Who is clean?

[ricara]

What riders do you think are clean? And why? (If you feel like explaining.)

I'd like to believe that Cadel and Moncoutie are clean. Pretty sure Millar is clean. Who else?

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Anonymous]

Russ Downing - its taken the guy till 31 to get to a top level team, and then only becuase its a british team and he won the tour of ireland. A rider who genuinly just loves riding. He could have doped ten years ago and had ten years at a good level, but rode domestically instead. (yes i know doping goes on in domestic races). No doubt in my mind the guy is riding purely on guts and what natural talent that family were blessed with.

 

[ricara]

Good on Russ! I remember that the return of a national tour to Ireland after many years was short but marked with brutal weather conditions. What team is Russ riding for this year? Sky? (Sorry to be so dumb...)

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Garmin. Because right now, they're scared sh!tless.

 

[ricara]

If I understand the process correctly, it won't help DZ to be clean now if he was doping in the past. Or am I mistaken?

 

[Inner Peace]

Past Vuelta winners Alejandro Valverde and Jan Ullrich are currently riding clean

Nah in all seriousness, I think there are a number of riders who have top 5'ed in a GT clean.. One of is Australian, one is Italian, one is American, one is English and finally, one is.. ( ).. Spanish

 

[ricara]

C'mon, name some names, please....

Enquiring minds want to know!

 

[BroDeal]

Cunego
Zabriskie
Millar
Tommy D.
Moncoutie
Voeckler
FLandis

 

[La Vie Claire]

Past Vuelta winners Alejandro Valverde and Jan Ullrich are currently riding clean

Nah in all seriousness, I think there are a number of riders who have top 5'ed in a GT clean.. One of is Australian, one is Italian, one is American, one is English and finally, one is.. ( ).. Spanish

By English, you must mean Robert Miller -- I can't think of another top 5 clean Brit in any GT... Cunego is clean now no doubt, but he certainly wasn't when he won the Giro. In fact, you'd have to go all the way back to 1988 to find a clean winner of the Giro. Unless the Italian you have in mind just thought about doping...

A clean Spanish rider? LOL.

 

[issoisso]

A clean Spanish rider? LOL.

*** stereotypes FTW.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Past Vuelta winners Alejandro Valverde and Jan Ullrich are currently riding clean

Nah in all seriousness, I think there are a number of riders who have top 5'ed in a GT clean.. One of is Australian, one is Italian, one is American, one is English and finally, one is.. ( ).. Spanish

evans, cunego, leipheimer, wiggins and sastre?

 

[BroDeal]

evans, cunego, leipheimer, wiggins and sastre?

Leipheimer???? Say what. Did I fall into an alternate reality? FLandis gave him a transfusion in 2005, and his performance during the last few years is better than it was back then. Unlike a Cunego or Zabriskie, who have had a decrease in performance, Leipheimer gets better the older he gets. He will be winning all three GTs in a season by the time he is forty.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Leipheimer???? Say what. Did I fall into an alternate reality? FLandis gave him a transfusion in 2005, and his performance during the last few years is better than it was back then. Unlike a Cunego or Zabriskie, who have had a decrease in performance, Leipheimer gets better the older he gets. He will be winning all three GTs in a season by the time he is forty.

I was guessing inner peaces riders which he was reffering to.

 

[rhubroma]

I can only site an article in la Gazzetta dello Sport yesterday which published Ivan Basso's blood values during the Giro. His hematocrit levels were 43% at the start, 39% after Zoncolan and 38.something at the end of the race.

The daily said this was within "normal human parameter's" and hence, for it, was evidence of Basso being clean throughout the event.

Then there would be Aldo Sassi's sworn testimony that his "boys" (Basso, Evans, and a few other top riders) are clean as he wouldn't tollerate anything less and only works with those whom he believes to be sincere.

Does that mean I believe Basso won the Giro clean? No. However it does seem to me that the risks he would be taking, after his involvement with OP and consequent ban, of defrauding the sport and its fans again would indeed be so great that he would be unbelievably stupid and heinous to engage in doping at this point of his career. I also believe Sassi is sincere in his statements.

Does this, then, mean I have know doubts about Basso's performance? No.

Let's just say I concede myself a little cautious optimism and would find it more incredible that he would be doping now, than accepting a clean Giro win. Though this not without some considerable dilemma. How else can one look upon the sport in this regard?

 

[BroDeal]

I can only site an article in la Gazzetta dello Sport yesterday which published Ivan Basso's blood values during the Giro. His hematocrit levels were 43% at the start, 39% after Zoncolan and 38.something at the end of the race.

The daily said this was within "normal human parameter's" and hence, for it, was evidence of Basso being clean throughout the event.

