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State of Peloton 2023

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Nick2413

Dec 2, 2020
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Wout will be even more freakish and this will be his peak year, finally winning a monument other than MSR and likely multiple. My bet is he will double Flanders and PR.

UAE will be flying even more than Jumbo and Ineos.

I think it’s about time for a big bust to occur, several riders in one of the premier teams will go down and it may turn into wildfire from there.
 
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Bolder

Jun 25, 2015
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I dunno, looking back on 2022 you could argue that some progress has been made in the anti-doping fight, with both MAL and Nairoman apparently toxic for everyone despite no AAF etc. At one point they were among the 5 biggest GT stars.

I expect more of the same -- riders who have been questionable will be taken down as collateral damage rather than as a result of testing/whereabouts issues. Would also like to see tramadol on the banned list given the news on the site about the Spanish U-23 champion.
 
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Nick2413

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Bolder

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So MAL is in the domestic Colombian scene now. I find that sad, in a way, although as noted elsewhere he has only himself to blame, through bad decisions involving attitude and associates, at the very least.

But this is also why doping culture is so toxic. A rider of his obvious talents, managed correctly and riding clean (or at least keeping it on the down low), should be on a long-term contract at a top 5 WT team. Instead he's gotten ensnared in police investigations, pissed off the only Spanish-language speaking team in the peloton, and got booted from...Astana.
 
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Mayomaniac

Mayomaniac

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Bolder said:
So MAL is in the domestic Colombian scene now. I find that sad, in a way, although as noted elsewhere he has only himself to blame, through bad decisions involving attitude and associates, at the very least.

But this is also why doping culture is so toxic. A rider of his obvious talents, managed correctly and riding clean (or at least keeping it on the down low), should be on a long-term contract at a top 5 WT team. Instead he's gotten ensnared in police investigations, pissed off the only Spanish-language speaking team in the peloton, and got booted from...Astana.
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At least there is the potential that the whole situation could blow up in your face. Nobody wanting to touch Nairo on the other hand is comical. He wasn't even banned, since it's a substance that wasn't banned by Wada at the time. Compare that with the numerous guys on who had short bans for abusing asthma meds (Ulissi and Simon Yates are probably the most prominent names, since Froome got an get out of jail card) and all the various staff members and higher ups on teams who have been banned for doping/were involved in more than one doping scandal and the idea that you won't touch Nairo because bad PR becomes rather absurd.
 
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Bolder

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Mayomaniac said:
At least there is the potential that the whole situation could blow up in your face. Nobody wanting to touch Nairo on the other hand is comical. He wasn't even banned, since it's a substance that wasn't banned by Wada at the time. Compare that with the numerous guys on who had short bans for abusing asthma meds (Ulissi and Simon Yates are probably the most prominent names, since Froome got an get out of jail card) and all the various staff members and higher ups on teams who have been banned for doping/were involved in more than one doping scandal and the idea that you won't touch Nairo because bad PR becomes rather absurd.
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Quintana managed to have 2 clinic-related incidents of bad PR at the TdF at Arkea, with the raids in 2020 ? or was that 2021? That's really bad for a French team -- you have tens of millions of people paying attention in July. I don't blame Arkea for dropping hm.

Anyway, a careful rider doesn't bring that on his team.
 
Cookster15

Cookster15

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Mayomaniac said:
And even it Italy it wasn't the same as before. The extreme veneration and the Pantani cult really started again only after he had died.
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About Pantani. I watched his feats in the 90s and don't have any difficulty understanding why he was and still is a revered figure. Everyone knew what was going on with EPO then. He was no ruthless Armstrong personality who doped better and manipulated the system. So, was Pantani a super responder or do anything beyond what everyone else was doing then?
 
BR2

BR2

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I don't know, but the winners this year so far seem completely random.
Maybe it's because it's early season, but I am getting the impression that there were a few teams clearly ahead, now the others have caught up. The races are more unpredictable, but not in a way that feels good. I wonder how the season will go on in that regard.
 
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