New McQuaid interview

iainf72

http://www.velonews.com/article/77061/a ... at-mcquaid

Interesting read to be fair.

andyp

So is he actually saying the CSF-Navigare are on the hot sauce then? Didn't they sign up to the biological passport scheme?

dave_1

What was Sella's schedule this season and what did he do last season from which his Giro form can be explained?

Kléber

He can't have it both ways. He's say the Pro Tour teams are cleaner than ever but the smaller teams are up to no good. The UCI is still responsible for the rules that govern their anti-doping testing and monitoring. Besides, just a week ago Igor Astarloa was sacked from Milram, Pettachi's been suspended and Moletta is also suspended. There is little for the UCI to be proud of and McQuaid should look at things from Prudhomme's position, that one scandal this summer and the Tour will continue, but as a second rate sports event.

iainf72

Kléber wrote:

There is little for the UCI to be proud of and McQuaid should look at things from Prudhomme's position, that one scandal this summer and the Tour will continue, but as a second rate sports event.

The problem with that is the very best thing for Prudhomme is to take control of the anti-doping and make sure there are no violations.

The great unwashed believe the tests work. Therefore, if no one tests positive it's all good. One positive test and the whole thing is toxic.

Free tests? I could offer them - Ship over the pee samples, I'll pour them down the bogs and tell you it was fine.

Salsiccia

iainf72 wrote:

Kléber wrote:

There is little for the UCI to be proud of and McQuaid should look at things from Prudhomme's position, that one scandal this summer and the Tour will continue, but as a second rate sports event.

The problem with that is the very best thing for Prudhomme is to take control of the anti-doping and make sure there are no violations.

The great unwashed believe the tests work. Therefore, if no one tests positive it's all good. One positive test and the whole thing is toxic.

Free tests? I could offer them - Ship over the pee samples, I'll pour them down the bogs and tell you it was fine.

I agree entirely, there is such huge conflict of interests. Turkeys don't vote for Christmas.

iainf72

Salsiccia wrote:

I agree entirely, there is such huge conflict of interests. Turkeys don't vote for Christmas.

And the UCI should also not be involved.

We need a single entity across sports.

Salsiccia

iainf72 wrote:

Salsiccia wrote:

I agree entirely, there is such huge conflict of interests. Turkeys don't vote for Christmas.

And the UCI should also not be involved.

We need a single entity across sports.

A nice idea, but some sports don't want to look...

micron

"a cyclist could end up positive in a race, he could be sanctioned, he could then go to a civil court and use those statements of Dick Pound’s against the UCI to have the judge agree with him that the UCI didn’t take enough measures against doping, and therefore clear him on that, or he could have a case against the UCI on that basis."

The man is an ass - and his assertions that the Conti teams are dirty whilst the PT teams are whiter than white is idiotic. The sport needs a strong leader who can unify it and can view the sport objectively - McQuaid plays favourites all the time, protecting some riders and pursuing others when he should hold all teams and riders to the same level of scrutiny.

Kléber

iainf72 wrote:

Free tests? I could offer them - Ship over the pee samples, I'll pour them down the bogs and tell you it was fine.

Until we get published results instead of the current radio silence, I'm assuming this is the technique employed by Damsgaard and ACL

blazing_saddles

So, he's had a busy week.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id= ... jun05news2
I know this is yesterday's news, but I wonder, reading his comments, is there anything they can do to stop Vino riding the Olympics?

I've also read a rumour that negotiations for Astana's Giro entry were under way in March, but Bruyneel refused to send Contador. The RCS wouldn't budge.
So, the Kazakh government ordered him to put Bertie in the team and the invite was forthcoming.

As other federations have cut suspensions, for watered down admissions or limited whistle blowing, having tested positive, I can see Vino being forced back into the Astana fold. Should please the ASO, no end. :roll:
Not surprised if JB is, once again, number two in a team.

iainf72

Kléber wrote:

iainf72 wrote:

Free tests? I could offer them - Ship over the pee samples, I'll pour them down the bogs and tell you it was fine.

Until we get published results instead of the current radio silence, I'm assuming this is the technique employed by Damsgaard and ACL

The problem with publishing results is you've got idiots like me on the internets who know little about these things but will happily poke at the results.

iainf72

Blazing Saddles wrote:

So, he's had a busy week.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id= ... jun05news2
I know this is yesterday's news, but I wonder, reading his comments, is there anything they can do to stop Vino riding the Olympics?

Yes. He's not in the testing pool so cannot get a license for the Olympics.

Vino ain't coming back.

blazing_saddles

iainf72 wrote:

Blazing Saddles wrote:

So, he's had a busy week.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id= ... jun05news2
I know this is yesterday's news, but I wonder, reading his comments, is there anything they can do to stop Vino riding the Olympics?

Yes. He's not in the testing pool so cannot get a license for the Olympics.

Vino ain't coming back.

I'm not an authority on this, but I have read other's "gossip". They say, all he has to do is sign up, at some point, thus avoiding much of the out of comp testing.
Others have done the same, apparently. I'm not sure if they were talking cycling, however.

Any ideas?

iainf72

Blazing Saddles wrote:

I'm not an authority on this, but I have read other's "gossip". They say, all he has to do is sign up, at some point, thus avoiding much of the out of comp testing.
Others have done the same, apparently. I'm not sure if they were talking cycling, however.

