Contador Ruling
Comments
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andyp wrote:Huret wrote:Good point. I still maintain Carlos Sastre won the 2008 TdF with the time he gained in a breakaway with the later disqualified Ricco.
The whole system is a joke.
Way off topic, but Sastre was never in a break with Ricco in the 2008 Tour.
Well, I just scoured the archives, could've swore I saw a video of Ricco and Sastre away. I stand corrected. Must have been a dream.
It's not off topic at all. The point is, retrospectively banning riders makes a farce of the races they had competed in.Savoie between the Glandon and the Madeleine.0 -
Gazzaputt wrote:still harp back to his attack on Schlek when he lost his chain.
To be fair to Contador, it's not his fault if Andy Schleck is too much of a spastic to change gear properly.
I've been no fan of Alberto, but he is an exciting rider and the Tour will be all the poorer for his absence this year.0 -
Huret wrote:andyp wrote:Huret wrote:Good point. I still maintain Carlos Sastre won the 2008 TdF with the time he gained in a breakaway with the later disqualified Ricco.
The whole system is a joke.
Way off topic, but Sastre was never in a break with Ricco in the 2008 Tour.
Well, I just scoured the archives, could've swore I saw a video of Ricco and Sastre away. I stand corrected. Must have been a dream.
It's not off topic at all. The point is, retrospectively banning riders makes a farce of the races they had competed in.
in the final few k up to Prato Nevoso. Different panto villain(s) involved0 -
Ahead of the press conference coming Tuesday, Cyclismas reporter Frank Mercer was given a special exclusive interview with Contador, where no question was out of bounds. The interview was conducted in English, with one of Contador’s trusted inner circle providing translation.
Frank Mercer: Thank you for agreeing to the interview. We’re sorry that it’s under these difficult circumstances.
Alberto Contador: You’re welcome.
FM: How are you feeling at this very moment about the verdict?
AC: I’m very confused. I was told after spending all this money that I was protected like Armstrong was protected, and I was the new “anointed one,” I’m not sure how we ended up here.
FM: Do you think it had anything to do with the Spanish Federation getting involved?
AC: After meeting with Rossi and some man back a year and a half ago, and being told how the UCI handles these things, I’m surprised that I’m here. The mistake that I made though, was going public after that German TV reporter found out the story, and I held that press conference explaining what happened. Pat called me every name in the book on the phone with my brother after that press conference. But still, they assured me that everything was arranged. They even told me what lawyers to use. I was surprised that they appealed the case after the RFEC verdict, but other factors came into play.
FM: Other factors? Such as?
AC: WADA. My lawyers explained to me that WADA has always been the problem. A problem that Verbruggen has been trying to solve by using SportAccord. WADA doesn’t do what the UCI or the IOC want, as I’m told that they get funding from federations mostly. Usually UCI and WADA agree on appeals, but for some reason in my case WADA didn’t listen to the UCI and filed their own separate appeal. Uncle Pat wasn’t too happy about that, according to what Alain Rumpf told me. He also told me that WADA has been cooperating with Interpol on an investigation into sport governing body corruption, but I wasn’t supposed to talk about that yet.
FM: It sounds like to me like being a professional cyclist isn’t about the racing anymore. Do you agree?
AC: Yes. It’s tough to know where to go anymore. Team owners want something from you. Sponsors want something. UCI wants something. We riders have no one that looks after our interests. A team owner says, you’re going to get that vitamin shot, so you’d better take it now. How do I know it’s vitamins? Someone told me about a Swiss guy that was stuck with drugs by his own soigneur, and he didn’t even know it. That still happens today. We are supposed to “trust” the teams, team doctors, and the federation people, and then that thing happens to Kittel.
FM: So what is the answer? A union?
