- Feb 20, 2010
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Moller said:
Yup. Salbutamol. Backdated TUE as he apparently justified that he had adequate grounds for it and had made an administrative error on the paperwork for it.
The same thing happened in more plausible fashion two years later to Jimmy Casper.
- Jun 7, 2010
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Well... if I was Mark Cavendish I'd be laughing. There's no point signing if he doesn't want to stay there, so they have to let him go.
I'd love for someone to make a meaningful stand against this nonsense, I just can't see anyone doing this for a good reason though. Yates to retire quietly, Rogers to be transferred, everything forgotten in about a week.
I'd love for someone to make a meaningful stand against this nonsense, I just can't see anyone doing this for a good reason though. Yates to retire quietly, Rogers to be transferred, everything forgotten in about a week.
- May 3, 2010
- 2,662
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benzwire said:
I suspect that the plan is to make Yates the scapegoat a la Saiz when Puerto went down, and ignore the rest. Everyone is asking about Yates and to a lesser degree Rogers but no one is looking at the others - Julich, Porte etc, no one is daring to question Brailsford himself.
Brailsford has been studying the Riis method of dealing with doping scandals and has learnt well. First you feign ignorance, then you act indignant that you've been betrayed, then you do a bit of spin about how tough you are 'sign a pledge, hire an anti-doping expert' and then you go back to normal.
Brailsford isn't part of the solution, he's part of the problem. However, Brits like some medal success so don't expect anything far reaching.
It's the perception/reality thing again.
- Sep 29, 2012
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argyllflyer said:
Curious why you ask this? That TT had a cat 3 climb in it. I am guessing any TT with a cat 3 climb is going to have riders standing at some point.
Final TT in this year's 2012 Tour was pretty much flat.
- Jul 9, 2009
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Kind of like "don't ask, don't tell"? So Sky upholds the Omerta. Wonder what percentage of riders and staff have never doped.
- Feb 16, 2010
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- Sep 29, 2012
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gooner said:
Giggity. After people ripped thehog for not being pedantically precise in his 20 year / 99.99% post, I feel liberated to raise a number of points re this press release.
Compared to: http://road.cc/content/news/31011-dave-brailsford-hints-team-sky-may-be-softening-anti-doping-stance
- Sep 29, 2012
- 12,197
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What exactly are the "risks of doping" for riders?
Where have I heard that before... oh yes here it is: http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=436134&postcount=1
- Dec 30, 2011
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Even subsequent to clearing up the matter of why Sky were capable of performing to such high levels there is still the dilemma of Chris Froome. His rise to the top was not only unprecedented, but in fact it was completely out of the blue and many people would say that there was not even so much as the slightest indication of his talent prior to the 2011 Vuelta.
Logically this would be a clear and very blatant sign as to possible doping; the simple explanation for the ridiculous leap would be due to doping. It was the factor which gave him the ability to perform beyond what he was previously capable of and it has been the cause of his ascension to one of the most highly rated Grand Tour riders who are currently racing in the modern peloton.
But in my opinion and from what I have read and heard about the rider, it seems as if his startling rise to the very summit of Grand Tour racing may not have been all that surprising. Personally I believe that he was hindered by a variety of factors, but behind all his struggles he encountered there was in fact a very talented cyclists waiting for the opportunity to prove his talent.
Froome was born in Nairobi to English parents, without going into unnecessary detail it should be mentioned that he started off racing BMX bikes and was racing by the age of 13, he then moved to South Africa at the age of 14.
It was in fact only once he was living in South Africa that he started to turn his attention to road cycling, but the infrastructure was not ideal and it would prove to be costly. Prior to his arrival in South Africa he had never even ridden a road bike, only BMX and Mountain bikes.
He was coached by David Kinjah who had competed to a decent level himself, but Froome did not receive anywhere close to the training expertise and coaching techniques that many of his rivals would have at similar ages.
