Another +ve

[andy_wrx]

Conspiracy theory : I wonder if this new test has actually been around for a little while but just been unveiled now ?

WADA is of course an Olympics sub-division, not part of UCI.

Either it's just before the Olympics but perhaps so close to them that anyone who's been on the juice will be caught because they'll still have this stuff detectable in their system and hence we'll have a clean Olympics with all the dopers either staying at home or being caught

Or it's far enough away from the Olympics that anyone on the stuff will promptly stop it and arrive in Beijing and be tested and be clear, hence we'll have a clean Olympics because no-one will test positive.


So I'm not sure if it's Christian Prudhomme/ASO + AFLD, so much as WADA/IOC + AFLD...but it certainly ain't our old friends Verbruggen and McQuaid who are digging-out the dopers.

Where Prodhomme/ASO have gone right is to be able to invite who they want and chuck-out who they want without having to wait for B-samples, long drawn-out court cases, etc.

It's the who-won-the-2006-Tour-? dragging-on until 2008 and all the *rsing-about with Rasmussen last year which damaged the Tour's reputation.
This year's they-test-positive-we-kick-em-out-no-questions-no-appeal approach is very positive.
I think if the Rasmussen case came-up this year, they'd chuck him out - last year they felt they'd been given a poisoned chalice because UCI/Danish Federation knew all about it before the Tour, but leaving the Tour and ASO to take the damage when it came out into the press.

 

[doyler78]

I may have this wrong however I think andy you have this issue confused. ASO removing the rider from the TdF and the appeals against a riders sacking are two completely different issues as is the issue of appeals against a doping ban. Nothing that ASO has done will prevent a legal challenge to a doping ban should Ricardo Ricco be banned by his federation.

Rasmussen's Raboband team paid heavily for not folllowing the correct procedures in their dismissal of the rider and again that has nothing to do with ASO. That is a matter for the team.

 

[wafflycat]

According to the BR live TdeF commentary feed, rumours are surfacing of Piepoli testing positive now.

Apparently Piepoli has been sacked from Saunier Duval along with Ricco

edit: oops... didn't see earlier post..

edit again... remind me... which was the team the now utterly clean David Millar rode for when he came back from his drugs ban. What a coincidence! Just fancy that!

 

[doyler78]

Ricco has been on italian tv and he will definitely be fighting any ban so any hope that this would be end of the matter are as I suspected are far of the mark.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/Ricco_speaks_on_Italian_television_article_263788.html

 

[Chuffy]

Ricco has been on italian tv and he will definitely be fighting any ban so any hope that this would be end of the matter are as I suspected are far of the mark.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/Ricco_speaks_on_Italian_television_article_263788.html

It's the end so far as his involvement in the Tour goes. Bet that ASO will let him play again next year, or ever?
Go Monsieur Rudehomme!

 

[Chuffy]

"Asked if he had ever used EPO, Ricco said: “You'll find out in the next few days. I'm going to see my lawyer tomorrow and we'll start my defence."
The word 'no' was clearly too much for the Worm....

 

[fossyant]

Well hopefully this sh1t may stop.............

The drugs are developed for 'medical patients' then abused... the detection is obviously there now, as the developers know of the 'mis-use' !........ thank goodness they know what's going on...

I've watched Le Tour for 25 years, and it's been a massive catch up exercise to catch these cheats - finally are we able to stop them.........

 

[doyler78]

It's the end so far as his involvement in the Tour goes. Bet that ASO will let him play again next year, or ever?
Go Monsieur Rudehomme!

Yeah but it was the end for Rassmussen and Landis as well yet the point was made that somehow ASO handling of the situation this year had changed things so that the whole wrangling over their dismissal/ban would somehow stop. It doesn't change that end of things one little bit.

I would indeed be very surprised if he ever rode the TdF again and with ASO starting to take control of professional cycle racing it is unlikely he will find a team to take him as they would leave themselves without any invite to any races run by ASO so I guess a result from that point of view.

Still don't like ASO ever increasing dominance in the sport but I suppose they can do things that the UCI and national federations struggle to do because they (UCI et al) have to be much more careful as they have a legal relationship with the rider as they issue/withdraw licenses whereas the relationship that exists on the ASO side is with the Team as they can place contract terms which could be described at best as draconian upon them using their unique position as the organisers of the worlds most famous cycle race but that's another debate.

