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Granfondopers

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Granville57

Granville57

Dec 7, 2010
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Alex Simmons/RST said:
http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/06/news/police-yank-ex-doper-spains-largest-gran-fondo_333182

Police intervene to pull a former doping rider 30km from the finish, when in winning break.
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OMG, now that is friggin' hilarious! :D
(Of course I'm referring to the fact that Velonews had something worth reading. :p)

the sceptic said:
also a nice touch to mention that they had no problem with Indurain and Olano competing.
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That was quite the punch line to the whole article, wasn't it? :D



JESUS! How can you not love this circus?!?! :eek:
 
rhubroma

rhubroma

Apr 2, 2009
8,660
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Last year there was a granfondo in Sicily during which they announced there would be testing at the finish. Circa 90 participants disapeared into the woods.

I am aware, at the moment, that there is a list of riders who will be stopped and tested soon.
 
F

Franklin

May 26, 2009
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the sceptic said:
also a nice touch to mention that they had no problem with Indurain and Olano competing.
Click to expand...

I understand the humor but even you realize that:

1. neither of them was oficially ever found out to be doping (Olano cut it reaaaaally close though).
2. neither of them was competing the event.

What would be stranger is that someone would have a problem with those two riding. Vigilante justice is despicable.
 
hrotha

hrotha

Jun 10, 2010
19,781
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There's some key facts missing from that article, and things that have been reported differently elsewhere. For example, the story goes the bawss of that gran fondo (none other than Fernando Escartín) personally allowed Ángel Vázquez to compete on condition that he wouldn't contest the "win". Vázquez agreed but then raced for the "win" anyway, and then the organizers tried to convince him to allow himself to be caught, or to withdraw. Vázquez told them he wouldn't stop, but simply wouldn't cross the finish line. That's when the organizers decided to force Vázquez to stop by asking the Guardia Civil to intervene.

How they missed Escartín's role in all of this, I do not know.
 
Benotti69

Benotti69

May 26, 2010
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Franklin said:
I understand the humor but even you realize that:

1. neither of them was oficially ever found out to be doping (Olano cut it reaaaaally close though).
2. neither of them was competing the event.

What would be stranger is that someone would have a problem with those two riding. Vigilante justice is despicable.
Click to expand...

Indurain tested positive at the 1994 Tour de l'Oise. Salbutamol was banned in France at the time but had not yet found its way onto the UCI's banned list. Indurain was not sanctioned.

Dutch broadcaster NOS quoted Italian investigator Sandro Donati who claimed that Banesto riders were involved with Conconi and another source corroborated the story.

Olano tested positive after winning Stage 1 of the 1994 Volta a Catalunya. He blamed the result on a product he had been using called Frenadol.

Following the 2013 publication of a French Senate Anti-Doping report and its annexe showing the results of 2004 retested samples, Olano was shown to have tested positive in the 1998 Tour de France after Stage 8.
 
mewmewmew13

mewmewmew13

Aug 9, 2010
6,255
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Granville57 said:
OMG, now that is friggin' hilarious! :D
(Of course I'm referring to the fact that Velonews had something worth reading. :p)


That was quite the punch line to the whole article, wasn't it?



JESUS! How can you not love this circus?!?! :eek:
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LOLOL :D
how fun would that be if they chased down Hincapie or similar..
 
R

ralphbert

Nov 14, 2013
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Red Rick said:
What is there to win in Granfondo for everyone to start doping?
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It seems cycling attracts type A *******s who must dominate and crush there opponents. A subset will do it by any means possible. Lame. I feel fortunate to ride my bike for fun.
 
Alex Simmons/RST

Alex Simmons/RST

Mar 10, 2009
2,973
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11,485
Red Rick said:
What is there to win in Granfondo for everyone to start doping?
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It's a narcissism / ego thing. Prizes are rarely the driver for such behaviour.
GFs are taken pretty seriously by some, with teams specifically targeting such events in Europe.

The UCI also has their own granfondo series around the world which are qualifiers for the masters road "world championships" each year. Rainbow jersey on offer.
 
Benotti69

Benotti69

May 26, 2010
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Some granfondos offer decent, 100K, prize money for wins.

But i guess, most do it for ego and narcissistic reasons.
 
RedheadDane

RedheadDane

May 5, 2010
48,142
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hrotha said:
That kind of thing happens pretty often, actually.

I'm glad that it happens. It puts to rest any arguments about how money equals doping. In reality, competition equals doping.
Click to expand...

Just get this mental image of a bunch guys riding along, they reach a wood an... whoooooooooosh! whole bunch of them disappears.
 
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