The "Smash-and-Grab" Doper Thread

[Mayomaniac]

Velits is a good call!
Does Zakarin, aka Soviet Froome, fit the criteria or is him already getting busted as a junior enough to exclude him?

 

[Krzysztof_O]

My pet theory regarding Papa Horner is that he rode paniagua his whole life but before Vuelta'13 he said to himself:
"The end is near so let's have coca-cola, no risk no glory!"
The best climber ever, all things considered.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Does Sella count? He was of course popped shortly after the 2008 Giro, but it wasn't during competition.

I'd also like to nominate Victor de la Parte for every doping related award for being able to beat Sayar in the 2013 Tour d'Algérie, but, unlike Sayar, apparently being clever/lucky enough to avoid testing positive in that or other races during his career (so far).

However a better example for this particular thread must be Igor Astarloa.

 

[Squire]

However a better example for this particular thread must be Igor Astarloa.

I thought about him, but despite being dodgy af, I'm leaning slightly more towards the Devolder award for him. The spirit of this thread, as indicated by OP's examples, is more about ridiculous physical performances I think. Astarloa was strong and no doubt juiced to the gills, but there was also a strong tactical element involved there.

 

[Slavique Nuke]

Let me also suggest Peter Velits' Vuelta podium in 2010. That time trial was crazy.

He got lucky with the weather/wind conditions

 

[MJR]

For me, it's impossible to think of Froome and not think of his motor usage on Ventoux. It was just so laughably obvious.

 

[Squire]

He got lucky with the weather/wind conditions

A minute luckier than LLS and two minutes luckier than Nibali, who started around the same time?

 

[Slavique Nuke]

A minute luckier than LLS and two minutes luckier than Nibali, who started around the same time?

Nibali had mechanical problems, a flat tire

Velits was literally nowhere in the first two intermediate time checks. He was more than a minute behind Cancellara after 31 kilometres

 

[Squire]

Nibali had mechanical problems, a flat tire

Velits was literally nowhere in the first two intermediate time checks. He was more than a minute behind Cancellara after 31 kilometres

Ah, I didn't remember Nibali's mechanical. But suggesting Velits for this thread was just as much about that whole Vuelta. Such a gigantic outlier in his career.

 

[Rico044]

Raimondas Rumšas- a true smash and grab legend.

 

[Froome]

Bahrain before the police raid.

 

[Nomad]

Raimondas Rumšas- a true smash and grab legend.

Good one - you beat me to the punch. And remember on the day he finished on the podium in the 02 Tour, his wife was busted with numerous PEDs in her car that she said were for her mother-in-law. LOL.

 

[Nomad]

Johan Vansummeren winning the 2011 Paris-Roubaix.

Similar career path as Iglinski.

 

[Squire]

Johan Vansummeren winning the 2011 Paris-Roubaix.

Similar career path as Iglinski.

I don't think every surprising one-off result should belong in this thread. A Roubaix specialist with several other top tens in that race getting lucky with race tactics and winning it isn't really in the same category as Padun, Foliforov, Horner etc. if you ask me. But I might just be picky.

 

[Froome]

Nuno ribeiro smash and grab Volta a Portugal 2003. After that, he is suspended for doping.

He returns to cycling. He smash and grab, and wins Volta a Portugal in 2009 again. After that, he is suspended for doping.

He returns to cycling again. He smash and grab as a sports diretor for W52. He wins a couple of times Volta a Portugal. After that, he and his team is suspended for doping.

 

[Nomad]

I don't think every surprising one-off result should belong in this thread. A Roubaix specialist with several other top tens in that race getting lucky with race tactics and winning it isn't really in the same category as Padun, Foliforov, Horner etc. if you ask me. But I might just be picky.

An 5th, 8th & a 9th & nothing else but poor finishes in over a dozen attempts in the Momuments and that's a Roubaix specialist? And speaking of Horner - didn't he have some top-20 finishes in GTs including an 8th at the Tour?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

An 5th, 8th & a 9th & nothing else but poor finishes in over a dozen attempts - and that's a Roubaix specialist? And speaking of Horner - didn't he have some top-20 finishes in GTs?

