Riis, Tour or no Tour

Autobus Straggler · June 2007

I am interested in everyone's opinion on whether or not Riis should be allowed at the tour, i say yes for one reason, if the people who do finally fess up come out and come clean, and they get burned at the stake, i think we will see less and less come out, and it will be back to the days of denial.

Give me pave or give me death!

grimpeur · June 2007

Yes as well, he didn't have to come out about doping. Furthermore, given the anti-doping program CSC now have in place, CSC can be considered cleaner than basically every other team.

Some details of the CSC anti doping program;

o give you some more insight into their new anti-doping program, it was started just before the 2007 season. Dr. Damsgaard, one of the worlds leading authorities in the fight against doping, and for years very critical of cycling and the team; was invited to design a program to monitor the riders. This program is comprised, not only of the usual tests (which unfortunately are not effective for certain types of doping as the past has shown), but also any other tests he sees fit. These include tests that may not show definite proof of doping (and therefore are not used in current, official doping tests), but which can arouse suspicion that something improper is going on. In fact, several other teams have expressed an interest in using the same system for their team so presumably this can be the start of something meaningful. It works as follows:

* Dr. Damsgaard has designed the program, the UCI and WADA have approved it;
* A WADA-approved test management company is responsible to taking samples whenever they see fit; riders are required to advise them about their whereabouts at all times so that they can be tested without prior warning.
* Samples are sent to WADA-accredited labs;
* The samples are tested and the results are sent directly to the UCI and WADA, not to the team, so that there can be no interference;
* Test frequency and timing can be adjusted based on suspicious or inconclusive test results. 90% of the testing is done out-of-competition, when the chances of catching any wrongdoing is greatest;

Stark. · June 2007

My answer is yes, Riis and his team should be at the Tour. From all I've read and seen, he appears to be genuine in his efforts to create a cleaner sport and his (and other riders' confessions) are all part of that process. The knowledge that he doped must have been eating away at him for years.

I think it would be counter-productive to retrospectively punish those people who doped at at time when the whole sport's approach to drugs etc. was much more ambiguous. However, for those cyclists who still insist on doping today, there can be no excuse.

Spiralpro · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Stark

My answer is yes, Riis and his team should be at the Tour. From all I've read and seen, he appears to be genuine in his efforts to create a cleaner sport and his (and other riders' confessions) are all part of that process. The knowledge that he doped must have been eating away at him for years.

I think it would be counter-productive to retrospectively punish those people who doped at at time when the whole sport's approach to drugs etc. was much more ambiguous. However, for those cyclists who still insist on doping today, there can be no excuse.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I agree for the most part. I do think Riis is genuine and a damn fine directeur sportif. I do like CSC policy with regard to doping and testing. I believe Riis and Zabel have done a good turn for cycling. But a cheat is a cheat no matter when the cheat cheated. What I mean, is that, for Riis to be at this years Tour as if nothing happened is a bit much. By that logic we should see Basso by his side and leading the team. After all he never doped, he merely attempted to or thought about doping, or whatever rubbish he came out with. The fact remains Basso was never caught for doping, as far as I'm aware he never even gave a test which raised eyebrows. He has now come out and admitted he was tempted, so why is he (most likely) being given a suspenion?? Why not let him off and it will help other potential cheaters to come forward, or not even attempt to start doping.

Amnesty anyone??

esmit208 · June 2007

I am indifferent about all the individuals coming forward about past indiscretions. On the one hand the overall opinion is they got the money and adoration from the sport but didn't do it cleanly and on the other hand it seems as if we want to crucify them when they come forward with the truth. I understand how the "purists" of the sport feel taken advantage of. I guess the best way to sum up what I really feel is to use a passage from the NEW and OLD Testament. "LET HE WHO IS WITHOUT GUILT THROW THE FIRST STONE"! By virtue of the sport demanding so much physically it is easy to understand why anyone would resort to gain any advantage possible through aerodynamics or modern medicine. Unfortunately modern medicine has the true advantage.<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Autobus Straggler

I am interested in everyone's opinion on whether or not Riis should be allowed at the tour, i say yes for one reason, if the people who do finally fess up come out and come clean, and they get burned at the stake, i think we will see less and less come out, and it will be back to the days of denial.

Give me pave or give me death!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Edward G. Smith

drenkrom · June 2007

I have mixed feelings on this one. He did dope as a rider, but he's not a rider any more. Unless the UCI bar him from keeping his position as team manager for CSC, he has every right to be at the Tour to direct his riders. Keeping him away would be a disadvantage to his team.

On the other hand, I'm sick and tired of doping stories taking more place than the actual races. We can be sure that Riis' presence at the race would take away some attention from the racing and be a distraction to his riders, which would be a disadvantage for his team. i doubt there is a really good answer to this question. i believe he has a right to be there. Whether or not he decides to exercise that right is up to him.

Autobus Straggler · June 2007

Personally, i feel he should be allowed to direct his team...i lost a lot of respect for him, but he is doing good things now...Prudhomme, needs to chill, and embrace those who are doing what they can to clean up the sport...He is a very reactionary individual, who i feel is going to do great things for cycling in france, but he needs to become more personal and calculated with the rest of the cycling world.

Give me pave or give me death!

Julspro · June 2007

I have mixed feelings, too. It seems, depending on the doper, you're either really brave and couragous, or you are the slime of the earth. I do agree Riis cheated. I also agree so did 75% of the rest of the peleton in 1996 (and, okay, in every other year, too - hey, I am still trying to be positive, here!). When I read that he confessed - I was just fed up. 5 minutes later, I sent an email to cyclingnews.com (which got posted today!!). Okay, it was a little dramatic, but I didn't care. It was how I felt after all the confessions. But, the bottom line is - with Riis and everyone else - is I don't care about the past. The more I look at and hear about the past, the more crestfallen I get about cycling. I just want cycling saved. I want to be able watch a great race. I want real competition. I want to be able to brag to people at work how great this sport is and how amazing these riders are. Right now, any time I mention cycling, I get laughed at. Everytime I open up Sports Illustrated, I see a new doping article (Sports Illustrated NEVER has cycling articles, well except for Armstrong, and in the last 2 weeks - 2 articles!! One about Landis/Lemond and the other about Riis).

The bottom line is I think Riis should be at the Tour this year, in his current role. I think Zabel should ride.
In a perfect world, so would Ullrich and Basso - clean, of course. It is sad that those days are gone. That we will never get to see that race again.

Caribbean Soul

funaki · June 2007

Go on let em ride, but having said that i am not convinced by CSC anti doping policy. Looks pretty on paper, but actions speak louder than words.

drenkrom · June 2007

hehe

Above all, Christian Prud'homme should just chill the f*(& out, I think we all agree on that one. [:)]

Riis, Tour or no Tour

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