hrotha said:
It's on CN, he said Valverde and Pereiro tried to enforce omertà on him in 2006 for something Madiot said about Puerto.
As a Spaniard, what worries me the most is that I've never heard a top Spanish pro openly attacking dopers or even doping. Either the culture change is farther away from here than from other countries, or riders here are less cynical and hypocritical. Both are pretty bleak prospects.
It's cultural to a degree and I say both your hypothesis are valid. I can speak for Italy, though from what you say I'm convinced both countries are similar in this regard.
As to culture change being farther away? In Italy we have a prime minister who throws
bunga, bunga parties with teenage girls and a large percentage of the women and men in this country couldn't care less.
As to riders being less cynical or hypocritical elsewhere? I think not, but probably more
furbo, which means "sly", though not in the negative, serpent like sense as it usually does in English where its more prized to be candid. Indeed being
candido in Italian society means being naive, not pure and sincere, and thus subject to being
defrauded , which is why it's "smarter" to be
furbo in life. We get alot of bad press in Italy and a certain degree of scorn, but the "Italian" mentality within the sport is probably rather similar to Spain's from what you suggest.
When it comes to things such as these ethical concerns, the Latin peoples of Southern Europe have a less rigid perspective as is well known than say the Anglo-Saxon/Germanic societies. Even if that doesn't necessarily mean, of course, that the latter cultures are more ethical than those in the former. However try having a political leader who behaves the same way as Berlusconi in those other countries I mentioned, and see how their societies would respond.
And after all omerta' is an Italian word. How would you translate omerta' in German? In English it would be something like "honor" and showing "respect" through silence. See what I mean?