Aguirre said:
how to read JV words? "the connecting the dots" thing is what people do in this forum, and it's false. It shows how hypocrit people can be.
Anyway, and I like Tondo a lot, but JV's message is misleading, because the fact that XT dennounced the doping ring, doesn't mean that his past is suddenly clean, I'm not saying he was in doping.. neither... I just critisize the ilusionist world based in prejugments in which people fall!
That's pretty much where I land. But I think JV's
real angle was that they never gave him a chance to get data to come to a sound judgement. And that "on balance" he is now thinking they should have given him that chance, and assumes that the totality of it all now indicates that it bodes well for "present Tondo".
I suspect that JV's now states a stronger case for Tondo, leaning the other way, than the introduction of one new dot technically allow, because he knows the
full implications for rider who steps up to the plate.
Yes, the cynic in me knows full well that this could arguably be because he has a different supplier. But he could have just ignored it and cover his **** that way, or find a way to cover his **** well away from the officials' attention (police and all, not the UCI).
Instead he reported. JV will know that this will invoke scrutiny to some degree at an official level. Tondo picked that route, voluntary. That does takes courage and injects added hassle into your private life too, even if you have nothing to hide. And coupled with other indicators that JV is no doubt privy to (the other testimonies he hinted at, but discarded/undervalued at the time), it bodes well for Tondo
now.
It also highlights, that between the lines, JV is saying something clearly, again. That as late as the Vuelta last year, in his mind, some notable levels of accomplishments are still highly suspect, even to a trained insider's eye. That reaching a certain level on its own triggers at least the next question: what path did the rider follow to get here?
At "calm" DS level, and not just the "paranoid" Clinic.
There is nothing wrong with connecting the dots. It is what using your brain is all about. Nearly all thinking takes place based on imperfect information. The trick to reach sound conclusions is to know what the dots actually allow you to connect, and to keep remembering where the assumption took place, or what alternatives are technically still in play.
And revisit the attitude or decision tree when the situation warrants it. It looks JV had a reason here to do just that. A willingness to look at old assumptions in a new light. It suits the man. I hope his new assumptions are better.
All the more since Tondo has gone up a bit on my internal ladder too, for similar reasons.