Cycling seen as one of the most dishonest sports, says poll

You might be able to file this under ‘questionable survey designed to promote x’, but a YouGov poll has found cycling to be one of the most ‘dishonest’ sports, together with football and horse racing.

The poll, commissioned by Middlesex University London, asked 1,748 adults: "Which, if any, of the following sports do you think has been negatively affected by a lack of fair play or cheating?"

No doubt fuelled by the Lance Armstrong revelations of last year, the poll found 47 per cent were concerned about cheating in cycling, 49 per cent were troubled by deception in horse racing and half were concerned about hoodwinking in football.

Which sports were found to be less negatively affected by a lack of fair play or cheating?

Cricket – 28 per cent
Athletics – 25 per cent
Boxing – 14 per cent
Snooker – ten per cent
Rugby – seven per cent
Swimming – six per cent
None of these – six per cent

The poll was put together to promote the University’s Fairness Conference running this week, from May 21st to 23rd.