Playing God: Eufemiano Fuentes

[Granville57]

It was hard to come up with a better title for this thread than that of this latest CN article.

Playing God: Eufemiano Fuentes

Writer Peter Cossins presents one of the more thorough looks at one of the most elusive culprits at the heart of sports doping.

Arguably the most important figure in Spanish cycling over the past 20 years, Eufemiano Fuentes is reviled by many but views himself as cycling’s ultimate altruist.

[Jörg Jaksche] explained that no one really knows who was working with Fuentes, who he described as “a master of camouflage. None of his clients know about each other. Not even riders on the same team know if other riders are working with him.

 

[luckyboy]

He is, he says, responsible for saving the health – and even the lives – of countless riders who would have been driven beyond their physiological limits by the demands that top-class racing places on them.

I don't want to make it seem as if I'm on the doper's side, but the first thing I thought about was Ricco, and that this has some sort of truth to it.

The fridge on the plane 'key to the Vuelta' thing was a bit weird.

Why would Jaksche be surprised at who didn't appear on the list if nobody knew who else was a Fuentes client? Unless he just meant people he thought were doping.

 

[Granville57]

Why would Jaksche be surprised at who didn't appear on the list if nobody knew who else was a Fuentes client? Unless he just meant people he thought were doping.

Oh yeah, that's definitely how I interpreted that—that he expected certain names to pop up, either based on his own observations or perhaps "whispers" within the peloton.

That "fridge" antidote is pretty alarming. I think I've heard that referenced before, but if that was back in 1991, it just shows how different the climate was. The word "brazen" comes to mind.

 

[Granville57]

I don't want to make it seem as if I'm on the doper's side, but the first thing I thought about was Ricco, and that this has some sort of truth to it.

This too. I'm reading between the lines on that and assuming that he would justify any "procedures" that he oversees as being "healthier" and safer than what any uninformed or careless athlete might attempt to do on their own, or under "less professional" guidance.

 

[la.margna]

[Jörg Jaksche] explained that no one really knows who was working with Fuentes, who he described as “a master of camouflage. None of his clients know about each other. Not even riders on the same team know if other riders are working with him.

I remember well that Birillo (Ivan Basso) was completely convinved that he was Fuentes' only cyclist client!!!

 

[function]

This too. I'm reading between the lines on that and assuming that he would justify any "procedures" that he oversees as being "healthier" and safer than what any uninformed or careless athlete might attempt to do on their own, or under "less professional" guidance.

It might also be due to the physiological effort required if you're at your limit every race (or everyday in the case of GTs), it may very well be healthier in the long run to be on some sort of medical program.

 

[Roland Rat]

It might also be due to the physiological effort required if you're at your limit every race (or everyday in the case of GTs), it may very well be healthier in the long run to be on some sort of medical program.

You know what's less healthy than trying to compete in a GT clean? Trying to compete in a GT clean against doped riders.

He didn't seem too concerned about health when experimenting with EPO in the early 90's. I'd be willing to bet more riders have suffered significant health issues as a result of doping than as a result of not doping.

 

[theswordsman]

It was a really nice piece of journalism. What bothered me the most was that back then they already had pills to put in urine samples to mask EPO, and that he was deciding who would win races. It's hard for me to believe that someone with that type of power and inside information wouldn't place a wager, or have family and friends do it, on the outcome. Why else fix a race?

 

[Roland Rat]

I'm sorry but the health excuse really annoys me. Maybe there'd be some truth to it if they monitored riders' values and them withdrew them from competition if they reached dsngerous levels, but they don't. They either patch them up with a quick top-up and send them back into action, or overfill them to start with. Most doping is like overboosting a turbo engine, and that sure as hell ain't "healthy".

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

It doesn't shock me how protected he is by the Spanish authorities now we know a little more about his family history.

 

[hrotha]

I don't want to make it seem as if I'm on the doper's side, but the first thing I thought about was Ricco, and that this has some sort of truth to it.

Nah, he means riding a GT or whatever drains your energy so much you couldn't stay healthy without PEDs. It's one of his personal mantras (not that he calls them "PEDs" or "dope").

 

[JPM London]

It was a really nice piece of journalism. What bothered me the most was that back then they already had pills to put in urine samples to mask EPO, and that he was deciding who would win races. It's hard for me to believe that someone with that type of power and inside information wouldn't place a wager, or have family and friends do it, on the outcome. Why else fix a race?

Or maybe not him or family, but someone higher in the food chain. It's not exactly news that organised crime connections are supposed to be quite extensive in sports and doping...

 

[roundabout]

I don't want to make it seem as if I'm on the doper's side, but the first thing I thought about was Ricco, and that this has some sort of truth to it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesús_Manzano

 

[luckyboy]

Obviously the kind of experimental doping like the artificial blood that Manzano + Gianetti got was dangerous, but having a doctor do the transfusion and store the blood is better than doing it yourself.

Nah, he means riding a GT or whatever drains your energy so much you couldn't stay healthy without PEDs. It's one of his personal mantras (not that he calls them "PEDs" or "dope").

Ah ok then.

 

[roundabout]

Obviously the kind of experimental doping like the artificial blood that Manzano + Gianetti got was dangerous, but having a doctor do the transfusion and store the blood is better than doing it yourself.

The point is that Fuentes wasn't concerned with health then and even if he was supervised doping is not without it's dangers.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

It was a really nice piece of journalism. What bothered me the most was that back then they already had pills to put in urine samples to mask EPO, and that he was deciding who would win races. It's hard for me to believe that someone with that type of power and inside information wouldn't place a wager, or have family and friends do it, on the outcome. Why else fix a race?

