LeindersGains said:
I don't get why he is viewed subhuman by the UCI when other "former" dopers Hejsedal and Valverde get the royal treatment.
It's like he was never meant to be in "their" sport.
This was a special time. Remember that McQuaid was fighting to stay in office at the time and we now know for sure Cookson was looking to rid the federation of Verbruggen as well. That's one possibility.
The UCI typically picks athletes who cannot afford a rigorous defense, or perhaps cannot afford bribes to make the case go away. JTL was a perfect fit. Why they would choose a Sky rider instead of the usual Pro Continental that barely leaves a country, I don't know.
And yes, the UCI "likes" some riders and not others for no reasons understood from the outside. Riders get banned from the WT all the time. What happened to FuYu Li? Francisco Mancebo? Meanwhile, Contador is clearly favored by the federation.
What we know for sure is there is way more going on than just a positive test. Even then, this point we know samples are swapped (Russian IAAF controversy) and tests are manipulated to get the desired results. (Landis)
So, yeah. "their sport" is how it is operated. Who is the they though? No idea.