I agree -- All the young or youngish riders who have left a mark this season were pegged early on for greatness or have shown steady progression -- Bernal, Sivakov, Ciccone, MVDP, WVA, Alaphilippe (still 26 or maybe just 27), Remco, Ivan Sosa, Pogacar, Lambrecht, Carapaz. Roglic etc -- there really haven't been any "Where'd HE come from" moments.
In fact looking back on that list, it's incredible how many strong young riders there are right now. I'm under no illusions that they're all clean, but "cleanish" would be OK with me, tbh, because one bust triggers a domino effect of "well, if he was dirty, than so must rider x,y.z"
Regarding a coverup of positives -- that's something we can only speculate on. I'm probably naive but I'd like to think it's not the UCI's modus operandi.
Yes, I think maybe you’re naive on that point—it’s certainly well beyond speculation. We have several episodes where the UCI has actively covered up positives...Armstrong and Contador for starters, plus charges of attempted bribes, etc. When positive tests of top riders magically disappear...I’m not buying it.
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