State of the Peloton 2025

[pastronef]

tbf Kimmage can't believe that's happening. I think he lost hope, and Ineos not winning anymore had calmed him and all the "antidopers(antiSky). it's Christmas every day for him and friends since the news broke, yippii!!

 

[Rob5091]

UCI confirms Tolhoek ban -
https://velo.outsideonline.com/news/antwan-tolhoek-receives-4-year-ban-for-anabolic-steroids

Dutch climber Antwan Tolhoek was slapped with a four-year ban after testing positive for anabolic androgenic steroids, the UCI confirmed Wednesday. Tolhoek — who formerly raced with Jumbo-Visma and Trek-Segafredo — tested positive for anabolic steroids in November 2023 in an out-of-competition control. ...Tolhoek, 31, is facing ineligibility from February 7, 2024, through February 6, 2028, officials said.

Previous post -
https://forum.cyclingnews.com/threads/state-of-the-peloton-2024.39391/page-3#post-2954654

 

[houtdffan]

I wonder if Mapei and the Bank Robbers got a Mayo-like UCI letter to tone things down a bit, whereas Saunier-Duval are still going full steam ahead?

 

[Mayomaniac]

I wonder if Mapei and the Bank Robbers got a Mayo-like UCI letter to tone things down a bit, whereas Saunier-Duval are still going full steam ahead?

I was thinking about that one too. Or the rest is really struggling to find anything to replace the monoxide sniffing, while UAE is still doing good old transfusions, not having to fear a passport violation notification because their backers are pretty much paying off the UCI by hosting all kinds of cycling WCs over the next few years (e-cycling, urban cycling, master's/granfondo, track and RR WC).

Honestly, overall so many guys underperformed, from a numbers perspective it was slow. The 4 guys who finished behind Nibali in 2014, Pinot, Majka Peraud and TJVG, where all faster than Vauquelin and Evenepoel.

 

[houtdffan]

I was thinking about that one too. Or the rest is really struggling to find anything to replace the monoxide sniffing, while UAE is still doing good old transfusions, not having to fear a passport violation notification because their backers are pretty much paying off the UCI by hosting all kinds of cycling WCs over the next few years (e-cycling, urban cycling, master's/granfondo, track and RR WC).

Honestly, overall so many guys underperformed, from a numbers perspective it was slow. The 4 guys who finished behind Nibali in 2014, Pinot, Majka Peraud and TJVG, where all faster than Vauquelin and Evenepoel.

the CO had to be stopped. That literally is the same gas that was used at TREBLINKA in WW2!

Think about how crazy that was last year. Now, just need to keep the playing field level by stopping Saunier-Duval from doing whatever they are doing

 

[Forever The Best]

To be fair even Pogacar wasn't on last years absolute level (Plateau de Beille, Isola 2000 as well IIRC), but Vingegaard and Evenepoel were much worse.

Leads another question about what was going on last year, and why Pogacar got affected less by what happened over the year.
At least this was a performance humanly possible with normal doping as Riis showed unlike Plateau de Beille last year which really raised questions of motors.
Maybe the difference between the 2 years is the ban of carbon monoxide.