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If he makes that claim then IMO it would be very stupid - at least some of his tests should have detected something wrong, not just one. It would make more sense to be like Lance, don't try to make up crazy excuses, keep your cool, keep quiet and wait for the B sample. If he knows the B sample will yield the same results he should just out with it and confess.Quote:
Originally Posted by alpinerabbit
He'll shut up when he's caught too.Quote:
Originally Posted by bikerchick68
I don't believe he's clean either, none of Quickstep, which used to be Mapei, and they've found incriminating evidence from the Mapei era.
Witl all the bad news, and hoping its just a bad nightmare, I'm taking a break and taking a snooze.
Smilingcat
SmilingCat, thanks for the laugh. I needed it!:p
I watched the re-caps last night, with every so many minutes the new flash of Vino and the whole team withdrawing was a bummer for me. I made sure I got up to watch the 630am start today so I could get caught up. I was up at 5, (anticipation was getting the best of me) did some housework, then got on here to see and read all the updates before I watched it. SHould've gotten on here last night so I wouldn't have to had to get up so early, got just as much if not more from you gals than I did from the announcers this am. I will see what tonight brings, I only watched the opening, as Dh and I watch the tour nightly.
I doubt even Lance made enough money from cycling to retire on tour/cycling winnings. Even if a rider is well known they'd still have to do endorsements, clothing or sell some type of coaching program to make a living.Quote:
Originally Posted by alpinerabbit
The Jambon Report for Stage 16 over at dailypeloton.com is a good one. Locutus makes a good case for all of us fans to continue supporting cycling as a sport, despite the crap that's happened in the last two Tours.
So what do you all think of Boonen's suggestion that dopers get a lifetime ban?
Phil Ligget's also suggested that in the past. I think that if they were to go to such an extreme, they'd darned well better get some more reliable test protocols in place. I think the idea of permanently banning someone when there's any question of their innocence would not be right.Quote:
Originally Posted by Starfish
That's a tough one and everyone is going to answer using their own values/morals/justice scale.Quote:
Originally Posted by Starfish
[edit- After reading Tam's post I want to preface my answer by saying it takes place in fantasy land and there's no doubt about the validity of lab results]
Part of me wants to say that everyone deserves a second chance and there was pressure from someone in team management to dope. They didn't go to the drug store and ask for a bottle of EPO.
Then there's the part of me that channels Nancy Reagan and says 'just say no". They weren't tied up and injected.
Maybe a "two strikes" rule.
Um. Apparently not...Quote:
Originally Posted by Running Mommy
:eek:
I think it's over the top. I think it's *all* over the top, frankly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Starfish
I can't imagine having a blood transfusion or taking substances that could kill me to enhance my athletic performance. It just doesn't matter that much to me; I exercise for fun and to be more fit, not to be better than anyone else.
For athletes that are competitive, especially at top levels, any advantage that may increase performance is irresistible to many. I don't think it is unique to cycling, I don't think it's anything new, and I don't think that it's ever going to change, the tactics will just change as existing tactics are discovered/detected.
I have to say that I'm more than a little horrified to see the ends these guys will go to for a small performance increase, and I'm really irritated with the athletes that act horrified at the suggestion of doping when their own records/histories are more than a bit suspect. A good number are probably just ahead of the curve and using a tactic that is not yet on the radar of the people testing.
The near-hysteria over doping in cycling is really interesting to me, because we happily ignore the same epidemic in other sports, and it really isn't anything new. The problem IMO is that we as a society increasingly hold athletes in such high regard, we idolize them and look to them as role models rather than enjoying the sport for what it is, and when we discover that they are not, in fact, super-human, we shun them and discredit their every accomplishment as tainted. We want an exciting race, we reward the 'heroes' of sport with fame and riches and then we act surprised and appalled that they will risk everything for a slight advantage? I'm not saying that I support cheating of any sort, or that races/organizations should tolerate it, but I just don't think it's really that earth-shattering.
Even if we keep the riders in solitary confinement when not racing, close the course of races to spectators and give everyone standard-issue bikes/jerseys/shoes/food, there is no way to prevent someone from finding a way to get an 'unfair' advantage.
I respect Vino for the way he got back on his bike after that crash; that was mental fortitude and a fighting spirit and I don't think that the doping takes away from that. But it galls me to hear him, and others in similar situations, deny the claims and suggest that the science that caught him is flawed in really absurd ways. That's just spineless. He knew what he was signing up for, he took a huge chance and he got caught. I might still have some respect for him if he'd come out and said it that simply.
My two cents.
Anne