EDIT: I was mistaken -- this site is dedicated to ratting out cheating runners. Whatever floats your boat, I suppose.
EDIT: I was mistaken -- this site is dedicated to ratting out cheating runners. Whatever floats your boat, I suppose.
"Lastly, and why I donated, is that this is a nod to the spirit that every serious, non-professional athlete carries with them. Each race we run is one more (or probably one less) opportunity to be as competitive as we can possibly be. We love to be measured. Most know we'll never be getting prize money, or making the Olympics, so this is it for us. These events are the only place we can live out our kooky sports fantasies. And at the core of that -- the one thing that makes it so gratifying when you make a podium, or a top 10, etc. -- is that you believe you have been able to "better the competition" fair and square. What this young lady did last Sunday was to steal that confidence from all of us. And by "outing" her in the fashion that you did... we get to see the right amount of equal, and opposite, force put things back onto an even keel. You weren't unfair in anything you did, instead, you just did what everyone is craving -- to absolutely right an absolute wrong. We even understand her twisted and pathetic motive now. And that's important -- VERY important, because everyone reading this knows that it will happen again. But back at the finish line we'll be saying... "Hey, remember that Derek guy? I think I'm gonna see if he can help us out with what happened at the race today." Thanks :)"
The only benefit I can see is learning more about the human physique. But does that alone justify the scale and investment, or could that be had in cheaper ways?
It also reminds society that a great number of us still value honesty and integrity, and believe that hard work should be rewarded justly. Too many people today say/do something bad and think a "heartfelt" apology will wash it all away.
I'm not in favor of mass internet shaming for kicks. But in cases like this where it's clear it was premeditated and the individual tried to scam their way out of trouble, and there was financial/other gain involved that robbed a more deserving recipient, I'm not bothered.
It's one thing a domestique getting a bit of a sticky bottle from a team car or someone drafting cars back to the peloton after a crash but now we have the specter of mechanical doping hanging over the sport.
At least with power/heart rate data you could compare the cyclist's performance (speed, rate of ascent, etc) with the power measured at the pedals. If someone's power jumps 50 watts but their heart rate doesn't change over time you know something is up.
Some riders have said they'd like to see power meters banned as it affects the tactics of the race. In that case all you'd have to do is hide the live data from the riders.
That's just one thing. I bet there's more.
I know stereotyping/judging is innate from what I can tell/heard. Like an evolution/survival thing, is this person going to harm me. While you can judge somebody because they look sloppy/bad, I also envy that "I don't give a ----" mindset, me personally I'm like "Oh... excuse me... can I breathe this air... if it wouldn't trouble you?" I don't like that about myself. At the end of the day we're just animals on a rock.