It was only then at the age of 22 that Froome became pro, once again considering his talent he should have become pro earlier but it was obvious that he had been restricted by the limited resources that were available to him
Froome's first team was Team Konica Minolta and they were a South African team with limited resources as expected. In his first season he did relatively well a win at the Tour of Japan was followed by a number of placings around the globe as his team charted unprecedented territory.
It was at the Giro delle Regioni where Froome really started to show potential and in retrospect his perfomances were quite remarkable for a rider who was competing with such a distinct disadvantage due to his lack of skills and professional training. He won the primary mountain stage ahead of riders who have now become household names, the likes of Tour de France stage winner Rui Costa and Bauke Mollema who came 4th at the Vuelta 2011 amonst others.
This has been Froome's first real crack at proper European racing and he had taken to it amazingly well considering his limiting circumstances. In fact Froome would have dominated the race if not for his chain braking in the closing meters of the other major stage.
Yet even considering the amazing perfomance Froome has put in, it was not enough. He had been racing for the WCC (World Cycling Centre Team) whilst in Europe and the coach of the team Michael Theze said of Froome that...
It is obvious to us in retrospect that Froome was still far behind the other riders when it came to the technical skills required to race at the highest level and this placed him at a significant disadvantage.
Then in 2008 Froome was eventually snapped up by Barloworld and was therefore under the direction of their Italian manager Claudio Corti, now the manager of Farnese Vini. As would be expected of any neo-pro - no matter their talent - who was only starting out in their career, the season was to be used merely as an eye opener for Froome and for him to truly adjust to the European style of racing.
Yet even so Froome was impressive he finished in the Top 10 in a number of minor races and he safely finished a number of high profile classics such as Liege Bastogne Liege and La Fleche Wallone. His most impressive result though was his 5th place finish in a TT at the Vuelta asturias where he managed to finish a mere 26 seconds behind Samuel Sanchez the soon to be Olympic champion.
Froome was certainly showing signs of his potential. He was then given the opportunity to ride his first Grand Tour - the Tour de France and he battled through it, and then managing to eventually finish 14th on the final stage which was a TT.
If there was ever a test of strength to determine whether Froome had the potential to become a future Grand Tour contender it was this. Without the proper training or techniques and not being used to the rigours of a 3 week race, Froome nevertheless posted what would be considered a magnificent result for any neo-pro. Indeed this had already been proven a few days earlier when he had been climbing with the lead group for the majority of the Alpe d'huez climb.
2009 was a year where Froome seemed not to have made much improvement.
He came 6th in a Giro stage amonst other decent yet not spectacular results.
This was not the progression of an extremely talented rider who would go on to dominate the world of cycling, but rather of a mediocre rider who would remain inconspicuous amongst the pro ranks.
Logically this would be a clear and very blatant sign as to possible doping; the simple explanation for the ridiculous leap would be due to doping. It was the factor which gave him the ability to perform beyond what he was previously capable of and it has been the cause of his ascension to one of the most highly rated Grand Tour riders who are currently racing in the modern peloton.
But in my opinion and from what I have read and heard about the rider, it seems as if his startling rise to the very summit of Grand Tour racing may not have been all that surprising. Personally I believe that he was hindered by a variety of factors, but behind all his struggles he encountered there was in fact a very talented cyclists waiting for the opportunity to prove his talent.
Froome was born in Nairobi to English parents, without going into unnecessary detail it should be mentioned that he started off racing BMX bikes and was racing by the age of 13, he then moved to South Africa at the age of 14.
It was in fact only once he was living in South Africa that he started to turn his attention to road cycling, but the infrastructure was not ideal and it would prove to be costly. Prior to his arrival in South Africa he had never even ridden a road bike, only BMX and Mountain bikes.
He was coached by David Kinjah who had competed to a decent level himself, but Froome did not receive anywhere close to the training expertise and coaching techniques that many of his rivals would have at similar ages.
