Bikes, Drugs. Yeah.

This could easily become an essay. It is a rant. Sitting here watching ABC tv news, sports report, interview some Melbourne Storm (rugby league) player who has a hamstring injury. He commented that it is coming along well, physio, hyperbaric chamber and so on. OK, time for the rant.

During the Tour a sports reporter on ABC radio made the point that he refused to take the Tour seriously because of the drug problems. This is the same reporter who can happily report on which players in AFL may have required some sort of pharmaceutical treatment to play on the weekend, lets say for back pain.

Two points for now. In Italy drug use is defined as any (any) artificial aid. This includes hyperbaric chambers. These are commonly used in Australia by professional footballers in all codes for injury recovery. In Italy you would be banned and this would count as performance enhancing. (Italy and France have major anti drug laws, unlike Spain which is why a) lots of Spanish athletes do well in endurance sports (yeah, that's scuttlebutt) and b) a lot of the big doping scandals are run out of Spain.)

Second, more obvious point. In cycling (and athletics) if you hurt your back, leg, or whatever you just cannot take a shot and keep going. That is drug assisted and illegal. There are exceptions and exemptions (for example asthmatics get permission to be able to use whatever they're using and so on) but the rule of thumb is very simple. You get injured you live with it. For example steroids are commonly prescribed to aid injury recovery. If you're a cyclist with a muscle injury that common medical course is prohibited to you. Unless you want to risk it, but you get tested, it will show, you're out for two years.

So, while there is significant drug abuse in cycling it needs to be remembered that if the same criteria were applied to the major professional football codes in Australia then the rate of drug 'cheating' would make cycling appear positively saintly. The difference is that these drugs are legal in these sports and not in cycling. Even to the extent that something like a hyperbaric chamber is illegal in Italy (just ask Robbie) and regarded as an illegal performance enhancer.