Interesting point. As stealthy as he appears to us now, maybe he did, or benefited from others close and loyal to him who did... ya know, here take this and bet it on ____ and we'll split the winnings.

On the thought of noone knew who was working with Fuentes, I wonder what Armstrong knew (around 2003-2005) when he said something like "watch for something coming out of Spain". I don't have the exact time or quote, but it was during the lead up to one of those Tour's.

 

[Granville57]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesús_Manzano

The saddest part about Manzano's revelation is this:

Immediately the Kelme team denied the allegations and Jean-Marie Leblanc the director of the Tour de France was also sceptical about the allegations. The Kelme officials dismissed his claims as revenge...

The case into doping on the Kelme cycling team was eventually dropped due to lack of evidence.

The same script just gets played out over and over again: A rider confesses; reveals intimate, inside details; team denies; people in authority scoff. Same thing with Flandis, Kohl, Simeoni, etc..

Here's one thing that the detractors never seem to have to face:
If all these riders who call out Fuentes, Ferrari, and whoever else, are really lying, then how is that they know so much about doping? Who educated them as to the substances, methods and the processes? If not the "doctors" themselves, than it would have to be other riders and/or support staff—which points further to team-wide doping.

The implication that any of these riders would exist within some sort of vacuum, and only be an example of some sort of aberration, is what I find the most insulting to my intelligence.

 

[hrotha]

Well, the problem is Manzano himself said he was doing it for revenge. He's not a particularly bright fellow and his PR strategy left much to be desired, but I'm not sure he was concerned about the PR side of things. Anyway, his allegations were the starting point for Puerto and Grial.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

...The same script just gets played out over and over again: A rider confesses; reveals intimate, inside details; team denies; people in authority scoff. Same thing with Flandis, Kohl, Simeoni, etc..

Here's one thing that the detractors never seem to have to face:
If all these riders who call out Fuentes, Ferrari, and whoever else, are really lying, then how is that they know so much about doping? Who educated them as to the substances, methods and the processes? If not the "doctors" themselves, than it would have to be other riders and/or support staff—which points further to team-wide doping.

The implication that any of these riders would exist within some sort of vacuum, and only be an example of some sort of aberration, is what I find the most insulting to my intelligence.

Well, we all know doping has been a problem in the past, and may still be although maybe not as rampant, but the problem is obtaining the evidence to make any charge stick. So Floydisms keep repeating.

 

[luckyboy]

The point is that Fuentes wasn't concerned with health then and even if he was supervised doping is not without it's dangers.

There must've been some incentive to keep them healthy - so they would keep coming back.

Agree that it can still be dangerous, yeah.

 

[roundabout]

Also, I could be mixing up the doping docs here, but as far as i remember Fuentes also got a cut from the prize money his clients earned.

Although that could have been (still is?) Ferrari, another one of the the health-conscious practitioners of PEDs.

 

[JPM London]

There must've been some incentive to keep them healthy - so they would keep coming back.

Agree that it can still be dangerous, yeah.

The most important thing in business - getting repeat customers...

 

[thehog]

The most important thing in business - getting repeat customers...

Barcelona, Spain — Barcelona says Spain's supreme court has drastically cut French newspaper Le Monde's fine for linking it to a doctor involved in one of cycling's biggest Doping scandals.

The Spanish champions say in a statement that although Le Monde's appeal against the club's successful defamation suit in 2008 was rejected on Monday, the fine was reduced from €300,000 ($450,000) to €15,000 ($20,500) plus court costs.

Le Monde was also ordered to publish a copy of the court's decision in print and online.

Le Monde wrote in December 2006 that it had seen handwritten notes by Eufemiano Fuentes over "preparation plans" for Barcelona and Real Madrid. Fuentes was previously arrested in Operation Puerto — Spain's biggest Doping investigation.

http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/v...42e8a3d13d66e88ef142/SOC--Barcelona-Le-Monde/

 

[Paco_P]

It doesn't shock me how protected he is by the Spanish authorities now we know a little more about his family history.

His family history, as recounted in the article, didn't sound all that special, and based on what I read it doesn't sound to me like the explanation for the treatment he has received.

Here's my effort at explaining his treatment:
1. Spanish legal system: The Spanish legal system has a lot of serious problems. The most basic are insufficient personnel and insufficient resources. Most documentation is still not digitized. "Database" means stacks of 500 cases on the floor in someone's office. The municipal courts in Madrid use a parking garage to store evidence. The backlog is horrendous. In this context, the preoccupation of judges is with ordinary crime - robbery, rape, murder, beatings - and not with sports crimes.
2. Corruption: There is undoubtedly corruption in the Spanish police and judiciary. Spain is the principal port of entry for cocaine, hash, etc. to Europe. There are well established smuggling networks that depend on "owning" some part of the relevant legal and police structure. That Fuentes has access to some such network seems plausible, although purely hypothetical.
3. Political interference in judiciary: A serious problem, related to 1. above, is that the judiciary is susceptible to political pressure. Judges respond directly to political actors, and the judiciary is not independent of the political part of the government.
4. Spanish culture: After Franco there was a tremendous psychological need to feel a part of Europe, to feel a "big country" like France or Germany. Success by Spanish athletes contributed to a sense of "we've made it to the bigtime". This was solidified by winning the World Cup, and has been pulverized by the recognition that Spain is just a colony with its currency pegged to the Deutschmark, but has played a huge factor in the tendency to excuse all accusations of doping against Spanish athletes. In no sport have Spaniards had more success than they have had in cycling.

 

[Cobblestoned]

Life after OP

http://www.elcorreo.com/vizcaya/v/2.../vidas-despues-operacion-puerto-20111219.html