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Bikepure - Omerta

Aug 4, 2009
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Fantasy

If the omerta is over, there would be frequent riders' confessions and accusations. Since there is not, either hidden doping continues alongside a healthy omerta OR there is no doping and therefore no whistle-blowing.

If not fantasy, propaganda.
 
dimspace said:
Nice article. Thanks.

It sounds like if it was taken from the Clinic. Maybe the members participate in this Forum actively.

OMERTA still lives, and probably stronger than before, just because every rider that have talked in the past has not been welcomed by the peloton. The day that a Whistleblower is welcomed by a high ranked team, that would be the time when OMERTA would be dead. Maybe never.
 
Jun 19, 2009
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unsheath said:
Lost me at 'McQuaid should be commended....' Expected more insight from that organisation.

You need to read if you're going to be critical. It said McQuaid should be acknowledged... that's almost the opposite inference in "marketingspeak". Thanks for the link Dim. It does restate the obvious, however.
 
May 6, 2009
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Escarabajo said:
Nice article. Thanks.

It sounds like if it was taken from the Clinic. Maybe the members participate in this Forum actively.

OMERTA still lives, and probably stronger than before, just because every rider that have talked in the past has not been welcomed by the peloton. The day that a Whistleblower is welcomed by a high ranked team, that would be the time when OMERTA would be dead. Maybe never.

And how many times do you see on the news that a whistle blower has to keep their identity anonymous (like a doctor, teacher etc.) in the media for fear of losing their job if it was found to be them who blew the whistle? To me it seems as though omerta/whistleblowing repercussions in society are greater then cycling.
 
Mar 13, 2009
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dimspace said:

do they realise they are part of the problem?

They allow riders who are doping, to brand themselves with this organisation. What happens when the first rider of theirs, dopes? Like Millar, will they say it is only a one-time mistake?

By using cyclists as advocates, ones that are doping, I really think they make the organisation look pretty damn silly.
 
Oct 16, 2009
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Sorry, but that article shows a complete misunderstanding of Omertá. I hope it's just naivete and not deliberate.

Some quotes that stand out as pure BS:
Far from riders keeping the code of silence, they have been very vocal in their disdain for Riccó and his behaviour. Mark Cavendish recently said “It’s like a parasite coming back into the sport. It’s not the fact of what he did, because everyone can make a mistake. But he doesn’t see it as a mistake. He’s not even sorry about it”. Robbie McEwen expressed a similar attitude toward Riccó recently commenting on his twitter account “Ricco – what a f@$king hypocrite. Just don’t come back you piece of ****”. It must be said that Riccó was quite unpopular before his misdemeanors but the outspoken nature of these rider’s comments is a refreshing change from the silent solidarity we had previously come to expect.
No. Riccò is lambasted BECAUSE HE BROKE OMERTÁ...he's also a bit of a scumbag, but mostly it's the breaking-omertá thing.
In addition, the UCI led by President Pat McQuaid must also be acknowledged for their anti-doping efforts. The introduction of the biological passport is a big step toward tackling doping.
:rolleyes:
There are still inconsistencies amongst attitudes toward riders returning from suspension. For instance why has Ivan Basso been given such an easy ride by the media and the rest of the peloton while Alexandre Vinokourov is constantly treated with disdain and abhorrence? The answer lies within the attitudes of the returning riders themselves.
Bzzzzzzzzt. Vino is a scapegoat. Why him? Because he's from the dirty doper nation of Kazakhstan, of course.
Doping is still a problem amongst professional cyclists and there are still riders willing to cheat. But if Bassons or Simeoni did now what they did before, they would be heralded rather than victimised.
Tell that to Bernhard Kohl.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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Interesting that they used the part about Robbie Mc calling Ricco a hypocrite - on RM's twitter the comment was linked to a CN story about Ricco dumping his girlfriend. Personally I think the comment was suggesting that Ricco was a hypocrite for ditching his girlfriend for getting done for exactly the same thing Ricco did then about the breaking the omerta.
 
