hrotha said:
Could the journalist have asked him about Aldag and Holm? Sure, but the question wouldn't have been very relevant. Aldag and Holm doped as riders at a time where that's what people did, and before Pinotti turned pro. Note he said that's when things started to change or at least when change became possible, so his answer would have been something along the lines of "Those were different times, what matters to me is what they do as DS's". And I'd be inclined to agree, actually. I don't understand why everyone attacks Riis the DS for doping as a rider in the 90s, when what people should be bringing up is Jaksche.
Still, Saunier Duval is very recent, and that team had so many superchargers it's hard to imagine it was all either individual doping or a top secret program for those in the know. It's possible - even in the worst years of US Postal, not everyone was deemed worthy of knowing -, but I wish the journalist would have insisted on this point.
Aldag was riding for T-Mob until 2005 and Pinotti began his career in 99. So they are hardly a generation apart.
The questions about the likes of Riis, Aldag, Holm, Hog, Vaughters etc, is how can you accept that people who spent their whole careers cheating to suddenly once they get off the bike to become paragons of virtue.
It is also the hypocrisy - Ricco, DDL etc shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the peloton according to some riders, and yet they have no problems with other dopers being in charge of teams.
Here's the rub - a cheat like Riis/Aldag has far more control and influence over riders by virtue of the power that being a team manager, DS gives you than he ever did as a rider. If Aldag tells Pinotti to dope do you really think Pinotti has the power to refuse?
We saw from Trent Lowe/Matt White, how much influence a DS with doping connections can have. Matt White's knowledge of Del Moral didn't come out of thin air. Riis/Aldag/Holm etc are far more dangerous to the peloton than Ricco or DDL.
Dopers aren't allowed to ride their bikes but they are allowed to be in charge of people riding their bikes.
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As for accusations of being unfairly critical of riders - why should we take the word of a group of people who have lied to us time after time after time? Why should we trust people who have abused our support by claiming to be clean while being doped up to the gills? The riders have to re-earn the trust of fans - stop throwing the likes of Ricco under the bus after the event and start blowing whistles before the event, start supporting and protecting whistleblowers not shafting them. We all saw the collective reaction to Landis's allegations - David Millar calling him an alcoholic etc etc.
We all know that there are dirty teams and riders out there, we all know that there is corruption in the sport, the riders know that, we know that. Riders need to stop taking us for fools.
The ball is in the riders court - if they don't like being accused of doping at every turn then start doing something to get rid of the dopers from
all levels of the sport and start protecting whistleblowers rather than spitting on them.