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Former Editor Of Cycling Weeky Admits Knowing About Doping

Jun 12, 2010
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http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...-a-coverup--and-i-was-part-of-it-8209762.html

This comes as absolutely no surprise. The media has been complicit for decades. Back in the 80s I spoke with a number of reporters of the record in the hope one would start investigating, none ever did.

" The former editor of Cycling Weekly has spoken of his shame at not doing more to expose the culture of doping at Lance Armstrong's US Postal team, which he described as an "open secret" in the sport.

Andrew Sutcliffe, who edited the prestigious title from 1991 to 1998 and worked in cycling journalism until 2002 – the height of Armstrong's reign – said he regretted "100 per cent" not using his position of influence to clean up the sport and suggested that many other prominent people in the sport knew what was going on but did not act on the information.
"The use of drugs in cycling has been a well-known open secret for decades and decades and decades," Sutcliffe told BBC Radio 4.
"There was not that much of a hiding of this situation because in a sense why would you hide things if there is a cover-up going on? Because you don't particularly have to hide things because if somebody sees something they are not going to write about it." He added: "I've been very surprised by some of the reactions of people saying they don't know.
"I cannot believe that as editor of Cycling Weekly and then editor-in-chief of the main cycling magazines in the UK that I was the only one who had any insight into this – it seems incredibly unlikely."
Asked why he did not do more, Sutcliffe said that he had been warned bluntly by riders and race officials not to intervene.
"I had been taken aside by a number of riders and race organisers in the UK and abroad and had it explained to me in the clichéd words of one syllable why it was not in my interests to report certain things," he said. "In the sharing of that information you were told how it worked, how dope tests could be got around, who was complicit in this sort of cover-up. And I think that cover-up went on and perhaps to some extent is still going on."
He also said the fear of legal action by Armstrong's lawyers dissuaded him from revealing what he knew, and he paid tribute to those who did try to expose the doping culture of the American team.
"A number of people I think should be name-checked – particularly Paul Kimmage [who is currently being sued for defamation by cycling's governing body, the UCI] and The Sunday Times' David Walsh, but then also Emma Riley, who was Lance's masseuse. They did try to do this and felt the full force of Lance's lawyers and lost.
"So the idea of the rest of us doing our jobs, knowing this was going on, the idea of some small cycling journalist thinking they'll go up against Lance Armstrong when News International [the owner of The Sunday Times] had lost became very unlikely."
Asked if he had any regrets about not speaking up sooner, Sutcliffe said: "100 per cent. I thought long and hard about doing this interview [with Radio 4] and I suppose it's an element of a mea culpa on my behalf. And if other people won't admit it, it's a mea culpa on their behalf."
 
Apr 14, 2010
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May 26, 2010
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PCutter said:
So I guess he's calling BS on Yates

He is calling BS on Team Sky, Brailsford, Wiggins, Cavendish, Yates and who else opened the gobs to fain shock and surprise and pretend that it is the past and now is different!
 
Thanks Darryl, for sharing. This part stood out to me:
Darryl Webster said:
"I had been taken aside by a number of riders and race organisers in the UK and abroad and had it explained to me in the clichéd words of one syllable why it was not in my interests to report certain things."
Now that he's admitted it, why not fully redeem himself? Contact those organizers and riders and tell them if they do not admit it, and come clean, he'll out them. I don't mean publicly, I mean to anti-doping authorities. Or judicial investigators, if any cases are open.

The hottest spots in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. - Dante Alegeri
 
Aug 27, 2012
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Journalist Omerta breaking up. Good. Let's hoep they go all out now then. A lot of nuggets here on this board that need media coverage.
 
May 26, 2010
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Tinman said:
Journalist Omerta breaking up. Good. Let's hoep they go all out now then. A lot of nuggets here on this board that need media coverage.

I wouldn't go that far.

Most of the hacks are now laying into Armstrong like it is hunting season and as it is obvious to a blind person after the report. Where were they last year?