Oct 16, 2009
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msjett said:
Interesting that they used the part about Robbie Mc calling Ricco a hypocrite - on RM's twitter the comment was linked to a CN story about Ricco dumping his girlfriend. Personally I think the comment was suggesting that Ricco was a hypocrite for ditching his girlfriend for getting done for exactly the same thing Ricco did then about the breaking the omerta.
Yeah. I'm not (necessarily) saying McEwen or Cav are ****ed at Ricco for breaking omertá, but that the overall negative sentiment in the peloton is much due to that. Ricco's is a special case though, because one, he's kind of a rat-faced *******, and two, because he didn't break omertá as much as not bothering to uphold it (i.e. not pretending dopers are just bad apples, "I made a mistake" etc.).
 
Mar 13, 2009
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msjett said:
Interesting that they used the part about Robbie Mc calling Ricco a hypocrite - on RM's twitter the comment was linked to a CN story about Ricco dumping his girlfriend. Personally I think the comment was suggesting that Ricco was a hypocrite for ditching his girlfriend for getting done for exactly the same thing Ricco did then about the breaking the omerta.

Ricco has not ditched his girlfriend.

Any money on Ricco ditching his girlfriend like Armstrong ditched Ferrari.
 
Mar 13, 2009
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if they really want to break the omerta, they would be calling out the return of that other guy who twitters.

Apart from Gerdemann, no one else called out his return.
 
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blackcat said:
if they really want to break the omerta, they would be calling out the return of that other guy who twitters.

Apart from Gerdemann, no one else called out his return.

Well they can't 'cos he's so big and powerful and scary and if they speak out they'll be twittered to death and look at Gerdemann he's not raced since because Lance gave him "the look".

:rolleyes:

Bunch of effing pu55ies.
 
Mar 13, 2009
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Digger said:
Unless Mark, Bradley, Robbie et al start calling people like Vino, Basso, Frank and Lance the cheats they are, then this article is complete and utter bull.
the most hypocritical and meally mouthed is cos they got doperz on their memberlist.
 
Apr 1, 2009
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Would any of you like to see a rider calling out another rider mid race & live on tv?? What about Wiggins getting in Vinokourovs face on a mountain stage & indicating to the camera that he Vinokourov was a doper? Or anyone else for that matter. Of course Wiggins goes on to win the stage. Obviously this wont happen but if cycling ever came so full circle that dopers got grief just from being in the actual peloton from others who were clean, well i for one would smile from ear to ear.
Yes im aware its fantasy, but one can dream.
 
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Kerbdog said:
Would any of you like to see a rider calling out another rider mid race & live on tv?? What about Wiggins getting in Vinokourovs face on a mountain stage & indicating to the camera that he Vinokourov was a doper? Or anyone else for that matter. Of course Wiggins goes on to win the stage. Obviously this wont happen but if cycling ever came so full circle that dopers got grief just from being in the actual peloton from others who were clean, well i for one would smile from ear to ear.
Yes im aware its fantasy, but one can dream.

Yea, but then Vino could get in front of the camera and point out Wiggins' haircut, and he would totally win the media battle.
 
Mar 13, 2009
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Kerbdog said:
Would any of you like to see a rider calling out another rider mid race & live on tv?? What about Wiggins getting in Vinokourovs face on a mountain stage & indicating to the camera that he Vinokourov was a doper? Or anyone else for that matter. Of course Wiggins goes on to win the stage. Obviously this wont happen but if cycling ever came so full circle that dopers got grief just from being in the actual peloton from others who were clean, well i for one would smile from ear to ear.
Yes im aware its fantasy, but one can dream.

but Wigans is a doper, so that failz right there.
 
Jun 18, 2009
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Doping is still a problem amongst professional cyclists and there are still riders willing to cheat. But if Bassons or Simeoni did now what they did before, they would be heralded rather than victimised.

Nothing like being left out of your national tour as national champion to make way for the sports biggest doping fraud.....
 
I feel sorry for RR in one way. The only reason he's being singled out by other dopers is that he was an a** as a person. Nothing to do with doping. Robbie clean all his career - yeah right.:rolleyes:
Bradley clean...no way. Either in this month's procycling or cycle sport he's talking again about his chances. He had an implied criticism for Garmin's DS at last year's tour, saying that Sky wouldn't have been caught out with the head wind split, because they'd warn the riders of turns ahead. The man's ungratefulness is beyond belief. JV said that not one team last year, other than Garmin, were offering him the money that Garmin were, in 2009. Getting back to the OP, this kind of articles make me more aware than ever about the Omerta. One person alone, currently active in the pro peleton, had the balls to question Lance's comeback. I can't think of even one current rider who has issues with Vino's comeback. As Kimmage said to Lance, and is a question, which could be asked to most current pros, 'what is it about dopers that you admire so much?'
 
