Coach of Evans and Basso

[Not Riding Enough]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/italian-coach-aldo-sassi-under-treatment-for-a-brain-tumor

It is sad to hear about anyone with a brain tumour but the article raised some other intersting things.

"Italian coach Aldo Sassi, who works with world champion Cadel Evans, Ivan Basso, Michael Rogers and Charly Wegelius .... Sassi was the youngest member of the team of sports doctors that worked with Francesco Moser when he broke the hour record in 1983......"

I hadn't realised that Sassi had been part of the admitted blood doping hour record with Conconi and Ferrari. They did a lot of work with later with EPO, HGH etc. What about Sassi?

"He only agreed to coach Ivan Basso on his return from a doping ban when he allowed Sassi to test his blood haemaglobin volume, one of the best way to detect blood doping...."

It would be interesting to have Basso's haemoglobin volume published, especially with subsequent tests.

"Cycling has improved a lot. Things have really cleaned up. If either Ivan or Cadel win the Giro, we'll have the proof that you can win without doping. I totally trust them and I'm certain they wouldn't do anything to hurt me…."

Whilst I would love to believe a Giro win by Cadel does prove you can win without doping, I would find it very hard to believe that was the case with Basso. Which probably then also makes it less likely with Cadel.

 

[Ferminal]

Very sad indeed.

I thought about making a thread but never got around to it. Those were the same lines that were interesting to me.

I found it to be a lot of "Omerta BS" or whatever you want to call it. Which makes me more suspicious.

 

[joy118118]

i found stephen farrand also tweet about it.

I am surprised that so many people double standard on Basso and Vino.

Anything difference between basso winning in Giro and Vino win in LBL?

 

[theswordsman]

If I remember correctly, what Moser did wasn't against the rules at the time, but others here are more into that stuff than me.

If you want to see Basso's test results and SRM data from training and racing, all you have to do is register at the website where it's published, and download a bit of software for the SRM stuff.

http://www.mapeisport.it/IvanBasso/default.asp?LNG=EN

I still had my blog going in May of last year, and I put the main SRM data from the Giro into a chart for people. I haven't been back to the website in eleven months. If I remember right, I had to use Internet Explorer.

Edit: Just checked, the hemoglobin mass results are there.

 

[theswordsman]

i found stephen farrand also tweet about it.

I am surprised that so many people double standard on Basso and Vino.

Anything difference between basso winning in Giro and Vino win in LBL?

Basso admitted to at least having planned to dope. He didn't have a positive test anywhere, but was caught with other evidence. He went away quietly, and came back peacefully after posting all of his training and tests online for months before he came back at the Japan Cup. He did his time, came back humble and was nice to everyone. He and teammates did a long training camp in Tenerife and invited journalists to stay with them so they could see they weren't up to anything.

I don't know a lot about Aldo Sassi, but he seems like one of the good guys, and my prayers are with him today.

 

[TRDean]

basso admitted to at least having planned to dope. He didn't have a positive test anywhere, but was caught with other evidence. He went away quietly, and came back peacefully after posting all of his training and tests online for months before he came back at the japan cup. He did his time, came back humble and was nice to everyone. He and teammates did a long training camp in tenerife and invited journalists to stay with them so they could see they weren't up to anything.

i don't know a lot about aldo sassi, but he seems like one of the good guys, and my prayers are with him today.

+1000000000

 

[Jonathan]

Basso admitted to at least having planned to dope. He didn't have a positive test anywhere, but was caught with other evidence. He went away quietly, and came back peacefully after posting all of his training and tests online for months before he came back at the Japan Cup. He did his time, came back humble and was nice to everyone. He and teammates did a long training camp in Tenerife and invited journalists to stay with them so they could see they weren't up to anything.

I don't know a lot about Aldo Sassi, but he seems like one of the good guys, and my prayers are with him today.

