80ª Volta a Portugal em Bicicleta (1 a 12 de Agosto de 2018)

[burning]

Re:

A portuguese newspaper reports that an anti-doping mega-operation is taking place at this moment. There are being tested 41 cyclists, all of portuguese teams.

Can you share a link?

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re:

A portuguese newspaper reports that an anti-doping mega-operation is taking place at this moment. There are being tested 41 cyclists, all of portuguese teams.

WADA clearly not getting into the spirit of the Volta.

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

A portuguese newspaper reports that an anti-doping mega-operation is taking place at this moment. There are being tested 41 cyclists, all of portuguese teams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JncgoPKklVE

 

[burning]

Re: Re:

A portuguese newspaper reports that an anti-doping mega-operation is taking place at this moment. There are being tested 41 cyclists, all of portuguese teams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JncgoPKklVE

Agreed, Alarcon was awesome today, he took off like a rocket twice to drop everyone while managing to crash uphill. We don't get to see awesome racing like this in WT races.

 

[DNP-Old]

Leave the Volta alone.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

You can't stop Balarcón. Nothing can stop Balarcón.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Re:

You can't stop Balarcón. Nothing can stop Balarcón.

Except maybe the surprise anti-doping control they are carrying out now. :lol:

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re: Re:

You can't stop Balarcón. Nothing can stop Balarcón.

Except maybe the surprise anti-doping control they are carrying out now. :lol:

Supposedly it's "standard routine"

 

[jfazendeiro]

Re: Re:

A portuguese newspaper reports that an anti-doping mega-operation is taking place at this moment. There are being tested 41 cyclists, all of portuguese teams.

Can you share a link?

http://www.record.pt/modalidades/ciclismo/volta-a-portugal/detalhe/inedita-mega-operacao-antidoping-a-decorrer-na-volta-a-portugal.html

 

[Red Rick]

Alright guys, I'm gonna move this race thread to the Clinic

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Re: Re:

A portuguese newspaper reports that an anti-doping mega-operation is taking place at this moment. There are being tested 41 cyclists, all of portuguese teams.

WADA clearly not getting into the spirit of the Volta.

At the same time, with the faith in the integrity of anti-doping having been shaken recently, they need to make some busts to restore the faith, and in the Volta there's quite a bit of low-hanging fruit.

 

[jfazendeiro]

The newspaper that reported the anti-doping operation has also an article with the reactions of the favourites to the elimination of Torre in tomorrow stage.
Joni Brandão says: "This is something I don't understand. Maybe tomorrow I will not be at the start too. We were obliged for three days to withstand the heat, then, the queen stage arrives and Torre is cuted" (my translation).

http://www.record.pt/modalidades/ciclismo/volta-a-portugal/detalhe/joni-brandao-critica-ausencia-da-torre-na-4-etapa-da-volta-a-portugal.html

 

[Robert5091]

As we're now in The Clinic (is this a first for a race thread? )

Está a decorrer neste preciso instante uma mega-operação antidoping levada a cabo na Volta a Portugal pelas brigadas da ADoP (Autoridade Antidopagem de Portugal), apurou Record. Um total de 41 ciclistas, provenientes de seis equipas, estão a ser controlados à urina e passaporte biológico, naquilo que constitui uma operação inédita nesta competição, com um controlo a ser efetuado logo após uma etapa (no caso a 3.ª). Habitualmente, estas operações tinham lugar no início da prova ou no dia de descanso.

As seis equipas controladas são o RP-Boavista, Sporting-Tavira, W52-FC Porto, Aviveludo-Louletano, Efapel e Vito-Feirense-Blackjack.

Google translate -

An anti-doping mega-operation carried out in the Tour of Portugal by the ADoP (Anti-Doping Authority of Portugal) brigades is taking place at this moment, Record said. A total of 41 cyclists, coming from six teams, are being checked for urine and a biological passport, in what is an unprecedented operation in this competition, with a control to be carried out immediately after a stage (in the case of the 3rd). Usually these operations took place at the beginning of the race or on the day of rest.