Mar 13, 2009
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Digger said:
I feel sorry for RR in one way. The only reason he's being singled out by other dopers is that he was an a** as a person. Nothing to do with doping. Robbie clean all his career - yeah right.:rolleyes:
Bradley clean...no way. Either in this month's procycling or cycle sport he's talking again about his chances. He had an implied criticism for Garmin's DS at last year's tour, saying that Sky wouldn't have been caught out with the head wind split, because they'd warn the riders of turns ahead. The man's ungratefulness is beyond belief. JV said that not one team last year, other than Garmin, were offering him the money that Garmin were, in 2009. Getting back to the OP, this kind of articles make me more aware than ever about the Omerta. One person alone, currently active in the pro peleton, had the balls to question Lance's comeback. I can't think of even one current rider who has issues with Vino's comeback. As Kimmage said to Lance, and is a question, which could be asked to most current pros, 'what is it about dopers that you admire so much?'

Kimmage and Walsh dont get my tick tho. Why they only go Armstrong? Yeah, there are good reasons why StrongArm. But when Wigans just had a ridiculous result, that Walsh did not believe, and no way Kimmage would have believing, where were they? Where were they to call a spade?

Come on, those guys, I had faith in them. But they failed to call their own guys in the UK, and there are some Irish coming up to.
 
blackcat said:
Kimmage and Walsh dont get my tick tho. Why they only go Armstrong? Yeah, there are good reasons why StrongArm. But when Wigans just had a ridiculous result, that Walsh did not believe, and no way Kimmage would have believing, where were they? Where were they to call a spade?

Come on, those guys, I had faith in them. But they failed to call their own guys in the UK, and there are some Irish coming up to.

David Millar and Michelle Smith would disagree. Kimmage's kids got bullied here in Ireland over the way he questioned Smith. So that's unfair.
I will conced that Wiggins has not been quuestioned enough by these two. Although Paul did interrogate him about him welcoming Lance back into the sport.

The one thing about Wiggins, is that Kimmage, Walsh, you and me, not believing in him is one thing. Being strongly convinced is again one thing....but there isn't that much evidence against him to justfiy a piece on a Sunday. And for the record, I believe he doped. But all we have is that big improvement and blood values in the third week. It would be hard to get 2000 words out of that on a Sunday.

P.S. Kimmage and Walsh have also called out Vino, Rasmussen, Contador, Basso, Landis, Roche and Kelly.
 
Feb 2, 2010
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Getting back to the OP, I personally think that everyone in the pro peloton dopes to a certain extent. That certain extent being recovery mainly. Using drugs to make the riders feel normal after a grueling day and to recover well enough so that we can seem them all on TV the next day racing at a pace that we would expect to see at the pro level is the main intent here. This sucks but it is what it is - The omerta IMO more likely protects this and the new passport assists in regulating "acceptable" toleraces for these drugs/blood values.

I think from Cav and RM's perspective, when someone goes overboard and it's blatently obvious that their mega-jacked by the way that they attack and fly up hills (i.e. Ricco and Vino; DiLuca at the Giro - still scratching the head over Menchov), that's what makes these guys idiots and is ultimately seen as bad for the sport. On top of it, they deny everything when caught. Look how Sastre won the tour in 08' - from one well planned attack. Compare that to the way Ricco climbs. Just my 2 cents.
 
IntheMidwest said:
I think from Cav and RM's perspective, when someone goes overboard and it's blatently obvious that their mega-jacked by the way that they attack and fly up hills (i.e. Ricco and Vino; DiLuca at the Giro - still scratching the head over Menchov), that's what makes these guys idiots and is ultimately seen as bad for the sport.

At least Di Luca made it look like it was tough - Menchov just rode back up to him again and again. There is no way that Menchov is not super doped.
 
Feb 2, 2010
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At least not for last years Giro. Hell, Menchov didn't even look like he was breathing through his mouth and DiLuca looked like he was about to burp his spleen!
 

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