- Jul 10, 2010
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Headline CyclingNews:" Dutch Anti-Doping Commission says up to 95 percent of riders doped in EPO-era
. . . difficult to give percentages but a range of 80, 90 and perhaps 95 percent is in our eyes the truth."
Seems to be considered a good appraisal of "what was"
Marcel Wintels, chairman of the Dutch cycling federation told De Telegraaf that the report “gives us an honest, realistic but also painful insight into how widespread doping in cycling was"
A telling commentary from Boogerd is included at the end of that second article: Boogerd was reluctant to endorse the report’s conclusion that doping has been significantly eradicated in the years since 2008, however. “We’ve had some positive cases again on the Giro and you never know if there’s a new drug on the market,” Boogerd told De Telegraaf. “But let me say this: I’ve seen things that raise eyebrows after 2008 too.”
This actually gives me optimism. It confirms the "common" knowledge about the levels of drug usage in the EPO/dark era. It confirms the timeline of "when it got better". It confirms/validates what we have heard from other members of the peloton - like Johnathan Vaughters.
And, added to that, we have this: Rolland’s Tour build-up has been a troubled one however, and the Frenchman had to hand his racing licence back for eight days after he recorded abnormally low levels of cortisol in additional testing carried out by the MPCC (Movement for Credible Cycling) during the Critérium du Dauphiné.Which, again, is in my eyes at the moment reason for optimism. This confirms/validates the rumors swirling around Europcar after last year's tour - that they would get popped for steroid use. Ok - so, along with the rumor, we have, not a positive, but an unusual result, which is good enough to be a positive for me. So I think Rolland and Tommy have been pushing the envelope, but I'm willing to forgive them for it, at the moment. I think they were already careful, and now will be doubly so, and we haven't even seen a rumor that they were trying to circumvent the O2 vector stuff.
So why does Rolland add to my optimism? MPCC testing popped him. And MPCC is calling Europcar to task for not following the guidelines about pulling Rolland out of action. Rolland's test result seem consistent with pushing the envelope at the lesser end.
What we have here is a LOT of confirmation that
*we are seeing the situation with some reality today,
*we have the peloton, former peloton, and significant sections of the involved parties telling it "like it is"
*we still have some problems, but the tide of energy has changed, and people are calling it when they see a problem.
Imo, the pendulum is swinging back from the end where no one could be believed, to one where most of what we hear is believable, and the unbelievable is exceptional. Which is progress in the right direction.
. . . difficult to give percentages but a range of 80, 90 and perhaps 95 percent is in our eyes the truth."
Seems to be considered a good appraisal of "what was"
Marcel Wintels, chairman of the Dutch cycling federation told De Telegraaf that the report “gives us an honest, realistic but also painful insight into how widespread doping in cycling was"
A telling commentary from Boogerd is included at the end of that second article: Boogerd was reluctant to endorse the report’s conclusion that doping has been significantly eradicated in the years since 2008, however. “We’ve had some positive cases again on the Giro and you never know if there’s a new drug on the market,” Boogerd told De Telegraaf. “But let me say this: I’ve seen things that raise eyebrows after 2008 too.”
This actually gives me optimism. It confirms the "common" knowledge about the levels of drug usage in the EPO/dark era. It confirms the timeline of "when it got better". It confirms/validates what we have heard from other members of the peloton - like Johnathan Vaughters.
And, added to that, we have this: Rolland’s Tour build-up has been a troubled one however, and the Frenchman had to hand his racing licence back for eight days after he recorded abnormally low levels of cortisol in additional testing carried out by the MPCC (Movement for Credible Cycling) during the Critérium du Dauphiné.Which, again, is in my eyes at the moment reason for optimism. This confirms/validates the rumors swirling around Europcar after last year's tour - that they would get popped for steroid use. Ok - so, along with the rumor, we have, not a positive, but an unusual result, which is good enough to be a positive for me. So I think Rolland and Tommy have been pushing the envelope, but I'm willing to forgive them for it, at the moment. I think they were already careful, and now will be doubly so, and we haven't even seen a rumor that they were trying to circumvent the O2 vector stuff.
So why does Rolland add to my optimism? MPCC testing popped him. And MPCC is calling Europcar to task for not following the guidelines about pulling Rolland out of action. Rolland's test result seem consistent with pushing the envelope at the lesser end.
What we have here is a LOT of confirmation that
*we are seeing the situation with some reality today,
*we have the peloton, former peloton, and significant sections of the involved parties telling it "like it is"
*we still have some problems, but the tide of energy has changed, and people are calling it when they see a problem.
Imo, the pendulum is swinging back from the end where no one could be believed, to one where most of what we hear is believable, and the unbelievable is exceptional. Which is progress in the right direction.