It was only then at the age of 22 that Froome became pro, once again considering his talent he should have become pro earlier but it was obvious that he had been restricted by the limited resources that were available to him
Froome's first team was Team Konica Minolta and they were a South African team with limited resources as expected. In his first season he did relatively well a win at the Tour of Japan was followed by a number of placings around the globe as his team charted unprecedented territory.
It was at the Giro delle Regioni where Froome really started to show potential and in retrospect his perfomances were quite remarkable for a rider who was competing with such a distinct disadvantage due to his lack of skills and professional training. He won the primary mountain stage ahead of riders who have now become household names, the likes of Tour de France stage winner Rui Costa and Bauke Mollema who came 4th at the Vuelta 2011 amonst others.
This has been Froome's first real crack at proper European racing and he had taken to it amazingly well considering his limiting circumstances. In fact Froome would have dominated the race if not for his chain braking in the closing meters of the other major stage.
Yet even considering the amazing perfomance Froome has put in, it was not enough. He had been racing for the WCC (World Cycling Centre Team) whilst in Europe and the coach of the team Michael Theze said of Froome that...
It is obvious to us in retrospect that Froome was still far behind the other riders when it came to the technical skills required to race at the highest level and this placed him at a significant disadvantage.
Then in 2008 Froome was eventually snapped up by Barloworld and was therefore under the direction of their Italian manager Claudio Corti, now the manager of Farnese Vini. As would be expected of any neo-pro - no matter their talent - who was only starting out in their career, the season was to be used merely as an eye opener for Froome and for him to truly adjust to the European style of racing.
Yet even so Froome was impressive he finished in the Top 10 in a number of minor races and he safely finished a number of high profile classics such as Liege Bastogne Liege and La Fleche Wallone. His most impressive result though was his 5th place finish in a TT at the Vuelta asturias where he managed to finish a mere 26 seconds behind Samuel Sanchez the soon to be Olympic champion.
Froome was certainly showing signs of his potential. He was then given the opportunity to ride his first Grand Tour - the Tour de France and he battled through it, and then managing to eventually finish 14th on the final stage which was a TT.
If there was ever a test of strength to determine whether Froome had the potential to become a future Grand Tour contender it was this. Without the proper training or techniques and not being used to the rigours of a 3 week race, Froome nevertheless posted what would be considered a magnificent result for any neo-pro. Indeed this had already been proven a few days earlier when he had been climbing with the lead group for the majority of the Alpe d'huez climb.
2009 was a year where Froome seemed not to have made much improvement.
He came 6th in a Giro stage amonst other decent yet not spectacular results.
This was not the progression of an extremely talented rider who would go on to dominate the world of cycling, but rather of a mediocre rider who would remain inconspicuous amongst the pro ranks.
- Dec 30, 2011
- 3,547
- 0
- 0
2009 should have been the year when Froome started to excel, but instead it turned out to be a year where he displayed nothing of any true substance. This has resulted in many people believing that Froome does not have the natural talent as his Tour rivals and that therefore the logical explanation for his current status in the sport is down to drugs.
This was what his team manage Claudio Corti had to say at the time. Corti claimed that Froome whom he dubbed his “white Kenyan” would
Clearly Corti had seen what Froome was capable of and believed that he was indeed innately capable. He just was not racing at the level he was capable of racing at, because of the reason stated above, that he was hindered by his lack of technical prowess.
Then Froome joined Sky and his career would be totally altered. Sky had just started up and it took time for him to adjust. The whole set up was new to Froome and from what I have seen and heard it seems to be that Froome was on the outskirts of this setup. The Sky team were not as methodical then with all their riders as they are now and considering how Froome was still considered to be a peripheral member of the squad and therefore not treated with the same respect as riders like Wiggins, his technical skills were still rather poor and this still hindered him. But even more than that the defining reason for his poor reasons in 2010, which were headlined by a Tour de Haut var 9th place, was due to the fact that on Holiday in Kenya he had contracted the disease of Bilharzia.
When Froome joined the team back in early 2010.
This is another indication of people who believed in Froome and that he was capable, but just had to improve his technical skills. And of course get over his Bilharzia.
