a doping nobber"...

 

[Hont]

Now I am no longer a virgin ( so to speak)...

Well you're one step ahead if you're suspicious already. Unfortunately the days of clean cyclists winning the majority of Grand Tours (c 2012) seem to have succumbed to the dark science of micro-dosing. We can only hope that the game of leap-frog between dopers and anti-doping will go back in favour of the latter sometime soon.

 

[Crackle]

Chavanel in a break. Well that's doomed then.

 

[Bobby Mhor]

The break is 11 52 secs 12.30 now

 

[rich p]

The Sky's fallen in