Look at Fotheringham, happily writing about Armstrong the bully. Where was he for the last 10 years when LeMond out Armstrong working with Ferarri?

There lots of others who are a disgrace.

I say the omerta is still strong. We have seen no one except the Mail suggesting Brailsford is lying for his fake susprises and shock?

Let's see what the Aussies have to say about Simon Gerrans a big fan of Armstrong and others on Green Edge who defended Armstrong, What about Stuey O'Grady and his past?
 
Dec 9, 2011
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Journalist Omerta breaking up - not so sure. Armstrong's getting a kicking at the minute cause that's what the editors want to be written.

Wheres the questions on Sky? Still no money there, national heroes, journalists still on the gravy train.

David Walsh is a stellar exception to this whole mess. I know he wants to go after Sky but at the minute just not allowed.
 
Aug 27, 2012
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Maybe I am being hopeful. Maybe there are budding or other journo's who can pick up some of the nuggets here and expose the scams.

There are several mea culpas, incl. the cycling journo from Sydney Morning Herald. Let's trust that these guys cover the real news in days to come.
 
Jul 16, 2012
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Benotti69 said:
I wouldn't go that far.

Most of the hacks are now laying into Armstrong like it is hunting season and as it is obvious to a blind person after the report. Where were they last year?

Look at Fotheringham, happily writing about Armstrong the bully. Where was he for the last 10 years when LeMond out Armstrong working with Ferarri?

There lots of others who are a disgrace.

I say the omerta is still strong. We have seen no one except the Mail suggesting Brailsford is lying for his fake susprises and shock?

Let's see what the Aussies have to say about Simon Gerrans a big fan of Armstrong and others on Green Edge who defended Armstrong, What about Stuey O'Grady and his past?
Discussions about a doping amnesty are set to intensify as Cycling Australia seeks to discover whether confessions from leading Australian cycling figure Matt White are just the tip of the iceberg.
Cycling Australia chief Klaus Mueller revealed today that the governing body would probably delay a decision on White's future until next month, as the fallout continues from White's confession and his decision to stand down as a national official and director of Australia's GreenEDGE cycling team.
Advertisement
In the interim, CA will meet with government officials and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) to investigate the prospect of a doping amnesty, which would attempt to expose whether there are any more dirty secrets yet to be unearthed in Australian cycling.


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cycl...appointment-20121014-27kp9.html#ixzz29H0bWr67
 
Jul 16, 2012
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Tinman said:
Maybe I am being hopeful. Maybe there are budding or other journo's who can pick up some of the nuggets here and expose the scams.

There are several mea culpas, incl. the cycling journo from Sydney Morning Herald. Let's trust that these guys cover the real news in days to come.
well said tinman
 
Interesting confession...note the "decades and decades" and everyone who had been in contact with the sport directly or indirectly knew that. But where do you draw the line ? The old-timers like Hinault, Poulidor, etc..say that EPO changed everything because it turned donkeys into stars but it was just as wrong before when they loaded up on cortisone. Why do you think that the badger shot his knees? Too much cortisone of course.

Sure EPO and transfusions are a lot more spectacular but they were cheating before so it was easy to continue cheating with more powerful stuff when it became available.
 
Jul 13, 2009
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I wonder whether the Lawyers at some of these publications have been the reason for the stories not being told. they were just to scared of being sued

A couple of days ago Ned Boulting tweeted something along the lines of when he wrote about Armstrong 2 years ago the Lawyers pulled his piece to bits.
 
cycling weekly

quote

'David Walsh is a stellar exception to this whole mess. I know he wants to go after Sky but at the minute just not allowed. '

Be afraid Messrs Brailsford & Co - very afraid !!!!!
 
Mar 10, 2009
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It is akin to what happens when people of any motivation are faced with an opposing paradigm. Fire Fighters are generally born of a certain personality type. They like to help in a heroic and selfless way. Fire prevention officers are also of the mind to serve and protect but they are protectors, not saviours. So it is often very hard for an injured suppression guy to work in fire prevention as they have to struggle against their tendency to want to help the building owner.
So what is a Sports writers motivation? They are in it to tell the sport story and probably immerse them selves in the glory of it too. Not many cycling journalists took a good for it approach to the crusade against it? But they probably could have helped Simeoni by a change in tone. A bit of biting the hand that feeds you.
Now will this recent storm release a few more dogs? I guess as long as we are airing the laundry we should finish the job.
 
