Conconi, Verbruggen and the H-Test

[fmk_RoI]

A little light relief: http://www.podiumcafe.com/2011/2/16/1997823/tough-on-doping-tough-on-the-causes-of-doping-francesco-conconi-and

 

[Dallas_]

Top link

A little light relief: http://www.podiumcafe.com/2011/2/16/1997823/tough-on-doping-tough-on-the-causes-of-doping-francesco-conconi-and

Thanks fmk-Rol for the link, probably the most informative doping history article I have read in my ongoing doping education.

http://www.podiumcafe.com/2011/2/16/1997823/tough-on-doping-tough-on-the-causes-of-doping-francesco-conconi-and

Must admit, I will definitely read it at least one more time. Can now understand why posters, such as Hugh as opposed to moi, have a totally different perception to the magnitude of the problem currently.

There was one former rider, who retired in 08/09, of whom I suspected retired early because the technology was catching up. It was only a hunch! I had never read his name anywhere previously related to doping, that is until now.

have a good day

 

[D-Queued]

A little light relief: http://www.podiumcafe.com/2011/2/16/1997823/tough-on-doping-tough-on-the-causes-of-doping-francesco-conconi-and

Odd how the UCI line is so consistent over the ages:

Verbruggen had surfed that storm by saying Ferrari must have been misquoted, that it was a case of rubbish journalism. He pointed to the number of doping tests carried out and the small number of positives they produced. (Even though there was no test for EPO.) There being no problem, Verbruggen ignored Roussel's request.

No positive tests. Cleanest sport there is.

Now this part was a true gem:

Nicolas Aubier, who talked of the difficulty of trying to ride clean in a dirty peloton... speaking to L'Equipe's Pierre Ballester:

Why haven't they made every possible effort to eliminate this cancer?

And the timing of it is wonderful irony.

That was 1997. And the cancer was just about to make his return.

Dave.

 

[cprior]

Funny part:

This might also be a good time to bring Guy Brisson back into
this. You remember him, the Canadian doctor who was trying
to develop an EPO test in 1996? When the **** hit the fan
during the 1998 Tour, Brisson suddenly found himself popular.
Journalists finally wanted to know what had come of his 1996
research. His answer was not very comforting.
For a start, he disputed the UCI's claim that his research was
unsuccessful, claiming he had actually come up with a test for
EPO. It was reviewed and published in the scientific journal
Nature. The IOC and the UCI, however, didn't want to know
about it, he told the Toronto Star, claiming it wouldn't bear
legal scrutiny:
"At several meetings, officials from the UCI and IOC
expressed their fear that the test's indirectness made it
vulnerable to legal challenge by millionaire athletes.

(emphasis added)

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

Good article with a nice history of who's who. Thanks for posting.

 

[Granville57]

Following the link in that article to David Walsh's Sunday Times article from March 28, 2004 gives us these special quotes:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article1052710.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1

It is difficult to comprehend fully the scale of Conconi’s duplicity.
Funded by CONI and the IOC to come up with a test for EPO, he used that money to buy the drug, and then administered it to professional athletes for the purpose of performance enhancement. While being paid by the authorities to prevent doping, he was being paid by athletes for enabling them to dope.

The case against Conconi, Casoni and Grazzi was dropped because the investigation could not be completed within the five years allotted for such cases. In her report Judge Franca said while that was the correct decision legally, there was no doubt from the evidence that the three doctors were guilty of dispensing doping products. In her view the case against them was incontrovertible.

Pretty much says it all, doesn't it?
But that was in the past. Cycling is much different today and digging up those old issues will do nothing other than damage the sport's image. Move along...

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Excellent link. Articles and threads like this make the Clinic valuable. I knew some of that information already, but that was well written.

Keep up the good posts.

 

[Benotti69]

i would like to know the names of who Brisson's tested.

Great read and when you think of how dirty the sport was and still is i can equate it to all other sports where the money is big.