Most of that applies to Vinokourov as well, doesn't it? He's coming back peacefully, too, and I don't believe he has been particularly mean to anyone.

If the only problem is that Vino did not publish his training and tests...well, I suppose you could hold it against him, but it seems like a minor point.

And as I understand, Vino has admitted the actual doping itself. Basso never did. His 'attempted doping' was a rather funny and obvious lie.

I'm not sure what these comparisons mean; after all, we can make a long list of riders who came back after a doping suspension. Analysing how each of them is being treated by the public seems like a pointless exercise.

 

[Not Riding Enough]

If I remember correctly, what Moser did wasn't against the rules at the time, but others here are more into that stuff than me.

If you want to see Basso's test results and SRM data from training and racing, all you have to do is register at the website where it's published, and download a bit of software for the SRM stuff.

http://www.mapeisport.it/IvanBasso/default.asp?LNG=EN

I still had my blog going in May of last year, and I put the main SRM data from the Giro into a chart for people. I haven't been back to the website in eleven months. If I remember right, I had to use Internet Explorer.

Edit: Just checked, the hemoglobin mass results are there.

It is not so much if it was illegal at the time but that those doctors/trainers had the experience and got the results that way. Would they stop doing what they know works well, for enough money, even when it did become illegal?

Can any of the more knowledgeable people tell if Basso has published enough blood haemaglobin volume data to tell if he is clean(ish)? (I don't like having to register to have a look though).

 

[Not Riding Enough]

... I don't know a lot about Aldo Sassi, but he seems like one of the good guys, and my prayers are with him today.

If he is then I dearly hope sthat means so too are Evans, Rogers & Wegelius. It would be great if Basso was now as well.

Even if he isn't I still wish him (and his family) the best during this tough time. He sounds like he has a good attitude to it.

 

[Escarabajo]

Most of that applies to Vinokourov as well, doesn't it? He's coming back peacefully, too, and I don't believe he has been particularly mean to anyone.

If the only problem is that Vino did not publish his training and tests...well, I suppose you could hold it against him, but it seems like a minor point.

And as I understand, Vino has admitted the actual doping itself. Basso never did. His 'attempted doping' was a rather funny and obvious lie.

I'm not sure what these comparisons mean; after all, we can make a long list of riders who came back after a doping suspension. Analysing how each of them is being treated by the public seems like a pointless exercise.

+1.

Somehow I feel like this coming back in a humble manner is just BS.

We need to tell Heras and Rasmussen to become humble to be accepted in the Pro-Tour community.

 

[Ferminal]

+1.

Somehow I feel like this coming back in a humble manner is just BS.

We need to tell Heras and Rasmussen to become humble to be accepted in the Pro-Tour community.

Or just win sh*t, like Ricco

 

[Not Riding Enough]

Or just win sh*t, like Ricco

yeh but people don't like him like they do Basso.

 

[Wallace]

i found stephen farrand also tweet about it.

I am surprised that so many people double standard on Basso and Vino.

Anything difference between basso winning in Giro and Vino win in LBL?

There's a huge difference. Basso won the Giro before his ban and he hasn't been the same rider since. He's lost his top end and is no longer the "extra-terrestrial" climber of 2006.

Vino won LBL after his ban. He's back and seems to be the same rider he was before--he's just as strong now as he was back in his doping days. That makes a lot of people suspicious.

 

[El Oso]

Most of that applies to Vinokourov as well, doesn't it? He's coming back peacefully, too, and I don't believe he has been particularly mean to anyone.

If the only problem is that Vino did not publish his training and tests...well, I suppose you could hold it against him, but it seems like a minor point.

And as I understand, Vino has admitted the actual doping itself. Basso never did. His 'attempted doping' was a rather funny and obvious lie.

I'm not sure what these comparisons mean; after all, we can make a long list of riders who came back after a doping suspension. Analysing how each of them is being treated by the public seems like a pointless exercise.

