Why does Cycling have a drug problem?

Why does Pro Cycling have a drug problem?  Well, I have a theory, which I will now present for your consideration:

Every sport has had drug problems, but cycling seems to be having more than its share of troubles with it.  Let's compare cycling to other pro sports in terms of the expectations put on its athletes.  Can anyone name another professional sport where the athlete is expected to compete with any of the following injuries?

• Broken Collarbone
• Broken Wrist
• Broken Elbow
• Broken Tibia
• Fractured Cheekbone
• 2-5% of his or her skin flayed off
• Punctured Lung
• Ruptured Spleen

These are all injuries suffered by Tour de France-level competitors who continued to ride with those injuries for at least 15 kilometers before being taken out of the race.  In the case of the broken tibia, Alberto Contador finished an 18 km mountain ascent with a broken tibia after a crash.

So, if super-human levels of pain tolerance is an expected part of the sport, why WOULDN'T a drug problem be common?


Maybe in Boxing or MMA a fighter may complete a round with an injury like that, but how long is it before the athlete gets checked for these injuries? In Cycling it could be hours.

Crazy, isn't it?  Why do they do it?

Because if they don't demonstrate the ability to tolerate that level of suffering, they won't have a contract next season, or maybe not even for the rest of this season.  Cyclists don't get multi-year, multi-million dollar, contracts.  Most of them barely make a living wage (if that, Phil Gaimon made $2,000/year in his first contract as a pro, and still makes less than I do, between cycling, sponsorships, book sales, & etc.).

The top contenders on the Tour de France make in the $150,000/year range, if they can complete a season at the top of their game, or, like Jens Voight, can demonstrate the ability to make the team significantly more likely to put someone on the podium.

If you have to compete at the very top level, just to make a living wage, why WOULDN'T there continue to be a drug problem?
So what can be done about it?

I (and others) suggest 3 simple steps:

1. UCI (the international federation) is responsible for promoting the sport, AND enforcing drug policy.  One agency responsible for making the sport both exciting and clean.  Those two goals are at odds, so segregate them.
2. Minimum payment clauses required for a team to compete in UCI events.  If a burger-flipper at McD's can expect minimum wage, why can't a pro athlete?
3. Cyclists compete for spots on teams and negotiate for salary in total ignorance of what others are being paid.  End the secrecy, so that riders can negotiate in fairness.

Note that none of these steps address the drug problem directly.  They do remove most of the incentive to cheat, or for the UCI to continue to condone cheating.