Vogliamo Filippo Simeoni al Giro 2009

derby

Show your support for Flaminia-Bossini to get chosen to the 2009 Giro.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45849520882

Alberto Contador has. If you look at the list of Simeoni's friends, you'll notice Contador is one of them. Not sure if it is the real Contador, but if it is, somebodies gotta be pissed. :twisted:

derby

Simeoni has picked up almost 70 new friends in the 24 hrs since this was posted here, and I know many of those are from this forum. Show your support for Filippo getting into the Giro. Flaminia has quite a few solid riders who deserve to ride the Giro. Besides the Italian national champion, they have many fine riders with significant results including Giampaolo Caruso and Dainius Kairelis. Here's their website:

http://www.teamflaminia.com/Home.php

And here are some of the latest news reports:

http://www.velonews.com/article/84947/a ... to-simeoni

http://www.velonews.com/article/84930/s ... ong-return

derby

Oh, and some of the comments posted by Simeoni's new friends are quite entertaining. You can enjoy those here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45849520882

DaveyL

Let Pippo ride!

LangerDan

Has Simeoni complied with the standards we set for other returned offenders and apologised for his previous doping? Or do we all love him because he is "my enemy's enemy"?

disgruntledgoat

I hadn't realised that there was an agreed set of standards I had to sign up to.... Can somebody put a copy under my nose?

My only standards for judging a returning rider is did he take his punishment without semantic arguments/legal wriggling (in this instance yes), is he prepared to whistleblow on those who facilitate and supply doping products (again yes) and is he making hte right noises about riding clean ("I am proud to say i am a clean rider", yes! Althoguh i recognise i can't police him every day).

derby

LangerDan wrote:

Has Simeoni complied with the standards we set for other returned offenders and apologised for his previous doping? Or do we all love him because he is "my enemy's enemy"?

I didn't know we all loved him, but since you say we do, how about a GROUP HUG! yeeeaah! And as far as I know, he is not my enemies' enemy. But I'll check on that.

I admire this guy incredibly. In spite of his virtual complete ostracism by his fellow workers and the inner pain he has no doubt had to endure as a result, he has manned up and made something remarkable for himself. To be the Italian National Champion. That is legend. That says legions of the stuff he is made of, and in my book, he is a head above most of his compatriots. That is why I love him. Your turn, Dan.

Oh, and since you haven't been paying attention, he did confess and turn in his dealer, Lance's trainer, Ferrari. And he served his suspension. I think that's what you were trying to find out, right?

Kléber

Sporting justice

Schmidthouse

derby wrote:

Oh, and some of the comments posted by Simeoni's new friends are quite entertaining. You can enjoy those here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45849520882

And notice one of his friends is Betsy Andreu.....

LangerDan

derby wrote:

LangerDan wrote:

Has Simeoni complied with the standards we set for other returned offenders and apologised for his previous doping? Or do we all love him because he is "my enemy's enemy"?

I didn't know we all loved him, but since you say we do, how about a GROUP HUG! yeeeaah! And as far as I know, he is not my enemies' enemy. But I'll check on that.

I admire this guy incredibly. In spite of his virtual complete ostracism by his fellow workers and the inner pain he has no doubt had to endure as a result, he has manned up and made something remarkable for himself. To be the Italian National Champion. That is legend. That says legions of the stuff he is made of, and in my book, he is a head above most of his compatriots. That is why I love him. Your turn, Dan.

Oh, and since you haven't been paying attention, he did confess and turn in his dealer, Lance's trainer, Ferrari. And he served his suspension. I think that's what you were trying to find out, right?

I'm just interested to know that when other riders make their comeback, who had been banned for doping, not contested that ban and given information to the authorities, are we going to regard their return as a victory? I'm not knocking what Simeoni has done and his treatment at the hands of Armstrong has been a dark mark on the sport's history, but I can't help but feel that people won't be creating Facebook pages for, oh, Sinkewitz or Sella. Hell, even Ricco has shopped people and apologised but I can't see many going to bat for him.

derby

Schmidthouse wrote:

derby wrote:

Oh, and some of the comments posted by Simeoni's new friends are quite entertaining. You can enjoy those here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45849520882

And notice one of his friends is Betsy Andreu.....