Humble? He made a Vino 4 Ever jersey for his first race back

And, even though JB was taking most of Astana to RS, he did, to a certain degree, hijack Astana by pulling strings to make sure it was his team again.

 

[JPM London]

And as I understand, Vino has admitted the actual doping itself. Basso never did. His 'attempted doping' was a rather funny and obvious lie.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I understand Vino is still claiming innocence. He did at some point offer to apologise to ASO if that was necessary to gain entry to the tour, but said at the same time it would not be an apology for doping as he had definitely not done it...

 

[Race Radio]

I hadn't realised that Sassi had been part of the admitted blood doping hour record with Conconi and Ferrari. They did a lot of work with later with EPO, HGH etc. What about Sassi?

A few doctors worked on Michele Ferrari, Luigi Cecchini, Ilario Casoni, Giovanni Grazzi, Carlos Santuccione and Gianni Mazzoni. Their main focus was the medical program.

Sassi was Moser's actual coach. He wrote and oversaw his training program. When a doper says that he went to Ferrari, Cecchini, or Santuccione for interview workouts it is hard not to laugh. They are Hematologists, not coaches.

To be fair he has a good reputation as a clean coach...... I still dont trust Basso though.

 

[JPM London]

To be fair he has a good reputation as a clean coach...... I still dont trust Basso though.

I am sure Basso has "intentions" of riding clean...

 

[Not Riding Enough]

A few doctors worked on Michele Ferrari, Luigi Cecchini, Ilario Casoni, Giovanni Grazzi, Carlos Santuccione and Gianni Mazzoni. Their main focus was the medical program.

Sassi was Moser's actual coach. He wrote and oversaw his training program. When a doper says that he went to Ferrari, Cecchini, or Santuccione for interview workouts it is hard not to laugh. They are Hematologists, not coaches.

To be fair he has a good reputation as a clean coach...... I still dont trust Basso though.

Thanks for further information.

I suppose it is possible that a coach wasn't involved in the medical program. I suppose it is even possible that a coach might not know if their athelete was doping. I suppose it could be that different atheletes under the same coach may not all have the same medical program.

I suppose I want to believe.....

 

[Ripper]

Humble? He made a Vino 4 Ever jersey for his first race back

And, even though JB was taking most of Astana to RS, he did, to a certain degree, hijack Astana by pulling strings to make sure it was his team again.

I enjoy watching Vino race. And he has done his time. But man, that jersey cracks me up every f*cking time I see it. Humble, Vino is not.

 

[craig1985]

+1.

Somehow I feel like this coming back in a humble manner is just BS.

We need to tell Heras and Rasmussen to become humble to be accepted in the Pro-Tour community.

Heras would of been fine if he didn't ride for LS and thus had to be the fall guy as a result IMO.

 

[BroDeal]

I enjoy watching Vino race. And he has done his time. But man, that jersey cracks me up every f*cking time I see it. Humble, Vino is not.

I like how it is autographed on the bottom right.

Primal Wear should license the design.

 

[auscyclefan94]

best wishes to Sassi!

 

[craig1985]

Out of interest, has anybody ever used a Mapei cycling training program? I wouldn't use/pay for one myself, since I have somebody who I can ring for advice, and it isn't really practical having some guy in Italy develop a training program for you, despite never meeting you or knowing anything about wrt to body shape etc.

Maybe if I didn't have to work.

 

[Not Riding Enough]

To be fair he has a good reputation as a clean coach...... I still dont trust Basso though.

If haemoglobin volume is one of the best ways to check for doping, is there enough of Basso's published to tell?

Do they measure it again after an important race where he did well, a race were he did perform and during traininig?

I assume the Sassi test was a base line but if it was taken after after a refuel and all other tests too then you wouldn't be able to tell anything, would you? Like keeping the Bio Passport data consistant.

 

[goggalor]

If Sassi is working with Rogers then he's certainly no Ferrari.

Unsure whether that's a compliment or an insult.