SpartacusRox said:
I had to laugh when I saw the Patrick Jonker snippet on CN this morning because I knew without even checking what the response would be.
I was correct of course, the response was right down the line of what the posters accuse Lance of.
1. Firstly character assasination of Jonker
2. Dismissal of his comments
3. Immediate assumption that Lance MUST have paid him or coerced him to support his side of the story
4. Inferring that his evidence will be overwhelmed by the weight of evidence from the prosecution.
Most of the usual suspects in there of course and I am sure more of the Lance flame boys will put their two cents worth in during the day.
The reality of course is that Jonker is not just an "old hack" ( I liked that one), he is well respected in the Australasian cycling community.
I am predicting that there will be a number of others like him who will be happy to stand up and support Lance, witnesses with high credibility rather than ex dopers with an axe to grind.
Regarding the more than a few individuals here who claim to have directly heard (or heard of) Jonker using or describing his use of doping compounds, any reasonable person should be able to discern what Jonker is doing with these statements.
Mr. Rox, I understand that some of the sports heroes are on the fast track to anything from sanction to jail, but it is pure contrariety to polarize on things for the sake of doing so.
From my own Danish source, Jonker was a popper on ONCE and Bigmat, for EPO and potblege. Took him years to break off using once he stopped racing... But this is just the whisper from my generally reliable source.
For everyone, the era simply was rife with dope use. Doping permeated and defined the time. The times of guys who thought if 1 was good, then 4 must be better is what caused the health issues. Once it got very refined and bio-science driven, the Ferrari's, Fx's, etc., were able to up the billing to maximize the results and lower the risks.
Today we see a few brave souls, for whatever the reason, run and ring the bell and toss the house lights up, and many just refuse to believe their eyes. For those, waiting out for a decision in a court of law, so they can trust their beliefs on a higher authority, will be the only time they will surmise that Mr. Yellow bracelet essentially stole a decade of racing from fans and clean sports.
If that is what it will take, so be it. in the mean time, polarise away.