Yes, I noticed her, though her picture is a bit odd. I wonder about some of those profiles. I also saw Jose Serpa on his list of friends and a harem of hot babes. The babes alone make it worth being one of Filippo's friends.

derby

Can somebody go here:

http://www.tuttobiciweb.it/index.php?pa ... &allcomm=1

and translate that. It appears Simeoni is being linked to this team:

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89quip ... k_H%C2%B20

but if I read this correctly, he is saying he knows nothing about it.

Help?

iainf72

The old doper is being linked with the new H20 team who hope to bring him in as a leader.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id= ... /nov11news

derby

iainf72 wrote:

The old doper is being linked with the new H20 team who hope to bring him in as a leader.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id= ... /nov11news

He's not that old.

Echo et les Boniments

On tuttobiciweb.it Pippo is quoted as saying he still hasn't signed for any team yet and basically he's getting sick of both H20 and Ceramica Flaminia claiming he's going to ride for them in 2009 and showing his name around to try and lure potential sub-sponsors. Pippo says his lawyer (Thom Weisel???) will take care of that soon...

Apparently Pippo believes he's grown too big for Flaminia but in Italy the word is H20 manager Radoni is a 1st-cat schmoozer and the whole H20 hype is to be taken with a kilogram of salt. H20 aren't certain to get a wild card and ride the Giro in 2009. Actually H20 aren't certain to be around in 2009. So, which way should Simeoni jump?

derby

Echo, thanks for the translation. It appears Simeoni has decided to jump back to Flaminia:

http://www.tuttobiciweb.it/index.php?pa ... 19270&tp=n

Now will they get into the Giro?

iainf72

RCS didn't invite a team last year with a former winner of the Giro on it.

So he's got a slim chance I'd suggest. About all he's got going for him is he's the Italian champion.

blazing_saddles

Yes, funnily enough, I was wondering, only yesterday, as to why Aqua & Sapone have shown no interest in picking up Simeoni. After all, Garzelli was angry and upset, last year, when he found out that being a Giro winner, cut no mustard with the RCS and it's wildcards.
Adding the "Triclolore" to their line up would surely tip the scale in their favour.

However, as with JJ, it seems an Omerta stoolie is less acceptable to most teams, than a gang member, who does his time, quietly.

iainf72

If there was no Lance factor involved in Simeoni, no one would give a toss that he hadn't been invited to the Giro.

So people want him invited to the Giro out of pity?

Kléber

I think Acqua et Sapone was excluded specifically because of Garzelli, following pressure from sources within the UCI that he was up to no good? Simeoni would do well to avoid him.

calvjones

iainf72 wrote:

If there was no Lance factor involved in Simeoni, no one would give a toss that he hadn't been invited to the Giro.

So people want him invited to the Giro out of pity?

Um, no 'cos it would be fun!

derby

Granted, outside of Italy, Simeoni is just another face in the peloton. As evidenced by the comments on the facebook site, others including myself became fans, not because of his incident with LA, but because of how he reacted to it. He fought back and became a success. And I think many of the tifosi do give a toss about whether he rides the Giro because they are his fans and because he is the Italian National Road Champion. But the marketing people should see it like Calvin does.

calvjones wrote:

Um, no 'cos it would be fun!

This will attract loads of attention.

Kléber

iainf72 wrote:

If there was no Lance factor involved in Simeoni, no one would give a toss that he hadn't been invited to the Giro.

So people want him invited to the Giro out of pity?

