Alberto Contador, kaput

[EKE BBB]

This is a f***in' shame, period!, when "others whose name I won't mention" are free of charges.

:angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:

Edited February 6, 2012 by EKE BBB

[Lyin' Wolf]

I no longer know what to think about the Armstrong case. But didn't most of what was alleged to have occurred happen over 10 years ago? The era was different, the tests not as refined and I think the overall attitude toward doping in the peloton was different.

The past few years, from what I've seen, cycling has really been trying to clean itself up. Something like this occurs - and it can't be ignored or swept under the rug because Lance may have gotten away with doping. That's like saying anyone should be able to dope just because someone got away with it in the past - so why bother testing at all?

From what I've read, it's a back dated 2 year suspension with Contador able to return August 6, 2012. Maybe he'll do the Vuelta?

Edited February 6, 2012 by Lyin' Wolf

[king ubu]

It's more like cycling is kaput... I stopped giving a damn several years ago, even though I used to be an avid cyclist in my youth.

[BeBop]

It's more like cycling is kaput... I stopped giving a damn several years ago, even though I used to be an avid cyclist in my youth.

I agree 100 percent. Cycling was once my life and livelihood. Now it sickens me to even think about it. I haven't had the "gut" to open the recent/ressurected Armstrong thread, since my feelings about him are strong. I'd opened this thread out of - I don't know - morbid curiousity?

Doping's gone on in cycling for many many years. I had some periprheral involvement in some quasi-legal doping, once upon a time. Much more recently, when the kids I was coaching for the national foundation grew insistent on assistance in doping - not insistence on how to compete "clean" - that was the end for me.

[clifford_thornton]

Yeah, the whole thing is pretty ridiculous if you ask me.

[brownie]

Contador should have asked Lance Armstrong for advice on how to get away free...

[BeBop]

Yeah, the whole thing is pretty ridiculous if you ask me.

On one level, I wouldn't argue: there's quite a bit of ridiculous-ness about all of this. But keep in mind that professional bicycle road racing is the second-largest spectator sport in the world (after football/soccer), so there's a lot of money involved.

(Not disagreeing with you here clifford thornton, just parsing the word "ridiculous" a bit.)

[king ubu]

Yeah well, there's lots of money in it... so legalize all dope/ing and see what goes. Let them gladiators kill themselves in the arena!

[Clunky]

Having cycled from Biarritz to Perpignan over 6 days last June I can see the need to take substances to ease the pain. ...

[Big Beat Steve]

Let's face it - Contador had it coming to him. He had tried to get away and sneak out so many times or, to put it another way, has sneered in the face of those who tried to combat dopimng in this "sports" and showed an attitude that cried out loud something like "you can't get me, I am too big and important for you", and now they did get him by his b...s (well, sort of ... the punishment could have been harder).

I have no pity at all for any of those they catch today (or caught ever since they got at least halfway serious about at least TRYING to clean out a BIT of this mess), neither for Jan Ulrich nor for any of the others who got caught ever since.

[Leeway]

All these doping scandals make me wonder what the sport would be like if it was completely clean. Could the cyclists even compete on the routes that have been set for them? Would times drop way off? Would the degree of difference be small, or so large as to reduce the sport to a nonentity in the world of athletics?

[Ed S]

I've always been a Tour de France guy, but the past few years, I've really started following the sport closely. We don't get a lot of cycling on TV in the US, but certainly the Spring Classics, the Tour of California, Tour de Suisse are must see TV for me. I even went to Montreal last fall for the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.

My new interest really goes hand in hand with my own pursuit of recreational cycling. I've discovered that at my age - 55 - cycling is one of the few things I can do that really gives me the feel that I'm doing something athletic. I used to play hockey and basketball, but that competitive spirit really kicks in when I'm cycling - and taking a hill aggressively or really working to keep my speed up on flat road. It's also a great way for my wife and I to do something together. We'll never set records, but we ride several times per week in the good weather months and always come back tired and sweaty.

In some ways, I draw my inspiration from watching cycling on TV. But this doping stuff drives me crazy - and has me wondering how much longer I can tolerate it. I would love for this sport to be clean once and for all so that I know that what I see on TV is real. I was so disappointed to see HTC Highroad collapse this past year as they had really worked to ride clean. The only thing I regret about the Contador decision is that they made it retroactive.

Half the reason I watch the races is for the scenery anyways - so I guess I'll always have that.

[Royal Oak]

Having cycled from Biarritz to Perpignan over 6 days last June I can see the need to take substances to ease the pain. ...

