"The stars of the Tour 2008 must tremble"

[Mellow Velo]

Bold = who i am pretty sure were doping in 08 tdf

You could of added some more Gerolsteiner and Suanier Duval riders

Not sure Valverde was doping at the 2008 Tour. Not with that form.

 

[craig1985]

Not sure Valverde was doping at the 2008 Tour. Not with that form.

My theory is that until OP hit in 2006, he was rampant in blood doping, after all, he did ride for Kelme, who Dr Fuentes worked for (and how on a training camp for the Vuelta, Manzano said all the good riders went to the local hospital). But come 2007, he started to slow down and his form was patchy. He was getting dropped when they went uphill in the Pyrennes.

I'm a fan of Valverde BTW, I like how he races, at least he is not boring.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

And the funny thing is, since recent/past 2 years dynepo/cera/blood values busts, Valverde is actually performing better than ever.
Last year and this year are his best years in terms of scored CQ Points (CQranking.com) and he finally won a grand tour.
So maybe the sport is getting cleaner, and a clean Valverde is top after all.

 

[issoisso]

And the funny thing is, since recent/past 2 years dynepo/cera/blood values busts, Valverde is actually performing better than ever.
Last year and this year are his best years in terms of scored CQ Points (CQranking.com) and he finally won a grand tour.
So maybe the sport is getting cleaner, and a clean Valverde is top after all.

It's kinda hard to argue the sport is cleaner when the performances on major mountain climbs haven't gotten even the slightest bit worse.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

The AFLD has said that it will release its results Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Susan

 

[workingclasshero]

The AFLD has said that it will release its results Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Susan

could this be it? the real thing? will we see some of the toppest of top cyclists go down on wednesday morning? (i assume that's 10am cet)

would we not have heard some noises coming out by now if a few actually do get raped over this?

can't wait for wednesday

 

[issoisso]

Yup.

An entire press conference just to announce the results basically guarantees something was found.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

The AFLD has said that it will release its results Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Susan

C'mon Susan - just a little hint here - we promise to keep it between ourselves!

I have heard noise that a major ProTour team could be in trouble?

Also - is that 10m CET?

 

[workingclasshero]

Yup.

An entire press conference just to announce the results basically guarantees something was found.

i've been to numerous press conferences mate and not half of them have had much interesting to say

susan doesn't say a press conference either, just that results will be released, could just be a press release then

 

[issoisso]

i've been to numerous press conferences mate and not half of them have had much interesting to say

susan doesn't say a press conference either, just that results will be released, could just be a press release then

I could've sworn I read press conference there the first time I read it. Weird

 

[workingclasshero]

C'mon Susan - just a little hint here - we promise to keep it between ourselves!

I have heard noise that a major ProTour team could be in trouble?

Also - is that 10m CET?

ffs!! name them

 

[sherer]

the thing is we keep reading about retests and samples and then in the end nothing ever happens about it.

If the press release comes out and they are all clean the cynics will come out and say there is a cover up.

Remember Ricco used CERA all the way through the tour and I think only two os his tests can back positive not all of them

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

The German language announcement I read said nothing about a press conference.

Yes, 10 am. CET.

No, I won't give any hints. I don't know anything anyway, and if I did, my responsibility would be to my employer.....meaning you would have to read in on CN first.

Susan

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

(dpa) Die mit Spannung erwarteten Ergebnisse der Doping-
Nachtests zur Tour de France 2008 werden am Mittwoch veröffentlicht.
Man werde an diesem Tag um 10.00 Uhr den Bericht für das vergangene
Jahr vorstellen, kündigte die französische Anti-Doping-Agentur AFLD
am Montag an.

rough translation: The with suspense-awaited results of the late doping tests of the Tour de France 2008 will be published on Wednesday. On this day at 10:00 the report for the past year will be presented, announced the French anti-dopign agency AFLD on Monday.

hm, that makes me wonder whether the AFLD will actually present the 2008 results, or whether some "dpa" reporter just assumed that such results would be included in such a report.

Susan

 

[python]

normally afld’s press releases are published on their site afld.fr. I just checked there is nothing. last release dates to 1/10 about the new wada banned substance list.

