Great interview w/sassi

[python]

a slightly dated but verr-r-y interesting interview with sassi
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=6718

we know, sassi’s the guy who only trains ‘clean’ athletes confused and is one of the sports scientists who believe that watt per kilo can flag doping.

he quantifies blood doping advantage (5-15%), ambivalent on bio passport, suspicious of '3-week a season' wonders….

PEZ: In these days of riders staking everything on the on race, is it possible to race for a full season?
Aldo: I think that Cadel showed in 2008 that it’s possible to compete at a high level from the beginning to the end of the season.

A rider can hit two peaks during a season, in theory three is possible, but that would be very hard if the rider is not supported by chemicals.
In the absence of assistance from drugs, a rider cannot peak as high, but they can sustain that peak for longer. The use of drugs makes it easier to manage to peak at a specific time.
In my opinion the attitude to compete at high level from the beginning to the end of the season is usually a sign of clean and proper cycling. I suspect of cyclists who are champions only few weeks a year…(all emphasis by python)

that quote above is pure gold.

who do we know was always staking everything on one race a year ? (texas, who else ?)
who raced all this year at the highest level (contador, who else ?)
who peaked twice this year ? (vino, who else ?)

 

[LKing25]

a slightly dated but verr-r-y interesting interview with sassi
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=6718

we know, sassi’s the guy who only trains ‘clean’ athletes confused and is one of the sports scientists who believe that watt per kilo can flag doping.

he quantifies blood doping advantage (5-15%), ambivalent on bio passport, suspicious of '3-week a season' wonders….


that quote above is pure gold.

who do we know was always staking everything on one race a year ? (texas, who else ?)
who raced all this year at the highest level (contador, who else ?)
who peaked twice this year ? (vino, who else ?)

Yes Sassi seems to know what the game is. However Cadel Evans cracked spectacularly twice now in the TDF and yet went on in 2009 at least to have a cracking end to his season. I think form is a better indicator of doping, when riders are great one day and then cracking the next it sets alarm bells off in my head. When looking at ones performance i think steady form building is a key of clean cycling an example this year would be Jurgen Van Den Broeck who built his form steadily then peaked at the right time. An example of doping in my mind would be Vino in 2007 where he was all over the place leading up to the tour in 2007.

 

[LKing25]

Of course Vino was caught so it is easy in hindsight to say what i did above but i think most people would get my point (hopefully)

 

[Escarabajo]

...

In my opinion the attitude to compete at high level from the beginning to the end of the season is usually a sign of clean and proper cycling. I suspect of cyclists who are champions only few weeks a year

that quote above is pure gold.

who do we know was always staking everything on one race a year ? (texas, who else ?)
who raced all this year at the highest level (contador, who else ?)
who peaked twice this year ? (vino, who else ?)

I also have to agree with Sassi about that statement.

 

[roundabout]

I wonder what Sassi thought about Basso's dip in form in Romandie this year

 

[ergmonkey]

I think form is a better indicator of doping, when riders are great one day and then cracking the next it sets alarm bells off in my head.

Please correct me if I'm misreading your post. My understanding of the above is that you suspect that a rider who is great one day and then cracks the next day is a doper. Correct?

If so, I have to disagree. A huge day out requires a huge effort. Great riders can dig very deep for one day and hurt themselves a lot. Recovering from such an effort is a difficult task. Doping is a tremendous aid in this recovery. So, I see no reason to particularly doubt a rider who has good and bad days in the same tour. One could just as easily suggest that the same rider might not have cracked after his good day if he'd only had better access to recovery drugs, saline transfusions, etc.

 

[hfer07]

However Cadel Evans cracked spectacularly twice now in the TDF and yet went on in 2009 at least to have a cracking end to his season.

come again? I recall in 09 Cadel making podium in the Vuelta & winning the World's....
fast forward to 2010-- Did you watch the Giro & the Tour at all? Did you know about the illness/accidents/crashes he was carrying through the Giro & what about the broken elbow at the Tour?

