Stephen Roche
- Thread starter rich p
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Noodley
Guest
Yes, I am rather tired of doping as well. Roche should come out and tell the truth...
Flying_Monkey
Recyclist
- Location
- Odawa
Especially now he's in the position he is in at the UCI, telling contemporary riders and teams what they are doing wrong. If he was just a private individual who kept himself to himself, I wouldn't really care. But he's not.
Noodley
Guest
It depends what you categorise as "proof"...I have what I would consider "proof" in that his name appears in a blood test file/ document which has been authenticated as genuine and marked against his name under Treated (with EPO) is Yes. (see page 285 of Matt Rendell's Biography of Marco Pantani for details).
You say that Roche is free to opinionate to his hearts content, as am I. I don't happen to sit on the Professional Cyclist Commission of the UCI. I see doping as a big problem in pro cycling, Roche doesn't; he is more interested in making his way up the UCI chain of bullshit by waffling about whether riders should zip their jerseys up, and not using team cars to draft.
You say that Roche is free to opinionate to his hearts content, as am I. I don't happen to sit on the Professional Cyclist Commission of the UCI. I see doping as a big problem in pro cycling, Roche doesn't; he is more interested in making his way up the UCI chain of bullshit by waffling about whether riders should zip their jerseys up, and not using team cars to draft.
Flying_Monkey
Recyclist
- Location
- Odawa
Exactly. If he is going to lecture anyone else about 'cheating' from a UCI pulpit, he's got to set an example. As I said, if he was just an opinionated individual with no official position, it wouldn't really matter...
Flying_Monkey
Recyclist
- Location
- Odawa
No, they aren't. Given your alias, I suggest you are slightly blinkered by patriotism. I don't dislike Roche as a person (I don't know him), I think a lot of what he has been saying of late has been stupid. Of other great Irish cyclists - Sean Kelly almost never says anything that isn't insightful and has a dry wit. I imagine I'd like him a lot if I knew him...
Noodley
Guest
And, liekwise I am entitled to my opinion and I'll state it clear for you: Roche was a drug cheat. I have no personal dislike of him, but he was a drug cheat - there is evidence. He will not be found "guilty" but it does not mean he did not do it. Even if he had been found guilty, he'd still be entitled to his opinion. If he admitted what he did, then I would have more respect for him, but he just carries on with his denial and speaks bullshit.
And as for "who'd run the UCI if we got rid of all the cheats?" line...ex-clean riders, ex-dopers who admit their errors and want to see change, people with no vested interest in maintaining the silence, people who give a shoot...
Noodley
Guest
You, then, are part of the problem.
Noodley
Guest
No, Roche is entitled to his opinion and I am entitled to mine. I am entitled to pass comment on Roche as he cheated during his cycling days and is now putting himself forward as a cycling "politician" and commentator on cycling matters.
Irrespective of whether or not he was convicted or not, he cheated. I have given you the "evidence", so feel free to access this and make your own mind up.
Irrespective of whether or not he was convicted or not, he cheated. I have given you the "evidence", so feel free to access this and make your own mind up.
But not solely convicted by an armchair judge and jury - you will have seen the reference above to the evidence presented in Matt Rendell's book. Roche won't ever be found guilty because there's no point in charging him, that bird has flown. But to attest his innocence flies in the face of the available evidence.
There's a growing number of people in cycling who really don't like doping being a part of the sport. It's not necessary and it undermines the magic of the sport and the challenges it sets. I noticed today in the Eurosport commentary that they occasionally add in when a rider who is doing well has in the past been caught for doping, rather than burying their heads in the sand. I think this is a good thing, putting an asterisk next to the achievements of cheaters. I believe there is less doping in cycling today than there has been in the past, and based on today's stage of the Giro can it be denied that cleaner athletes putting themselves through these sorts of tests yields compelling sport, compelling viewing and compelling competition? Those who were involved in endemic doping in the eighties and nineties should no longer be afraid to come out and admit it. The fans know it happened - better to be honest about it and perhaps in that way salvage some of the reputation of their era in the sport.
There's a growing number of people in cycling who really don't like doping being a part of the sport. It's not necessary and it undermines the magic of the sport and the challenges it sets. I noticed today in the Eurosport commentary that they occasionally add in when a rider who is doing well has in the past been caught for doping, rather than burying their heads in the sand. I think this is a good thing, putting an asterisk next to the achievements of cheaters. I believe there is less doping in cycling today than there has been in the past, and based on today's stage of the Giro can it be denied that cleaner athletes putting themselves through these sorts of tests yields compelling sport, compelling viewing and compelling competition? Those who were involved in endemic doping in the eighties and nineties should no longer be afraid to come out and admit it. The fans know it happened - better to be honest about it and perhaps in that way salvage some of the reputation of their era in the sport.
FYI, this is not a court of law - it's an internet forum where we discuss things
black'n'yellow
Guest
the 'clean' years are not necessarily 'clean' - they just happen to be the years when most of the teams get the right combination between doping and masking agents.
And FFS give Roche a break - it's not clever. If you accuse him of doping, you would have to accuse every other rider of his generation - and the previous generation and all subsequent generations.
That's not an endorsement of doping, incidentally.
And FFS give Roche a break - it's not clever. If you accuse him of doping, you would have to accuse every other rider of his generation - and the previous generation and all subsequent generations.
That's not an endorsement of doping, incidentally.
Noodley
Guest
If any other riders of his generation want to step up and put themselves forward as "cycling politicians" then I shall treat them similarly.
black'n'yellow
Guest
good for you fella - have you considered becoming a football fan instead..?
Noodley
Guest
Instead of what?