Yet Bilharzia is an infection by parasites who lay eggs deep within the human body and therefore it is very difficult to get rid off.
Entering into the 2011 season Froome had two objectives if was to fulfil his potential. One was to get rid of the Bilharzia and the other was to increase his technical skills.
Luckily for him Bobby Julich had just arrived at Sky and he was assigned to Froome for the 2011 season. This was the first time that Froome had had the opportunity to work with a coach of Julich’s experience and calibre one to one and immediately Julich noted his riders potential.
Yet it soon became apparent to Julich as to the reason why Froome had underperformed so badly over the past 2 years..
I do not believe there is much better proof than that. It was obvious once again here that Froome had been hindered by his lack of education when it came to how to ride a bike.
Likewise Richard Moore commented on Froome’s website that:
Once again the reference to the way in which Froome rode his bike as being “all over”, clearly highlights his deficiencies at the time.
And finally he was starting to get rid of the parasite disease which had bugged him so much. Indeed he was still adapting and learning with :Julich though and his performances were gradually improving as a result. He came 8th on a Romandie mountain stage. And top 10s at the Tour de Suisse and Tour of Luxembourg. It was not much granted, but it was clearly signs that he had finally managed to overcome his technical difficulties and was shaking off the effects of the Bilharzia. And of course the rest is very much a part of history.
In conclusion I believe it was always evident that Froome had the potential to become a future Tour de France podium finished.
Indeed his results in his 2007 season spoke volumes for his capabilities, yet when he turned pro it was obvious he could not continue to match those riders he had previously beaten unless he could improve his technical skills. Even if people do not believe his claim of having Bilharzia ,and I am in very little doubt myself at to its validity, it would still be safe to say that he was hindered by his lack of technical skills.
It is logical to assume that without those hindrances Chris Froome would have burst onto the scene much earlier than when he in fact did.
Coupled with his Bilharzia he was very much inhibited in his first year at Sky, but gradually once he learnt the tricks of the trade he became the rider he is today.
This was what his team manage Claudio Corti had to say at the time. Corti claimed that Froome whom he dubbed his “white Kenyan” would
Clearly Corti had seen what Froome was capable of and believed that he was indeed innately capable. He just was not racing at the level he was capable of racing at, because of the reason stated above, that he was hindered by his lack of technical prowess.
Then Froome joined Sky and his career would be totally altered. Sky had just started up and it took time for him to adjust. The whole set up was new to Froome and from what I have seen and heard it seems to be that Froome was on the outskirts of this setup. The Sky team were not as methodical then with all their riders as they are now and considering how Froome was still considered to be a peripheral member of the squad and therefore not treated with the same respect as riders like Wiggins, his technical skills were still rather poor and this still hindered him. But even more than that the defining reason for his poor reasons in 2010, which were headlined by a Tour de Haut var 9th place, was due to the fact that on Holiday in Kenya he had contracted the disease of Bilharzia.
Yet the Sky management team had in fact noticed his potential and had in fact described him as
When Froome joined the team back in early 2010.
This is another indication of people who believed in Froome and that he was capable, but just had to improve his technical skills. And of course get over his Bilharzia.
Yet Bilharzia is an infection by parasites who lay eggs deep within the human body and therefore it is very difficult to get rid off.
Entering into the 2011 season Froome had two objectives if was to fulfil his potential. One was to get rid of the Bilharzia and the other was to increase his technical skills.
Luckily for him Bobby Julich had just arrived at Sky and he was assigned to Froome for the 2011 season. This was the first time that Froome had had the opportunity to work with a coach of Julich’s experience and calibre one to one and immediately Julich noted his riders potential.
Yet it soon became apparent to Julich as to the reason why Froome had underperformed so badly over the past 2 years..
I do not believe there is much better proof than that. It was obvious once again here that Froome had been hindered by his lack of education when it came to how to ride a bike.
Likewise Richard Moore commented on Froome’s website that:
Once again the reference to the way in which Froome rode his bike as being “all over”, clearly highlights his deficiencies at the time.