I think form is a better indicator of doping, when riders are great one day and then cracking the next it sets alarm bells off in my head.

the only alarms that your head should set off are the ones for the ignorance level of that statement

 

[LKing25]

come again? I recall in 09 Cadel making podium in the Vuelta & winning the World's....
fast forward to 2010-- Did you watch the Giro & the Tour at all? Did you know about the illness/accidents/crashes he was carrying through the Giro & what about the broken elbow at the Tour?




the only alarms that your head should set off are the ones for the ignorance level of that statement

My post seems to have been misinterpreted. My point about Cadel was that Sassi implied that Cadel carried great form all season where i pointed out that he didnt in the fact that he had good form early in 09 (remember he had a very good Dauphine that year) but in the tour he lost form (may have been injury related) and finished way down 29th overall. But in the autumn Cadel shone as you rightly said in placing 3rd at the Vuelta and also winning the worlds. Hence my point being that his form was not steady all season. I dont think Cadel doped my point simply being that he timed his form poorly in that he peaked in june rather than july yet he was also able to regain form later in the season.

 

[LKing25]

Please correct me if I'm misreading your post. My understanding of the above is that you suspect that a rider who is great one day and then cracks the next day is a doper. Correct?

If so, I have to disagree. A huge day out requires a huge effort. Great riders can dig very deep for one day and hurt themselves a lot. Recovering from such an effort is a difficult task. Doping is a tremendous aid in this recovery. So, I see no reason to particularly doubt a rider who has good and bad days in the same tour. One could just as easily suggest that the same rider might not have cracked after his good day if he'd only had better access to recovery drugs, saline transfusions, etc.

I understand what your saying however i still believe that riders who are red hot one day/event and then rubbish the next and so on is to me a sign that something is not right. I will admit that my post was poorly worded. Just think back to Vino in 2007 Tour winning in Albi won day then losing 30 minutes in the pyrenees the next then the day after winning another stage.

 

[Jux1893]

I don't like to see a rider do exceptionally well after a bad day.

A bad day doesn't mean the rider was cruising, probably his heart rate and effort was still very high, it just didn't translate to a good ride.

You'd probably need more rest after a bad day then after a good day, since the damage to your body would be roughly the same, without the extra incentive of riding weel.

So, to see someone excel after a bad day, does not compute.

Great interview. It was a nice read, specially this quote:

but first choose your parents carefully!

 

[Benotti69]

Please correct me if I'm misreading your post. My understanding of the above is that you suspect that a rider who is great one day and then cracks the next day is a doper. Correct?

correct you are wrong. the use of 'cracking' in this case meaning great or good

having a great day followed by another great day....

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

I understand what your saying however i still believe that riders who are red hot one day/event and then rubbish the next and so on is to me a sign that something is not right. I will admit that my post was poorly worded. Just think back to Vino in 2007 Tour winning in Albi won day then losing 30 minutes in the pyrenees the next then the day after winning another stage.

It can't be doping related. If you're supercharged one day, you're gonna be charged the next as well. The effect doesn't just disappear overnight.

 

[dbrower]

A rider can hit two peaks during a season, in theory three is possible, but that would be very hard if the rider is not supported by chemicals.
In the absence of assistance from drugs, a rider cannot peak as high, but they can sustain that peak for longer. The use of drugs makes it easier to manage to peak at a specific time.
In my opinion the attitude to compete at high level from the beginning to the end of the season is usually a sign of clean and proper cycling. I suspect of cyclists who are champions only few weeks a year…

So, what does it say that in 2006, Landis won Tour of California, Tour of Georgia, Paris Nice, and the Tour?

Someone's theory is contradicted by evidence.

-dB

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

I must have missed the part where he said a doper cannot win 4 races in a year.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

So, what does it say that in 2006, Landis won Tour of California, Tour of Georgia, Paris Nice, and the Tour?

Someone's theory is contradicted by evidence.

-dB

Only if Landis needed to be at his peak to win those first three. Given that he was beating Zabriskie, Vila and Danielson respectively - I'd say he probably didn't have to get out of second gear judging by the way he was going in July

 

[hrotha]

No matter how you cut it, the fact is Landis competed at a high level in all those events. If you want to defend Sassi, you just have to point out he says "usually."

Personally I'm inclined to think it's a simplistic point of view anyway.