Great thread.
I think the sheer torture pro-cyclists go through throughout a season, in Grand Tours particulary, and you can kind of understand why it's rife in that sport. Not condoning it, but understand why it's done. There's no doubt most riders were dabbling in something throughout the 80s and 90s. You only had to see how they'd race like maniacs every day for 3 weeks of an event like the TDF. No human can sustain complete balls out efforts on consecutive days like they used to do. In more recent GT's, you notice the truce that's called in the peleton on chosen days where they just allow the breakaway to have the day.
I'm always curious about NRL players being on the gear. You only have to see a few of them out and about and how they just stick out. No doubt the training helps, but a lot of them are absolute monsters in comparison to the average joe. Plus, i'm not sure how diligent players are with their recovery routines. I know they eat a shitload in order to maintain playing weight, and a lot recovery is done at the club after training, etc, but I wonder if they're as diligent away from the club.
It's an athletic discipline like any other where the training, recovery, injury, compete cycle needs to be maintained at an optimum.
