burning wrote:ColonelKidneyBeans wrote:Irondan wrote:spiritualride wrote:Serpentin wrote:Most of the discussion is BS. I want to know what these guys are on. I love Valverde, he has grown on me over the years. It is not like the guys he is beating is clean anyway. Is he microdosing year around @ 11 PM to beat the passport system ? No blood bags because that would be too much of a boost of red blood cells to beat the biopassport ? I don`t think he is doing test at all.
I thought it has been discussed conclusively in The Clinic that you can use blood bags with the passport at only low to moderate risk? Didn't Horner's and Hesjudal's blood values suggest blood bags used during a winning grand tour?
Horner and Hesjadal's performances certainly suggested that they used something, but I'm not aware of any evidence of BB use in any released blood profiles. Perhaps Merckx Index or Andy Coggin know better?
Horner passport showed a rebound of his Hgb during the race (while you would expect it to be on a more or less constant downward trend) and reticulocyte suppression, both those combined smells like a blood bag.
See http://veloclinic.tumblr.com/post/63542182838/analysis-horners-biopassport-data for a more in-depth analysis.I agree with you on everything except the last point. First when you say that he is a wheel sucker, I would say that is subjective so... not a fact. Second, you can´t say that he is currently a cheater and call it a fact, yes in the previous points you are right, he was indeed caught in previous doping scandals and was always supported by the team so that you can consider facts, but although I also think is very plausible for him to be doping now, we can´t say that that is a fact
He is faster than he ever was up Huy at 35+ and comparatively stronger during the third week/on high mountain GT stages than when we knew he was blood doping heavily, seems rather unlikely to do that clean...
Is he really stronger compared to his Kelme days? Or 2005 TDF until he crashed out? I very much doubt that.
For his Huy record, I think one possible reason is that they climb the Huy in a linear pace until 100-125m to go in recent years, so that might contribute his record on Huy.
He is more consistent during the third week than before (at least in France), when blood doping gives you the biggest boost, make of that what you will... And frankly, do you believe that a clean older athlete will be able to beat his past fuentes fuelled, younger self, regardless of how Huy his ridden? Are we really going to argue that Valverde is clean now?