 

[karlboss]

As I understand it, officially, it would only change the TdF results. Positive tests during the 2008 TdF would not impact any other results either before or after (say Giro or Vuelta). Now, I don't know if anyone would actually bother to change results retroactively. When you look at the TdF website for instance, Riis is still the winner of 1996 (although for 2006, they have Pereiro), Kohl still has the podium+polka dot from 2008, Astarloza still the 2009 stage 16 win. Also, it doesn't seem that the Giro organizers have removed DDL from their lists.

It's weird but nobody seems to care to update the results. You can't unmake podium photos and media reporting from the event. So you might as well not bother with changing the results. The only instance I know where that has been done is with Landis. Btw. did he ever have to pay back his prize money?

8 years is the time past which you can't be stripped hence riis retains his title, zabel doesn't get banned etc

 

[Highlander]

It's kinda hard to argue the sport is cleaner when the performances on major mountain climbs haven't gotten even the slightest bit worse.

I would actually argue the opposite. While I don't have any power numbers to back this up, it seems as if a fair number of climbs this past year have had somewhat large groups all staying together. We haven't seen the attacks that riders generally put in when they are fully doped up. Look at the Tour this year - how often did any of the big names actually attack on the mountains? Out of the 3 grand tours, I only thought that DiLuca was attacking regularly when the roads turned uphill and we all know his story.

 

[issoisso]

I would actually argue the opposite. While I don't have any power numbers to back this up

But I do.

If you're interested, Antoine Vayer regularly writes extensive articles commenting and comparing the numbers. They're just as high as they've been since the 50% haematocrit limit was introduced in the late 90s. Only 2008 had (ever so slightly) lower numbers.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Yet I still believe the peloton is cleaner, I'm not saying clean.

There's also such a thing as human evolution which means the new generation will ALWAYS be stronger than the old one. With or without the juice.
My point is, you can't deduct from comparing power output of 1970/80/90/00 with now if riders are doping or not.

 

[Cobblestones]

So Wednesday 10:00 a.m. It coincides with the announcement of the chemistry Nobel Prize, doesn't it? Oh the irony!

 

[Dr. Maserati]

So Wednesday 10:00 a.m. It coincides with the announcement of the chemistry Nobel Prize, doesn't it? Oh the irony!

I actually don't think the announcement on Wednesday will be a release of anything to do with the retest- I think the German press may have jumped the gun on this one.

 

[issoisso]

I actually don't think the announcement on Wednesday will be a release of anything to do with the retest- I think the German press may have jumped the gun on this one.

I'm almost certain you're right. Less than a week is far too early for all the samples to be tested and the results relayed.

 

[WildspokeJoe]

The AFLD has said that it will release its results Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Susan

I will be shocked if names are released.

The legal ramifications are staggering to comprehend.

However, if they do, I will applaud.

 

[Highlander]

But I do.

If you're interested, Antoine Vayer regularly writes extensive articles commenting and comparing the numbers. They're just as high as they've been since the 50% haematocrit limit was introduced in the late 90s. Only 2008 had (ever so slightly) lower numbers.

I'm not sure what this has to do with power production since hemocrit levels deal with blood - not what the rider is producing on the bike. Even when commentators do offer their own assessments on the riders' power outage, these remain open to interpretation since there are so many variables in calculating them. Unless we actually get the readings from the power meters themselves, too much of it remains conjecture.

 

[issoisso]

I'm not sure what this has to do with power production since hemocrit levels deal with blood - not what the rider is producing on the bike.

You misunderstood. Vayer calculates figures of climbing power on major mountain passes and frequently compares the current ones to the ones in the past all the way down to the late 80s. When the 50% blood level limit was introduced, the power levels of pro riders fell through the floor. The current levels are just as high as they've ever been since that landmark but they can't hold a candle to the values registered before said landmark.

Even when commentators do offer their own assessments on the riders' power outage, these remain open to interpretation since there are so many variables in calculating them. Unless we actually get the readings from the power meters themselves, too much of it remains conjecture.

Every time a rider publishes readings from his power meter (most recent one to do so was Chris Sorensen), Vayer compares it to his own calculations of the rider's performance for said stage. It's always extremely close. The difference is negligible. The numbers are solid and can be trusted.