The six teams controlled are RP-Boavista, Sporting-Tavira, W52-FC Porto, Aviveludo-Louletano, Efapel and Vito-Feirense-Blackjack.

Six teams with seven riders equals 42, so that's just about every one.

(Edit - the evening before the Queen Stage too - smart! )

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Mario González of Sporting-Tavira has left the race so that's all the established Portuguese teams seeing as Miranda-Mortágua and Liberty Seguros-Carglass are new teams this year. The LA Aluminios team is not the same as the old one (which is now Vito Feirense-Blackjack) either - so basically all of the "old school" home teams are being tested probably for every rider still in the race. The head of the LA Aluminios team a couple of years ago said he would leave the sport and disband the team if things didn't clean up, he left but the team reformed.

Brandão was especially frustrated because as he pointed out, he's a climber and he's had to suffer through the low altitude horrible weather, high altitude is likely to be more bearable as well as it being more suited to him racing-wise too.

I don't know... cutting the Alto da Torre, doing actual doping controls... next they'll change the theme music and it won't be the Volta anymore...

 

[Forever The Best]

Balarcon will crush Brandao anyway, even if I'm rooting for Brandao against W52.

 

[jfazendeiro]

On a personal note, today I will too endure the heat wave outside and see the race on the last climb. I have in mind taking one or another photo. If it ends happening, at the end of the day I will publish them here.

 

[DNP-Old]

Re:

Alright guys, I'm gonna move this race thread to the Clinic

Why? This is still a race thread. It would make much more sense to copy clinic related posts to this thread. viewtopic.php?f=20&t=29966&start=160

 

[FilipeFD]

Re:

Alright guys, I'm gonna move this race thread to the Clinic

this is so disrespectful

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

Alright guys, I'm gonna move this race thread to the Clinic

Why? This is still a race thread. It would make much more sense to copy clinic related posts to this thread. viewtopic.php?f=20&t=29966&start=160

Yeah, this is a bit weird. One mod was saying the other day that posts in the Clinic, which aren't about doping, are considered to be trolling and will result in a ban.

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/viewtopic.php?p=2294922#p2294922

Are we still allowed to discuss race action/tactics and other stuff in here? I mean Alarcon is becoming a pretty high profile rider - and you could make a strong argument that he's no more ridiculous or blatant than what loads of other bigger name riders are doing - but their race threads arent getting moved into the Clinic.

 

[Red Rick]

Just discuss the race in here. Most of the hype for the Volta comes from it going full nuclear every year, and most of the posts that hype it are not too subtle about doping insiniuations.

I discussed this with other mods and they agreed we move this thread to the Clinic if the doping references in this thread got too much.

 

[hrotha]

Just so you know: this is an appallingly stupid decision.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

Just discuss the race in here. Most of the hype for the Volta comes from it going full nuclear every year, and most of the posts that hype it are not too subtle about doping insiniuations.

I discussed this with other mods and they agreed we move this thread to the Clinic if the doping references in this thread got too much.

Cool, fair enough.

It would be amazing to see what a rider like Alarcon in this form could do on a Tour de France mountain stage. I'd be tempted to say he'd go off the front for 1km and then be casually reeled in and spat out the back by Kwiatkowski or Castroviejo. I think the Volta is still several levels below, even with the doping. But it would be fun to see some day.

Sign him up CCC.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Re:

Just so you know: this is an appallingly stupid decision.

agree. rather remove all posts with ref to doping and move the thread back to where it belongs.

 

[luckyboy]

This is stupid. Why not just move every WorldTour race thread to the clinic as well? Even more ridiculous things happen there and I'm sure they are all getting tested too... :Neutral:

 

[luckyboy]

Re: 80ª Volta a Portugal em Bicicleta (1 a 12 de Agosto de 2

There's already an entire thread dedicated to doping in Portugal that these posts can be moved to anyway - viewtopic.php?f=20&t=29966