Manuel Beltran has tested positive for EPO at the Tour De France. He was a domestique for Armstrong at US Postal and Discovery for 3 of Armstrong's Tour wins. He must be the 10th rider to fall foul of EPO and blood doping from the Armstrong/Michele Ferrari/Johan Bruyneel camp and with Bruyneel himself banned from the Tour because of the psoitive EPO tests of his main riders last year - Vinoukourov, Andreas Kloden, etc., once more it casts a large shadow over Armstrong and his Tour 'legacy'.
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Yeah it makes you wonder if Lance was also juicing. I really hope not. He gave hope to so many people with cancer. All those yellow wrist bands. It makes you wonder if anyone is really clean. You have to wonder about that 40+ year old swimmer Dara Torres as well. That's why I think they eventually are going to have to legalize all steroids.
alen1 likes this. -
I think legalising the drugs will kill sport. What sort of message does that send to young kids when you tell them that aspirationally they can only go so far before they have to start doping?
It's a fascinating debate. I agree that Armstrong is an inspiration, but there is so much that goes against him in terms of what people like Frankie Andrieu have said. And his treatment of Christophe Bassons and the Italian whistleblower REALLY makes you wonder, quite apart from the systematic doping that was in place at all three of his major teams; Motorola, US Postal and Discovery and his refusal to stop working with Michele Ferrari even after he was outed as a doctor who supplied EPO, blood transfusions, and other drugs to cyclists. -
she voluntarily(sp?) joined a drug testing program...cuz she knew this was gonna come up..i saw her interviewed on jay leno or conan i cant remember...how much could steroids help swimming anyways? its technique not strength
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How about Riccardo Ricco yesterday ? Shades of Pantani. Won two stages of the Giro d'Italia, and yesterday's break away climb at the Col d'Aspin was a doozy.
Since he won at Super Besse, L'Equipe has said that that test results revealed abnormalities in his blood level, so my excitement is tempered. Still, really looked strong, as did Valverde. -
Money. Already 341.350 Euros have been distributed this year at the TDF in performance prizes. Every second counts for every team. With that in mind, doping brings a security in performance, a guarantee that after 200 K's of climbing, your legs won't be as heavy as the next cyclist. Crucial, even when your hematocrit levels are naturally above 50 as they are for Lance, or Ricco.
Simon - I don't know that this casts that large of a shadow on Lance. Way I see it, Beltran at 37 was on his last leg, and just trying to keep up with the blistering tempo. He resorted to desperate means in the face of retirement, or decline. Lance's coup de grace for me is his association with Ferrari whose statements on EPO, and recommendation that Simeoni use Emagel the morning before controls to decrease his hematocrit, tell me all I need to know about his intentions, and knowledge on the matter. -
Watching Ricco win that first mountain stage was like watching Floyd Landis win the stage to Morzine the day after he lost 8 minutes; blowing past people to win. That would have thrown some serious question marks. I think the peloton, or at least the majority, accepts doping. I think, nee I know, that they don't like people talking out about it.