No, but it's the sort of results that meant it wasn't a huge surprise, that he was able to beat guys like Maarten Tjallingii and Lars Bak.

 

[Saint Unix]

My pet theory regarding Papa Horner is that he rode paniagua his whole life but before Vuelta'13 he said to himself:
"The end is near so let's have coca-cola, no risk no glory!"
The best climber ever, all things considered.

This is some admirable optimism considering the guy rode for Gianetti at Saunier-Duval, Bruyneel at Astana and Shack and was connected to USA Cycling for two decades

 

[Krzysztof_O]

This is some admirable optimism considering the guy rode for Gianetti at Saunier-Duval, Bruyneel at Astana and Shack and was connected to USA Cycling for two decades

According to Teddy Mauro is a good man. He knows him and we don't so who are we to question his opinion?

 

[Squire]

An 5th, 8th & a 9th & nothing else but poor finishes in over a dozen attempts in the Momuments and that's a Roubaix specialist?

Yes, a Roubaix specialist. It's the one race he was perfectly suited for. Other than that Sunday in April every year, he mostly did lead-outs and domestique work on the flat. Being a Roubaix specialist doesn't mean you need to be the best in the world for that race. I would call Bert de Backer and Sebastien Turgot Roubaix specialists, too. My point is that Vansummeren's lucky tactical Roubaix win is not the first thing I think about when the conversation is about riders doping their way to big results and then not doing much before or since.

 

[SHAD0W93]

And speaking of Horner - didn't he have some top-20 finishes in GTs including an 10th at the Tour?

His 10th at the 2010 Tour was thanks to a breakaway, otherwise he’d have finished 17th behind teammates Levi and Klöden. 15th in 2007 supporting Evans, and 13th in 2012 behind teammates Zubeldia and Klöden. Not very promising to suddenly win a GT and dominate it.

 

[Saint Unix]

Although he didn't exactly come out of nowhere with several top 10s in grand tours beforehand, nor did he disappear into obscurity immediately afterwards, with two respectable seasons after the smash and grab which was about as expected considering he was 33 when he nabbed his victory... I still consider it a smash and grab since his other main achievements consist of a couple grand tour podiums and a handful of stage wins, so this particular performance led to the biggest win of his career by a massive margin. If you hadn't clocked it already, I'm nominating Carlos Sastre's Tour-winning ride on Alpe d'Huez in 2008.

Bonus points for doing it in one of the dirtiest Tours in recent memory. Extra bonus points for playing the Miguel Indurain-style nice guy act for his entire career and charming the pesky ADAs into not meddling in his affairs. Absolutely textbook. Chapeau!

 

[hrotha]

Sastre was one of the most consistent GT contenders of the 00s. There's no way he qualifies for the purposes of this thread

 

[meat puppet]

Papi Horner is clean, leave the smirking one-legged bandit out of this!

Does Ugrumov qualify, or was he too consistent throughout his career? True, he was already second in the 93 giro. But a mountain stage, an itt plus second overall in the 94 TDF has to count for something.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Although he didn't exactly come out of nowhere with several top 10s in grand tours beforehand, nor did he disappear into obscurity immediately afterwards, with two respectable seasons after the smash and grab which was about as expected considering he was 33 when he nabbed his victory... I still consider it a smash and grab since his other main achievements consist of a couple grand tour podiums and a handful of stage wins, so this particular performance led to the biggest win of his career by a massive margin. If you hadn't clocked it already, I'm nominating Carlos Sastre's Tour-winning ride on Alpe d'Huez in 2008.

Bonus points for doing it in one of the dirtiest Tours in recent memory. Extra bonus points for playing the Miguel Indurain-style nice guy act for his entire career and charming the pesky ADAs into not meddling in his affairs. Absolutely textbook. Chapeau!

I don't think Sastre belongs here. He won the 2008 Tour, because he was on the strongest team (at least after Saunier Duval had left the race), the fact that Contador (as well as Klöden and Leipheimer) wasn't able to take part, and due to Evans not riding one of his very best time trials on stage 20. That race also had a shorter ITT in the first week instead of a long one, which didn't exactly hurt Sastre.