AC: We are the only team-type sport in the world where professional athletes do not have impartial representation to negotiate with competition organizers, team owners, and their sport’s governing body. If the UCI cared, they would want us to be safer and quit fighting about radios and technology. If the team owners cared, they wouldn’t demand so many racing days out of the non-stars on the teams. If the race organizers cared, they would do a better job with accommodations, transfers and course safety. So yes, I think a union run by the WorldTour riders would be beneficial.
FM: So do you think changes there would help the riders?
AC: I think the pressure on the peloton is immense. Based on the amount of money in the sport now, it is easier to come by doping products, and team people can’t be around all the riders all the time. It’s impossible. But the real problem is all the promises the UCI makes to the sponsors of the sport to keep them investing. It’s like me promising my wife to keep getting her a bigger house to make her happy, but how do I pay for it? I borrow, I borrow, I borrow, and start making bad decisions based on my debt. It makes it easy for the bad element to get mixed up in things.
FM: The bad element? Crime?
AC: Yes. It may not be as bad as some sports, but it’s there.
FM: Did you dope?
AC: I don’t know how the clenbuterol got in my system. I pride myself on racing clean.
FM: Are you aware of what happened to Greg LeMond in 1986?
AC: No. I was only four years old then.
FM: Oh, right. Well, he was told that there were partisan fanatics that didn’t want him to win, and he should be careful with his samples. He went so far as to take melted wax, seal his samples with his thumbprint, and take a picture of them.
AC: Wow, he was a smart man. There are many opportunities and many people with power and money who can make things happen in cycling. That doesn’t surprise me. But I would be really alarmed that something like tampering with samples is anything other than an extraordinarily rare situation.
FM: Have you read through the entire verdict yet?
AC: No, for me it is a done issue. I’m going to take my suspension, and come back to race the Vuelta in August. The decision really makes no sense as it was told to me, because everyone told me that it must have been the steak that caused my positive. But I’m taking so many different things by so many experts around the team, so maybe it could have been a mistake by one of the many doctors that support the team. I know that Riis’ pieces can be out of place at times, but they are all very serious people who know what they are doing, so I doubt it could have been a mistake.
FM: You have quite a bit of faith in Riis. Does it bother you that he confessed to doping and was involved with doping as a rider?
AC: You cannot be involved with cycling at the professional level without at least two people involved in team operations having a connection to some sort of doping event, or questionable performances, or a conviction, or something. There are many riders from Discovery and U.S. Postal, for example, who have moved into positions on other teams. Same with Festina. Or Once. Or T-Mobile.
FM: So are you saying that teams shouldn’t hire people who are suspected of being involved with doping?
AC: If that were the case, there wouldn’t be a sport at all! [much laughing from everyone in the room]
FM: In that case, do you think that doping should be legalized?
AC: Aye Carumba. I don’t know. That might put some of the poorer teams at a disadvantage, but I guess they already have a disadvantage now.
FM: Are you suggesting that money is causing problems in the sport?
AC: Money is causing many problems yes. But the UCI doesn’t seem interested in addressing this with salary limits, or team budget limits. Some days I wonder why they are involved with the professional side of the sport. Bjarne tells me the structure was proper before the IOC allowed professionals into the Olympics in the 90s, and that the UCI’s eyes were bigger than their stomach could manage and agreed to a combination of the amateur and professional association. When I was young, we all dreamed of the Olympics being a stone to step to the Tour de France. It wasn’t as important as the Tour. The UCI has tried to make it as big, but it really is no different than the world championships for me.
FM: Speaking of the Tour, who is your pick to win it this year?
AC: Well, since I won’t be there this year [weak smile], it could be anyone’s race. I think Nibali might be strong this year, but I don’t know. I do know that the English and their talk of Wiggins is ridiculous with the addition of Cavendish. Froome is a better talent, and a nicer guy. Evans is strong with a powerful support team, but I stand beside and behind my friend Andy. I’d like to see him win one, and not by UCI means.
FM: Thank you for your time, Alberto. We will see you in August.
What the fuck?
