Riccò hospitalized for possible kidney ailment

[Anonymous]

Isn't a blood bag generally good for 60 days or so if stored at the right temperature? Reports are making it sound like the duration of storage (25 days?) is the cause.

another story mentioned that he had kidney failure at 14. this could just be his genetics and have nothing whatsoever to do with the transfusion.

then again, it might have everything to do with it and something could have gone wrong -- so he confessed in hopes of saving his life.

 

[luckyboy]

Why are people surprised by this? I don't get it. You think Basso took a ban, then came back and dropped everyone in the Giro while clean?

You think Vino smoked the field in L-B-L clean? Or that Menchov beat a doped DiLuca while clean?

This sport is what it is. Let's not pretend it's something else. We are fans of a manufactured spectacle, but a spectacle nonetheless.

I'm surprised by the turn of events. Not the doping.

 

[Elminutobueno]

If Riccò is banned, specially if it's a life ban, which remains to be seen, does anyone else see Geox-TMC at the Tour instead of Vacansoleil? That could be added to Mosquera's ban, wich is also likely to happen. Vacansoleil could be in serious trouble, wich is sad.

 

[rhubroma]

This is an interesting topic of "whose to blame". Like in all aspects of society, I think we can't place blame entirely on the system, nor on those who play the game within it.

For example take the US housing market bubble that bust and triggered a world wide financial crisis. Now here is a case for which, yes, the lenders were practicing a type of high risk financing that no healthy economy should permit itself, though at the same time, the buyers were all too easily persuaded of a materialism that says they should have something more extravagant than what their real earnings would not otherwise consent.

In our case, the cyclist is certainly the one in the long chain of responsibility that usually takes the brunt of the consequences when caught in flagrante (as also happened to home owners when compared to many of the banks). And is certainly faced with a load of pressure to do what must be done to survive in this profession. For this reason, I can understand the aspect of being the victim of corrupt and illicit system that is more powerful than individuals.

However, and this is a big however, the truth is also that many cyclists, and athletes in general, are types with little moral character and because of their own narcissism, megalomania and ruthlessness are quite willing participants in the doping process.

I have been around many cyclists quite like this, who needed little prompting from the rotten system to dope and were actually quite smug and arrogant about it.

Bottom line is that this is a complex issue, as is anything of a moral and psychological nature, that can't be either superficially or universally explained for all cases. Consequently if it is true that cyclists face many pressures from a system that literally holds their jobs and very lifestyle in an extremely fragile state of certainty while they ride professionally, it is equally factual that many cyclists are morally jerk-offs. Not all of course, though probably not few either. While most certainly aren't innocent lambs either.

 

[roundabout]

If Riccò is banned, specially if it's a life ban, which remains to be seen, does anyone else see Geox-TMC at the Tour instead of Vacansoleil? That could be added to Mosquera's ban, wich is also likely to happen. Vacansoleil could be in serious trouble, wich is sad.

Sad? They made their choice. It's hard to believe that they didn't know who they were signing.

 

[compete_clean]

Charly Mottet, for example? David Moncoutié? Christophe Bassons (who, despite being chased away from the sport by the omertà crew, still had the energy to win a stage at the Dauphiné and get some other decent results)? Sorry, "I'm just a victim of the system!" doesn't cut it.

I'll just add two that I know, Gilles Delion was great amateur and won Giro di Lombardia and a stage of the tour in 1992. Someone told me he quit because of the escalation of EPO accelerated speed.

Eric Caritoux won the Vuelta and stages in the Tour. Completely clean.

 

[Anonymous]

If Riccò is banned, specially if it's a life ban, which remains to be seen, does anyone else see Geox-TMC at the Tour instead of Vacansoleil? That could be added to Mosquera's ban, wich is also likely to happen. Vacansoleil could be in serious trouble, wich is sad.

Whomever the dumbass is at Vascanso that trusted and signed Ricco ought to have his head examined.

Ricco coming back clean? Really?

 

[MarkvW]

Poor Man Doping v. Rich Man Doping

Every rider coming up has to make the choices Ricco made. The choice is NOT just "do I dope?" The choice is "do I dope on the cheap without medical supervision?" This, to me, is why the antidoping fight is vital. The rich, established teams and riders can afford safe doping. Everybody else is scrambling and taking health risks. This is nothing like an even playing field. All the lower levels of the sport are also polluted by this kind of behavior, because the message is that you need to dope to get to the to the top.

Cycling is so filthy.

 

[BotanyBay]

BTW, anyone who wants to know more about the Mapei Center need only talk to "Kid Adrenaline"... Matt Decanio. He'll tell you all about the anti-doping guys at Mapei. Great bunch of guys.

 

[meandmygitane]

If Riccò is banned, specially if it's a life ban, which remains to be seen, does anyone else see Geox-TMC at the Tour instead of Vacansoleil? That could be added to Mosquera's ban, wich is also likely to happen. Vacansoleil could be in serious trouble, wich is sad.

Why would that be sad - they are the ones who hired known dopers. They should've known better, they do know better , shouldn't Vania Rossis story told them something about Ricco? Also the rumors about Hoogerland.

But picking up dopers who might not be caught at bargain prices is too tempting, I guess.

 

[The Hitch]

First, who are the guys widely reputed to have been clean in the last 20 years? Tommy Voeckler, Kenny van Hummel, and who else?

You want to win in this sport, you dope. That's the reality of it. If not, you go do something else. A lot of these guys don't know how to do anything else. If Ricco rides clean, he's dooming himself to pack fodder, a crappy contract, and soon enough, a job handing out Powerbars in the feedzone to those who made the other choice.

Want a different sport? Change comes from the top down.

I agree with much of what you say.

