Giro d'Italia edition: Who had the best program?

[craig1985]

Again I won't do a poll, but I'm going for Jose Enrique Gutierrez (aka the Buffalo) who rode for Phonak and came second at the 2006 Giro. You mean a bloke who is 189cm (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in) and weighing more then 78kg (if wiki is to believed) coming second to Ivan Basso who won by more then 9 minutes, on a brutal course, finishing ahead of guys like Simoni, Cunego, and Savoldelli?

I was going to go for Basso originally, but he always was a favourite for the race overall, even if he went a little overboard (sorry, he was going to use it) with his program given to him by Fuentes.

Doesn't have to be guys who won the race, could be guys who won a stage etc.

 

[Fourier]

How about Ricco. Is it possible that he actually held back on taking the
GC in order not to make it to obvious that he was on a stellar-program?

 

[Runitout]

Again I won't do a poll, but I'm going for Jose Enrique Gutierrez (aka the Buffalo) who rode for Phonak and came second at the 2006 Giro. You mean a bloke who is 189cm (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in) and weighing more then 78kg (if wiki is to believed) coming second to Ivan Basso who won by more then 9 minutes, on a brutal course, finishing ahead of guys like Simoni, Cunego, and Savoldelli?

I was going to go for Basso originally, but he always was a favourite for the race overall, even if he went a little overboard (sorry, he was going to use it) with his program given to him by Fuentes.

Doesn't have to be guys who won the race, could be guys who won a stage etc.

Mazzoleni was a classic carthorse turned into thoroughbred, as well. The Buffalo did stand out in 2006; whatever Pantani was on in 1999 was wonderful. Bugno in '90 and Berzin in '94 clearly had something the others lacked.

 

[Cobblestones]

Beachboy must have done something in a hurry, but it worked well enough.

 

[Vonn Brinkman]

Menchov!

I Think that last year not only Di Luca was on the dope, but also Menchov. No prove of course, and we might never, but the way he won the ITT stage from Sestri Levante of 60 kilometres raised some suspicisions. We don't see Menchov up there in a ITT that often. I think he ran out of dope by the Tour and that's why he messed up.
It's all hypotheses ofcourse, have no prove. Only that Humanplasma thing in Austria that happened just when the Tour got underway and Menchov was apparently involved in.
So yeah for me Menchov had the best possible sneaky doping program for the Giro last year! Luckily he won't participate on saturday.

 

[pmcg76]

Franco Chioccioli, 91 Giro winner, a regular Top 10 finisher in previous Giros, he morphed into a super winner(in his 30s) in 91 winning 3 stages and easily beating Bugno, Chiappucci amongst others. That whole Del Tongo team was dodgy, I think they won 8 stages at the 91 Giro with Cipo taking 4. One of their riders, Joachim Halupczok was one of the pros who died at that time whose death was linked to EPO misuse.

 

[Escarabajo]

Just to mention the one that looked a little exagerated to me:


Buffalo in 2006 Giro.

Note: I had to redo mine. I realized it was the Giro edition.

 

[58teeth]

I Think that last year not only Di Luca was on the dope, but also Menchov. No prove of course, and we might never, but the way he won the ITT stage from Sestri Levante of 60 kilometres raised some suspicisions. We don't see Menchov up there in a ITT that often.

I agree 100%.

I got proof...watch him cross the finish line in the final TT, take his helmet off and walk around. He looks exactly like Flandis did when he won his epic breakaway. He's a man possessed! Defintiely on some sort of testosterone hormone or something. He looks like he could rip the head off of a horse and eat it! This is after a HUGE effort to win the overall in the ITT, a big crash, and, just being spent after 20+ days of racing. WhaaaaatEVER!

 

[Cobblestones]

I agree 100%.

I got proof...watch him cross the finish line in the final TT, take his helmet off and walk around. He looks exactly like Flandis did when he won his epic breakaway. He's a man possessed! Defintiely on some sort of testosterone hormone or something. He looks like he could rip the head off of a horse and eat it! This is after a HUGE effort to win the overall in the ITT, a big crash, and, just being spent after 20+ days of racing. WhaaaaatEVER!

To be fair, after the crash, the adrenalin was probably through the roof.

 

[BroDeal]

Ivan Gotti. A rider of rather modest talent who managed to win two Giros. His hematocrit was 58% when he was on Gewiss.

 

[blackcat]

Andy Schleck 07

 

[Hugh Januss]

Ivan Gotti. A rider of rather modest talent who managed to win two Giros. His hematocrit was 58% when he was on Gewiss.

Oh man I forgot all about him. I think you got the winner here. He could go from hero to zero in no time flat.

 

[craig1985]

Ivan Gotti. A rider of rather modest talent who managed to win two Giros. His hematocrit was 58% when he was on Gewiss.

Did Pantani's HcT ever get that high?

 

[Jan the Man]

Did Pantani's HcT ever get that high?

I recall the a book I read about il pirata mentioning a high HcT, maybe after a crash at Milano-Torino?

 

[Roninho]

According to the book of Matt Rendell Pantani had these hematocritvalues: 57.2 (Giro '94), 57.4 (TdF '94), 56 (Giro '95) and 60.1 (WC '95).