Levi Leipheimer

[More Strides than Rides]

Levi post 2007 cleanliness is probably safe from any evidence provided in the LA case file. They were not interested in 2008 without LA, so he gets a pass. In 2009, he was able to escape the Astana medical waste incident as he crashed out. Alot of the evidence dug up from the rest of 2009 is medical stuff unique to LA, I believe (like the ABP profile mess). Other stuff I can't remember the year specifically, but as it focused on LA, Levi would have really messed up to show up on USADAs peripheral vision.

My point is, any opportunity for evidence showing Levi to have perjured himself would come from the Bruyneel case, from his years at Astana and RS. So it is a "wait and see", for his clean post 2007 comment

 

[trailrunner]

Also I think the wrong message is being sent by QSPS--what I hear is Talk and You're Fired.

Don't dope. Then you have nothing to talk about.

 

[Caruut]

Don't dope. Then you have nothing to talk about.

How very constructive. You seem to be living in some bizarre utopia where a murky sphere of life can be cleared up by holier-than-thou saints alone.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Don't dope. Then you have nothing to talk about.

Except where you'll find a job after OPQS fires you for poor performance.

 

[Microchip]

Why is he called "Bottle"?

 

[ElChingon]

Why is he called "Bottle"?

He's nothing more than a glorified bottle fetcher for Lance. Started when he re-signed for Joe-Han and Lance came back.

Refer to Toto Cartoons, its all there. Over at NYVelocity.com

 

[Carols]

OT: Carols - has the "Evidence Links only" met your requirements?

Thanks for your hard work; nicely done. One stop shopping

 

[ggusta]

Why is he called "Bottle"?

the forum probably needs a wikipedia site, i'll take a fuzzy cliff's notes stab at it but I know I won't get it more than 85% accurate and then 7 or 8 people will jump in correcting me (which is fair), essentially lance called him that, as in 'give me a water bottle, slave boy' but just looked at him and said 'bottle', as in, who cares what your name is or if you even have one, you are here to serve my needs like a tool.

 

[hfer07]

damn- life has tuned against little Leipheimer......

busted & unemployed....

 

[veganrob]

How very constructive. You seem to be living in some bizarre utopia where a murky sphere of life can be cleared up by holier-than-thou saints alone.

Don't think trailrunner believes we, or himself, lives in some sort of bizarro utopia world. Bizarro, you bet. Utopia, never happen. There are many more emotions and reasons and for some very difficult and maybe even agonizing decisions when one joins the doping world.

However, trailrunners comments are 100% correct.

 

[Microchip]

the forum probably needs a wikipedia site, i'll take a fuzzy cliff's notes stab at it but I know I won't get it more than 85% accurate and then 7 or 8 people will jump in correcting me (which is fair), essentially lance called him that, as in 'give me a water bottle, slave boy' but just looked at him and said 'bottle', as in, who cares what your name is or if you even have one, you are here to serve my needs like a tool.

He's nothing more than a glorified bottle fetcher for Lance. Started when he re-signed for Joe-Han and Lance came back.

Refer to Toto Cartoons, its all there. Over at NYVelocity.com

I see. Yes, I saw the reference to Bottle over at the Toto toons, but didn't know the origin. Like a waiter - "Cheque!" and they scuttle over. I still like Levi, and a lot more than Lance too (if I did like him).

How demeaning. Did Levi ever happen to drop the bottle "accidentally" when handing it over? I hope.

 

[ElChingon]

maybe Usa team and Usa races, just like Mancebo. Specialized deal to come with to the team that hires him.

For it to be like Mancebo, Levi would have to sign for an almost defunct sub par Conti Team based out of Portugal where the aging and not so good Spanish cyclist end up.

 

[Caruut]

However, trailrunners comments are 100% correct.

I wasn't disputing their accuracy, merely their relevance.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Don't think trailrunner believes we, or himself, lives in some sort of bizarro utopia world. Bizarro, you bet. Utopia, never happen. There are many more emotions and reasons and for some very difficult and maybe even agonizing decisions when one joins the doping world.


However, trailrunners comments are 100% correct.

Except that you can bet your life there are a ton of non US riders right now who are keeping their heads down, denying everything, expressing "great surprise" at the terrible things that USPS did (see for instance, O'Grady and Pevenage) and keeping their results and their jobs and hoping to hell the whole thing blows over before it gets to them.

 

[Ripper]

Sacking LL is myopic. The issue is beyond LL and the message sent is counterproductive.

For those who think it was performance related, the team should consider that to be a sunk cost and they reacted too late.

The irony of OPQS management's history and this action is pretty strong. It does illustrate an interesting difference between their reaction and Garmin's. Indicative of the European peloton's ongoing omerta?