Unfortunately you are wrong. young riders and specifically English speaking riders are definitely clean. We are now entering a new clean generation where young clean riders will ( and already are), boosted by the awesome power of being clean beat, non clean riders.

THe experts says o

Here's a question. If you had to bet your life savings, or a similarly large amount of money on a current cyclist being clean (and I mean totally clean - for their whole career - nothing illegal whatsoever) who would it be?

Cadel Evans, Richie Porte, Peter Sagan, EBH, Hushovd, Kristoff, Lövquist, Jens Vogt, Farrar, Cavendish, Peter Kennaugh, Geraint Thomas, Arvesen, Nicholas Roche, to name but a few.

 

[flicker]

Whomever the dumbass is at Vascanso that trusted and signed Ricco ought to have his head examined.

Ricco coming back clean? Really?

Didn't Ricco and Pieppoli kill Saunier Duval team?

If he killed his new team it would be classic, dumbass liar.

 

[BotanyBay]

Whomever the dumbass is at Vascanso that trusted and signed Ricco ought to have his head examined.

Ricco coming back clean? Really?

My guess is they got exactly who (and what) they wanted.

 

[BotanyBay]

Didn't Ricco and Pieppoli kill Saunier Duval team?

If he killed his new team it would be classic, dumbass liar.

They signed him. They killed themselves.

 

[Anonymous]

My guess is they got exactly who (and what) they wanted.

I tend to agreee. So F them.

 

[ulrikmm]

No-one will miss such teams.

 

[Elminutobueno]

Well, first of all, I prefer to see Geox-TMC rather than Vacansoleil at the Tour.

But, anyway, I think it's sad for a sponsor to see the project fall down after staying at the sport after a 2010 without any GT invite.

My favourite team is Movistar. They will probably have Valverde back after his ban, on 2012, and even if he's a known doper, I don't want such a project to stop because of one single rider who isn't willing to learn from his mistakes. The same could be said about Vacansoleil. But if they are dropped from the Tour and every GT also this year, I won't complain, specially if that puts Geox-TMC in.

 

[BotanyBay]

I tend to agreee. So F them.

I risk a possible ban on this image, so I hope someone else thinks it's on-topic, but seriously, things need to change. Teams need to fall. People need to have their worlds turned upside-down now.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

I risk a possible ban on this image, so I hope someone else thinks it's on-topic, but seriously, things need to change. Teams need to fall. People need to have their worlds turned upside-down now.

I don't get it. Why do you risk a possible ban for this?

 

[Sanjūrō]

I dont blame Ricco, or I should phrase it more as, I dont place the full burden of blame on him. I think this whole thing is more indicative of the pressures of the system, and the scope of actual, unreported doping within the peloton, that a rider feels he must go through such lengths and personal risk, both to himself and to his career, to do it after already having served a suspension and to do it without supervision. I hope it becomes a watershed moment in doping and maybe begins to bring about actual change - from within - but who am I kidding. I simply hope the best for his personal safety and recovery, but expect that this is the last we'll be seeing from him in cycling. Perhaps he'll be the next candid tell-all.

Also, as for the team signing him, I agree with a few others - they got what, and who, they wanted, which goes to my original point. The blame, imho, goes more on the system than the rider, since I am personally certain the nod-nod wink-winks went on behind closed doors. Its why we always see riders proclaiming innocence even when caught so incontovertibly red-handed. There is without a doubt a system in place where contenders are expected to dope, denial systems are in place, innocent even when proven guilty and words like Landis of absolute hypocrisy until the barriers against being absolutely able to speak the truth are broken down.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Well, first of all, I prefer to see Geox-TMC rather than Vacansoleil at the Tour.

But, anyway, I think it's sad for a sponsor to see the project fall down after staying at the sport after a 2010 without any GT invite.

My favourite team is Movistar. They will probably have Valverde back after his ban, on 2012, and even if he's a known doper, I don't want such a project to stop because of one single rider who isn't willing to learn from his mistakes. The same could be said about Vacansoleil. But if they are dropped from the Tour and every GT also this year, I won't complain, specially if that puts Geox-TMC in.

Movistar will soon feature Valverde, Contador, maybe Mosquera. Fan-diddly-tastic. They will go head-to-head with another clean team, Katusha, who will be headlined by DiLuca, and maybe soon enough, Menchov.

A new clean era of cycling awaits.

 

[Met de Versnelling]

I risk a possible ban on this image, so I hope someone else thinks it's on-topic, but seriously, things need to change. Teams need to fall. People need to have their worlds turned upside-down now.

Makes sense to me.

Good old UCI.

 

[Cobblestones]

No, this is on-label. You could try the very detailed Danish Medicines Agency homepage, and use Google translate:

http://pro.medicin.dk/

In the search box, you could enter Eprex, Neorecormon, Aranesp, Mircera, Retacrit.

Look, I don't have the exact information in front of me. You are probably right that in Denmark, all these things are recommended for chronic and dialytic patients (although I couldn't find an entry in the Danish database on Epogen or Procrit). Fact is that nowadays, in the US, a few of them come with a black box warning saying that they're not to be used for long periods. I don't have any old labels etc. in front of me, so I cannot for sure say whether the previous recommended use was for only acute or also for chronic anemia. If the first one, then to use it on chronic patients would be considered off label. If the latter, than not. But in any way, that's history now.

 

[Elminutobueno]

Movistar will soon feature Valverde, Contador, maybe Mosquera. Fan-diddly-tastic. They will go head-to-head with another clean team, Katusha, who will be headlined by DiLuca, and maybe soon enough, Menchov.

A new clean era of cycling awaits.

I also think they will try to get Contador if he's banned, and I don't know what to think about that. I prefer them to win less but in a 'cleaner' way.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Assuming both that he recovers fully, and the story on the front page is correct, I hope the dirty cheating scum bag is in a world of pain for quite some time.