UK Anti-Doping investigating Linda McCartney Foods

[neineinei]

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/cycling/article3625953.ece

Eleven years after it went out of business, an investigation has been launched into doping practices at the professional British cycling team, Linda McCartney Foods.

The investigation is being carried out by UK Anti-Doping, the publicly funded body that polices the use of drugs in sport in this country. The investigation was triggered by a tip-off from the man who founded the team.

 

[coinneach]

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/cycling/article3625953.ece

Hardly a surprise, a would be pro-team in the late 1990's, can't have many of them not taking something.
Might implicate Sean Yates who was DS there for a bit. I think there was talk of Wiggins joining the team but I think they folded before he could?
I couldn't read the article as it Times International, but I did read the book "Team on the Run" by John Deering who was their PA......brilliant account of the times. Portrays the guy who set them up as a complete con-man who was heading to jail.
That doesn't mean he's not telling the truth now though.

 

[Ferminal]

Wasn't the guy who founded the team dodgy (in a non-doping sense) anyway? How else did the team go bust?

They hired Yates and Stephens lol.

 

[I Watch Cycling In July]

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/cycling/article3625953.ece

"UK Anti-Doping’s pursuit of the case is driven partly to establish whether there are any questionable links between the Linda McCartney Foods team and the professional units at the pinnacle of British cycling today."

The USPS investigation may have opened the floodgates for investigating older cases.

Cycling will be doing truth and reconciliation the hard way if this keeps up.

 

[Avoriaz]

Wiggins joined the team just as they folded.

Says triggered by a tip off from team founder - Julian Clarke? Speculation on BikeRadar that it may be Matt DiCanio

 

[neineinei]

Cycling Archives has Wiggins listed for the team in 2001 but they folded already February 24.

Here is procycling.no's take on the story:

- Britisk lag etterforskes for doping (Norwegian)

Maximilian Sciandri and Sean Yates gets mentioned. They are not mentioning Norwegian rider Bjørnar Vestøl, but he was cycling for the team in 2000

 

[bobbins]

Julian Clarke founded the team, was a half decent cat 1 racer.

There is the well known story about Pascal Richard at the Giro plus they hired Sciandri and Yates, Stephens (Neil).

Looking closely it is very much like the sky blueprint as the team worked closely with a national federation also.

Can. Of. Worms.

 

[Stingray34]

David McKenzie, aussie Armstrong idolator and 2000 Giro long-breakaway stage winner, also with team.

Joining Matt White and Stephen Hodge with meas culpa?

 

[neineinei]

procycling.no has interviewed Bjørnar Vestøl;

«De valgte ut meg, og jeg tok ikke noe»

They quote Matt DeCanio, (the quote is from The Times):

"You didn't lose your job if you didn't want to dope. Doping was not pushed on you, and they never distributed any dope. The team wanted to sign riders who doped by themselves and came prepared to the races. The team knew that I was clean. So they didn't pick me for the Giro team, but they knew which riders who used doping."

Vestøl was picked for the 2000 Giro team, and won Ronde van Noord-Holland that spring, but claims he never saw any doping on the team.

 

[martinvickers]

Julian Clarke has a bad record on certain fronts, but there's no real reason to doubt this story; it all rings pretty true - even down to the fact that the accusations are not at the 'worst' end of the scale - no team program, blind eye turned, some doped, a few didn't. Entirely plausible, and apparently eye witnesses now, very believable. Hard to imagine any teams didn't do at least this in that era.

If you're going to lie, you'll lie bigger than this, if you see what I mean...

No surprise at all to see Yates involved, or Sciandri for that matter, I suppose. Are there links to other key current management figures beyond Yates? Obviously Wiggins was there for a short time, didn't he win a race in their colours?

Irish Former World Junior champ was there too, Scanlon.

 

[my username is flish]

Wasn't Scanlon, it was Ciaran Power. Mark was offered a spot but they folded before he joined up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciarán_Power
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Scanlon_(cyclist)

 

[ChewbaccaD]

It can be argued that The Beatles were spiritual founders of the team, and well, should anyone be that surprised the team was doping?

