BMC Suspend Ballan and Santambroggio

[auscyclefan94]

And within a month: Ballan Medicated Cadel

Cadel doesn't need drugs to win. he is simply just too good for the rest so to even it out they all give the rest drugs!

 

[hfer07]

I'm just going to put it this way: I like Ballan a lot & always believed he was one of the few *clean* guys out there, but once again, reality overcomes good faith in cycling-If he's guilty, so be it- if he's innocent-shame on missing P-R, either way is a lost.

 

[Ferminal]

"Better Mauro (than) Cadel"

 

[issoisso]

At this rate Cadel's going to be dialing 1-800-domestique

 

[marco69]

can anybody explain me why riders under investigation (not guilty ... yet, perhaps never) are being suspended by their own team, while a guy like Valverde that has been found guilty and has been convicted (although only in Italy) is still happily riding and winning races ?

does this make sense to anybody out there (other than to Valverde fans) ...

 

[Digger]

can anybody explain me why riders under investigation (not guilty ... yet, perhaps never) are being suspended by their own team, while a guy like Valverde that has been found guilty and has been convicted (although only in Italy) is still happily riding and winning races ?

does this make sense to anybody out there (other than to Valverde fans) ...

To me it makes me want to vomit when I see it. But the Spanish have shown no desire whatsoever to out the cheats. The Italians were like this, but this is changing.

 

[ak-zaaf]

At this rate Cadel's going to be dialing 1-800-domestique

ROFL.

Lotto wasn't so bad after all.

 

[Elverde]

Marco69,
Valverde has not tested positive. This does not mean that he isn't guilty.
His blood was found to correspond to a bag from Fuentes.
The main problem is that the UCI does not have enough power to take control and allows other organisations, e. g. CONI to control them. Then again since it's inception the UCI has been pretty ineffective.

 

[fatandfast]

can anybody explain me why riders under investigation (not guilty ... yet, perhaps never) are being suspended by their own team, while a guy like Valverde that has been found guilty and has been convicted (although only in Italy) is still happily riding and winning races ?

does this make sense to anybody out there (other than to Valverde fans) ...

Knowing how political police work is BMC probably guessed that if an arrest is made the cops will wait until the starting line of a big race and come up and cuff the suspect. If they are going to get locked up they don't want them wearing a jersey. Put as much distance between Cadel and his impaired team mates.

 

[Escarabajo]

Marco69,
Valverde has not tested positive. This does not mean that he isn't guilty.
His blood was found to correspond to a bag from Fuentes.
The main problem is that the UCI does not have enough power to take control and allows other organisations, e. g. CONI to control them. Then again since it's inception the UCI has been pretty ineffective.

That was not the question. Because neither has tested positive yet.

My answer is one team has different standards than the other. IMO.

 

[BikeCentric]

Surely the most obvious sign of a possible doper is them riding a BMC!!

I think in this case we can simply go with the exposed systematic team-wide doping ring as a sign of who is doping (i.e. everyone on Lampre) but thanks for your suggestion.

 

[Escarabajo]

Wasn't Ballan the rider who was bragging about how clean he was?

 

[Feldy82]

Wasn't Ballan the rider who was bragging about how clean he was?

No that was the "Little Fairy" I mean Prince.

 

[BikeCentric]

i do see your point but lots of cheats have been/are gradually being kicked out.

And then new cheats simply rise up to take their place.

I understand that you want to believe in the ideals that this sport represents and what it could and should be, but the reality is different. I tell you this as someone who once set myself up for much personal anguish by personally allowing myself to believe that the sport was getting better in the early 2000's (despite much evidence to the contrary). Operacion Puerto crushed my illusions about pro cycling. I don't suggest that you become as cynical as I have become but I do suggest that you figure out away to develop in yourself some sort of emotional detachment from what goes on in this sport and the pro riders themselves. Because otherwise you may be setting yourself up to hate this sport which is something that happenned to me for a few years.

Just my two cents regarding my love/hate relationship with this sport; take it or leave it of course as we all have to figure out our own ways of coming to terms with the shi!!y parts of life.

 

[BikeCentric]

Frank Schleck, Alberto, Valverde, Cancellara, Basso is back, Vino is back, Rassmussen is back, Ricco is back, Lance is back - EXACTLY who is it that's gone? Kohl, and the only reason he was caught, is down to AFLD, and not the UCI. Even Stefan is due back this year.

But Jorg Jaksche is gone, good thing we got rid of that worthless good-for-nothing evil dope-swilling bastage bad apple who hates cycling and loves cancer!

Oh wait, actually now that I think about it he seemed like a nice guy who was fun to watch race in the Ardennes and one-week stage races and didn't seem to be guilty of anything that the other Pros aren't guilty of. But wait, didn't he actually break the Omerta and actually talk openly about doping? Gee I wonder why he isn't back in the peloton?

 

[tubularglue]

Wasn't Ballan the rider who was bragging about how clean he was?

liar liar pants on fire

 

[Big GMaC]

doesn't Damiano have a 'Dope-Free' Tattoo? Reckon he will be asking Clinger for some of his tat removal cream?

 

[Oldman]

doesn't Damiano have a 'Dope-Free' Tattoo? Reckon he will be asking Clinger for some of his tat removal cream?

Wonder if Cunego's former Giro teammate will be asking for the jersey back, now. Not that he was squeaky clean, either.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

doesn't Damiano have a 'Dope-Free' Tattoo? Reckon he will be asking Clinger for some of his tat removal cream?

I actually only found this out recently but it wasn't a permanent tattoo!!

 

[Oldman]

I actually only found this out recently but it wasn't a permanent tattoo!!

Probably one of those rub-on tats you get with your order...meaning you get one vial for free.

 

[Big GMaC]

Rotten.

To.

The.

Core.

Jesus, 'the sport is clean'; 'no more institutionalised team doping'....

UCI are not saying a word....

 

[El Oso]

 

[Epicycle]

I know this supposedly happened 2 years ago but BMC owner Andy Rihs has been a magnet for trouble going back to his Phonak days. I was surprised to see he rehired soigneur Freddy Viaene this year. Viaene was Armstrong's personal soigneur and one of the few people in his inner circle. Then he left Postal to go to Phonak and was Landis' personal soigneur in the 2006 Tour. He then went to Quickstep and surprisingly to work with Phillipe Gilbert at Lotto last year but now he's back with Rihs at BMC. Rihs may truly love cycling but he's bad mojo.

I love how the sketchy pharmacist says he only gave athletes like Ballan "homeopathic stuff", like we haven't heard that before.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

LOL.

Hilarious sticker. I think "I'm doping free" means that he's not paying for it.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Probably one of those rub-on tats you get with your order...meaning you get one vial for free.

Ya - and as was said on another thread, it hides the needle marks too