Dear Wiggo said:
I would love for Cadel to be clean.
If GL cannot keep up with his contemporaries back in the day with a higher VO2max, how does Cadel beat his contemporaries - given they are still doping, with a lower VO2max?
Heart says, I wish. Logic says no. Was a painful realisation.
could one possibility be they were
really juiced to the eyeballs on straight EPO
back in the day?
Lets do a DW and look at some historical Grand Tour results:
2005 8th (actually 1st - beaten by
Armstrong, Basso, Ullrich, Mancebo, Vino, Levi, Rasmussen - with
Floyd, Oscar and Moreau behind)
2006 5th (actually 2nd - beaten by
Floyd, Oscar, Kloden,
Sastre)
2007 2nd (actually 1st - beaten by
AC, with
Levi,
Sastre, Zubeldia,
Valverde, Kirchen, Popo, Astarloza, Oscar behind) (4th Veulta)
2008 2nd (
Kohl,
Menchov,
CVV, Frank, Sami Sanchez,
Kirchen Valverde, Valjevec behind)
2009 30th (crashed?) (3rd Veulta)
2010 26th (blew up) (5th Giro)
2011 1st (Andy,
Frank,
Voeckler, Sami Sanchez,
Cunego,
Basso, TommyD,
Peraud, Rolland behind)
2012 7th no comment this is not a Sky thread
If we apply the same standards to Cadel that we apply to wiggo, it doesnt look promising. The same argument used against Lance when there was not much else, this sole argument. How can he compete against dopers? Which is what, anecdotal? circumstantial?
BTW thats a truly remakable palmares. Even 2009 and 2010 TdFs are offset by the excellent results in Giro and Veulta.
EDIT: garlic ho suggested the ones in green are dopers as well by clinic standard, just not busted yet