If he wasn't national champion, the "campaign" by some would surely be a lot more subdued. I'd still like to see him there, it feels at the moment as if many cheats are getting the rewards. We-know-who is collecting appearance money for his come back tour and the likes of Basso lie for months and months and now expect fans to believe their ghost-written diary. It would be helpful if a few riders who've admitted wrongdoing and moved on got a break too. Not that Simeoni is a saint, far from it.

feersumendjinn

I am constantly at a loss to explain to my non cycling friends why its OK for one convicted doper to make a comeback & it be a sign that cycling is moving on and another s comeback is dragging cycling backward
Just because he named the odd name, which mostly seems to be others low down in the chain and an attempt to ameliorate the blame for doping in the first place. Claims to be hard done to by other in the team/peloton, which always smacks of score settling.
Is it just a case of the classic repentant thief con? The "I'm good now cos i realised I done wrong & have found a) religion b) the light c)a lucrative income on the magazine interview circuit". Though I note that few of these folks ever find the light before they get caught

So lets not have any of them back then maybe we can actually move along.

blazing_saddles

Love what he's just said to Lance:-
"We are rivals on the bike, but we can be friends in charity works," he said. "He is dedicated to the fight against cancer, and I am dedicated to [Italian blood donation association] AVIS. These are two solidarity projects that could be united in one important event for the world of sport and society. I would like to ride with Armstrong side by side to promote our projects for a good cause."

Kléber

feersumendjinn, Simeoni's not perfect but we'll never get out of the mess until riders start apologising, admitting wrong doing and name the networks of doctors around them. Yes he doped but then so did most riders in Italy. Only now things are changing, what was once tolerable is no longer acceptable. Anyone who chips away at the omerta and who exposes Dr Ferrari has done something positive.

feersumendjinn

Kléber, I don't disagree
I simply don't think that having him or any of the convicted back in the peloton is helpful.

Simeoni didn't "come out" to help cycling but because despite chemical help he wasn't getting the results he thought he was paying for or the attention from Ferrari he thought he should get.



[/quote]

derby

feersumendjinn wrote:

Simeoni didn't "come out" to help cycling but because despite chemical help he wasn't getting the results he thought he was paying for or the attention from Ferrari he thought he should get.

I'm not sure where you're getting this idea. Is this speculation on your part? Simeoni has stated that as long as Carrera was paying for his consultations with Ferrari, he continued them. When his team stopped paying Ferrari, he stopped going to him. Simeoni testified in court because Ferrari was being investigated, Simeoni was a client of Ferrari, and so Simeoni was investigated. Simeoni says he didn't want to lie to authorities, especially not in court, so he spilled the beans. Considering the Marion Jones experience, I can't say I fault him for telling the truth under oath. Here is where he points out most of what I say above:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... =12&page=2

With regards to lifetime bans, right to work laws may get in the way that.

feersumendjinn

I'm not sure where you're getting this idea. Is this speculation on your part?

GQ magazine (well known cycling mag')

He had become known for his revelations to a judge in 1998 admitting taking dope as an amateur and then following a doping programme under the guidance of Dr. Michele Ferrari. Simeoni broke the relationship off when he felt he wasn't getting the results or the attention from Ferrari that he was expecting. These allegations led to him being questioned by the Italian police investigating Ferrari

derby

feersumendjinn wrote:

I'm not sure where you're getting this idea. Is this speculation on your part?

GQ magazine (well known cycling mag')

He had become known for his revelations to a judge in 1998 admitting taking dope as an amateur and then following a doping programme under the guidance of Dr. Michele Ferrari. Simeoni broke the relationship off when he felt he wasn't getting the results or the attention from Ferrari that he was expecting. These allegations led to him being questioned by the Italian police investigating Ferrari

The best I can gather here is that you have snipped the above quote from here:

http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=8691 ,

scroll down to "Rebel with a Cause? Posted 7/27/2004 " and you snipped out the words,

" - which were then published in a European edition of GQ magazine - ",

to make it appear you werer taking this directly from the GQ magazine interview.

I haven't got much time now. More later.

feersumendjinn

It was emailed to me a while back & not edited by myself
That will learn me to believe stuff i read...