There is no way Cancellera is Clean!

[Ryo Hazuki]

another Cancellara win with a performance 'too good to be true'....wonder what juice he's on

cancellara has been a beast since he was a first year junior, nothing suspicious about him he's always been superhuman and him not breaking through until 22,23 in 2004 tells me he was clean from the get go against dopers he couldn;t win but as he matured and all went clean cancellara came on top just like in youth

 

[Hugh Januss]

Can't buy that as a determinant. Museeuw was doped to the gills, and it was obvious when he was riding. He won races he was "supposed to" win only.

Do I think Cancellara is clean? Nope. But I don't have reason to think he's substantively more dirty than anyone else, and I do think the level of doping and the techniques have changed a lot since the early 90's.

We have no testing regime that works. Too many beat it too often and too many second-place guys don't raise a stink. The top class is doping. Cancellara is a beast either way.

I would agree with all of that, and add one point. All evidence clearly points to all the top guys doing similar things in order to be competitive. If you stop and consider that has just about got to be true.
Why then, every time somebody does a really good ride do we need to start in with these sort of questions like it is some kind of news or like he is doing something different than anyone else?

 

[pedaling squares]

cancellara has been a beast since he was a first year junior, nothing suspicious about him he's always been superhuman and him not breaking through until 22,23 in 2004 tells me he was clean from the get go against dopers he couldn;t win but as he matured and all went clean cancellara came on top just like in youth

What does the part in red mean?
His palmares from his time with Team Clean (aka Mapei) were also pretty impressive. He has always been good, and he would be good in any circumstance, but I don't see anything about his palmares that suggests he is more likely to be clean than dirty.

 

[Benotti69]

cancellara has been a beast since he was a first year junior, nothing suspicious about him he's always been superhuman and him not breaking through until 22,23 in 2004 tells me he was clean from the get go against dopers he couldn;t win but as he matured and all went clean cancellara came on top just like in youth

when did it all go clean?

 

[maltiv]

I think Cancellara is the type of rider who is so talented that he sometimes wins even without doping. But I can't help to be suspicious when he wins in a so convincing manner as he occasionally does. He's so much stronger than everyone else in time trials and cobbled classics that it's just absurd. He wins by so much sometimes though that it almost makes me wonder if he could have won even without doping, but with a considerable smaller margin obviously...

 

[Polish]

cancellara has been a beast since he was a first year junior, nothing suspicious about him he's always been superhuman and him not breaking through until 22,23 in 2004 tells me he was clean from the get go against dopers he couldn;t win but as he matured and all went clean cancellara came on top just like in youth

Being a Beast as a junior is no guarantee of being clean.

Eddy, Fausto, Jacques, and HWMNBN were Beasts as juniors.
And none of them are clean.

But Beast is Beast.
Badass is Badass.

 

[Granville57]

It would appear that the source of Fabian's ability to dispatch his rivals has been revealed:

From E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke

“I anticipated Cancellara's attack but while climbing the Tiegemberg I had cramp so I slowed down. Then Cancellara came and the cramps immediately returned,” Tankink said.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/e3-prijs-vlaanderen-harelbeke-1-hc/results

By the power of his...
I don't even want to know.

 

[roundabout]

Looking at the video it almost seems that Tankink slowed down a bit too much looking back at the group and had to sprint just to get to Cancellara's wheel.

Also it does seem to be a bit of a mental issue - it seems most groups resign once Cancellara gets 5 meters almost regardless of the composition.

 

[Barrus]

Looking at the video it almost seems that Tankink slowed down a bit too much looking back at the group and had to sprint just to get to Cancellara's wheel.

Also it does seem to be a bit of a mental issue - it seems most groups resign once Cancellara gets 5 meters almost regardless of the composition.

Not really, at least to me it looked like he already was cramping up when Cancellara was gaining on him, just before he was caught

 

[Race Radio]

Cancellera rode on Fasso when they had a team wide doping program.....was he the only clean guy on the team? He worked with Dr. Checchini....was he just getting interval workouts?

How is it that Cancellera got so much faster when he stopped being on a doping team and working with a doping doctor?

 

[Havetts]

He went to Riis, thats why he's faster..

 

[Granville57]

I thought it was because he rode a Cervelo...I mean Specialized...I mean Trek.

 

[Maxiton]

Can't buy that as a determinant. Museeuw was doped to the gills, and it was obvious when he was riding. He won races he was "supposed to" win only.

Do I think Cancellara is clean? Nope. But I don't have reason to think he's substantively more dirty than anyone else, and I do think the level of doping and the techniques have changed a lot since the early 90's.

We have no testing regime that works. Too many beat it too often and too many second-place guys don't raise a stink. The top class is doping. Cancellara is a beast either way.

+ 1. What Red Flanders said. No reason to think Cancellara aka the beast aka the wattage cottage is doing anything program-wise beyond what the others are doing. He would be superior whether doped or not.

 

[D-Queued]

I thought it was because he rode a Cervelo...I mean Specialized...I mean Trek.

He runs his tires at 123 psi, instead of the normal 120.

