Tour de France Drug Abuse - 4890 Words

The question of drug use among athletes in what was previously considered by the unknowing public to be a rather pristine sport, cycling, is important in that it will affect all future Tours and will place them and the athletes under scrutiny. To begin with, in Europe until the 1998 scandal occurred, despite a few exceptions, cycling was considered a drug free sport. The 1998 drug scandal tarnished the Tour de France and the reputation and image of other sports. The media response to the scandal took differing positions on what should be done next to clean up cycling. The scandal also affected advertisements, sales, and without question the 1999 Tour and Lance Armstrong. Since even the most naà ¯ve fan no longer trusts the cyclists,†¦show more content†¦Without that backing, the Tour and cycling would struggle awkwardly. If the war against drugs is not waged and won, a sport which has enjoyed a quantum leap in popularity could be plunged in a dark era particularly be cause of its tarnished reputation in 1998. (Velo-News 197) To avoid that dark era, Tour de France director general Jean-Marie Leblanc is taking a tough stand against the cheaters. In an interview with the Paris daily, France-Soir, Leblanc said, In the future I would not let a team start the Tour which had had a positive drug test in the weeks preceding the race (Velo-News 198). He was referring to Festina rider Christophe Moreau, who started this years Tour, despite testing positive for an anabolic steroid five weeks earlier (Velo-News 198). Nowadays, everybody is concerned and affected by performance boosting drugs. The British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, interviewed ordinary cyclists who train at a 5km circuit near central Paris. One rider Jean Liguez said, Drug taking is an open secret. There are some old cyclists of 70 or 80 years of age who take substances from time to time just to get around a bit quicker. Equally, there are young kids who are not fully formed physically, who are also taking things. Thats worrying (Velo-News 198). The New York Times of August 3 delineated the new French law, saying it would take drug controls out of the hands of all sports federations and put them under theShow MoreRelatedEssay on Tour de France Drug Abuse4746 Words   |  19 Pages The question of drug use among athletes in what was previously considered by the unknowing public to be a rather pristine sport, cycling, is important in that it will affect all future Tours and will place them and the athletes under scrutiny. To begin with, in Europe until the 1998 scandal occurred, despite a few exceptions, cycling was considered a drug free sport. The 1998 drug scandal tarnished the Tour de France and the reputation and image of other sports. The media response to the scandalRead MoreEnhancing Drugs And Its Impact On Academic Integrity Statements At Colleges881 Words   |  4 Pagesstatements at colleges. In sports the use of performance-enhancing drugs is considered cheating and is a universally accepted rule. The Tour de Fr ance is a bicycle race that tests bikers’ abilities to bike around France without any outside help. Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven titles of the Tour de France when he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. Similar reasoning should be applied to using neuro-enhancing drugs illicitly in college. The illicit use of Adderall has a negativeRead MoreAnabolic Steroids : Use And Performance Enhancing Drugs1516 Words   |  7 Pagesperformance enhancing drugs like anabolic steroids has been a debatable topic in the United States as early as the 1950’s. Former U. S. Representative Howard Berman expresses that â€Å"Steroids can seem necessary to compete at the highest level, and the quick rewards may seem to outweigh the long term consequences to users.† The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) states that countless athletes, both young and old, face life threatening illnesses due to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, some of whichRead MoreEf fects Of Performance Enhancing Drug Usage In Sports1056 Words   |  5 PagesPerformance Enhancing Drug Usage in Sports: Winning at any Cost Performance Enhancing Drugs are frequently used by sporting professionals, though major sports organizations have prohibited their usage as a result of the negative attributes and effects correlated with continuous intake of these drugs. Many nations are concerned by the flourishing amount of incidents during the usage of steroids advertised by the sports athletes. Professional athletes, such as baseball players, have been in the spotlightRead MoreWhy Performance-Enhancing Drugs Are Ruining Sports Essay1174 Words   |  5 Pagesalike: performance-enhancing drugs. These drugs come in substances, chemical agents and are used in medical procedures which provide the user with an advantage in athletic performance (Encarta, 2007.) These drugs have been a very dark shadow over sports since they came into athletics. Recently, the Tour de France and Major League Baseball have seen major cases in which star athletes in their sports have been questioned if those drugs had been used. These types of drugs are bad for sports, the athletesRead MoreAnabolic Steroids : A Fatal Attraction1734 Words   |  7 Pagesregimen and just can not seem to push through? When some athletes hit the proverbial wall when training they turn to steroids. Ruth Wood in an article titled Anabolic Steroids: A Fatal Attraction? Writes, â€Å"Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are drugs of abuse. Despite bans on steroid use, Olympic athletes, professional cyclists, American baseball players, and even racehorses have tested positive for AAS. However, AAS are no longer the exclusive province of elite athletes. Among school seniors in theRead MoreErythropoietin : Is It Worth It?1542 Words   |  7 PagesEmory Henry College Over a century ago Eugene Goldwasser and Takaji Miyake worked together in Chicago to synthesize the human hormone erythropoietin, better known as EPO. It took over 10 years for EPO to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration to be used solely for patients with anemia. EPO is naturally produced by the kidneys and is sensitive to the oxygen levels in the blood. When oxygen levels are too low, EPO is released and stimulates the bone marrow to produce more redRead MoreInformative Speech On Steroids717 Words   |  3 Pagestypes of steroids but Im going to talk about Anabolic steroids which are most commonly used by athletes. Sub-point A: According to an article on CESAR, a website filled with university-based research addressing issues related to alcohol and other drugs, last updated on Tuesday, October 29, 2013, a group of scientists in the early 1930’s created a lab made form of testosterone to treat men who weren’t able to produce enough of it. Sub-point B: American physician Dr. Zeigler created a more selectiveRead MoreSteroids As Dangerous Illegal Substances1229 Words   |  5 Pageseverything to safeguard him first place in the tour de France races but ultimately lost his seven fold winner title. When allegation were put forward his response was a product of meticulous rebuttals and elaborate lies. Many of us see steroids as dangerous illegal substances, however, it is clear that a sizeable proportion of people are drawn to steroid in an attempt at success. These unorthodox success-grazed individuals will often use synthetic drugs such as HGH (human growth hormone), anabolicRead MoreThe Royal Netherlands Air Force Essay2083 Words   |  9 Pagesthese results is La Course. The tour feminin was raced yearly until the late 80’s. Due to the lack of media interest it had stopped. According to Joldersma (2013) she displayed her determination to see women race on the biggest stage of the world again several times. Wit h her knowledge of what the women’s peloton needed, she acted upon that feeling. Together, with two other pro riders, Marianne talked with the chairman of the Aumury Sport Organisation (ASO) to get Tour Feminin back on the schedule,