"The stars of the Tour 2008 must tremble"

[BigBoat]

The big fish do not use EPO though so I'm not really sure they can catch anyone big like Cancellara. Apart from testing his crit at the finish line or 50k down the road.

 

[usedtobefast]

The big fish do not use EPO though so I'm not really sure they can catch anyone big like Cancellara. Apart from testing his crit at the finish line or 50k down the road.

can't see that ever happening.

 

[El Imbatido]

What they need to happen (which i think it has been said on here before) is on the start line random tests. None of this only testing at 8am(?) each morning then nothing till after the stage. I really think this would persuade some of the bigger guys to stop doing it. Now is usually where i would insert a quote about cutting the head of a snake and it dying but i can't remember it properly. But you guys know what i mean ie. It would be a big help in fighting doping.

 

[python]

kurier article googled

Original kurier article
http://www.kurier.at/sport/1943917.php

Googled - more or less ok to get the sense
http://translate.google.com/transla.../sport/1943917.php&sl=de&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

i’m reading the list of the initial 40 suspects was shown to kohl (who flipped upon seeing it) and included kirchen fschleck valjavec s. o'grady cancellara and others. about delay... it says could not be tested earlier because the uci returned the samples to afld only recently. farking fascinating reading

 

[_frost]

to be honest i hope evans is clean...

the thought that somebody could dope and still finish second repeatedly (with obvious exception) just smacks of poor doping practices.. at least if youre gonna dope.. do it properly...

So Ulle was clean ?

 

[python]

cyclingnews Susan has narrated the story in English
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/afld-begins-re-testing-of-2008-tour-doping-controls

 

[pataphysician]

Levi, Contador and the rest of Astana's 2008 team have to be pretty excited that ASO did not invite them to the 2008 tour.

It sounds like Verdy is expecting a lot of positives in the retest, what will the sport look like if 12 -15 of the top riders are out for doping for two years?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

This could turn pretty ugly.

 

[Cerberus]

Levi, Contador and the rest of Astana's 2008 team have to be pretty excited that ASO did not invite them to the 2008 tour.

I wonder whether they'll test the 2008 Giro or 2007 Tour samples also, that might be interesting to. I've heard noise about the 2008 Giro, but nothing seems to be happening.

 

[Anonymous]

bit annoyed that contador is gonna dodge another bullet though...

 

[Arnout]

Man, you really are bitter about your fancy little hero getting exposed, aren't you?

Funny that you say that in a thread where all top cyclists are randomly accused of using doping

Anyway, how many times did we hear stories like this before? If all past stories about catching dopers from past Tours and other races were true, I would've won the Tour by now.

 

[auscyclefan94]

A dope storm is on the horizon.

 

[Mellow Velo]

I wonder whether they'll test the 2008 Giro or 2007 Tour samples also, that might be interesting to. I've heard noise about the 2008 Giro, but nothing seems to be happening.

As far as we know, the Italian police seized the 2008 Giro samples, when Pat vetoed retro testing.
Now, we have the French re-testing their 2008 samples, regardless and God know's what the Italians are up to.

Yup, it could turn very ugly.

Is there any reason why the French can't re-test the 2007 samples?
After all, if ever there was a major race ruined by scandal, innuendo and positives.....

 

[HostingDirect24]

why do these tests take so long?

The original article in the Austrian newspaper states that 40 test samples taken by the French body (as in 2008 the TdF was organized under the auspices of the French federation instead of the UCI which his highly suspicious of doping cover-ups) were sent to the UCI but only those of Bernhard Kohl and Stefan Schumacher were returned anytime soon. It is only now that they appear to have recovered the rest from the UCI.

 

[HostingDirect24]

There are also rumors that the UCI could have picked out those two as they were riding for the then fledgling Gerolsteiner team which disappeared the same year for lack of sponsoring.

 

[Escarabajo]

Levi, Contador and the rest of Astana's 2008 team have to be pretty excited that ASO did not invite them to the 2008 tour.

It sounds like Verdy is expecting a lot of positives in the retest, what will the sport look like if 12 -15 of the top riders are out for doping for two years?

Lance Armstrong would win the Tour in 2010 and 2011 apart from Contador. If Contador was doing blood doping in the Giro 2008 then he is saved. Othewise there is a clear path for Lance victory lane.

 

[Ferminal]

Lance Armstrong would win the Tour in 2010 and 2011 apart from Contador. If Contador was doing blood doping in the Giro 2008 then he is saved. Othewise there is a clear path for Lance victory lane.

I'm sure if Lance saw all other competition get suspended, he could collaborate with the UCI and arrange for Bertie to get 2 years off also.