Also interesting that Tygart noted the team was informed of the USADA investigation and LL's involvement "months ago".

 

[Tinman]

Tygart condemning LL sacking. Unusual but necessary for him to speak out.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/10/news/tygart-code-of-silence-claimed-leipheimer_261684

 

[Sarcastic Wet Trout]

Tygart lays the smackdown again:

Tygart said the Belgian team’s statement that it had only recently learned of Leipheimer’s past doping as part of his testimony to USADA was “absolutely not true,” adding that Leipheimer and a USADA attorney told the team months ago of the investigation, and of Leipheimer’s role.

“To say they were unaware is inaccurate,” Tygart said.

 

[taiwan]

Calling out Lefevre, nice.

 

[webvan]

Good move by Trygart, in spite of having to be upset about Levi's "incomplete" affidavit. On the other hand it's not like Levi is 27 right, he needs to stop at some point and it would have been smarter of him to announce he was retiring, like Hincapie and Barry.

 

[ToreBear]

Hmm, Omega pharma lotto quickstep. What a heritage this team has.
http://captaintbag.tumblr.com/post/...fuggs-daniel-de-neve-need-an-altitude-tent-at
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/italian-drug-squad-seize-altitude-device-after-hotel-raid

Who uses an altitude tent during a 3 week GT? Perhaps we should ask doctor Ferrari?


And what staff!
http://quickstepcycling.eu/en/team/staff
Patrick Lefevere
http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/jan07/jan23news2

And so many doctors:

Toon Cruyt
José Ibarguren Taus
Helge Riepenhof
Yvan van Mol
Joris Van Roy

Well they seem to like doctors, and seem to replace them frequently:
http://www.bicycle.net/2007/fired-lotto-doctor-dr-sam-vermeire-defends-himself

Anyway only two of the current docs, caught my immediate attention:
Yvan van Mol
http://cyclingheroes.tripod.com/cyclingheroes.english2/id717.html

And perhaps with a longer list of "merits":
José Ibarguren Taus:
http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=16835
http://www.dimspace.co.uk/joseibargurentaus.html
http://www.dopeology.org/people/José_Ibarguren/

I havent googled the others. Perhaps there is something up with them too?

So here we have a team with 2 unlucky doctors(so much doping about when they happened to be closely connected). Or doping docs, might also be a term one could justify.

Wouldn't just one doping doctor have been enough?

I like the fact that all the staff are displayed on the teams webpage. Thats a real pluss in regards transparency.

But firing Leipheimer because of his past does set off some alarm bells. They seem perfectly willing to let bygons be bygons with their staff. Could it be that their suspicios medical staffs have current value, while Leipheimer does not.

Should we be concerned about a current organized doping program in a team with two doping doctors?

 

[phanatic]

Omerta Pharma

 

[reginagold]

LL testified against LA, so what. But it's equally testimony against JB. Perhaps that's a special sin amongst the "family" that looks a lot like "doping friends from Belgium." So LL is out. Next question. Tygart though, he's treading on thin ice talking about what should be the outcomes for various riders.

 

[cineteq]

Leipheimer opens up about doping revelations

"I owe it to everyone to be available to discuss it openly to anyone on the street, on a bike, in the bike ships, in the schools, in a cafe, restaurant"

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20121016/ARTICLES/121019642/1350?p=1&tc=pg

 

[skidmark]

Leipheimer opens up about doping revelations

"I owe it to everyone to be available to discuss it openly to anyone on the street, on a bike, in the bike ships, in the schools, in a cafe, restaurant"

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20121016/ARTICLES/121019642/1350?p=1&tc=pg

Interesting. This puts him in a semi-sympathetic light. I'd like to hear more than 'I'm proud of the Vuelta podium and bronze medal' implying they were clean and having him say 'they were clean, yes'. I just have some serious doubt, but at least he's provided a little shred of credible context.

Anyway, I just wish that someone with some money would sponsor a team and hire everyone who's actually talked about this, as an 'eff you' to the omerta crap still going on. Well, I guess the Sunday Times or SCA might be coming into some money soon, wonder if they want to sponsor a cycling team...

 

[hrotha]

Leipheimer opens up about doping revelations

"I owe it to everyone to be available to discuss it openly to anyone on the street, on a bike, in the bike ships, in the schools, in a cafe, restaurant"

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20121016/ARTICLES/121019642/1350?p=1&tc=pg

Oh boy. That's not good for blind and deaf people like O'Grady.

“It was so casually discussed in the peloton,” he said, “no one felt like they were cheating. They didn't feel like they were cheating each other.”

Which is what Landis said, too.