Henao dropped

[Crackle]

I presume we've all seen this

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/mar/19/team-sky-sergio-henao-anti-doping

I suppose we'll have to wait and see what comes out of this from the testing program that Sky have commissioned. I presume these are hematocrit anomalies, though they don't say.

 

[thom]

Hadn't seen that - an interesting seemingly pro-active reaction from SKY.

 

[The Couch]

Hadn't seen that - an interesting seemingly pro-active reaction from SKY.

Indeed, good reaction... then again, I believe all (world-tour) teams would do the same as protective measure

Let's hope this is just a small fuzz and nothing concrete (Henao being a young and interesting guy)

"our own understanding is limited by a lack of scientific research into 'altitude natives' such as Sergio"
I guess with the recent in-flux of all the strong Colombians they should find some comparable values
(e.g. I thought that Quintana comes from even higher up in the mountains)

 

[smutchin]

Just seen this story and was about to post it here... Good political move by Sky, not necessarily a reason to be suspicious - yet... Though this may turn out to be another JTL-type scenario.

I don't think all teams would do the same - we've seen in recent years with the likes of AG2R and Vini Fantini how some teams talk a good anti-doping game but actually turn a blind eye to what their riders get up to when not under direct team scrutiny...

 

[The Couch]

..Vini Fantini...

That's not really a great comparison
And didn't AG2r suspend themselves for the Dauphine?

Anyway...let's just hope for Henao and cycling sake this turns out to be nothing at all

 

[Crackle]

Reading around a bit, it looks like this was leaked to Gazzeta Del Sport and is in fact a blood passport anomaly.

http://www.gazzetta.it/Ciclismo/19-...uota-colombiano-allenamento-80266570473.shtml

Sky have only issued a statement in response to the leak, otherwise it may never have come out. Further conspiracy theories abound about why it was leaked but it's hard to ascertain if any of them could be valid.

 

[rich p]

Hmmm, perhaps they could compare his BP with that of Betancur?

 

[Hip Priest]

Henao, Henao, don't dream it's over.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

I would be sad if it's anything untoward - he's a rider I was excited about even before he signed for Sky, and his younger brother is also on the books there now. I hope that Sky are just doing the right, precautionary thing...

 

[rich p]

This is an interesting read and insight into the average Colombian fan's mindset
http://www.cyclinginquisition.com/2014/03/the-not-so-intricate-intricacies-of.html

 

[The Couch]

This is an interesting read and insight into the average Colombian fan's mindset
http://www.cyclinginquisition.com/2014/03/the-not-so-intricate-intricacies-of.html

Reminds me a bit of the supporters around me when I (since very long time ago) recently went to watch a football match

Their team had high hopes before the season, but they had been under-performing most of the year.
Still ...they were in a really strong streak as of late and were in battle for the last play-off spot.
However, already after 1 or 2 bad passes, the "fans" were moaning that "again the team wasn't playing good" (or this or that player).
But every time there was a duel where a potentially arguable decision (not in favour of their team) was made by the referee, he was "whisteling against their team",..
This was a bit how the match went:

• They had a goal against.... lots of moaning
• They equalized... exhilarated for a couple of minutes
• Moaning rising that they wouldn't win it throughout the match
• Scored the winning goal in the last minutes...supporters over the moon, their team had played very good,efficient,...

Some fans are just weird

 

[rich p]

Some fans are just weird

True, just look at Crackle and Marmion

 

[Keith Oates]

That's fighting talk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[oldroadman]

I presume we've all seen this

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/mar/19/team-sky-sergio-henao-anti-doping

I suppose we'll have to wait and see what comes out of this from the testing program that Sky have commissioned. I presume these are hematocrit anomalies, though they don't say.

I think it's pointless speculation founded on nothing to "presume" anything. Blood passport anomalies are not just about H-Crit, there are other parameters in the testing/analysing process. Personally I appluad Sky for being pro-active and open about their actions. Eventually facts will emerge.

 

[Crackle]

Very good article in CN filling in a lot of the blanks and giving a good background to Colombian testing or the lack of it. Henao and Uran only tested twice out of competition in the last off season and the testers rang Henao to tell him they were running late. None of that is proof of anything but the difficulty of testing in Colombia as explained in the article, which is well worth a read.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/does-colombias-anti-doping-stand-up-to-scrutiny