 

[Noodley]

I reckon WADA and ASO will be a better partnership than UCI and 'anybody else' cos we're UCI and you do what we say and we think we are kings and will continue to support structures which do not tackle doping

 

[Noodley]

Have a read of this:

http://sittingin.bicycling.com/

 

[mondobongo]

Has he got a point? Do we watch and wait for the positive? Are we some sort of Ambulance chasers?

Just maybe we are and the question must be asked:

Just how would we respond to the Tour if 1 year there were no positives not a cover up simply no one doped? Relief, proud or would we be a little disapointed.

 

[doyler78]

Have a read of this:

http://sittingin.bicycling.com/

At last another view which doesn't merely parrot the party line.

To answer mondobongo last point I think we will probably say it was the most boring race we have ever watched. Why? Because to do 21 days hard competition and to expect huge attacks in the mountains without someone in there who has been on the juice then it is perhaps too much to expect. The teams managers have too much control over races in today's modern race that you are not going to see the favourites ride of the front away from the riders unless they are on an exceptionally good day or they are doped to the eyeballs or have a juiced up team to drag them up the mountains high enough that they can launch an attack on their meagre energy reserves.

He sees the reality that doping is now and always will be a part of the sport. Many will find that depressing and I suspect that is because they have been fed this notion for the last 10 years that doping will be eliminated from the sport and when it's not they bawl their eyes like some child who can't think for themselves. A bit of reality please. Expect a tough and well structured anti-doping strategy by all means and then even with that expect positives that way you won't feel the need to languish and beat yourself up over how your sport is being destroyed. What is destroying it is unrealistic expectations.

 

[yello]

It's a perspective, and an interesting one. But, for me, it doesn't translate into reality because it excludes the other 'players'. Cycling isn't a theatre event were all the players are working together solely for the audiences amusement. They're competing against each other to win. That's the spectacle and the 'contract'.

Moreover, I watch the tour to watch these guys compete, and complete on near-as-dammit equal terms.

Dopers cheat their fellow riders, cheat me and cheat themselves. They sh*t all over that 'contract'.

I like listening to Amy Winehouse more because she actually did go to rehab

Yes, agreed. But it's not a valid comparison. A more relevant comparison is to ask how many people Winehouse pisses about, lets down and generally f*cks around with because she is a smack head.

 

[Proto]

Did anyone listen to Matt DeCanio on the BBC Radio 4 programme 'Saturday Live' this morning? Pretty damning stuff and very sad.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/saturdaylive/topical_stories.shtml

 

[doyler78]

It's a perspective, and an interesting one. But, for me, it doesn't translate into reality because it excludes the other 'players'. Cycling isn't a theatre event were all the players are working together solely for the audiences amusement. They're competing against each other to win. That's the spectacle and the 'contract'.

Moreover, I watch the tour to watch these guys compete, and complete on near-as-dammit equal terms.

Dopers cheat their fellow riders, cheat me and cheat themselves. They sh*t all over that 'contract'.



Yes, agreed. But it's not a valid comparison. A more relevant comparison is to ask how many people Winehouse pisses about, lets down and generally f*cks around with because she is a smack head.

And you think actors aren't competing against each other on the stage. Of course they are. They act as a collective and as an individual as do the riders in the TdF.

If you ever expect that you will watch a clean TdF then you are living in a fantasy world and are doomed to much hand wringing over the however many years cycling lasts as a sport if it doesn't outlast you.

Just because we have a year where maybe nobody gets caught during the race doesn't mean that it was a clean race. That is just sticking your head in the sand and that is what has got us in the mess in the first place and is just as reprehensible because it says "if you are going to do it make sure you don't get caught". That is the philosophy of old I hope.

I think anyone that denies that they find the whole sorry episode at least entertaining is perhaps scared to think for themselves as they believe that somehow because you were entertained that somehow that you agree with the dopers. Entertainment comes in any many forms, the good, the bad and the ugly however it is entertaining nonetheless and because we accept the honesty in Winehouse's songs because of her battles in life doesn't mean to say that we enjoy seeing her destroy her life. We accept her music for what it is yet we can see the damage that is being done to her from the excesses of her life. You can hold both positions because you can't put the genie back in the bottle ie deny her music just because it was born out of abject misery. Should we deny ourselves the pleasure of ever enjoying anything unless the circumstances of by which it was created were perfect.