what about Ricco with a Croatian racing licence??

[Libertine Seguros]

They need to ****ing ban him then. Keeping him in limbo all that time is unfair to him and everyone else in cycling and makes a mockery of anti-doping in general.

If he broke the rules, ban him; if he didn't let him ride. If Valverde is allowed to come back with applaus from many people, I don't see why Ricco can't.

Because Riccò already did come back with applause from many people, and p*ssed away all that goodwill. He has been treated like a pariah, and some of it is pretty unfair. But right now, Riccò cycling is a danger to himself, and it's better to keep him away for the sake of his health and his family.

As for the legal drivel, well, yes, it's pretty sucky, but tell that to Patrik Sinkewitz, whose case still hasn't been heard (from February 2011), or Ezequiel Mosquera, who got a 2 year ban stuck on top of the year he'd already been forced to sit at home.

 

[BroDeal]

Because Riccò already did come back with applause from many people, and p*ssed away all that goodwill. He has been treated like a pariah, and some of it is pretty unfair. But right now, Riccò cycling is a danger to himself, and it's better to keep him away for the sake of his health and his family.

That is a huge assumption. He screwed up one transfusion. So what? It happens. Should Tommy D be prevented from riding for his own safety because he had a (rumored) bad transfusion? Ricco looks to be too self centered to intentionally harm himself.

 

[El Pistolero]

That is a huge assumption. He screwed up one transfusion. So what? It happens. Should Tommy D be prevented from riding for his own safety because he had a (rumored) bad transfusion? Ricco looks to be too self centered to intentionally harm himself.

Only cyclists who are able to transfuse and enrich their blood with epo with the aid of experienced doctors are allowed to race

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Only cyclists who are able to transfuse and enrich their blood with epo with the aid of experienced doctors are allowed to race

Absolutely. If you're going to do it, do it right. It's not like the dopers are short of corrupt doctors. It's just a matter of trying them out until you find one that's right for you.

 

[hfer07]

Why should he not fight it? The sport is filled with dopers. You don't see the average fan crying about the inclusion of scumbags like Leipheimer. You don't see them crying about teflon dopers like Kloden. The percentage of riders who have been pros for more than five or six years and had any laudable results that have not doped is very very small. Yet the fans want the few who get caught treated like pariahs. That gives validity to the UCI's scapegoat policy.

The real issue isn't about whether he should fight or not to get back-clearly he's willing to go to "desperate" measures to ride again-the issue is about how "realistic" his chances are to make it happen, considering his past, reputation & liability he would bring to the Team & Sponsors....
The comparison to Leechheimer & Kloden don't make sense to me, since they haven't fvcked up in the same fashion as Ricco has-nevertheless I do agree that those two should have been kicked out of the sport a long time ago with all the sh!t they're known for, but they managed to "not get officially caught" which is what matters the most at the Pro level....
I do have to recognize that I was excited when Ricco was returning from the ban, because he's entertaining & could have challenged Alberto & the Schleck barbies in the mountains, but when he "fvcked up" the come back in that way, I just got mad- not because he doped, but because of the "stupid" way he screwed it all up in his 2 month of his return....

 

[craig1985]

Well Riccò certainly isn't boring, and if it's alright for Katusha to sign di Luca after his half baked confession (you know tell them how he doped, not who supplied the products etc., before we even look at the Oil for drugs affair), then I don't see anything wrong with Riccò trying to comeback, although I don't think it will last too long. Whatever happened to his idea of working in a coffee shop and just riding for fun?

 

[Louison]

Well Riccò certainly isn't boring, and if it's alright for Katusha to sign di Luca after his half baked confession (you know tell them how he doped, not who supplied the products etc., before we even look at the Oil for drugs affair), then I don't see anything wrong with Riccò trying to comeback, although I don't think it will last too long. Whatever happened to his idea of working in a coffee shop and just riding for fun?

How is admitting what you did a "half baked confession?" He confessed, period. Any other info is a bonus, not required for a confession.

