J. M. LeBlanc, goes for it...

[Chuffy]

Who was it who said: You can fool all the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all the time!
And he had never heard of LA.

Someone also said that it's easier to get people to believe a lie if it is a big one. I doubt that he has heard of LA either...







<pops £5 in Godwin fund...>

 

[Skip Madness]

No I'm not joking. You must have heard him say that. He used to say it all the time.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I was referring to your picking him up for saying it - I can't see why it would piss you off. It is like saying that despite conducting the biggest con of all - doping to win the Tour - he is also so honest that he can't bring himself to lie about his preparation. I am pretty sure if he did dope he is also going to be cold hearted enough to boldly lie about it.

(Obviously he has also denied ever taking drugs outright, but it just amuses me that people think he is going to drop little hints in his answers alluding to doping.)

 

[Noodley]

...but it just amuses me that people think he is going to drop little hints in his answers alluding to doping.)

He has an arrogance beyond most people. If you can find old clips of his interviews go and have a look. When asked directly he always said he had "prepared" never "trained" - maybe he has a conscience after all and cannot lie

 

[Chuffy]

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I was referring to your picking him up for saying it - I can't see why it would piss you off. It is like saying that despite conducting the biggest con of all - doping to win the Tour - he is also so honest that he can't bring himself to lie about his preparation. I am pretty sure if he did dope he is also going to be cold hearted enough to boldly lie about it.

(Obviously he has also denied ever taking drugs outright, but it just amuses me that people think he is going to drop little hints in his answers alluding to doping.)

There is a bit of history to this. A number of dopers have found themselves unable to clearly articulate that no, they did not use performance enhancing drugs. Riis once answered that "I have never tested positive" when asked if he used PEDs, for example. Dodgy enough to cheat? Yes. Aware that they are cheating and need to find some form of weasel words that gives their conscience a little bit of comfort? Absolutely. I'm not saying that LA is necessarily following that pattern, when he says 'prepare' I believe he means that there is more than just training involved and LA is famously involved in the tech side of things, but Noodley is right to pick up on it.

 

[Skip Madness]

Yes, maybe so. You see, I would find it hard to lie about taking performance-enhancing drugs, too, but then... I couldn't take them in the first place. The psychology of doping is interesting, anyway.

I was talking to someone the other day about doping in cycling. Regardless of the fact that it is cheating against your fellow athletes (which is bad enough in itself), the thing I would find even harder to handle as a doper is seeing the crowds at the big bike races (and plenty of the small ones, too). As a spectator sport, cycling can be so much more awkward to see live than most other sports. I was on the Angliru this year, and the number of people camped up in vans and tents beforehand was staggering. Hell, we had to leave the hotel at 0500 ourselves in order to beat the road closures and grab a couple of hours extra sleep once we had parked the car a few kilometers up. If I was a doper and I saw the lengths which cycling fans go to just to watch me - sometimes in freezing cold weather or downpours, and for any of the big mountain stages invariably involving a big drive, ride or trek - I think I would have to get off the bike and confess there and then.

 

[Chuffy]

Yes, maybe so. You see, I would find it hard to lie about taking performance-enhancing drugs, too, but then... I couldn't take them in the first place. The psychology of doping is interesting, anyway........If I was a doper and I saw the lengths which cycling fans go to just to watch me - sometimes in freezing cold weather or downpours, and for any of the big mountain stages invariably involving a big drive, ride or trek - I think I would have to get off the bike and confess there and then.

It is interesting, yes. Once you've read a few books you start to realise how ingrained in the culture it is and how hard it can be for cyclists to even accept that they are doping. No wonder that even when they've been busted they can still do the 'poor little me' routine and genuinely believe that they've been hard done by...