The money men behind USPS

[reginagold]

So USPS lost international customers during the Lance TDF years? That is interesting. Maybe folks outside the US found it...improbable when the entire USPS team rode on the front day after day. Seriously, hard to explain the decline unless it is directly a negative reaction from the massive TDF coverage.

And now, forever, USPS is associated with massive fraud. They did contract to avoid that.

 

[BroDeal]

So USPS lost international customers during the Lance TDF years? That is interesting. Maybe folks outside the US found it...improbable when the entire USPS team rode on the front day after day. Seriously, hard to explain the decline unless it is directly a negative reaction from the massive TDF coverage.

And now, forever, USPS is associated with massive fraud. They did contract to avoid that.

The idea of postal workers on drugs scared potential customers.

 

[reginagold]

article on those caught in the lance web.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/admission-doping-lance-armstrong-could-110302555.html

 

[thehog]

“I never had one discussion with one coach or one rider about doping,” he said. “And to my knowledge, the guys that were running my program – Mark Gorski (Postal general manager) and (operations director) Dan Osipow – they did not either.”

“People say ‘Jesus, you had to know this was going on because everyone was doing it,’” Weisel said. “That’s not true. I never thought it was. I don’t think many cycling teams were deploying that practice. And we certainly had part of our rider contract where if a person tested positive, they were off the team. We were very explicit there.”

http://m.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2013/01/thomas-weisel-denies-knowledge-of.html?r=full

 

[DirtyWorks]

“I never had one discussion with one coach or one rider about doping,”

Discussions about Edgar Allen Poe don't count? Lie to the press all you like, just like Wonderboy. Why not? No penalty for it.

The allegations have followed that guy around since his early efforts at domestic teams. I know, I know, "no proof." Well perhaps a massage therapist can contribute some eyewitness testimony. If anyone is reading this from the really early days, now is the time to contact USADA.

 

[AussieEdge]

What I read about how his much the cheats had to pay for the drugs, transfusions avoiding testing, coverups etc. I doubt every single racer would earn enough to pull it off....

 

[BillytheKid]

What I read about how his much the cheats had to pay for the drugs, transfusions avoiding testing, coverups etc. I doubt every single racer would earn enough to pull it off....

I think Hamilton went to a prep school that cost a one about half million in today's dollars. He's also from Marble Head, Maine...the yatching capital of the U.S. So you if you wonder why I am a little dubious about who was leading who in the programme...well.

I suppose they're going to make nice now.

 

[AussieEdge]

Yeah I also think of the financial side of doping when everyone tells everyone used to dope when they did

Not every cyclist is a Hamilton & has money coming out of their ears...

 

[cineteq]

"To have the head of the sport [Weisel], who's responsible for enforcing anti-doping rules, in business with the owner of the team that won seven straight Tours de France in violation of those rules—it certainly stinks to high heaven, particularly now, given what's been exposed that happened under his watch," said Travis Tygart, head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency."

http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323783704578246001221628488.html?mg=reno64-wsj

 

[reginagold]

"To have the head of the sport [Weisel], who's responsible for enforcing anti-doping rules, in business with the owner of the team that won seven straight Tours de France in violation of those rules—it certainly stinks to high heaven, particularly now, given what's been exposed that happened under his watch," said Travis Tygart, head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency."

http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323783704578246001221628488.html?mg=reno64-wsj

You mean Hein in the brackets, yes?

Of course no one ever benefited from a big trading firm selectively placing winning trades into a favored account.

 

[Benotti69]

What I read about how his much the cheats had to pay for the drugs, transfusions avoiding testing, coverups etc. I doubt every single racer would earn enough to pull it off....

USPS were selling brand new team bikes to fund the program

I imagine that teams use winnings, team bike sales etc to fund it all.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

"To have the head of the sport [Weisel], who's responsible for enforcing anti-doping rules, in business with the owner of the team that won seven straight Tours de France in violation of those rules—it certainly stinks to high heaven, particularly now, given what's been exposed that happened under his watch," said Travis Tygart, head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency."

http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323783704578246001221628488.html?mg=reno64-wsj

Correction:

To have the head of the sport [Verbruggen], who's responsible for enforcing anti-doping rules, in business with the owner of the team [Weisel] that won seven straight Tours de France in violation of those rules—it certainly stinks to high heaven, particularly now, given what's been exposed that happened under his watch," said Travis Tygart, head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency."

 

[DirtyWorks]

Correction:

To have the head of the sport [Verbruggen], who's responsible for enforcing anti-doping rules, in business with the owner of the team [Weisel] "

+1000

If anything good comes of this, it's that people understand the people in charge of the sport are picking, buying and selling winners since some combination of Wiesel and oxygen vector doping showed up.

The changes required to bring some sense that there's an actual sporting event in bike racing are enormous.

 

[86TDFWinner]

Are you wondering about legal or financial accountability?
Or maybe some moral accountability?

All of them

 

[Benotti69]

The recent coming to light of the business connections of Hein and Weisel, it makes me wonder just how pi$$ed off Armstrong must have been to lose the TdF to Contador. With all the odds stacked in his favour how did he lose?

Wonder does Contador realise what he was truly fighting, not just Armstrong but the whole might of the sport.

It shows the true nature of the IOC that they have done nothing about Hein, McQuaid and the UCI yet and are waiting till it is inevitable. I hope some sports hacks pick up on that.

