Cue the "B-b-b-b-b-ut, UCI coverup!" card.
Heads up, it will be incoming!
I at least (maybe you?) believe that the UCI coverup and blind eye towards doping started before 99 and continued after his retirement, with a few token exceptions. I have said all along here and elsewhere that the prevailing tendency would be to not catch dopers, due to the adverse affect on the sport vs no AAFs. People want to say that LA had an advantage due to UCI cover....I doubt it because my theory holds water whether we include him or not. Doping = bad press = NG for the public perception of the sport = loss of revenue. Did any other dopers get caught in races that he won, that were competitive? How would that have looked if he was winning 'clean', while his competition he just beat failed tests?
That makes no sense, unless there was this grand coverup we haven't heard about that the whole peloton couldn't dope except LA. One would have to be stupid to think he was the only doper during that era. Even TH and FL I don't believe have stated that LA had an unfair advantage because of UCI.....all we know is LA alerted them to TH and Mayo I believe, and even after that TH has not gone any deeper with the conspiracy. They have both praised LA's ability on the bike as well.