Any ideas?

Yep, I looked into it a while ago. It's very clear, Vino doesn't have a hope

http://www.uci.ch/Modules/BUILTIN/getOb ... d=MzQxNzE&

Section 277

He'd have to make himself available for 6 months before his planned return.

blazing_saddles

Thanks for that, Iain.

LangerDan

iainf72 wrote:

Blazing Saddles wrote:

I'm not an authority on this, but I have read other's "gossip". They say, all he has to do is sign up, at some point, thus avoiding much of the out of comp testing.
Others have done the same, apparently. I'm not sure if they were talking cycling, however.

Any ideas?

Yep, I looked into it a while ago. It's very clear, Vino doesn't have a hope

http://www.uci.ch/Modules/BUILTIN/getOb ... d=MzQxNzE&

Section 277

He'd have to make himself available for 6 months before his planned return.

Unless he "forgot" to return his Licence to the Kazakh national federation to make his retirement valid - or the Kazakh federation didn't record his retirement.

Wasn't there a thread a couple of months back on how the UCI hadn't completed their sanctioning of Vino because they assumed he had retired?

micron

It would be quite likely that some scam such as this could happen - and then do you think Vino and Kash will be at Astana - or will the Kazakh money men withdraw and set up a new team? Only I found the way that Bruyneel was talking up Contador (a Spaniard's) win in the Giro as great for the nation of Kazakhstan as something of an appeal to the moneymen to keep sponsoring.

Off topic but all within the scope of the UCI - and that would be interesting if, as LD says, they 'assumed' he retired and his federation assumed he retired and it was never finalised...

ms_tree

Returning to original topic of thread - ASO vUCI. It's time someone banged their heads together! If they'd sat down at the start and talked about it rationally it probably could have been sorted out then but, no, UCI/Verbruggen dug heels in - no you can't have movement in and out of PT like you do in football and cricket. You have to have the teams I say you must have. You must do as I say. So GT organisers get hump and break away and we end up with a mess.
I thought the idea was quite good at first and that I would see good riders in all races but as usual it wasn't thought out or discussed properly.
They need more women in there . We'd sort it out!
Incidentally did you see piece in paper at weekend (again) about doping in golf?

iainf72

micron wrote:

Off topic but all within the scope of the UCI - and that would be interesting if, as LD says, they 'assumed' he retired and his federation assumed he retired and it was never finalised...

He would've still needed to input his data into the whereabouts system. And if he hasn't then he's not complied with the anti-doping stuff and won't be able to compete.

micron

Think the Kazakh oil money cares about little niceties like that

McQuaid is Verbruggen's lapdog and Hein is definitely still pulling the strings - the PT had some good ideas but the format of a season long competition didn't really need to be tinkered with - they had the template in the Super Prestige Pernod. They took something that wasn't broke and didn't need fixing and then broke it and didn't fix it properly.

As for more women - there was a woman who tried to run against McQuaid and bring charges of corruption and Gipper seems pretty good - but I agree Ms Tree, not enough of us about

andyp

micron wrote:

McQuaid is Verbruggen's lapdog and Hein is definitely still pulling the strings - the PT had some good ideas but the format of a season long competition didn't really need to be tinkered with - they had the template in the Super Prestige Pernod.

Verbruggen still has an office at UCI HQ in Aigle. What are the odds he'll be back in situ once the Beijing Olympics are out of the way?

LangerDan

Verbruggen has bigger, more profitablefish to fry. Once he gets his feet under the main International Olympic Committee table he's not going to be too worried about the in-fighting of some self-destructing federation. The only thing that will keep Hein involved in cycling is if he pulls an Ecclestone-type stroke with the TV rights.

blazing_saddles

Just watched today's stage, in the Basque Bike.
The entire Caisse d'Piti team got on the front of the peloton,
stayed there and blew almost every Pro-Conti rider out the back.

Yes, Pat, the OP PT boys are clean as whistles, while the little guys are all called dertie. :roll:

iainf72

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Just watched today's stage, in the Basque Bike.
The entire Caisse d'Piti team got on the front of the peloton,
stayed there and blew almost every Pro-Conti rider out the back.

[Put on special Rapha devils advocate hat]

All things being equal, isn't this exactly what you'd expect to happen if the sport was clean? Big team hits the front and shells the little ones?

If a team like Preti Mangi (my new favourite dodgy team) did that it would be more worrying, would you say?

blazing_saddles

Yes, you would.
Especially as it was mostly EE, SD and Tinkoff hanging on for grim death. (Baden Cooke managed it, too, as you would expect, with his "Northern" experience)

However, tends to fly in the face of Uncle Pat's theory.

So, the Dauphine Libere couldn't afford to accommodate Agritubel and old Moreau, forking out to foot McNut's Pro Tour bills......

blazing_saddles

Seems that Roberto Heras may be back for the Vuelta.

Link here (Spanish)

http://www.sport.es/default.asp?idpubli ... io_PK=1268

In brief, it says that KG have been talking to Heras, who has decided that he would like to return to Pro cycling. The sticking point might be the opinion of the Vuelta organisers. KG are hoping that they consider that the two years' ban is sufficient punishment for Heras for doping, and that the Vuelta people will qllow him to ride the Giro for KG.

Which testing pool has he spent the last 6 months in? :shock: