Both Kimmage and Walsh are on Off The Ball tonight.
Thatâs the major point Conte makes. If you donât separate the testing from those who have an interest in the sport (particularly a financial interest) there is no hope of it ever even being tackled in a serious way.
He gives the example of Major League Baseball where they are entitled to test 30% (400 or so) players in the off-season every year, but their records show that they test only about 50, or 5%. The reason itâs like this is that if they tested properly it would ruin the game, and it would be an absolute disaster from a business perspective. For players to perform at the level theyâre at, they need the drugs to do it, and they want the players to keep performing at that level.
The other really important point is that itâs the off-season that really counts. Thereâs stuff like what Armstrong and his guys were doing where you have a cream that releases testosterone over 4 hours and after 8 hours itâs out of your system, but in general itâs the intensive off-season weight training where the heavy steroid usage it.
Conte gives the example of the sprinter Tim Montgomery, who put on 28lbs of muscle in 8 weeks in an off-season training camp, with his bench press going from 265 to 345lbs. Twenty-eight fucking pounds of lean muscle in two months!
You see that, and you think about whatâs possible in a 4-5 month out of competition spell where the testers are nowhere to be seen.
The problem with the UCI is that they sold their soul to Lance to gain an entry into the US market. If you look in amazon to see dvds about the history of the Tour, itâs all about Lance.
Hamiltonâs book is a cracker, i encourage you all to read it. It is best read as a comedy actually, some of the stuff in it is hilarious. The spanish guy who got sick after transfusing dogs blood, Hamilton failing a dope test because the doctorâs senile assistant mixed the blood bags up and gave him some one elses. Lance shopping him to the UCI when Hamilton was becoming a rival. Landis comes across as a very funny guy and an alright sort.
MacQuaid is one of those guys that love to get their picture taken with celebs. He and Verbruggen have no credibility.
Cool. Thanks for heads up
Can someone bump this or the offtheball thread when they are on
Conte says that Landis got caught in 2006 because he got drunk after having a terrible stage and forgot to take the testosterone patch off.
[quote=âWatch The Break, post: 152021â]
Conte says that Landis got caught in 2006 because he got drunk after having a terrible stage and forgot to take the testosterone patch off.[/quote]
Quite possible. You are supposed to leave them on for two hours only. Hamilton left one on for six hours once when he had friends staying, panicked left home and stayed in a hotel for a night just in case the testers came while he was still âglowingâ.
They are talking about it now.
Verbruggen is probably worse. A pair of absolute cunts.
Iâd encourage anyone with an interest to peruse The Clinic on the cyclingnews.com forums. The sport is just absolutely rotten. Along with plenty of other sports, it has to be said. Itâs all very depressing.
Kimmage on in about 15 minutes
Little dig at Stephen Roche there from Kimmage.
It would put you off the sport altogether reading the cliniic.
The sport is rotten to the core but I still love it.
Less rotten then it was few years back but huge problems remain all right. I couldnât have seen someone like Hesjedal winning Giro back few years back mind. That is hugely positive sign and makes me feel optimistic. I for one would like breakaway from current governing body.
Kimmage not happy with Smith! âWhere was he until now?â
Itâs very interesting all right. Fair bit of bull in it too mind. I think we have happy medium ground between boards and clinic on this forum!
Smith was saying there was no evidence against Armstrong as recently as six month ago.
As I mentioned last week Iâm reading that Hamilton book and its a fantastic read. A real eye opener for someone with limited interest in cycling. It was absolutely impossible to compete without doping. Everyone was at it.
Heard a small clip of McQuaid trying to explain the $100,000 donation to UCI from Lance around the same time as he had a suspicious test result for EPO. What a dickhead.
I agree there should be a breakaway. Wouldnât be too hard? I mean, all the races are organised independently, no? As in, for example, Het Volk is organised by a newspaper etc etc.
I donât feel optimistic though. Iâve been following cycling since 1998 and things do seem a good bit better lately but I donât even like that Vaughters is the face of clean cycling management after reading the affidavitsâŚof all the team-mates he seemed to embrace doping with a disturbing gleeâŚ
Can you PM a link for that tome, Runt. I need to read it to be up to scratch when discussing this and itâs rent week this week so I wonât have the cash to actually buy it for a couple of weeks.
Itâs for charity you stingy get!!