Lefevre/Boonen

[neil69cyclist]

I can't believe Lefevre's comment about Boonen's participation in the tour, he says that Boonen not being in the tour will be catastrophic to the team !!!!

I think Boonen needs to take a closer look at himself as the source of that damage, coke habit (some say that the use of coke masks other more performance enhancing drugs) and a 'I'm sorry' excuse (exactly what he said last time) isn't enough and it does bring the sport into disrepute so he should suck it up act like a man, he knew that in taking the drugs he could be suspended for disrepute as he was last time.

sick of all of this now and have lost respect for ALL riders because of the wall of silence, even with Kohl telling everyone who supplied him and who else id using, all the people and management are just saying it's a bitter man trying to implicate other ......frankly thats bull and they know it they are just S**tting themselves.

 

[kellygirl]

I totally agree with Neil. It is not the ASO's fault, it is BOONEN's fault for making unwise choices! He is the catastrophe! He is damaging his team and cycling. Wouldn't it be a nice change if Boonen actually took responsiblity for his actions instead of blaming others. He should not be permitted to ride the Tour. All of this just makes me sick and angry. Boonen should reflect a little on Pantani's life. He is heading down a bad road and he should not take cycling or the Tour with him.

 

[paul41]

What I don't like is he just keeps getting away with it because he is famous. If I was to test positive for cocaine even once I would be fired for sure and most likely thrown in jail. Because he is famous nothing happens.

 

[elapid]

1. If QS fired Boonen, then he would be picked up by another team in a nanosecond. No sense in firing the best current Classics rider.

2. Jail is still an option. His most recent case has not been heard yet. He basically got a suspended sentence on the first offense. I would be disappointed if I didn't get a suspended sentence for a first offense, especially for a user versus a dealer.

3. Boonen hasn't brought cycling into any sort of disrepute. A young athlete with lots of money does something bad - ohh, ahh. No damn surprise there Sherlock. Most of us did stupid things when we were younger, imagine what we would have done if we were paid millions. It doesn't excuse his actions, but are we really so puritanical to suggest his snorting a few lines of coke is bring cycling into disrepute when the actions of the UCI, ASO, CONI, RFEC, Astana, Lance, Bruyneel, Vino, Hamilton, Kohl, dopers, etc, etc are so much worse in regards to the disrepute they have bought upon professional cycling?

4. Boonen is not blaming other people. He said he has a problem with alcohol and he does stupid things when he loses control. That's not blaming anyone. In regards to the first offense, at least according to another thread, the AFLD and an independent test both support Boonen's claim that he did not snort any coke. If this is true, then in this instance he is blaming someone else, but for good reason.

 

[Jasper]

The first post in this thread that actually makes sense

 

[paul41]

I agree that he would be picked up by someone else but that is stupid. If I was to do cocaine on my own time and did nothing to hurt my work I would still get fired and no one else would want to hire me. It's a double standard just because they make money off of him.

 

[podilato]

As well as Boonen I think that Lefevre shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the race. The guy who signed Virenque when he was still serving a ban is now pounding his chest threatening legal action. These riders probably spend more time with each other than their families. Did they really have no idea Boonen was taking drugs?

I am certainly no counsellor but I would say that cycling is the major reason he has taken stuff in the first place. Rather than throwing him into the biggest race he should 'detox' from cycling altogether.

At least they admit that it has everything to do with money.

 

[neil69cyclist]

Elapid,

Boonen is not that young at 28 and has been around quite a while and while I can agree that fame and fortune often turns you stupid ( and he seems quite an intelligent guy ... I mean he not some footballer) there is also a degree of responsibility on behalf of team/management/governing bodies to ensure that you are therefore then taken out of the situation and given the opportunity to recover (maybe the tour is the perfect place for him to be as riding may be the cure but....)

As for teams picking him up yeah of course they would and they are then as culpable in any further issues and I didn't mention that he was blaming anyone else but he will obviously be involved in this situation with Lefevere and he new before that he was putting himself in this situation.

Of course he has brought the sport into disrepute when all the media channels are reporting him not for his achievements but for taking coke.

Yeah and I love that excuse of 'it wasn't me guv it was someone else what put the stuff in my drink' or the classic 'I had an identical twin at embryo stage that made my blood values different'

 

[Jasper]

Read the other thread already?

 

[pmcg76]

I lived in Belgium for a year and Boonen is HUGE, biggest sportsname in Belgium and that included in Wallonia. I worked in a bar and heard through the grapevine that Boonen was a huge party animal, pick the groupie he want to sleep with etc, etc so no surprises here that he was done for coke. He made front page in the Belgian papers when he was dating that 16/17 year old girl so he is just as big as any sportstars in other conutries and behaves as such.

