Pro Cycling is slowly getting cleaner.

But I'm amazed that once caught out they always say the same , "I want to come clean," didn't Millar say the same thing !

As soon as a life ban is in place the better, Once a cheat always a cheat.

if they bought in life bans there would be no cyclists left, the whole industry would go down the pan, its already on skid row.

@rapid_uphill - If they brought in life bans there would still be plenty of cyclists left - the majority I venture - and talented riders could honestly aspire to emulate or surpass their heros achievements.

@BlowMonkey - "Once a cheat always a cheat" - agree - as the saying goes "Leopards do not change their spots". As discussed in an earlier post "once and you're out", no exceptions, is they way to sort these cheats.

johans thats not true all cyclists cheats, just cos they dont get caught doesnt mean they dont cheat, cyclists even cheat in charity bike rides. cycling and scum bags go hand in hand.

Everytime cycling tries to move on - another doping story kicks all fans where it hurts.

Each time we hope the sport's getting cleaned up and each time our hopes are dashed.

You wonder how many more times fans will be disllusioned before giving up completely.

The ONLY answer is a lifetime ban for the cheats and just maybe that'll start to disaude others. Until the sport grabs that nettle it'll never kill the suspicion and downward spiral the sport's locked into.

Agree with all sentiments about a lifetime ban; it's a deterent. rapid_uphill - I don't agree that all cyclists cheat. There will be some left who are big enough not to dope. This is a message I sent to Bernhard Kohl's management company via his website. Same applies to Riccardo Ricci, but his website got taken down a little while ago...

"Dear Sirs,

Please encourage Mr Kohl to realise that he should not return to competitive cycling after whatever ban he receives expires. His actions are pitiful and childish, and he needs to realise that the cycling public, enthusiastic to its core about watching professional racing, are fed up with talentless fools like him trying to be something they are not. The more his kind are caught, exposed and banned, the more we will believe in the spectacle and the better the racing becomes. Most fans believe that two years is not enough and that a lifetime ban, and the prospect of having to find a regular job instead of being able to ride bikes for a living, would be a better deterent against more idiots succumbing to the articifial world that is doping. I hope he realises this.

Mr Kohl has badly let down all of us who cheered his polka dot jersey achievement this summer. We now know it's meaningless and has no value. He has conned us, and we do not want to see him back.

Yours faithfully,

More Of A Cyclist than Bernhard Kohl Will Ever Be"

all cycling competitions are meaningless and have no value because of cheating and it sickens me to the core.

I presume rapid_downhill you include the likes of triple gold medal winner Chris Hoy in such sweeping condemnation?

I suggest you take your Troll-comments elsewhere, they are not rooted in balanced discussion.

why have a dig at my name? and i never included chris hoy, freewheelin why do you hate me so much?

this sport is down the crapper we all know that dont we?

I don't understand, whey don't they ban these dope fiends for life. Why only 2 year suspension!

The comment is quite simple.

You said: "all cyclists are cheats"

Chris Hoy is a cyclist

Therefore you clearly regard Chris Hoy as a cheat

Simple logic really.

And I don't understand your comment 'why have a dig at my name' . I've done no such thing, just disagreed with your opinion

Is he suggesting that because he fell to temptation that someone was tempting him? Although I wholeheartedly agree with life bans I worry that the problem is not just the cyclists but in managment too.

After all who let Armstrong off without providing six months back blood before a come back? What message does that send?

im simply saying that without lifetime bans the sport of cycling is worthless. if you wanna be a troll i have no problem with that

peace out

One wonders if Gerolsteiner the sponsor had more than an incling its riders were doping this year and decided to pull the plug. A two year suspension is clearly no deterrent to these cheats. A lifetime ban is needed along with severe penalties to teams, such as suspension from races. It appears certain teams are paying no attention to doping controls and they should be penalised.

"I'm sorry... that I got caught and have to give the cash back. But if I blub a bit people will forget how I tried to cheat and defraud everyone, I'll look like the victim, and it'll be easier for me to pick up a new contract in a couple of years – as I inevitably will.

"I only took it cos I fell off my bike.

"In fact, in wasn't my fault at all. The big boys made me do it.

Auf weidersehen. See you in a few months. Now where did I stash my gear?"

I think the comments about Miller are a wee bit hard. He has come back and he seems to be on the Diet Cola rather than the full strength Cola. Whether he is on the Evian is impossible to know. He isn't winning so well so I presume he is doing a bit less stuff these days. Other guilty riders have come back in the past to lead an almost anonymous existence in the Peleton; remember Zulle coming back after a ban and messing around at the back of the Peleton for a year or two before retiring.

Basso will be interesting; if he wins a lot then he will look a bit suss. Hmmm...

Drugs in sport and cycling go hand in hand. It always has and always will. The authorities seem to be on an obsessive charge trying root out all evil and the harder they look the more they find. They will keep on finding new riders doping who fancy a shot at the big time; it's human nature.

One top tip being a cycling fan is, as an English actor once said in a film, "Let go of your anger; as this is the path to the dark side..."

Take it easy!

-Jerry

Lifetime bans in pro cycling are very unlikely to happen, mainly because there are high levels of sponsorship and therefore the investment in these riders is huge. Throwing around lifetime bans will upset the sponsors and the sport is nothing without the sponsors. There is also the danger that if lifetime bans are an option that cyclists lower down the orer will be sacrificed in order to make it look like the governing bodies are coming down hard.

However I think there is more that could be done. One thing would be much greater emphasis on the supply of drugs and the support the cyclists received in taking the drugs. Nobody dopes in isolation.

Why not give a more lenient ban to those cyclists who can provide solid evidence against their support network, leading to convictions against others. Which of course leads to the next point, there should be much stricter sanctions taken against anybody involved in that support network. And conversely of course, those who keep their support network secret should receive a stricter ban.