And finally he was starting to get rid of the parasite disease which had bugged him so much. Indeed he was still adapting and learning with :Julich though and his performances were gradually improving as a result. He came 8th on a Romandie mountain stage. And top 10s at the Tour de Suisse and Tour of Luxembourg. It was not much granted, but it was clearly signs that he had finally managed to overcome his technical difficulties and was shaking off the effects of the Bilharzia. And of course the rest is very much a part of history.
In conclusion I believe it was always evident that Froome had the potential to become a future Tour de France podium finished.
Indeed his results in his 2007 season spoke volumes for his capabilities, yet when he turned pro it was obvious he could not continue to match those riders he had previously beaten unless he could improve his technical skills. Even if people do not believe his claim of having Bilharzia ,and I am in very little doubt myself at to its validity, it would still be safe to say that he was hindered by his lack of technical skills.
It is logical to assume that without those hindrances Chris Froome would have burst onto the scene much earlier than when he in fact did.
Coupled with his Bilharzia he was very much inhibited in his first year at Sky, but gradually once he learnt the tricks of the trade he became the rider he is today.
Dr. Maserati
BANNED
- Jun 19, 2009
- 13,250
- 1
- 0
As the cycling world crumbles around him Skys top Agent, Double Oh ***, finds that his enemies may be closer to home then he thought.
After the high stakes of betting on Brad in Casino Royale and the removal of evil Dr. Leinders gave him some Quantum of Solace, 00Shlt tries his most daring PR move yet as he summons each before him to look him in the Goldeneye and pledge an allegiance to Omerta and the Code of silence.
- Sep 29, 2012
- 12,197
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And finally, the chestnut.
Hmmm I have heard this before too... ah yes here we go:
We have no idea what this "clear written policy" from Sky looks like.
JV has a "publicly stated policy" - but noone knows what it is, noone can point me to a copy of it.
He also has an "explicit internal policy": http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/garmin-cervelo-dismisses-matt-white
I'd like to see copies of:
1. Sky's new "clear written policy"
2. Garmin's "publicly stated policy"
3. Garmins "explicit internal policy"
all in the name of transparency. This is not even blood values or power data.
Go.
Hmmm I have heard this before too... ah yes here we go:
We have no idea what this "clear written policy" from Sky looks like.
JV has a "publicly stated policy" - but noone knows what it is, noone can point me to a copy of it.
He also has an "explicit internal policy": http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/garmin-cervelo-dismisses-matt-white
I'd like to see copies of:
1. Sky's new "clear written policy"
2. Garmin's "publicly stated policy"
3. Garmins "explicit internal policy"
all in the name of transparency. This is not even blood values or power data.
Go.
- Sep 29, 2012
- 12,197
- 0
- 0
Froome19 said:
I've read your posts dude, you are copying and pasting that stuff - please provide your source / link.
And thanks for finally outing yourself as a Froome defender. The username gave it away, but "walls of text defense" nails it.
Dr. Maserati
BANNED
- Jun 19, 2009
- 13,250
- 1
- 0
Dear Wiggo said:
This was the public response to Floyds admission back in 2010 - I know you like to lump Sky & Garmin together, hopefully this release will show you that they are poles apart.
Garmin statement:
- Sep 29, 2012
- 12,197
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That's a policy? No. That is a press release. Sky have heaps of press releases. How do I know? Coz it was done in 2010, 2 years after they formed, in response to Floyd Landis.
A policy is created and then readable when you create your organisation. It provides the foundation for your organisation.
Show me one piece of transparency from Garmin and I can show you 10 pieces of opacity.
A policy is created and then readable when you create your organisation. It provides the foundation for your organisation.
Show me one piece of transparency from Garmin and I can show you 10 pieces of opacity.
I wonder if Brailsford will have a word with Dombrowski, persuade him attending the Livestrong love-in is not a good career move. Can he even do it to a still Livestrong-employed rider?
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