Seriously. What the fuck?
Can't you guys see what low level people are calling the shots here and ruining lifes.
Read what Contador is saying. The guy is a very respectable person.
I'm disgusted.
And lofl at the blue highlighted line.Contador is the Greatest0 -
That's not a real interview, but a piece of satire surely. I mean, he says "Riis' pieces"!0
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Still the Champion.
Contador is the Greatest0 -
Scratch that, it's on International Eurosport and Eurosport HD only at the moment.0
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Frenchie - please say you did nt take that seriously?! Uncle Pat, Aye Carumba, the new annointed one for spending money like Armstrong? (!!!) No way that came from AC. I know you re suffering dude but.....
At least look at the banner at the top of the page. Cyclismas - A fresh take on cycling snark and commentary from a merry band of misfits..We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
AND RIIS' PIECES....
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ddraver wrote:frenchfighter wrote:Clen could have got into his system via, contaminated meat, blood transfusion, orally or contaminated supplement.
Contaminated Supplement.
-The supplements he was taking were also used by the Astana team during the Tour and throughout the season and these supplements have been available in 2011 and no rider has failed a test for clenbuterol after taking them.
-He did not take supplements between 20th and 21st Jul tests
-None of the supplements manufacturers have been implicated in doping cases
-Contador provided an expert showing that the concentration found was outside the range of pharmaceuticals or of vitamin supplements
Blood transfusion
-Scientifically impossible
-Impossible for pharmaceutical and toxicological reasons
-Polygraph taken, with the question asked resulted in this being proven false
-His blood parameters during the Tour were normal
-WADAs theory is founded on inaccurate figures that could not have happened
-WADAs expert made a number of basic but critical oversights
-The report from Contador's expert on the matter shows that the clen in the sample could not have come from a plasma transfusion under any reasonable circumstances
-WADAs interpretation of sampling statistics is flawed
-Ashenden is not objective
-The test is not validated
Orally
Zero benefit of any form to take this small amount deliberately and likely impossible to do so physically.
Meat contamination
-Levels are low enough
-Proven to occur in other countries
-Meat sold in Spain is not all internally produced and there are imports including black market ones from South America (edit: not an issue as meat is supposedly traced to a Spanish farmer; whose brother was condemned in a clenbuterol fattening case. Although there is some grey area on the source of the meat according to Castellana detectives)
Can we have the source for this please Frenchie? Thanks..
I was wondering that too. It seems like a biased summary of Contador's evidence with some asides by Frenchie rather than a summary of all the evidence.0 -
ddraver wrote:Frenchie - please say you did nt take that seriously?! Uncle Pat, Aye Carumba, the new annointed one for spending money like Armstrong? (!!!) No way that came from AC. I know you re suffering dude but.....
At least look at the banner at the top of the page. Cyclismas - A fresh take on cycling snark and commentary from a merry band of misfits..
Well, he did from his posting... and he highlighted loads of it!! Amazing how you someone can go into detail, reading and highlighting, and miss that the whole massive thing is made up and funny ...but unlucky out of all people it was FF that took it as real and posted it!!! Brilliant.0 -
From the Guardian piece
"Do not go to the report looking for light relief, apart perhaps from in paragraph 277, part of a section dealing with the Basque government's report into the provenance of the controversial joint. They concluded that it had to be "solomillo veal" due to the price of the meat purchased, €32 per kg, and that the animal in question must have weighed about 290kg, and that Alberto's bit of veal would have been roughly half the veal joint available from the animal."
...brilliant, why make up a steak story that apparently you can be made a laughing stock from (no pun) with such a simple bit of maths?? ...if the quote above is true then the excuse was laughable before they even got to the science behind Clen moving from animal to person.
...or, am I completely missing something from what's being said here??