Then there would be Aldo Sassi's sworn testimony that his "boys" (Basso, Evans, and a few other top riders) are clean as he wouldn't tollerate anything less and only works with those whom he believes to be sincere.

Does that mean I believe Basso won the Giro clean? No. However it does seem to me that the risks he would be taking, after his involvement with OP and consequent ban, of defrauding the sport and its fans again would indeed be so great that he would be unbelievably stupid and heinous to engage in doping at this point of his career. I also believe Sassi is sincere in his statements.

Does this, then, mean I have know doubts about Basso's performance? No.

Let's just say I concede myself a little cautious optimism and would find it more incredible that he would be doping now, than accepting a clean Giro win. Though this not without some considerable dilemma. How else can one look upon the sport in this regard?

There is some things that bother me about Basso. His power to weight ratio is obviously good. His times up the tough Giro climbs were comparable to times before his ban. He does not look any fatter than he used to, so his drag numbers should be similar to what they were before; maybe they should even be a little better since time trial bikes are a little better. Why can't he time trail anymore?

 

[rhubroma]

There is some things that bother me about Basso. His power to weight ratio is obviously good. His times up the tough Giro climbs was comparable to the times before his ban. He does not look any fatter than he used to, so his drag numbers should be similar to what they were before; maybe they should even be a little better since time trial bikes are a little better. Why can't he time trail anymore?

Indeed his time trialing capacity has gone down from the pre-OP season. Some might argue that it has gone down precisely in relation to his no longer being on the sauce.

Again I'm not certain about anything, however, everybody said that his climbing times like when he won on Zoncolan were "human."

I'll tell you what I really don't like, however, is hearing Pat McQuaidiot praise his likes as an exemplary and undeniably clean rider in the wake of his fall. Anything that guy says does not favor one's case.

 

[auscyclefan94]

There is some things that bother me about Basso. His power to weight ratio is obviously good. His times up the tough Giro climbs were comparable to times before his ban. He does not look any fatter than he used to, so his drag numbers should be similar to what they were before; maybe they should even be a little better since time trial bikes are a little better. Why can't he time trail anymore?

He hasn't raced a big tt yet as you can't count last years vuelta as he wa on his come back anyway. What I found surprising was that he was absolutely hopeless before the giro at romandie and trentino and then at the giro he was brilliant.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

He hasn't raced a big tt yet as you can't count last years vuelta as he wa on his come back anyway. What I found surprising was that he was absolutely hopeless before the giro at romandie and trentino and then at the giro he was brilliant.

Indeed, whilst Evans was great in the hilly Classics, Basso was still gaining form

 

[Magnus]

He hasn't raced a big tt yet as you can't count last years vuelta as he wa on his come back anyway. What I found surprising was that he was absolutely hopeless before the giro at romandie and trentino and then at the giro he was brilliant.

Don't be surprised. He just timed his peak perfectly. He didn't look that good in the first week of the giro either. Vino and Evans on the other hand was really strong in the time before the giro and the first week but not so brilliant in the end of the giro.

 

[rhubroma]

He hasn't raced a big tt yet as you can't count last years vuelta as he wa on his come back anyway. What I found surprising was that he was absolutely hopeless before the giro at romandie and trentino and then at the giro he was brilliant.

I don't know. He did finish third on the first mountain finish in the Giro del Trentino. Basso said he altered his preparation from last season to not be over-preped before the Giro, to then ride into top shape for the third week of the race. He even responded to his critics with "Ok, the results aren't there, but lets see if we (he and Sasso) will get the timing right in the Giro's third week."

He did seem to ride at a high level throughout, though gaining momentum, with peaking at the Zoncolan and thus according to his plans. Nibali was at least as good till Zoncolan. Basso then suffered on Plan de Corones uphill time trial, so if he had been on high octain he should have done better there. And then road an avarage last time trial performance. He won the Giro on the mountain stages and especially on Zoncolan, but he did not crush his opponents. Again if we are to consider his blood values throughout, they wouldn't indicate anomolous interventions, which allows one with all the rest to at least reserve a modicum of optimism.

 

[auscyclefan94]

I am still not convinved he could of come into form like that.

 

[rhubroma]

Perhaps because your mate Cadel was loosing his?

At that level if one is getting tired, while the other, because of a different preparation, is comming into his own as they say: then it is quite possible in theory.

 

[lancewillwin8]

Lance was clean at last years tour.

Contador/schleck etc were not.

In my eyes lance won last year.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Lance was clean at last years tour.

Contador/schleck etc were not.

In my eyes lance won last year.

what about 99 to 05?

 

[delbified]

lance is still juiced to the eyeballs. there's no evidence he has changed his ways and to be at the front of the peloton after a few years off and at 38 is 'special'.