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The twilight zone called Portugal.

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Ricco'

Ricco'

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Ricco'

Ricco'

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Re:

Netserk said:
Really? I find it hard to fathom that W52 are subject to the bio-passport. That has got to be a joke?!
Click to expand...

According to the portuguese Institute for Sport and Youth, the portuguese anti-doping agency has the passport in place for Athletics, Canoeing, Cycling and Triathlon, so I think all the portuguese continental teams are subjected to bio passport tests.
 
Libertine Seguros

Libertine Seguros

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Re:

Mayomaniac said:
Veloso on the podium, s. t. as the winner. Is he really going to pull another monster performance our of his hat, at his age?
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Hey, not only did Rui Sousa continue to do it well past César's, but he was actually popular for it. And at least César had some continuity, Sousa had an entire decade between his initial spell as a GC guy in the Volta and his second. Nowadays César is at around about the perfect age to contest the win in the Volta. I expect we'll see Paulinho up there too, and don't discount Nocentini...
 
Mayomaniac

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Re: Re:

Libertine Seguros said:
Mayomaniac said:
Veloso on the podium, s. t. as the winner. Is he really going to pull another monster performance our of his hat, at his age?
Click to expand...
Hey, not only did Rui Sousa continue to do it well past César's, but he was actually popular for it. And at least César had some continuity, Sousa had an entire decade between his initial spell as a GC guy in the Volta and his second. Nowadays César is at around about the perfect age to contest the win in the Volta. I expect we'll see Paulinho up there too, and don't discount Nocentini...
Click to expand...
He hasn't been on the same level for 2 years, so a sudden return to his old Volta peak shape at his age would be a surprise, to say the least.
 
Mayomaniac

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PhiLiz said:
Libertine Seguros said:
2017 he still won the TT, so I guess the real tester will be how he does in the climbs, where he's been regressing.
Click to expand...

But now he's back... :lol:
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Still not a proper mountain stage, but he beat Brandao and de Mateos on a punchy uphill finish, so it looks like he's at least on his 2017 level. I still expect João Rodrigues or Edgar Pinto to take over as the team leader after the Torre MTF, but he's looking rather impressive atm.
 
Mayomaniac

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Ok, after this performance I have a hard time seeing Veloso loose the race. Only Rodrigues could probably beat him, but he has a decent advantage over his teammate and I wouldn't put my money on Rodrigues beating him in the TT, the punchy uphill finishes should also suit Veloso more.
Today it looked a lot more controlled than the usual Volta mountain stage, I guess it was a rather slow ascent, at least by Volta standarts.
 
Libertine Seguros

Libertine Seguros

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Re:

Mayomaniac said:
Ok, after this performance I have a hard time seeing Veloso loose the race. Only Rodrigues could probably beat him, but he has a decent advantage over his teammate and I wouldn't put my money on Rodrigues beating him in the TT, the punchy uphill finishes should also suit Veloso more.
Today it looked a lot more controlled than the usual Volta mountain stage, I guess it was a rather slow ascent, at least by Volta standarts.
Click to expand...

The big question is going to be if anybody chances it on the penultimate climb on the Senhora da Graça stage, if so then W52 may mark it with João, which would give him a chance, like when Nuno Ribeiro and João Cabreira escaped in 2009.
 
Mayomaniac

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Ok, so Rodrigues climbed 34 seconds slower than Balarcon last year.
https://twitter.com/x/status/1160233074430533638
View: https://mobile.twitter.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1160233074430533638?p=v

Ok, it was a hard stage and the long range attack from his teammate changed the dynamic of the race a bit, but the final 90km of the stage were the same as last year and it was the slowest ascent since 2014.
No idea if it's the fact that W52 now have to deal with the passport at pct level. They are still the dominant team and able to beat the ct teams.
Rodrigues did ~6.3W/kg for over 21min after a hard stage near the end of a longer stage race,still pretty impressive. He was able to climb with the best in Algarve, so he is able to perform outside of the Volta.
Celano no longer has to deal with the passport and is once again a great climber, what a surprise...
 
Last edited:
Libertine Seguros

Libertine Seguros

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...and I was just about to comment in the "alien performances" thread about the question of most ridiculous performance of the decade, that we shouldn't undersell the smaller scene insanity, specifically mentioning post-suspension Mirsamad Pourseyedi, Ivaïlo Gabrovski, the Rojas brothers in Costa Rica, and Raúl Alarcón's 2017 season.

Fare thee well, Balarcón. We will always have Guarda.
 
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carolina said:
He crashed during a race, one week before the doping control. He had surgery for a fractured colarbone and also had some rib fractures.

If he was still taking medication, it should be easy to prove his innocence.
Click to expand...
My understanding is that he did not test positive in that sense. It sounds like a bio passport thing. Why? Because "Use of Prohibited Methods and/or Prohibited Substance" is used for Bio Passport or other things, not when they know the substance a rider used. Also there is no "Sample collection date".
 
carolina

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He can argue the treatment of the injuries sustained in that crash is the cause for the bio passport values.

I'm assuming this was detected at that time.

Either way, I think he'll get away with it. It seems to be a recurrent situation in Portugal: getting caught, but always having a good excuse.
 
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