Stani Kléber said:
It's nice to see Silence-Lotto gets to view the blood passport data, everyone else has seems to have heard nothing. Back in February UCI boss Pat "Chief Wiggum" McQuaid announced anti-doping prosecutions "within days or weeks" but months later, nothing.
As Lemond said, the UCI is corrupt (they are suing him for saying this, btw). Until McQuaid and pretty much everyone sitting in the UCI offices (and especially Hein Verbruggen) are flushed out and replaced by someone who is straight forward, has a plan, and is no nonsense, little will change.
I'm almost convinced that some teams that have internal anti-doping programs simply to make sure their riders don't pop positive at controls. Silence-Lotto was basically doing this, just not calling it "anti-doping". It's sort of like the Bush administrations "Clean Skies Act" that eased pollution controls.
franciep10 said:
Alpe frankly I don't put my trust in any team or rider... Maybe Big Boat isn't the crazy guy in the alley shouting at the sky anymore.
I'm not saying I think Garmin and their entire team and system are completely whistle clean. Just that if there's a team in the Giro right now that is, it would be them. They do have a manager who does seem honestly against doping (JV) and some outspoken riders against it. Plus, their results are indicative of riding this Giro clean...I hope.
I've been one of the few people defending BigBoat, actually. I just think he needed to use this for his avatar:
Snake8 said:
why isn't there a rider's union in cycling?.
There is, the AIGCP, run by Eric Boyer. They made themselves impotent over the last decade by fighting almost every anti-doping measure and defending dopers (namely, Richard Virenque). They also sided with the UCI in it's battles with the ASO (which in many ways came down to doping), and ended up on the loosing end of that. Most riders supported this thinking, and probably still do. As an example, can you picture this scene: Christoph Bassons takes off up the road, and Lance goes to chase him - but 25 other riders chase down Lance and tell him they'll crash him if he keeps this bullsnit up. Do you see that happening? Neither do I.
Finally. Something I posted before. After Puerto broke, La Gazetta tracked down a recently retired Italian racer who had placed well in the Giro in years past. He anonymously said pretty much exactly what Kohl did about it being impossible to win without doping, that teams covered things up, etc. Almost to the word.