Thomas Dekker tells the truth

[Mongol_Waaijer]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/thomas-dekker-a-dopers-desire-for-redemption

Livind in the same part of Holland that TD came from I remember the anger when this came out. Not anger at TD, but the belief that he was definitely innocent, and this was some sort of fix. One well respected experienced local rider who has ridden in the elites for two decaded even wrote on his club blog about the sheer impossibility of anyone taking EPO in the offseason, and how TD was surely innocent.

A lot of people look very silly now.

On a seperare note I've lost count of the number of journalists who tell us that the bio passport is clearly showing that it's recently become possible to race "clean" and even win but also tell us that Lance Armstrong "never tested positive" etc. How anyone can seriously take both positions is lost on me. If Lance is considered clean it was even more possible to win (and win BIG) 10 years ago as a clean rider than it is today.

 

[Animal]

New management came into the Rabobank team, men Dekker describes as non cycling people

That's the key. Outsiders to come in and manage teams.

Not former riders bound by Omerta.

 

[Mongol_Waaijer]

He's not telling the truth. He was using for his whole career.

of course. I suspect he started using as an amateur.

But compared to the usual "one mistake, once only" cr*p this is pretty good stuff.

 

[hrotha]

You know, on one hand I find it difficult to believe what he's saying. All his victories were fair, pure and clean, he won't enter into much detail about his doping, he says people around him knew (in the team?) but not much else. It's hard to give him any credibility when he says that kind of stuff.

On the other hand, I still find it hard to believe any person would come out and lie like that, wet eyes and all. Yes, Dekker already lied, but still. I hate the fact that I'm not cynical enough to follow cycling properly these days.

So it's a draw for me.

 

[euanli]

I read it as he isn't coming clean but trying to come across as he is.

 

[theyoungest]

of course. I suspect he started using as an amateur.

But compared to the usual "one mistake, once only" cr*p this is pretty good stuff.

Meh, if you followed him a bit you could sense that something was not right from late 2007 onwards. There was definitely a change, both in his behavior and in his results. Don't forget that just before his suspension he was approaching the level he used to have (3d in the TT in the Tour of Switzerland, and competitive throughout the race). And I think there is little doubt that he was clean then.

It's weird that you choose to believe him when he says it wasn't just this one instance where he used EPO, but then ignore him when he says that he rode clean for most of his career.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Same feelings as you guys, hard to believe if he is telling to truth now or not.
Once a liar...

I want to believe he is telling the truth and EPO was just a way to keep a high level without living like a pro cyclist for it. But by lying multiple times you make it hard for people to believe you Thomas. Even your biggest fans don't know what to believe.

All we can do is wait and see how he performs when he comes back, clean. If he was riding clean in 2009, then it will be hard to ever win a race like Romandie/Tirreno again, because that was not the same level as the 'clean' level of 2006/2007

 

[intothe12]

I read it as he isn't coming clean but trying to come across as he is.

spot on!

It is very difficult to believe him or feel sympathy for him given his lack of willingness to come fully clean. He saying what he thinks is the least he can get away with in order to appease public perception. But unfortunately the way it comes across in the article is that he is being evasive.

First rule to building trust between you and your supporters is to be honest, not half honest, fully honest.

 

[Mongol_Waaijer]

Meh, if you followed him a bit you could sense that something was not right from late 2007 onwards. There was definitely a change, both in his behavior and in his results. Don't forget that just before his suspension he was approaching the level he used to have (3d in the TT in the Tour of Switzerland, and competitive throughout the race). And I think there is little doubt that he was clean then.

It's weird that you choose to believe him when he says it wasn't just this one instance where he used EPO, but then ignore him when he says that he rode clean for most of his career.

To be honest with you I saw a "professional" amateur who desperately wanted to be a pro and did whatever was needed to get there, probably starting earlier than most of us want to imagine.

I'd say the same about Terpstra and Hoogerland....no evidence of course. just rumours, hearsay, and in Hoogerland's case I've seen everything I need to know myself.

 

[Lanark]

I'm glad he admits it was his own responsibility that he started doping. I don't think it's really that big of a deal he isn't saying who provided the EPO, It's not like EPO is hard to come by. So maybe he bought it from a pharmacy, of a (former?) friend like Cecchini. Does he have to send those people to jail to prove he is honest now?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Yup, the same stories have circled Dekker since the beginning of his career as, for instance, Ricardo Ricco'

Ricco was a known charger in his amateur days already.

 

[hrotha]

It's weird that you choose to believe him when he says it wasn't just this one instance where he used EPO, but then ignore him when he says that he rode clean for most of his career.

It's not weird at all. Protecting the validity of their victories is one of the main worries of dopers, they need to think they won fair and square, or at least that they didn't win because of the dope. It's not a matter of PR or anything, I'd say it's a basic human need. It's easier to admit you cheated than to admit you're a complete fraud.

That's why all of them are so keen on "proving they can win clean", more to themselves than to anyone else.
(Assuming they do come back clean, of course)

 

[JRTinMA]

Dekker tells the truth?!?