 

[Louison]

That is a huge assumption. He screwed up one transfusion. So what? It happens. Should Tommy D be prevented from riding for his own safety because he had a (rumored) bad transfusion? Ricco looks to be too self centered to intentionally harm himself.

What does a rumor have to do with proven facts?

 

[Louison]

Absolutely. If you're going to do it, do it right. It's not like the dopers are short of corrupt doctors. It's just a matter of trying them out until you find one that's right for you.

I just wanted to quote this post because of it's inherent awesomeness!

 

[pedaling squares]

None of those other riders have been officially caught twice. That's not a trivial distinction.

It's hard to rely on the word "official" in this case, considering the circuses cum corrupt parliaments that are the UCI and the national federations. One rider may have been "officially" caught in 1999 and 2001, yet has no "official" sanctions.

What does a rumor have to do with proven facts?

The rumour of the botched blood transfusion, the rumour of Ricco's admissions, or the rumour about Tommy D? So many rumours...

 

[Louison]

It's hard to rely on the word "official" in this case, considering the circuses cum corrupt parliaments that are the UCI and the national federations. One rider may have been "officially" caught in 1999 and 2001, yet has no "official" sanctions.


The rumour of the botched blood transfusion, the rumour of Ricco's admissions, or the rumour about Tommy D? So many rumours...

The botched transfusion is not a rumor from what I have seen. The admission at least has a source that is more then "I heard from this guy who knows someone..." When it comes to Tommy D, all I see are unsubstantiated rumor.

 

[BroDeal]

What does a rumor have to do with proven facts?

You are supposed to be expending your effort to disrupt the Armstrong threads, trollboy, not threads like this one

 

[Altitude]

I hope he comes back. Third time's a charm. No pro tour team will ever sign him again though.

 

[thehog]

You are supposed to be expending your effot to disrupt the Armstrong threads, trollboy, not threads like this one

Noted. I laughed outloud at this one

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

The UCI just denied this story, saying the Croation fed. told them they refused to issue a licence to Ricco.

Susan

 

[Cloxxki]

The UCI just denied this story, saying the Croation fed. told them they refused to issue a licence to Ricco.

Susan

I read it's on grounds that he doesn't reside in Croatia.

Note to self: search a topic regarding Croatia als doping safe haven. I keep hearing that it's off the WADA radar there.

 

[craig1985]

How is admitting what you did a "half baked confession?" He confessed, period. Any other info is a bonus, not required for a confession.

I don't think di Luca telling how he doped is worthy of a discount of suspension, at least Riccò and Sella named their suppliers and which is why they got reduced suspensions,

 

[Louison]

I don't think di Luca telling how he doped is worthy of a discount of suspension, at least Riccò and Sella named their suppliers and which is why they got reduced suspensions,

Doesn't really answer my question, but I agree di Luca should not have gotten off easy.

 

[personal]

I read it's on grounds that he doesn't reside in Croatia.

Note to self: search a topic regarding Croatia als doping safe haven. I keep hearing that it's off the WADA radar there.

What do you mean?

There are no big teams or riders registered there, no big races, no big teams coming to train off season...

 

[Cloxxki]

What do you mean?

There are no big teams or riders registered there, no big races, no big teams coming to train off season...

In athletics context I've heard that it's the go-to place for (perhaps lesser organized) dopers. No testing, lots of freedom. I could have heard incorrectly or be off by a few border crossings.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I don't think di Luca telling how he doped is worthy of a discount of suspension, at least Riccò and Sella named their suppliers and which is why they got reduced suspensions,

In Riccò's case, sort of. The authorities weren't convinced by his confessions, feeling he just named some already well-known doping docs to try to get the reduced ban and get on with it, so he had to appeal to get those months off. Sella, on the other hand, is probably one of the templates for what we would want out of a doper that gets caught, along with the likes of Thomas Frei. There were no excuses, no nonsense, just "yea, you got me. This is what I was doing, this is how, this is when, and this is who I got it from".

Incidentally, the answer to that last question, Matteo Priamo, will have his four year suspension run out mid-year. Miche to sign him? Or Christina Watches?