Interesting watching Sky's reporting of the Armstrong story - when the statements from Hincapie and Barry appeared, their names were scrolling along the bottom of the screen, though no mention of team names... They then switched to scrolling the news of USADA (though it was USA Cycling upholding that was the news) banning the 5 Americans for 6 months, conveniently being able to drop Barry out of the picture altogether as the Canadians had announced that far more quickly.
 
Benotti69 said:
I wouldn't go that far.

Most of the hacks are now laying into Armstrong like it is hunting season and as it is obvious to a blind person after the report. Where were they last year?

Look at Fotheringham, happily writing about Armstrong the bully. Where was he for the last 10 years when LeMond out Armstrong working with Ferarri?

There lots of others who are a disgrace.

I say the omerta is still strong. We have seen no one except the Mail suggesting Brailsford is lying for his fake susprises and shock?

Let's see what the Aussies have to say about Simon Gerrans a big fan of Armstrong and others on Green Edge who defended Armstrong, What about Stuey O'Grady and his past?

Well called on Fotheringham. Walsh in the Times today is great. He writes that Betsy would ring him up for a journalist's No when she saw some low life do an interview but not ask any questions of Lance. "Dishonest Journalists" I think he referred to as her turn of phrase. Kelso wrote a piece in yesterdays Telegraph that was just like in the Lance days with Sky substituted for Lance. Apparently Brailsford could not have done more in investigating Barry before they signed him. Jeepers it was 2010 ! I brought up the Dede Barry thread because this, in 2004, was another howling siren that the US Postal disease had spread far and wide. Brailsford and his technical guys must have seen it. Not once does Kelso question Brailsford. Every word uttered is accepted like it has on a stone from Moses after coming off the Mount ! "We always did due diligence." Well how about - either your "due diligence" was so token as to be entirely ineffective or you deliberately chose to employ certain people, in full awareness of their backgrounds- surely when you can be so thorough with your marginal gains a bit of basic research into who rode where and when is not so hard ?

Yates looks like he will be fed to the wolves. But Rogers ?

Regarding the initial post, it is great to see Sutcliffe admit. I remember the 3 or maybe even 5 page spread they did on Richard Virenque in 2000 or 2001 (after Sutcliffe). I rather thought they did it to take the mick out of their readers. It was so over-the-top with praise and he was so obviously still on the juice. And Lance seemed to be on 50% of the covers - "Lance blows nose". I got the impression they did all their road tests on "6 types of bottle cage" stuff because they lost any empathy with the sport and were just putting rubbish stories in by way of a giant con.
 
May 26, 2010
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Zam_Olyas said:
Ianfra :confused: didn't he say he used to work at cycling weekly??

He claimed he worked there in the 60's and 70's, but not backed up with anything though except lots of anger at criticism of Sky/Wiggins.
 
Mar 11, 2012
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Fotheringham just wants to sell his Merckx books. Richard Williams is the better Guardian cycling writer and I get the impression he's not impressed with the Foth.

if Kimmage and Walsh score 10/10

then
Whittle/Birnie/Matt Slater score 6
Benson/ Richard Moore score 5

Tan score 2
Fotheringham/Gallagher score 1
Wilcockson/Ligget/Sherwen score 0
 
Sep 29, 2012
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summerhill said:
Fotheringham just wants to sell his Merckx books. Richard Williams is the better Guardian cycling writer and I get the impression he's not impressed with the Foth.

if Kimmage and Walsh score 10/10

then
Whittle/Birnie/Matt Slater score 6
Benson/ Richard Moore score 5

Tan score 2
Fotheringham/Gallagher score 1

Wilcockson/Ligget/Sherwen - DNS
 

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