 

[Oldman]

“I never had one discussion with one coach or one rider about doping,” he said. “And to my knowledge, the guys that were running my program – Mark Gorski (Postal general manager) and (operations director) Dan Osipow – they did not either.”

“People say ‘Jesus, you had to know this was going on because everyone was doing it,’” Weisel said. “That’s not true. I never thought it was. I don’t think many cycling teams were deploying that practice. And we certainly had part of our rider contract where if a person tested positive, they were off the team. We were very explicit there.”

http://m.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2013/01/thomas-weisel-denies-knowledge-of.html?r=full

I mentioned in an old thread of a chance meeting in a Napa Valley winery of a former Weisel partner several years ago.
We were sampling some wine and my buddy at the winery mentioned I had finished a long ride that day. The gentleman, in his 70's (a billionaire it turns out) and I discussed cycling when the others had left the room. He asked what I thought of Lance and his possible reputation. My response was guarded since cycling is personal and most people are not really that interested and stopped at acknowledging his past will catch up with him.
He asked why, clearly interested.
I noted that his early days from the National team, Montgomery Subaru, USPS were common knowledge and I'd known enough of his teamates through those periods to believe him to be questionable. He then admitted that he had been a partner at Montgomery Securities and left because of TW's willingness to take unnecessary (read illegal) risks on IPOs on other transactions. That openned the subject of TW's own racing and the equally common knowledge that he and Eddie B built a Masters team built on both real serious cyclists and did what was necessary to help TW's abilities.
When we talked about Lance it was clear he shared the tainted view of his accomplishments and that view had come based on TW's openness. He wanted to win and felt the old NFL model was the way to go.
Tom knew early and late. He wrote the checks.

 

[blackcat]

^ he wrote the checks.

in George Bush terminology "he was the decider"

 

[hiero2]

So USPS lost international customers during the Lance TDF years? That is interesting. Maybe folks outside the US found it...improbable when the entire USPS team rode on the front day after day. Seriously, hard to explain the decline unless it is directly a negative reaction from the massive TDF coverage.

And now, forever, USPS is associated with massive fraud. They did contract to avoid that.

Nah, idk if anybody else mentioned it - but the USPS decline is directly related to two things - the primary one being the rise of Fedex etc. The 2nd was their shortsighted manner of raising 1st class stamp rates. Totally unrelated to the market - and that means they lost tons of money when they didn't have to.

 

[hiero2]

You know, I have to admit - the depth of the corruption in USACycling (Weisel), and the UCI has actually taken me by surprise. I figured them for "wink, wink" bystanders - but it appears to have been as egregious as - I can't think of a sufficiently dirty example.

Pretty dirty. And ugly. And at the moment, I'm hoping they all end up cooked.

 

[reginagold]

Nah, idk if anybody else mentioned it - but the USPS decline is directly related to two things - the primary one being the rise of Fedex etc. The 2nd was their shortsighted manner of raising 1st class stamp rates. Totally unrelated to the market - and that means they lost tons of money when they didn't have to.

Fair points. Also the continued rise of email and the internet. Who needs paper adverts delivered to your door. It all comes to my inbox, arrrrgh.

Reminds me of Mr. Livestrong's nickname among those who knew of his personal life during the 90s. "FedEx" - their slogan was "when you absolutely positively have to have it overnight.

 

[reginagold]

You know, I have to admit - the depth of the corruption in USACycling (Weisel), and the UCI has actually taken me by surprise. I figured them for "wink, wink" bystanders - but it appears to have been as egregious as - I can't think of a sufficiently dirty example.

Pretty dirty. And ugly. And at the moment, I'm hoping they all end up cooked.

Another post got me thinking about the sometime Wiesel stockbroker, Mr. Ochowicz - at one point in 2006 or so he was both Chairman of the Board of USACycling and receiving a finders/consultant fee for bringing San Francisco based Barclay's/i shares in as sponsor to Phonak.

A bit of a conflict there.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2006...-for-2007-ishares-takes-over-title-spot_10036

 

[UpTheRoad]

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/thomas-weisel-banker-behind-armstrong-says-he-was-unaware-of-doping/?src=recg

Here's another article about the benevolent, grandfatherly Thomas Weisel being duped by the charlatans. He had no knowledge of any of it. He was as shocked as Captain Renault when he found out that there was gambling in Casablanca.

 

[blackcat]

Nah, idk if anybody else mentioned it - but the USPS decline is directly related to two things - the primary one being the rise of Fedex etc. The 2nd was their shortsighted manner of raising 1st class stamp rates. Totally unrelated to the market - and that means they lost tons of money when they didn't have to.

Bureaucracy far too big and unwieldy to be nimble v FedEx and TNT

And it is "relative" nimbleness, not startup nimbleness of fedextnt

 

[blackcat]

Fair points. Also the continued rise of email and the internet. Who needs paper adverts delivered to your door. It all comes to my inbox, arrrrgh.

Reminds me of Mr. Livestrong's nickname among those who knew of his personal life during the 90s. "FedEx" - their slogan was "when you absolutely positively have to have it overnight.

And the entourage called rides at Yellow Rose, "the ride for the roses"

 

[mountainrman]

Interesting article about Weisel in Bloomberg - including 3 incidents in which Weisel appears to have direct knowledge of Doping practise - eg being present at the O'Reilly "cortisone discussion"

http://www.businessweek.com/article...t-s-dot-postal-team-get-charged-with-fraud#p1