The Omertà of Manolo Saiz

[Polish]

The Omertà of Manolo Saiz

Mr Saiz gave an interview recently to Spanish newspaper Diario Vasco
which was covered in the CN article linked here:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/saiz-still-hopes-for-return-to-professional-cycling


It wil be interesting to see how Manolo progresses is in his quest to re-enter the Big League....

After all, most likely, Manolo knows if his former protege Alberto doped or not. Alberto knows that Manolo knows. The UCI knows that Manolo knows. So does the ASO and Mr Bordry.


So, what do we make of his comments like this one:

Saiz said what he finds most difficult to digest is the fact that members of his team still enjoy lucrative careers.

or this one:

“Through 2009 I could not watch a bike race,” he said. “I couldn't. There were two reasons. The first is that it hurts me to see the lies that live in this sport. The second is that I see the riders who rode in my teams and that it is very, very hard to digest.”

Manolo also gently criticises Alberto's work ethic here:

But I don't understand why he did not ride another race after winning the yellow jersey in the 2009 Tour."

Does someone need to give that guy some "hush money"?
Also, Vino was never implicated in Puerto either...but Manolo knows...

 

[icefire]

There's a new interview today in elmundo.es:

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundodeporte/2010/01/16/ciclismo/1263637597.html

Yahoo and Google render it into almost unreadable. The headline reads: 'They stole me the best team in the world'. Google almost got it

http://uk.babelfish.yahoo.com/trans...o/1263637597.html&lp=es_en&btnTrUrl=Translate

http://translate.google.com/transla...dodeporte/2010/01/16/ciclismo/1263637597.html

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

They stoles it from us!!! My preciousssss!

 

[Polish]

Manolo continues to float the idea of Breaking Omerta in this article today in the NewYorkTimes:


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/sports/cycling/27iht-BIKE.html

thanks for the heads up Hab

 

[Escarabajo]

Manolo continues to float the idea of Breaking Omerta in this article today in the NewYorkTimes:


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/sports/cycling/27iht-BIKE.html

thanks for the heads up Hab

Is he going to tell on the people we already know is doping? Of course with the confirmation of a couple of Tour de France champions:
Sastre
Contador

And maybe he knows some things about the Hog that we don't know. Maybe he should share this information after all. That would be fun, I think.

 

[Polish]

Is he going to tell on the people we already know is doping? .

Manolo probably does NOT want to name names - but a generous "donation of $500,000" would not be turned down wink wink.

But if no donations come....he may start playing hardball.

 

[BigBoat]

The money incentive is sort of a one way street moving in the direction of the active riders & teams still racing.

 

[Berzin]

Saiz needs to keep his mouth shut if he wants to be accepted back into the fold of pro cycling.

If he DOES start talking crap, who would it be about? Riders from 5 years ago?

He is only looking at making himself the Jose Canseco of pro baseball. Sure, Jose was certainly right about the steroids problem, but look at him now-forever marginalized.

Meanwhile his boy, Mark McGuire, one of the most egregious perpetrators during the whole steroids era, is welcomed back with open arms.

Go figure...

 

[ak-zaaf]

Also, Vino was never implicated in Puerto either...but Manolo knows...

"Vino doped before he got caught doping"

That would shock the world.

 

[BroDeal]

Saiz needs to keep his mouth shut if he wants to be accepted back into the fold of pro cycling.

He is already being kept out of cycling, so keeping quiet gains him nothing.

Threatening to talk may be a shot across the UCI's bow. He could be warning the UCI that if he is not allowed to come back then he will talk.

 

[Berzin]

He is already being kept out of cycling, so keeping quiet gains him nothing.

Threatening to talk may be a shot across the UCI's bow. He could be warning the UCI that if he is not allowed to come back then he will talk.

The UCI has no reason to be afraid of Saiz. What could he possibly say that could hurt them? And even if he does blow the whistle, with what integrity could he possibly do so with the reputation he has and the shenanigans he was involved in?

Just look at the history of whistle blowers in cycling the last few years. You'll get a few dominoes to fall here and there, but the institutions remain firmly in place, consolidating their positions of power and influence.

 

[CycloErgoSum]

The UCI has no reason to be afraid of Saiz. What could he possibly say that could hurt them? And even if he does blow the whistle, with what integrity could he possibly do so with the reputation he has and the shenanigans he was involved in?