 

[El Loto]

Jens

Surely. 'Courage' can only assist you to a point. Stomping up the Rettenfernwhatever in D-Tour and pulling faces means your suitcase of courage is certainly more likely a suitcase filled with debauchery.

 

[Alexzulle]

My guess

I'd actually be contrarian and say that cadel evans will be the first positive.

The fact that they told each rider that his 2008 sample would be retested right before this years tour could probably account for evans nerves and utter failure at this years tour.

Fast forward to the vuelta and worlds and he had either gotten over it thinking they were not going to test them or, more likely, he got back on his juice for both races with the result evident.

 

[issoisso]

I'd actually be contrarian and say that cadel evans will be the first positive.

The fact that they told each rider that his 2008 sample would be retested right before this years tour could probably account for evans nerves and utter failure at this years tour.

Fast forward to the vuelta and worlds and he had either gotten over it thinking they were not going to test them or, more likely, he got back on his juice for both races with the result evident.

I agree that it's quite a possibility. Also notice that Evans repeatedly said during the Tour and for a long time after it that he wasn't sick, that it was a psychological issue. Midway through the Vuelta he changed his story and it was an illness that he caught just before the Tour. Yeah, right.

 

[Bala Verde]

Ha, if only 15 riders will get suspended, amongst them some top dogs, then I fear that even Ricco, Sella, Dekker and Armstrong will have a shot at some TdFs or other races in the coming years...

I mean, that's if all 'teams' implicated will continue to exist. If 40 riders are found positive, quite possibly with entire teams being on the juice (rumors abound CSC and Columbia etc) they might fold.

Aren't they retesting because of a rift between UCI and AFLD, who were somehwat frustrated by UCI's 'involvement' in this year's testing, basically sidelining AFLD. Bordry seems take revenge by retesting the 2008 samples, all of which who are in AFLD's possession.

 

[Frosty]

I agree that it's quite a possibility. Also notice that Evans repeatedly said during the Tour and for a long time after it that he wasn't sick, that it was a psychological issue. Midway through the Vuelta he changed his story and it was an illness that he caught just before the Tour. Yeah, right.

We'll see who tests positive and who doesnt but i am not sure you are correct there re:Evans. I remember in the tour that he was coughing stuff up and was unwell towards the end. The below link seems to suggest the same thing.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-and-silence-lotto-management-clear-the-air

 

[Ferminal]

I'd actually be contrarian and say that cadel evans will be the first positive.

The fact that they told each rider that his 2008 sample would be retested right before this years tour could probably account for evans nerves and utter failure at this years tour.

Fast forward to the vuelta and worlds and he had either gotten over it thinking they were not going to test them or, more likely, he got back on his juice for both races with the result evident.

He rode perfectly normal in the first week of 2009...

I think you could read more into 2008, where he had a terrible second half, after the Ricco positives. They were his "poor performances due to crash". Cadel bottled it and dumped his blood, but Riis stayed the cause?

 

[pataphysician]

Ha, if only 15 riders will get suspended, amongst them some top dogs, then I fear that even Ricco, Sella, Dekker and Armstrong will have a shot at some TdFs or other races in the coming years...

I mean, that's if all 'teams' implicated will continue to exist. If 40 riders are found positive, quite possibly with entire teams being on the juice (rumors abound CSC and Columbia etc) they might fold.

Aren't they retesting because of a rift between UCI and AFLD, who were somehwat frustrated by UCI's 'involvement' in this year's testing, basically sidelining AFLD. Bordry seems take revenge by retesting the 2008 samples, all of which who are in AFLD's possession.

I forgot that the rumour in 2008 was that lots of csc/saxo bank and columbia riders had tested positive. if this ends up being true, not only will those teams probably fold, but it invalidates a significant part of cycling for the last two years. columbia has been the winningest team in cycling. saxo won the tour with sastre and the team classification plus two stages, milan san remo and tirreno-adratico.

If two or more riders on columbia test positive bob stapleton and he Anti-Doping Sciences Institute should get lifetime bans. if two or more riders on csc/saxo test positive riis and damsgaard should get lifetime bans. hopefully uci will revoke their protour licenses, and afld will refuse entry to the tour. until the uci starts to penalize those who benefit from doping it will still happen. in addition to banning GMs with multiple dopers on their team, cycling is a team sport, if a teammate dopes all of the teams results should be invalidated. A GC contender is going to be pretty ****ed(mad) if he loses his tour win because one of his domestiques gets caught doping. that would change the culture quickly.

 

[issoisso]

I forgot that the rumour in 2008 was that lots of csc/saxo bank and columbia riders had tested positive.

5 CSCs and 2 Columbias was the rumour. At Columbia I can't for the life of me think who the one besides Kirchen could be. 5 CSCs doesn't surprise me at all.