thehog
BANNED
Lanark said:Although there were no concrete rumors about this, I was always suspicious about the way Rabo got rid of Dekker in 2008. He was the biggest talent in The Netherlands, with the highest PR value. And suddenly, they didn't allow him to ride any races, and payed a huge som of money to buy off his contract. Sure, they had information that he had dodgy blood values...but so had Menchov, or Rasmussen, and later Barredo. That hardly seems like a confincing reason to get rid of him at all costs. I always had the, completely unfounded, suspicion that Rabobank knew that Dekker was tested 6 months before and that they got tipped off by the UCI that they knew het was using Dynepo, and they were only waiting for the test to be ratified before they could catch him, and Rabo dumped him to Lotto.
Anyway, as a Dutch guy it is interesting to read all these revelations about Leinders. During his reign at Rabobank, he was a fairly unkown guy, only die-hards knew about him. In interviews he always seemed like a very intelligent, decent man. At worst I think most people suspected him of being the kind of docter that would never encourage doping, but knew the riders would do it anyway (like so many in the 90's), and therefor helped them to at least prevent medical problems. But now, it is clear that he was a full on doping docter, giving advice, colluding with the UCI, administering transfusions, inspecting the Human Plasma compound, experimenting to better evade tests. Pretty incredible, on of the most succesfull docters in the peloton, non of his riders test positive, yet a complete unknown compared to guys like Ferrari and Cecchini.
If you wanted to hire one of the best doping docters who has a great reputation, you could barely find a better candidate.
Yes it beggars belief how Menchov spent a career flying under the radar, winning GTs but never getting busted. He had a strong smell of doping about him as well but was Teflon coated. Perhaps until he moved to Katusha.
Dekker on the other hand the UCI would have been fully aware he was doping at Rabo. Sad they snared him. Because he was a young guy and by all accounts was pressured to dope. But yes the UCI probably tipped off Rabo to offload him as he'd gone rouge.
Alas Leinders. I agree he's the perfect guy to hire. Not a black mark to his name but highly regarded for doping. He's your friendly neighbourhood doping doctor. Looks good on the team sheet and can get the job done, doping wise.