Ballan and Santambrogio out of the Giro

[peloton]

BMC Racing Team President/General Manager Jim Ochowicz said new information received, along with consideration of the team's anti-doping policy and the UCI's Code of Conduct, means the two will be held out of competition pending further details
http://www.bmc-racing.com/us-en/team/news/team/bmc-racing-team-ongoing-italian-investigation.html

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Has somebody at BMC just copy/pasted the article from last year and replaced the 2010 with a 2011? An already weak BMC Giro team just got chronic, and it doesn't even have the prospect of Evans to make it defensible.

At least they'll make it to Italy this year. They're shaping up to suck at the Giro on the level of Gerolsteiner in 2008.

 

[hrotha]

This is good news (except for my CQ team). If Ballan and Santambrogio are in trouble, we can bet many others at Lampre are as well. Hope this one isn't going away.

 

[frenchfry]

This is good news (except for my CQ team). If Ballan and Santambrogio are in trouble, we can bet many others at Lampre are as well. Hope this one isn't going away.

Yet another team implicated. Lampre, USPS/Discovery/Shack, t-mobile, Phonak, Saunier Duval, Cofidis, Festina, etc., etc., etc.

Will it ever end?

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

As we said here - this move puts pressure on Sky, Movistar and RS to drop their implicated riders. I can see Sky and Movistar dropping their implicated riders but I can't see Cack dropping Popo***** because that would be too near to an admission of guilt from them.

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=13281

 

[michaeld]

Ballan, the cryer. I knew it. Too bad, good kid caught up in a bad situation.

 

[peloton]

who was roberti taking about ?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/italian-doping-investigator-speaks-out-at-award-ceremony

not basso as there was never a full confession…
diluca ? nah, that guy cries only when laughing cholerically
rebellin ? doubt it..

who ?

Guess we know the answer now...
Ballan

 

[M Sport]

Will it ever end?

One can only hope.

 

[nevada]

Ballan, the cryer. I knew it. Too bad, good kid caught up in a bad situation.

He's a racing cyclist - what else would you expect.

 

[timbat]

For BMC to exonerate last year and now resuspend .... Maybe the evidence is really building up, the crisis about to explode ? Suspend before they really go down ?

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Does not having Ballan mess up Evans' hopes at all?

 

[Nick777]

Anyone else see the irony in Ballan's surname?
A touch of the Gewiss about it..?

 

[auscyclefan94]

Does not having Ballan mess up Evans' hopes at all?

Nope, Ballan was never riding the tour this year nor Santambrogio.

Other teams would know if their riders are under investigation. I am sure their will be some who are still riding the giro. Nice to see BMC doing the right thing. Would of been better if Zomegnan made a descision on if he wanted or didn't want the riders under investigation riding il giro.

 

[dlwssonic]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gazzetta-dello-sport-publishes-evidence-from-mantova-doping-investigation
Bye bye ballan santambrogio and the other implicated lampre riders we will really miss you. This is pretty sad.

 

[hrotha]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gazzetta-dello-sport-publishes-evidence-from-mantova-doping-investigation
Bye bye ballan santambrogio and the other implicated lampre riders we will really miss you. This is pretty sad.

Do not be hasty, as Treebeard said. That link means Ballan is pretty much done. We don't know about the others.

 

[dlwssonic]

Do not be hasty, as Treebeard said. That link means Ballan is pretty much done. We don't know about the others.

now BMC is pretty screwed.

 

[thingswelike]

Actually, the most interesting thing I thought about the correspondance on that site is how little he'd done. I always assumed that someone would either be on a 'full' program or not at all. But 10 transfusions and “This is the fifth one.” (EPO I think) is pretty light.

 

[veganrob]

Great work by police to nail these guys. I'm sure there are many more. Get them also.

 

[movingtarget]

Nope, Ballan was never riding the tour this year nor Santambrogio.

Other teams would know if their riders are under investigation. I am sure their will be some who are still riding the giro. Nice to see BMC doing the right thing. Would of been better if Zomegnan made a descision on if he wanted or didn't want the riders under investigation riding il giro.

Deja Vu for Evans. He must be used to it by now. Can't see it having much effect on his preparation or the race itself

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

Nope, Ballan was never riding the tour this year nor Santambrogio.

Other teams would know if their riders are under investigation. I am sure their will be some who are still riding the giro. Nice to see BMC doing the right thing. Would of been better if Zomegnan made a descision on if he wanted or didn't want the riders under investigation riding il giro.

LOL. Talk about PR spin.

Och and BMC stood by Ballan and MS until the very last minute when the pressure (obviously news of the Gazzata story) broke.

Och on 9th April - dismisses it

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ochowicz-adamant-that-ballan-will-start-paris-roubaix

Och on 11th April - says he will only look at it if Ballan is charged.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bmc-management-defends-ballan-decision


Hardly doing the right thing more trying to avoid egg on their faces - and failing.

BMC is a joke of a team and the sooner it goes the way of Phonak the better.

 

[Archibald]

those quotes from La Gazetta look to be a rather large nail in Ballan's coffin

 

[hrotha]

Great work by police to nail these guys. I'm sure there are many more. Get them also.

They did a good job, but I bet it's easy for them when they're used to hardcore drug dealers and then have to go after complete amateur gangstas, like these cyclists. The police must find it hilarious. They don't even bother speaking in code.

 

[flicker]

Ballan, the cryer. I knew it. Too bad, good kid caught up in a bad situation.

He is so busted!

 

[Cloxxki]

Can these great atletes still switch to Operacion Galgo? Same evidence, no penalties whatsoever!

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

Can these great atletes still switch to Operacion Galgo? Same evidence, no penalties whatsoever!

I can see there being a mass exodus to somewhere warm and nice, say like Girona by loads of dopers wanting to find a more friendly police and judicial system...