I dont believe it was to cover up doping but I agree that he only gets of because he is famous but thats normal, when you look at what football/soccer players get away with.

I dont like Lefevres attitude though and am starting to really dislike the guy, ban Lefevre from the Tour maybe.

 

[BroDeal]

I agree that he would be picked up by someone else but that is stupid. If I was to do cocaine on my own time and did nothing to hurt my work I would still get fired and no one else would want to hire me. It's a double standard just because they make money off of him.

Oh, boo hoo. You also live in a country where recreational drug use can result in a lifetime prison sentence. In your next life maybe you will come back as a rock star or a pro cyclist, partake in the occasional coke party, and only puritans will complain.

 

[paul41]

My problem is not with the drug use...it is with the double standard. If everyone in Belgium is treated the same (even if they aren't famous) and would not be punished for this than I agree, he should be able to ride the tour.

 

[BroDeal]

My problem is not with the drug use...it is with the double standard. If everyone in Belgium is treated the same (even if they aren't famous) and would not be punished for this than I agree, he should be able to ride the tour.

The criminal case in Belgium is proceeding. That has nothing to do with cycling since out of competition cocaine use is not a doping violation. As long as his team's sponsors feel that Boonen's presence on the team is still a plus for them then he will keep his job, just like every other pro athlete in a similar situation.

 

[paul41]

The criminal case in Belgium is proceeding. That has nothing to do with cycling since out of competition cocaine use is not a doping violation. As long as his team's sponsors feel that Boonen's presence on the team is still a plus for them then he will keep his job, just like every other pro athlete in a similar situation.

Right, and cycling isn't the only problem it is pretty much all sports.

I agree with you that it was out of competition and according to cycling rules not a problem. That is why I say that if he is treated the same as everyone else I think he should be allowed to ride.

But from another point of view ASO runs the race and has to uphold the reputation of the race so sponsors will support it. How well they do that is questionable sometimes in my opinion but they are in the same position as QuickStep just on the opposite side. They think having Boonen there will hurt their sponsors.

 

[Jasper]

And if he is found guilty by the court, he'll most likely face a conditional punishment, meaning if he does it again, he'll face effective jailtime. So in that way he is treated no different than any other Belgian. And as far as his employer is concerned: he got suspended and had to pay a rather large fine, while also having to follow mandatory counselling, therapy and urine testing with the national health institute. It's the employers' right to choose whether or not to fire Boonen. Quickstep didn't, but they did punish him. So really, where's the double standard?

 

[paul41]

And if he is found guilty by the court, he'll most likely face a conditional punishment, meaning if he does it again, he'll face effective jailtime. So in that way he is treated no different than any other Belgian. And as far as his employer is concerned: he got suspended and had to pay a rather large fine, while also having to follow mandatory counselling, therapy and urine testing with the national health institute. It's the employers' right to choose whether or not to fire Boonen. Quickstep didn't, but they did punish him. So really, where's the double standard?

If he was/is being treated the same as other Belgians than I agree with you.

I do think that ASO still has the right to keep him out if they want though even if Quickstep doesn't fire him (which I agree is their choice). It is their race after all so what we think they should or shouldn't do with Boonen doesn't really matter.

To be clear, you are in Belgium and I am not, you say he is being treated like anyone else would be so I am not arguing that. And with that being the case I agree that he should be able to race.

 

[Jasper]

As far as I know he is treated just like everyone else, only he gets much more media exposure because he's a national hero. That's all.

And ASO indeed has the right to ban everyone they want from their race, but if it now turns out that a test run by a professor that is under direct supervision of the ASO clears Boonen from cocaine usage, they can't possibly keep him banned. That would be like undermining every possible credibility they have when it comes to the anti-doping testing. They might not like the outcome, but I see no other way.

 

[anubisza]

Ultimately it's up to the ASO. It's their race, if they think he will harm their race, they are well within their rights not to invite him.

 

[paul41]

As far as I know he is treated just like everyone else, only he gets much more media exposure because he's a national hero. That's all.

And ASO indeed has the right to ban everyone they want from their race, but if it now turns out that a test run by a professor that is under direct supervision of the ASO clears Boonen from cocaine usage, they can't possibly keep him banned. That would be like undermining every possible credibility they have when it comes to the anti-doping testing. They might not like the outcome, but I see no other way.

I completely agree with you here. I don't think they can have their own people doing the testing say he didn't do anything and then say they will ban him anyway. You are right. At that point no drug test they did would have any credibility.