...and, if it was veal cos of the price, who would use a drug to make veal leaner??!0 -
Read the report. All of it. It's pretty good.Contador is the Greatest0
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That interview was copied from a supposedly reputable source which wasn't directly from the site. So I hadn't checked the website itself or heard of it before.Contador is the Greatest0
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frenchfighter wrote:Read the report. All of it. It's pretty good.
Think I'll make up my own mind if its pretty good actually, especially after your critique of the interview you posted0 -
frenchfighter wrote:That interview was copied from a supposedly reputable source which wasn't directly from the site. So I hadn't checked the website itself or heard of it before.
...or read it and been able to spot the whole thing was one massive joke
...dont worry, wont say any more, was funny though.0 -
Cannot see that interview being for real.
If it is :shock:0 -
mfin, you should seriously try and improve yourself - your character and your contributions. It should get boring to be forever showing up on doping threads and posting lightweight stuff, simply trying to create a stir while interjecting a few posts attempting to bolster your credibility. unless of course your level of iq is at certain limits.
Don't waste your time replying to me any more as I will not waste mine reading your posts let alone replying to them. You join the pantheon of non-entities, congratulations.Contador is the Greatest0 -
frenchfighter wrote:mfin, you should seriously try and improve yourself - your character and your contributions. It should get boring to be forever showing up on doping threads and posting lightweight stuff, simply trying to create a stir while interjecting a few posts attempting to bolster your credibility. unless of course your level of iq is at certain limits.
Don't waste your time replying to me any more as I will not waste mine reading your posts let alone replying to them. You join the pantheon of non-entities, congratulations.
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For that you may readYou have made me appear foolish and, thus, I am taking my ball home"In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"
@gietvangent0 -
For those that didn't read the report the cow discussion went as follows:
1. Everyone agreed Contador ate a steak from a butcher's in Spain
2. The price meant and chef said it was a certain type of steak. In particular that it was veal.
3. The people investigating traced it to a farm in Spain. This was based on the assumption that only one farm supplied the butcher with this type of steak.
4. Farm was checked for clen and was found clean
5. Contador contended that the farm in question didn't have calves big enough to provide the steak he ate.
6. Lots of discussion followed about the size of the steak and the size of the associated animals. CAS concluded the farm did have animals large enough especially as it may have been a mature calf.
7. This was important for Contador as if he could have shown it was not from Spain then there was much greater chance of clen.
8. Then they argued about the brother of the farm owner's conviction for clen use in the past....0 -
http://cyclismas.com/2012/02/kim-dotcom ... -decision/
Reputable website. Only if you've had a SOH failure.Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
iainf72 wrote:http://cyclismas.com/2012/02/kim-dotcom-pissed-off-at-armstrong-decision/
Reputable website. Only if you've had a SOH failure.
I've just had a look. From now on definitely the first place I'll go for insider info and serious insight into the world of pro cycling.0 -
For anyone to read that interview, particularly someone so hot at reading up Contador's interviews and to admire his stance on things and his conduct, continually reminding us of it, but then not be able to spot the difference between something completely made-up to make people laugh and something genuine, and emotionally react to it, is, funny.
I wasnt taking the mick, I was pointing it out. If anything it says more about FF's intelligence than mine, but there you go... I know he's embarrassed really, its good to be able to laugh at ourselves, its an endearing quality, one that FF apparently doesnt have, in spades.
Nmind eh
...and there was me pointing out I thought AC was probably innocent of this a while back, albeit for different reasons that AC claimed.
Oh well, I am humiliated and ashamed at my terrible behaviour.0 -
iainf72 wrote:http://cyclismas.com/2012/02/kim-dotcom-pissed-off-at-armstrong-decision/
Reputable website. Only if you've had a SOH failure.
I copied the text from another site. If I had been on the site itself I could have known what it was. It's pretty simple.
Fyi to others. Reveling in others mistakes and gloating are not traits of admirable humans.Contador is the Greatest0 -
bestest thread ever. you know. I mean ever. You know whaddai mean?0