The rider's are so stupid to keep doping as they seem to be the guinea pigs in all this, keeping the threadmill rolling for the likes Verbrughen, McQuaid and these dispicable doctors

 

[fmk_RoI]

That was 1997. And the cancer was just about to make his return.

I like that quote cause it proves LA has no copyright on cancer. The word was being used to describe doping long before he came along.

 

[fmk_RoI]

Funny part:
(emphasis added)

There was a lot of that going on in the nineties.

 

[fmk_RoI]

i would like to know the names of who Brisson's tested.

Anonymity. It was purely research.

 

[veganrob]

Wow. That really sheds some light on the subject.

 

[frenchfry]

I am starting to lose respect for Verdruggen.

 

[Escarabajo]

Excellent link. Articles and threads like this make the Clinic valuable. I knew some of that information already, but that was well written.

Keep up the good posts.

+1.

Very nice info. I had already read the Sandro Donati's articles, but this one if more like a summarized and more comprehensive version of it.

Does anyone doubt Miguel Indurain's cleanness now? What a coincidence. 1996 was his retirement.

 

[D-Queued]

I am starting to lose respect for Verdruggen.

I dunno. That is a big step to take, and you may want to reconsider.

Dave.

 

[frenchfry]

I dunno. That is a big step to take, and you may want to reconsider.

Dave.

Maybe he will send me an e-mail explaining how the UCI testing process proves that only 1% of pro cyclists dope. Just to restore my confidence.

 

[D-Queued]

Maybe he will send me an e-mail explaining how the UCI testing process proves that only 1% of pro cyclists dope. Just to restore my confidence.

I'm sharpening my pencil, and figure he can cut that to 0.5%.

Dave.

 

[Hugh Januss]

I'm sharpening my pencil, and figure he can cut that to 0.5%.

Dave.

Well clearly as good as the testing is now, and given that it is just a few bad apples who are not clean these days, the percentage of dopers should be the same as the percentage of riders returning positive tests, no?

 

[D-Queued]

Well clearly as good as the testing is now, and given that it is just a few bad apples who are not clean these days, the percentage of dopers should be the same as the percentage of riders returning positive tests, no?

No, anything over 0.5% rate is a false positive.

You need to understand your statistics a bit better.

Let's say that we are running at 0.49% for the year. The next rider who tests positive is obviously a mistake.

Dave.

 

[Hugh Januss]

No, anything over 0.5% rate is a false positive.

You need to understand your statistics a bit better.

Let's say that we are running at 0.49% for the year. The next rider who tests positive is obviously a mistake.

Dave.

I was just going to add that I had forgotten about false positives or contamination. So really when you look at it Verdruggen's 1% is way way too high. I think we've won, let's go for a ride.

 

[D-Queued]

I was just going to add that I had forgotten about false positives or contamination. So really when you look at it Verdruggen's 1% is way way too high. I think we've won, let's go for a ride.

Exactly.

Now, if we could only elminate all those mistakes.

Dave.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Exactly.

Now, if we could only elminate all those mistakes.

Dave.

Oh that's easy, now that we've cleaned up cycling there is no more reason to waste all that money on testing.

 

[D-Queued]

Oh that's easy, now that we've cleaned up cycling there is no more reason to waste all that money on testing.

Let's not give it back to the people though. I was thinking of some new office furniture that will make me more productive. And, maybe starting a medical clinic to help cyclists recover from all that hard work they do.

Dave.

 

[rhubroma]

Good read. It was like I was reliving my Italian cycling experiences in the conversations I've had with riders over the years. This puts all the links together.

I only wish there would be a Part II: From the Festina Affair to the Armstrong Tyranny... or something to that effect. But I'm sure Novinsky is taking care of it.

 

[fmk_RoI]

I only wish there would be a Part II: From the Festina Affair to the Armstrong Tyranny... or something to that effect. But I'm sure Novinsky is taking care of it.

There'll be a part II, maybe next week or the week after. Covers some good stories.