 

[BroDeal]

This is impossibru. We have been assured by the Sky homers that doping is not in the British DNA. It is unthinkable. Brits do not dope. #wasteoftime #witchhunt #unconstitutional

 

[sniper]

Julian Clarke has a bad record on certain fronts, but there's no real reason to doubt this story; it all rings pretty true - even down to the fact that the accusations are not at the 'worst' end of the scale - no team program, blind eye turned, some doped, a few didn't. Entirely plausible, and apparently eye witnesses now, very believable. Hard to imagine any teams didn't do at least this in that era..

especially considering the fact that marginal gains had not been invented yet, there must have been an additional need to dope back then.

 

[Race Radio]

http://road.cc/content/news/71882-u...ens-investigation-linda-mccartney-racing-team

Good review of the story without a paywall

 

[Ney the Viking]

Comments from the dane on the team http://ekstrabladet.dk/sport/cykling/article1881340.ece

Basically he says that it wouldnt surprise him if someone doped on the team, but that it should be widespread was a bit far fetched since they could not keep up in the vuelta and most people on the team couldnt find contracts afterwards because they were too slow. Seems a bit typical danish blindness

 

[Zam_Olyas]

This is impossibru. We have been assured by the Sky homers that doping is not in the British DNA. It is unthinkable. Brits do not dope. #wasteoftime #witchhunt #unconstitutional

Amen! Hallelujah! and all that

 

[Avoriaz]

I always thought the only cheating they did was sneaking off for the occasional kebab or bacon sarnie, when they were all supposed to be vegetarian

 

[ebandit]

bollox

We have been assured by the Sky homers that doping is not in the British DNA. It is unthinkable. Brits do not dope. #wasteoftime #witchhunt #unconstitutional[/quote]

and how many times has been pointed out that your idea is nothing more

than a 'clinic myth' complete bollox british athletes dope just as any other

athletes wishing to achieve greater success

but are team sky? a truly international line up

 

[BroDeal]

Comments from the dane on the team http://ekstrabladet.dk/sport/cykling/article1881340.ece

Basically he says that it wouldnt surprise him if someone doped on the team, but that it should be widespread was a bit far fetched since they could not keep up in the vuelta and most people on the team couldnt find contracts afterwards because they were too slow. Seems a bit typical danish blindness

If you read between the lines he is saying the team did not have a swim coach so whatever doping was going on was not very effective. Should have spent more time on Tenerife.

 

[sniper]

http://road.cc/content/news/71882-u...ens-investigation-linda-mccartney-racing-team

Good review of the story without a paywall

from the article:

Her husband, Sir Paul McCartney, wrote a song inspired by the team called Clean Machine.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Domino effect

This is the sort of thing some of us are hoping for. However more is needed to get the process moving at pace.

 

[SlowtwitchLeaks]

Two-time triathlon world champion Spencer Smith was part of this team. He then returned to triathlon and tested positive for nandrolone. Got off on a technicality.

 

[blackcat]

ever see his quads? bigger than hoys

 

[Tinman]

Fron the road.cc article

However, DeCanio added: “The team definitely knew that some of the riders were dirty. If you wanted to use drugs, you wouldn’t lose your job. Doping wasn’t pushed – they weren’t giving drugs out. The team wanted to hire riders who knew how to dope themselves, did it on their own and who would come to races prepared.”

According to The Times, both DeCanio and the other individuals who have supplied information to it say that while doping was not organised at team level, manager Sean Yates was aware that it was going on at the outfit.

Sounds like we are getting confirmation of Yates' Team Sky approach on "driving the car and looking the other way". Real question is where was Brailsford in all of this. "sitting in front of his PC and instructing PR the other way" perhaps?

And what is Julian Clark's bone with BC/Sky for coming out now? Skeleton's starting to come out now... The sound of bones rattling...