Just look at the history of whistle blowers in cycling the last few years. You'll get a few dominoes to fall here and there, but the institutions remain firmly in place, consolidating their positions of power and influence.

+1

When it comes to corruption and vendetta, the UCI et al put the Albanian mafia to shame.

 

[BroDeal]

The UCI has no reason to be afraid of Saiz. What could he possibly say that could hurt them? And even if he does blow the whistle, with what integrity could he possibly do so with the reputation he has and the shenanigans he was involved in?

Just look at the history of whistle blowers in cycling the last few years. You'll get a few dominoes to fall here and there, but the institutions remain firmly in place, consolidating their positions of power and influence.

The UCI has shown itself to only be concerned about appearances. The organization does not give a damn if people dope; it just wants to maintain a facade of sporting legitimacy. This is not an organization that will sit by and let Saiz dig up skeletons from the last twenty years if it can prevent it.

Saiz knows where the bodies are buried. He could give a vast amount of information that would give the press a field day. A large number of top cyclists passed through ONCE/Liberty Seguros. Just Saiz confirming the involvement in doping of Contador and Sastre would be a huge blow against cycling. He would be able to elaborate on tip offs in the testing process that Manzano has talked about. It is ludicrous to think that Saiz could not cause a huge stink that would linger for years.

Information from whistleblowers is cumulative. It continues to add up. Everyone who comes forward chips a little more from cycling's credibility. Eventually the facade will have too many cracks for the UCI to continue to with their current charade.

 

[poupou]

Saiz could explain how they learned to dope with the help of some lab.

he could say too how team escaped OOC testing with the complicity of UCI boys.

And probably he still knows how the system works today, who are the main suppliers,...

I am pretty sure that he has still good old friends ready to help him to push others under bus to avoid to be pushed under the same bus.

 

[Race Radio]

the fact that Siaz used to get advanced warning of OOC testing from the UCI is not something that many would like to be public

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

This title should read “The Blacklisting of Manolo Saiz”. It seems to me he was integrated in the sport as much as anyone. He always upheld the omerta, before OP and since. However, he became such a hot topic associated with doping that he was blacklisted from the sport.

This leads me to believe what BroDeal said is completely correct. He wants back in and feels that there are forces under the table keeping him from managing a team, and if those aren't removed and he's giving another chance (or a lot of $$$?) he'll start talking about all the dirt under the rug, and I'm sur he knows as much as anyone.

I'd say the odds are pretty good he ends up managing a new team in 2011.

 

[ChrisE]

Saiz could explain how they learned to dope with the help of some lab.

he could say too how team escaped OOC testing with the complicity of UCI boys.

And probably he still knows how the system works today, who are the main suppliers,...

I am pretty sure that he has still good old friends ready to help him to push others under bus to avoid to be pushed under the same bus.

Sheesh. Refrigerated motorcycle panniers and now using labrador retrievers to escape detection. I don't remember Joe Papp saying anything about this.

Can you provide a source/link?

 

[Escarabajo]

The UCI has shown itself to only be concerned about appearances. The organization does not give a damn if people dope; it just wants to maintain a facade of sporting legitimacy. This is not an organization that will sit by and let Saiz dig up skeletons from the last twenty years if it can prevent it.

Saiz knows where the bodies are buried. He could give a vast amount of information that would give the press a field day. A large number of top cyclists passed through ONCE/Liberty Seguros. Just Saiz confirming the involvement in doping of Contador and Sastre would be a huge blow against cycling. He would be able to elaborate on tip offs in the testing process that Manzano has talked about. It is ludicrous to think that Saiz could not cause a huge stink that would linger for years.

Information from whistleblowers is cumulative. It continues to add up. Everyone who comes forward chips a little more from cycling's credibility. Eventually the facade will have too many cracks for the UCI to continue to with their current charade.

+1........................

I hope the UCI turns the back on him, so he can start talking.

He would not only talk about riders, but also talk about coaches and UCI representatives. As far as whistleblowers are concern, this one would be the biggest one, IMHO.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Sheesh. Refrigerated motorcycle panniers and now using labrador retrievers to escape detection. I don't remember Joe Papp saying anything about this.

Can you provide a source/link?

