Pressure To Win

Most consider road bike racing a non-contact sport. Yet check out the YouTube video (see below) of Theo Bos ‘pulling’ Deryl Impey off his bike onto the pavement during the Turkish stage race last Sunday and you may consider otherwise. However, much debate surrounds whether Bos did indeed pull Impey down or whether it was simply an unfortunate cycling accident. The footage certainly suggests that Bos grabbed Impey’s yellow jersey and used NFL tactics to de-seat Impey. However, Bos denies any intentional action. Furthermore, questions circulate the incident. Why would Bos have pulled Impey in front of his own bike? And if he did, what interactions between himself and Impey could have taken place to result in such a dangerous retaliation? In my opinion, however, the most disturbing assumption is that winning has come to mean so much to some people that they will engage in unfair, dangerous behavior.
In one poll, one hundred and ten athletes were asked if, in taking illegal performance enhancing drugs (with no chance of being caught) they were guaranteed to win all their competitions for the next five years, but then DIE from the drugs, would they still take the them? Guess what….90 of them said yes! This may not be as surprising as we initially think. When was the last time an athlete received the kind of respect and national recognition that comes with winning from simply ‘trying hard’ or being a generally good person? America especially, but the rest of the world as well, honors the highest scores, the fastest times and the best results. Athletes feel this pressure and respond accordingly. When physical limits prevent meeting the public’s expectations, other measures are taken to circumvent barriers. Furthermore, high paying athletes often get off with little more than a slap on the wrist. As they come to see themselves as above the rules, it is no wonder that further illicit behavior ensues. The real issue is not whether Bos threw Impey to the ground; the real issue is that this is even a possible explanation for what happened during the race.