Jalabert positive for EPO in 1998 TDF

[Zweistein]

Seriously, the results of Boardman's test(s) should be the most interesting ones. The guy has a bit of a reputation as a clean rider, which is a bit hard to believe for someone who smashed the hour record the way he did, among other things. But he went into the 1998 Tour with pretty much the only goal of winning the prologue, any GC ambitions long forgotten. That was his make-or-break day at the Tour, and so it stands to reason that, if he wasn't clean, he would have loaded on EPO for that day. This should pretty much confirm with a high degree of probability what kind of rider Boardman was.

I didn't know that beating Merxck's record by 10 meters was smashing it. I think you are thinking of the non-athlete records with aero bars and foils. Not really an apples to apples comparison.

 

[hrotha]

I didn't know that beating Merxck's record by 10 meters was smashing it. I think you are thinking of the non-athlete records with aero bars and foils. Not really an apples to apples comparison.

I'm thinking of what was the hour record at the time Boardman beat it (the UCI killed it anyway, making it irrelevant, by saying all those records since Moser's weren't kosher). The fact is Boardman smahed Rominger's record.

 

[andy1234]

I'm thinking of what was the hour record at the time Boardman beat it (the UCI killed it anyway, making it irrelevant, by saying all those records since Moser's weren't kosher). The fact is Boardman smahed Rominger's record.

For both records, Boardman asked the UCI to store his samples, specifically for retroactive testing. They didn't follow this through.

 

[Race Radio]

Pure comedy from Manolo Saiz

I know what I say, and I can assure you that neither Jalabert and no one has ever taken anything. "

http://www.20minutes.fr/sport/11800...assure-laurent-jalabert-ne-jamais-dope-a-once

 

[Le breton]

Seriously, the results of Boardman's test(s) should be the most interesting ones. The guy has a bit of a reputation as a clean rider, which is a bit hard to believe for someone who smashed the hour record the way he did, among other things. But he went into the 1998 Tour with pretty much the only goal of winning the prologue, any GC ambitions long forgotten. That was his make-or-break day at the Tour, and so it stands to reason that, if he wasn't clean, he would have loaded on EPO for that day. This should pretty much confirm with a high degree of probability what kind of rider Boardman was.

Excellent inference Sherlock

 

[Bavarianrider]

Am i geting this right?
They'll release all the names of the riders who took EPO in 1998

 

[Race Radio]

Am i geting this right?
They'll release all the names of the riders who took EPO in 1998

Yeah, this is what I hear

This is going to suck

 

[Poursuivant]

What i dont get about the 98 tour is what the riders were protesting about? Why did they down tools?

 

[Benotti69]

Yeah, this is what I hear

This is going to suck

Why is this going to suck?

 

[andy1234]

Why is this going to suck?

For once I am in agreement

 

[andy1234]

What i dont get about the 98 tour is what the riders were protesting about? Why did they down tools?

They were protesting about the level of intrusion by police, press, testers etc.
To be fair, it was pretty unbearable. even if it was necessary.

 

[skimazk]

http://www.lequotidien.lu/les-sports/46219.html

De fait, Jalabert ne sera pas le seul concerné. Car en 2004, l'Agence française de lutte contre le dopage (AFLD) a procédé à la réanalyse de 60 échantillons provenant du Tour 98, avec des résultats ne laissant aucune place au doute: 7 se sont révélés impossibles à analyser, 9 avaient donné des résultats sans EPO et 44 contenaient des traces d'EPO, selon le rapport de l'ALFD transmis à l'agence antidopage américaine (USADA) dans le cadre de son action contre Lance Armstrong. Si Jalabert, qui n'avait pas terminé le Tour cette année-là, devrait figurer dans cette liste, on retrouvera également à coup sûr d'autres grandes figures de ce cyclisme des années 90, un cyclisme +d'une autre époque+, selon la formule consacrée.

In fact, Jalabert will not be the only one concerned. For 2004, the French Agency against Doping (AFLD) conducted reanalysis of 60 samples from the Tour 98, with results leaving no room for doubt: 7 proved impossible to analyze, 9 gave results without EPO and 44 contained traces of EPO, according to the report ALFD sent to the U.S. Anti-Doping agency (USADA) as part of its action against Lance Armstrong. If Jalabert, who had not completed the Tour this year, should be included in this list, we also find certainly other major figures of the 90s cycling, cycling + another + time, according the saying goes.

I doubt it will be ALL the EPO users from 1998...
If the AFLD retesting series of 2004 are all the data they have (remember these are anonymous results) and are now matched to riders we have max 60 riders. of these 60 riders 9 were clean and 7 untestable. that leaves a max of 44 riders. Assuming some riders were tested multiple times (stage winners, yersey, targeted testing, random) the number drops even lower. I've seen the number of 20 mentioned on a few french websites, wouldn't be surprised if it would pan out around that number

 

[Benotti69]

They were protesting about the level of intrusion by police, press, testers etc.
To be fair, it was pretty unbearable. even if it was necessary.

The sport had no one to blame but itself. Still the case. UCI didn't learn a thing.

The riders are still the bottom rung on the ladder of the sport.

 

[Benotti69]

One person who i would like to see on that list is Zabel. He admitted that he doped once. Likely that he doped his whole career.

The more riders that can be proven is part of the process to show the world the extent of the doping. Maybe then they will decide enough. But it aint gonna happen unless riders start naming who enabled the doping. Time to get the DS, the docs the feds, take the whole house of cards down and rebuild a stronger cleanER foundation for the sport.