Sure.... Knock yourself out ....but it wasn't Joe Papp, it was Jesus Manzano...
....
On a private note ChrisE (and even though I often disagree with your views and in particular your tone - I do respect your opinion and you often ask great questions) the most dastardly thing you ever wrote on this forum was how "we all have high speed internet access" (in relation to Sandro Donati) ....
I couldn't F*&kin answer you as my connection kept failing! Even now I am here with a single bar of coverage - which I have robbed from someone who has failed to secure their wireless access - yet grateful.... (How did I ever travel before without full internet access?!)

 

[Escarabajo]

Sure.... Knock yourself out ....but it wasn't Joe Papp, it was Jesus Manzano...
....

Gosh, I never actually read it. I thought I knew evrything about what Manzano said. This is the most telling thing:

Even better, I remember one time Viru had acquired Russian EPO and wanted to know the purity of it before he used it. And so he gave a vial of it to this clinic and had them confirm it was good. An important detail, this laboratory is still accredited by the UCI. When I talk about the mafia, I don't use this word lightly.”

And even more, The Hog always knew when the vampires were coming:

“The owner of this clinic, a renowned haematologist, called Walter Viru, who is one of the doctors for Kelme, [in order] to alert them the day before the UCI vampires were coming to take the samples from the cyclists. And he did the same thing with Del Moral, the doctor for the US Postal team and then Discovery, [who is] a good friend of his.

No wonder why Lance now has to take showers before a doping control. he needs more time. Before he had a day or two.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Just look at the history of whistle blowers in cycling the last few years. You'll get a few dominoes to fall here and there, but the institutions remain firmly in place, consolidating their positions of power and influence.

Yep. Well said.

 

[python]

This title should read “The Blacklisting of Manolo Saiz”. It seems to me he was integrated in the sport as much as anyone. He always upheld the omerta, before OP and since. However, he became such a hot topic associated with doping that he was blacklisted from the sport.

This leads me to believe what BroDeal said is completely correct. He wants back in and feels that there are forces under the table keeping him from managing a team, and if those aren't removed and he's giving another chance (or a lot of $$$?) he'll start talking about all the dirt under the rug, and I'm sur he knows as much as anyone.

I'd say the odds are pretty good he ends up managing a new team in 2011.

i don’t believe saiz will ever manage a ptlevel team again.
not that hes any less deserving than riis or bruyneel or lefevre. they all are from the same generation and used the same methods. the difference being he was less lucky, got severed completely whilst the others managed to keep afloat. ask berto: any wheel always takes more energy to get rolling than keep rolling. no amount of spilled beans will get him the team because the uci licensing decisions are not made by one person and are a cesspool of europolitics . b/c a threat is easily countered by the flood of potential law suits and he knows it. b/c several things need to line up perfectly for that to happen aside from his uncompromising domineering personality that btw is a hindrance in of itself.

he may write a book, give an interview here and there but his time in big cycling is over. he isn’t likely to gain much by blowing a whistle. but he sure can lose whatever he managed to keept post-op. saiz the iranian coach sounds about right

 

[BroDeal]

i don’t believe saiz will ever manage a ptlevel team again.

How would Saiz get a ProTour team? It's not like there are slots available. His biggest hurdle may be money. Any potential sponsor has options other than Saiz and the baggage that comes with him. Why sponsor Saiz when you could sponsor Saxo or Caisse or another team that is already established?

 

[sherer]

can't remember who it was who said it but one rider said the main problem with doping was that all the old school DSs had it ingrained in them to dope. If Saiz does come back then it shows that no one really cares about changing this.

If he spills the beans on dopers who cares I want a clean sport. Surely if he has this info the UCI and WADA should be ringing him up now to get this info and help clean up the sport. Is that their job ?

 

[Escarabajo]

can't remember who it was who said it but one rider said the main problem with doping was that all the old school DSs had it ingrained in them to dope. If Saiz does come back then it shows that no one really cares about changing this.

If he spills the beans on dopers who cares I want a clean sport. Surely if he has this info the UCI and WADA should be ringing him up now to get this info and help clean up the sport. Is that their job ?

Remember the Movie Untouchables. Towards the end of the movie when Kevin Costner said to the Attorney: "He was in the list".

Well here it is the same thing; the UCI can not give him a ring to get info to clean the sport because "They are in the List".