Cycling Scandals: Riders Fall but Moral Failure Lies with Sponsors

Newswise — With a grant from the World Anti-Doping Agency, anthropology professor Brian Gilley has spent the last year studying attitudes among under-23-year-old cyclists towards use of performance enhancing drugs. Using American amateur collegiate cyclists as a control, in June Gilley interviewed elite junior and young adult Italian, Belgian, and American riders and found a surprising mix of responses about willingness to dope. The majority, however, believe intense pressure from team managers and sponsors explains prevalence of cheating.

Among Gilley's findings and opinions:

"¢ Doping is part of a secretive, intentional long-term training regimen encouraged by European trainers for even very young cyclists.

"¢ The pressure on riders to dope is entrenched both in their national culture and within cycling culture.

"¢ Sponsors reap monetary benefits from their riders doping whether or not they get caught: if they perform well sponsors gain through publicity and related product sales; if a rider gets caught, the sponsor gains by taking the moral high ground and withdrawing support.

"¢ Most collegiate riders view doping as a moral failure, a stance that Gilley believes stems from not facing the pressure of cycling as a lifelong career (as a rider, then team manager/trainer). Approximately 20% of American college cyclists, however, say that they would dope if the stakes were high enough.

"¢ Gilley's proposed, controversial solution is a return to authentic amateur athletic competition across all sports on one level and a higher level of professional competition in which doping is accepted as a given without the hypocrisy that currently exists.