He didn't tell the truth at all, he told the same lies as Landis and other, I didn't cheat when I was winning. Dekker is just another cheat. Cheats lie and to believe them is ridiculous. Maybe one day in the future he can redeem himself but as of now he should be dismissed.

 

[Mongol_Waaijer]

He didn't tell the truth at all, he told the same lies as Landis and other, I didn't cheat when I was winning. Dekker is just another cheat. Cheats lie and to believe them is ridiculous. Maybe one day in the future he can redeem himself but as of now he should be dismissed.

If you can read Dutch you'll see that TD said exactly the right thing to get Dutch fans inspired again if you read the comments at wielrennen.prikpagina.nl

Most of the comments are "good on him for telling the truth, I really hope he gets another chance and wins stuff clean"

Great political rehab move from TD, being bought by the morons....plus ca change

 

[theyoungest]

It's not weird at all. Protecting the validity of their victories is one of the main worries of dopers, they need to think they won fair and square, or at least that they didn't win because of the dope. It's not a matter of PR or anything, I'd say it's a basic human need. It's easier to admit you cheated than to admit you're a complete fraud.

That's why all of them are so keen on "proving they can win clean", more to themselves than to anyone else.
(Assuming they do come back clean, of course)

That could be it. Or not. You don't know, I don't know, so let's see what he's capable of next year. If he can find a team. I heard Scarponi is leaving Diquigiovanni, they could use a rider.

 

[theyoungest]

If you can read Dutch you'll see that TD said exactly the right thing to get Dutch fans inspired again if you read the comments at wielrennen.prikpagina.nl

Most of the comments are "good on him for telling the truth, I really hope he gets another chance and wins stuff clean"

Great political rehab move from TD, being bought by the morons....plus ca change

Ah, so you claim to know the truth? Just as moronic, in my book.

 

[Bronstein]

That could be it. Or not. You don't know, I don't know, so let's see what he's capable of next year. If he can find a team. I heard Scarponi is leaving Diquigiovanni, they could use a rider.

I don't think Diquigiovanni would be a good fit for a 'clean' Dekker.

 

[Bala Verde]

If he had exposed the details a la Kohl, he could forget a comeback to the peloton. He said exactly enough to be believed by those who want to believe and too little to to convince the skeptics.

Not being judgmental here, I am not saying you need to believe him or not.

He didn't share details, he didn't implicate others, he didn't mention names of providers. He does say he is responsible, and he wants to change his life and become a good cyclist again, who lives for the sport.

 

[Mongol_Waaijer]

Ah, so you claim to know the truth? Just as moronic, in my book.

what - me looking how Dutch cycling fans on a Dutch forum are reacting to TD's "confession" and the differences to the reaction here is somehow claiming to know "the truth" and "moronic"?

what book are you reading?

 

[Lanark]

what - me looking how Dutch cycling fans on a Dutch forum are reacting to TD's "confession" and the differences to the reaction here is somehow claiming to know "the truth" and "moronic"?

what book are you reading?

No, but claiming that you are sure that this is nothing more than a political move, and he keeps being dishonest, and everyone who believes him is a moron, says a lot about your character. Maybe you are right, and this is nothing more than a ploy by Dekker, that doesn't mean everyone who isn't a cynic and doesn't believe him is a morron.

 

[OneRaceWonder]

He didn't tell the truth at all, he told the same lies as Landis and other, I didn't cheat when I was winning. Dekker is just another cheat. Cheats lie and to believe them is ridiculous. Maybe one day in the future he can redeem himself but as of now he should be dismissed.

+1

This article/he makes him(self) look like a piece of **it.

 

[unsheath]

Portrays himself as the victim and then wont offer the details of his supply chain. What a self serving ****. Omerta is alive and healthy....

 

[L'arriviste]

There's a growing number of examples for those who want to come back to digest. I wonder how much these guys are examining and learning from them.

The article (inevitably) mentions Millar, though of course Dekker himself does not. The popular scale seems to put Millar at one end as a kind of 'rehabilitated citizen' and Ricco at the other as an 'unrepentant potential recidivist', regardless of how realistic these might be.

This puts me in mind of Frei (for me the "least hollow" testimony to date, subject to journalistic prowess) and many others from whom we have heard, each with his own nuance and approach.

Dekker's got to be asking himself, "what do I need to do to get hired?" It's transfer season, after all, and a carefully sounded interview could help his cause now or in a few months' time.

So I'm not judging his words so much as wondering with curiosity how much he has looked at the body of precedent and calculated on it.

 

[python]

tbh, i found the cn interview a bit confusing. not because of dekker's answers but due to the interview format. a lot of quotes that appear to be answers but one can only guess as to what the actual questions were.

i do read dutch. to me, dekker always came across as a liar when referring to his doping . but i can understand his desire to come back to the sport.

it's hardly his fault that to tell the truth and nothing but the truth and the whole truth is a sure recipe for being shut out of the sport for ever.

 

[Mellow Velo]

Portrays himself as the victim and then wont offer the details of his supply chain. What a self serving ****. Omerta is alive and healthy....

Yup.
Poor, poor pitiful me.
Still, it's will probably be looked upon as sufficient reparation to avoid a dose of the Vino treatment from elements of the media.