Mangaman thanks for the link. Whilst quite superficial in places the theme is quality and the final two paragraphs sum it up nicely. The sporting public pay, but have no voice. Criminal legislation connects the link between the entertainers and the viewing public.
Praying that a home Federation will punish a favourite son, has been proved to be a significant part of the problem. The athlete rarely acts alone and so there are always plenty of others to say that Johnny is ever such a good boy and would rather die than cheat, so even if you do have a couple of determined characters on the board and the evidence is placed on a plate, they get overwhelmed so easily. The cancer is never a definable lump.
The superficiality that grated in the document was that operation Puerto was referred to as an drug bust for cyclists only. Fuentes had over 200 athletes on his books and 34 were cyclists. 2 things then leap out
Point 1: of these 34 , somebody can define the current situation, but I think it is just 3 that were successfully exposed, Ulrich, Scarponi and Jaske that makes a pretty damn poor strike rate for exposure. Burden of proof/willingness to investigate prosecute/problems with international barriers all look like they take a damn significant toll. Does anybody in their right mind think a National Governing body would be 1/100th as capable of investigating/prosecuting. Would yo ulike to see your Fed subs go on a full scale investigation team ?
Point 2: Why were the other sports - Spanish Tennis and Spanish football - allowed to walk away with little stuck to them? Makes a case for even more independance in terms of investigation and prosecution.