I agree. In 1988 I cycled from Manchester to Blackpool (about 65 miles). I was 19, I had trained for several weeks beforehand, but it was a real eye-opener. For a few miles I found myself at the head of a big pack, feeling good about myself. All of a sudden, the Raleigh Banana Team silently ghosted past me as if I were standing still.

I remember getting on my bike again about 2 weeks later and my legs were like jelly. I don't think I've cycled more than a mile ever since - certainly not at all for over 15 years.

[Sundog]

Much more recently, when the kids I was coaching for the national foundation grew insistent on assistance in doping - not insistence on how to compete "clean" - that was the end for me.

Now that -- by far makes me much more sad than the trials and tribulations of Alberto Contador.

[king ubu]

All these doping scandals make me wonder what the sport would be like if it was completely clean. Could the cyclists even compete on the routes that have been set for them? Would times drop way off? Would the degree of difference be small, or so large as to reduce the sport to a nonentity in the world of athletics?

Well, it would definitely slow down some... but frankly I don't see why average speeds of 40 km/h make it more attractive than, say, 36 km/h.

[EKE BBB]

Let's face it - Contador had it coming to him. He had tried to get away and sneak out so many times or, to put it another way, has sneered in the face of those who tried to combat dopimng in this "sports" and showed an attitude that cried out loud something like "you can't get me, I am too big and important for you", and now they did get him by his b...s (well, sort of ... the punishment could have been harder).

(...)

Do you have any proof? The guys at the TAS don't, either.

Listening to the stupidity in itself yesterday (I mean Prudhomme, of course) made me definitely sick.

OK, I will say it.

I'm not impartial this time. On one hand, because Contador is one of my personal sports heroes, up there with Rafa Nadal and Pau Gasol. On the other, because I have some inside information, that makes me strongly believe in his innocence.

[brownie]

I am with you Agustin!

I have yet to be fully convinced that Contador is indeed guilty!

[Tom 1960]

Having cycled from Biarritz to Perpignan over 6 days last June I can see the need to take substances to ease the pain. ...

I agree. In 1988 I cycled from Manchester to Blackpool (about 65 miles). I was 19, I had trained for several weeks beforehand, but it was a real eye-opener. For a few miles I found myself at the head of a big pack, feeling good about myself. All of a sudden, the Raleigh Banana Team silently ghosted past me as if I were standing still.

I remember getting on my bike again about 2 weeks later and my legs were like jelly. I don't think I've cycled more than a mile ever since - certainly not at all for over 15 years.

I don't give a shit what others do. I ride because I enjoy it. I've never road trying to compete with others. That would just ruin the experience for me.

Edited February 7, 2012 by Tom 1960

[Lyin' Wolf]

I fouund this article interesting:

"Monday's decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to ban Alberto Contador for two years, after his positive test at the 2010 Tour de France, was the maximum punishment available.

In other words, they couldn't have come down harder on him. For this reason alone it should be seen as decisive and definitive. Yet for many it will seem inconclusive and ambiguous, and therefore unsatisfactory. It is even possible that, in the eyes of some, the only relevant question - did Contador cheat during the 2010 Tour? - remains unresolved."

Read the rest here: Cycling News: CAS vs Alberto Contador

[Royal Oak]

Having cycled from Biarritz to Perpignan over 6 days last June I can see the need to take substances to ease the pain. ...

I agree. In 1988 I cycled from Manchester to Blackpool (about 65 miles). I was 19, I had trained for several weeks beforehand, but it was a real eye-opener. For a few miles I found myself at the head of a big pack, feeling good about myself. All of a sudden, the Raleigh Banana Team silently ghosted past me as if I were standing still.

I remember getting on my bike again about 2 weeks later and my legs were like jelly. I don't think I've cycled more than a mile ever since - certainly not at all for over 15 years.

I don't give a shit what others do. I ride because I enjoy it. I've never road trying to compete with others. That would just ruin the experience for me.

It wasn't about competing Tom. I simply didn't want to get back on the bike for a few weeks after, then I found I'd got a pilonidal sinus. I had surgery and it was over 3 years before the wound healed for good. After that I finished with cycling, other than the occasional short ride for purely practical purposes.

Edited February 7, 2012 by rdavenport

[Sundog]

I don't give a shit what others do. I ride because I enjoy it. I've never road trying to compete with others. That would just ruin the experience for me.

That's cool. Just remember that a lot of competitive road cyclists (and I'm not talking paid professionals here) do it because they enjoy the work, discipline, and camaraderie that comes with it. I regularly ride with a number of CAT 1 riders and the percentage of them who ride purely for competitive sake is fairly small in my estimation. Enjoyment comes many ways!

[Chuck Nessa]

Probably hasn't been a "clean win" in years. I don't care anymore.