 

[Race Radio]

Why is this going to suck?

Because the sport is going to be dragged through the mud again.

The UCI and teams tried to pretend the problem did not exist, that just made the issue worse. Riders like Jaja, who spoke nonsense for years, made it worse.

Instead of addressing the issue they made it worse. The big question is where do we go from here? Would a TaR change things, or just make them worse and justify the actions of those that chose to cheat?

 

[andy1234]

I doubt it will be ALL the EPO users from 1998...
If the AFLD retesting series of 2004 are all the data they have (remember these are anonymous results) and are now matched to riders we have max 60 riders. of these 60 riders 9 were clean and 7 untestable. that leaves a max of 44 riders. Assuming some riders were tested multiple times (stage winners, yersey, targeted testing, random) the number drops even lower. I've seen the number of 20 mentioned on a few french websites, wouldn't be surprised if it would pan out around that number

Well clearly it can only catch those that were tested, i.e. those that actually won something.
The fact that there are riders with multiple days in yellow, green, polka dot etc, and multiple stage winners, means that anyone who took EPO and won, is likely to be exposed.

And those that won, and didn't use EPO, will be vindicated....

 

[andy1234]

Because the sport is going to be dragged through the mud again.

The UCI and teams tried to pretend the problem did not exist, that just made the issue worse. Riders like Jaja, who spoke nonsense for years, made it worse.

Instead of addressing the issue they made it worse. The big question is where do we go from here? Would a TaR change things, or just make them worse and justify the actions of those that chose to cheat?

Really? You are concerned about dragging the sport through the mud?
Its only worth doing for some riders, right.

Your boy deserved to be exposed, and if the data is available and trustworthy, that scrutiny should be expanded without prejudice.....

 

[Poursuivant]

They were protesting about the level of intrusion by police, press, testers etc.
To be fair, it was pretty unbearable. even if it was necessary.

Right, thanks

 

[Race Radio]

Really? You are concerned about dragging the sport through the mud?
Its only worth doing for some riders, right.

Your boy deserved to be exposed, and if the data is available and trustworthy, that scrutiny should be expanded without prejudice.....

Reading comprehension is not a strength of yours is it?

If you actually read what I wrote you might understand that my problem is that the unwillingness of the riders, teams, and federations to address the issue has resulted in it dragging on for years. Nowhere did I say that the results from 98 should not be exposed

 

[JRTinMA]

Because the sport is going to be dragged through the mud again.

The UCI and teams tried to pretend the problem did not exist, that just made the issue worse. Riders like Jaja, who spoke nonsense for years, made it worse.

Instead of addressing the issue they made it worse. The big question is where do we go from here? Would a TaR change things, or just make them worse and justify the actions of those that chose to cheat?

So Lance was right when he said nobody should care about what happened in France 15 years ago?

 

[Race Radio]

So Lance was right when he said nobody should care about what happened 15 years ago in France?

Nope, pretty clear I did not write anything resembling that.

Anybody following the sport knows Jaja doped. They have known it for years. The way that the sport handles these issues points to the unprofessional culture of the sport. Never address it correctly, just spew some obfuscation and hope the fans forget of ignore the issue. the result is the issue never gets address and it drags on for years.

the correct thing to do would have been to retest the samples in 2000, as soon as the EPO test became available. The UCI did not do that, instead they buried it. The result is it explodes in our face 15 years later.

 

[ToreBear]

Because the sport is going to be dragged through the mud again.

The UCI and teams tried to pretend the problem did not exist, that just made the issue worse. Riders like Jaja, who spoke nonsense for years, made it worse.

Instead of addressing the issue they made it worse. The big question is where do we go from here? Would a TaR change things, or just make them worse and justify the actions of those that chose to cheat?

This reminds me of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j2F4VcBmeo

IMHO dealing with the past and creating a new future is only possible if you know the past. No matter how painful these revelations might be, they are necessary. We can not at this time see what the consequences of that revelation will be. But we have seen the consequences of hiding the past for the last 5-10? years. And IMHO it's not worth it.

Get reality out into the open, then take it from there.

As for use as justification. The everyone did it too defense explains, but does not justify. And as long as there was one clean rider in the race, even the explanatory value is somewhat diminished.

 

[andy1234]

Reading comprehension is not a strength of yours is it?

If you actually read what I wrote you might understand that my problem is that the unwillingness of the riders, teams, and federations to address the issue has resulted in it dragging on for years. Nowhere did I say that the results from 98 should not be exposed

My reading comprehension is just fine thanks.
You said it was going to suck, and later, "because the sport was going to be dragged through the mud again"

In that case, bringing Armstrong to justice, by your definition, sucked, and definitely wasn't cause for high fives?

Consistency please...

 

[hrotha]

the correct thing to do would have been to retest the samples in 2000, as soon as the EPO test became available. The UCI did not do that, instead they buried it. The result is it explodes in our face 15 years later.

I imagine even a completely righteous UCI would have hesitated to do that. Retesting old samples would probably have resulted in having to suspend virtually every single successful rider at the time.

Interesting to think how to deal with something like that without killing the sport at the pro level.

Me, now I'd say "just go ahead with it and let justice be done", but back then very few people would have supported such drastic measures.

 

[Fearless Greg Lemond]

It is perfectly okay to rub rEPO positives under the carpet for nine years. Cycling at its best.