we need to revisit this thread, serioudly guyz, needz to get a clue, and girlz.
Finbar, let me answer your question first.
Doping has two parts. 1, the preparation, the strength work, and getting the blood parameters right, so you all flush full of O2 and your crit passes the new physiog parameters.
So that is done in the offseason, and in the leadup. Might be done in Mexico or Dolomiti. Ask chicked, he obviously had worked hard on his tt, and he could do a mtn break early when it was up or down, no valleys, like Floyd. Floyd had the flatland power to do w/ valleys. Great strategic gambit by chicken. No one even gave him credit for being able to break down the tour like that, and ride it on his terms. If he goes in favorite, he could never win.
So, we have the prep phase of doping.
Example pt doooz. Mr Bottle aka Leepy Leiphemer.
RECOVERY DOPING is the second phase. You need to manage your hormonal level and bring the legs in the second week.
This requires testo, growth, IGF, perhaps other steroids that dont show up on the mass spec assay, and blood or EPO to keep the o2 flying thru the veinz.
So this is where LEvi had it over Big Mig.
If Levi had to race Big Mig today, in a flat chrono over 50km, both given preparation doping, and over one day, not a Tour, Big Mig at high 40 decade, would still thump Bottle.
But folkz, please, please be prepared to be shut down if you dont bring your game to the table and be ready to argue.
This is what I know of Leepy, w/o checking results.
I think he won a big chrono, like something US pro or something, in domestic in 90s. I know he won the Tour de Beuce chrono then in the 90's.
Flies to Europe with Postal.
First GT, think it was 99, coulda been 2000. Lets think 2000. There were four chronos that Tout, well Vuelta. He was at the Vuelta, as his first GT. That had four chronos I remember. Won was about 9kms, a prologue. Top 3 podium. One was a mtn chrono. Top 3 podium. Two longer chrono's, he podiums also. Beat the guy from Oz, Nathan ONeil, who has now won about 3 or 4 Oz titles. He beat ONeil in all stages. ONeils best result at worlds is about 11th or 10th in the chrono, or might be 13th. Get him conflate w/ Ben Day. One of em makes the top 10 on account of Millar's dq, if you concede he should not or should have been dq'ed in the annals.
OK, So bottle
Vuelta, lets day 200. Brilliant, 4 chrono podiums.
Worlds that year, within a month, podiums! World bronze.
2008 Beijing, Bronze by memory! podium.
Interspersed.
Tour de France win.
Consistent performances in Dauphine chrono.
Good results in Deutschland chrono.
Think the OP conflates Bottles 2006 breakdown, the bad, chrono, when he could not get Fuentes???? ' blood. Musta had blood with Fuentes. Something happened w/ his doping then.
But the 2006 chrono whilst at Gerolsteiner, coulsa just been a bad legs day.
To the OP, I am willing to concede, Leepy in the Rabo lost years, whenever Oh my Tessa, Odessa and her big mouth talking about the orange boyz bloodz doping habits, Leepy did not get many results at Rabo, none that I can recall.
But to say Leepy cannot chrono is a right travesty. Even w and w/out Johan Hog Bruyneel.
Leepy is a rare beast, he can chrono in a Tour, and he can chrono on a one day.
And as a Tour GT GC rider. Apart from Ullrich, and Contador, how many riders have been able to juggle both.
Armstrong never one sydney, that was Eki. Armstrong never won Worlds. Gonchar only rode GC in Italy. And when riding GC at lesser weight, he was only good chrono rider.
Ully won worlds and rode GT GC with his talent.
Who else did both, since worlds moved from GP des Nations.
I only see Ullrich, and Contador, who have done both. Leepy is just behind em. But behind Armie, on account of his 7, soon to be 0, Tour wins.
This does not take into account, the level of the program. Just assumes, they are all on a program, so why bother, to disqalify Leepy.
Oh, remember, My Lyler Hamilton. With Athens gold, he is right up there. I think he came a close second to Millar on the day Ullrich crashed which decided the 2003 Tour, the last chrono, stage 19 or 20. Hamilton, on a par with Leepy.
Landis, not on a par, cos he never really contested the one day chronos. Cos the money was decided in Jooo, lie, for the red white and blue guyz. But potential to be on that level.
Cancellara, well, he is shown up by Gonchar, if you bring an 80kg plus frame that had done all the strength work in June in prepr for the chronos, you can specialize and make em your own. Like Gonchar did.
Gonchar and Canc, not the great chrono riders, if they are going down in weight, and contesting overall. IF they had to go against big Mig, on a one day, they may take im.
Think we are done.
Rogers, cant chrono for a bunch o' chipz, if he has to ride for GC.