For hilly TT's he puts Helium in there.

Dave.

 

[Benotti69]

+ 1. What Red Flanders said. No reason to think Cancellara aka the beast aka the wattage cottage is doing anything program-wise beyond what the others are doing. He would be superior whether doped or not.

that is based on doping making it a level playing field, but we know from past TdF winners that it doesn't. so is Cancellara on a fantastic program for the classics and is Cancellara a rider who gets a big and better benefit from the doping over others who dont get such a benefit on the same program?

 

[veganrob]

that is based on doping making it a level playing field, but we know from past TdF winners that it doesn't. so is Cancellara on a fantastic program for the classics and is Cancellara a rider who gets a big and better benefit from the doping over others who dont get such a benefit on the same program?

Good point. People react very differently to the same meds.

 

[podilato]

I think something is fishy when you see the way he rode in the E3. He rode from the 3rd group on the road to the second and then without even waiting he rode past most of them and continued to the first group (admittedly with some help from O'Grady who dropped from the first group). He did a turn on the front of various groups for about 10 kms before dropping everyone and putting about 30 seconds on th front group in about 2-3 kms.

When other riders start using euphemisms like 'invincible', 'unstoppable' and 'unbeatable' that's as close as they'll say he's on something without actually saying it.

 

[Rip:30]

'unbelievable'

 

[hrotha]

Most of the time, when someone gets that superior thanks to dope it's because they're overdoing it, sooner or later they're busted directly or indirectly and we get to hear about it. Not much of a reassurance, I know.

 

[hfer07]

setting aside the doping factor-We have to grant him the advantage he possesses over his classic rider colleges by being the best TTer in the peloton-which helps him making lethal his attacks from a small break away group-when he takes off, it seems this doubt among the other riders of who's going to chase & between sudden accelerations & slows, Cance has already gone in TT mode with a steady & fast speed straight to the finish line.....



the problem here is that he's currently making a mockery out of his competitors by the way he ruthlessly wins--it's like he's even two levels up to the rest of the peloton..

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

I think something is fishy when you see the way he rode in the E3. He rode from the 3rd group on the road to the second and then without even waiting he rode past most of them and continued to the first group (admittedly with some help from O'Grady who dropped from the first group). He did a turn on the front of various groups for about 10 kms before dropping everyone and putting about 30 seconds on th front group in about 2-3 kms.

When other riders start using euphemisms like 'invincible', 'unstoppable' and 'unbeatable' that's as close as they'll say he's on something without actually saying it.

And he changed bike...

hrotha Most of the time, when someone gets that superior thanks to dope it's because they're overdoing it, sooner or later they're busted directly or indirectly and we get to hear about it. Not much of a reassurance, I know.

The problem is by then its too late.

 

[Willy_Voet]

I can only rationalize this performance in two ways:

1) He has the most obscene doping program AND pays off the UCI
2) He's on approximately the same program as everyone else and is just that much better

The level he is riding at makes a mockery of anything L.A. did in his 7 wins. Blowing away 3 leading groups in some ****-small race (as Cav would say...) makes no sense. He either has a serious complex or he's just that much better. Who would call that much attention to themselves ahead of the "real" races? His performance is taunting the testers.

Enjoy it for what it is...a spectacle.

 

[D-Queued]

I can only rationalize this performance in two ways:

1) He has the most obscene doping program AND pays off the UCI
2) He's on approximately the same program as everyone else and is just that much better

The level he is riding at makes a mockery of anything L.A. did in his 7 wins. Blowing away 3 leading groups in some ****-small race (as Cav would say...) makes no sense. He either has a serious complex or he's just that much better. Who would call that much attention to themselves ahead of the "real" races? His performance is taunting the testers.

Enjoy it for what it is...a spectacle.

Didn't AC beat him in a Tour TT - a Tour where he didn't test positive? On a flat course?

AC is clean. So is 'Spartacus'. AC is the most tested male athlete in the world.

Everyone is clean that finishes top 3 when FC podiums.

Only a doper would abandon.

Dave.

 

[The Gnome]

I have no idea whether he is taking something or not...but if you are convinced any winner must be doping....why even watch and follow the sport? Besides, I thought it was his ball bearings...

 

[Granville57]

the problem here is that he's currently making a mockery out of his competitors by the way he ruthlessly wins--it's like he's even two levels up to the rest of the peloton..

That's what gets me the most about this whole scenario. If Spartacus is doping, why be so insanely conspicuous about it? I wonder if ever thinks, "Damn, I better dial it back a bit." But then I'm reminded of the Chicken's audacious exploits; Riis; LA; etc, etc, etc.. Subtlety does not seem to be wired into those who need to dominate in order to justify their own existence.

...but if you are convinced any winner must be doping....why even watch and follow the sport?

Because it is wildly entertaining to watch him annihilate the best pros in the world! If he's clean, then he's confounded all the best laid plans of mulit-million-dollar teams from around the globe. If he's dirty, then the rest will all know it, and their "cross to bear" is having to put up with humiliation while keeping their mouths shut.

Either way, it's much better than watching golf.