Hello, could you connect me to Dr. Ferrari please? Or just give me a Ferrari in my bottom bracket.
Marco Pantani had Armstrong on the ropes. It was the Col de Joux Plane in the 2000 Tour de France and the only time Pharmy was in real, genuine difficulty during any of his “seven” Tours. So he did what any reasonable rider would do: he got on the radio with his team boss and demanded he call his coach and renowned doping genius Michele Ferrari to find out precisely how long Pantani could sustain his effort. Ferrari crunched some numbers on his custom Effort Finder-Outer Machine and got back with the good news that Pantani couldn’t hold the pace to the finish.
The problem Batman had with The Joker was that Batman was rational and The Joker was insane. And insane people don’t always do what rational people expect them to do. Like having a plan, for instance. Or wanting to make it to the finish at all. Lance wasn’t Batman – not by a stretch – and Pantani wasn’t insane. But the point is, they weren’t thinking about the race the same way. Armstrong wanted to win the Tour de France but was a stubborn ass who was too proud to let the world’s best climber drop him. Pantani, on the other hand, had already lost everything and been to Hell and back; he had nothing to lose and was more than willing to sacrifice his own Tour if it meant he could fuck with Pharmstrong, even for a bit.
So he rode until the lights went out and climbed into the team car. Ciao. Armstrong was left holding the bag. Or, rather, not holding a mussette with any food in it. Bon jour, Monsieur avec le Hammer. Comment allez vous?
Cyclists have always used whatever dubious means they can find in order to gain an advantage, this is not news. It is only natural in a sport as demanding as this, which is not to say it is by any means excusable. But cheating has been woven into the fabric of our sport since the earliest days; in the first Tours de France several riders were disqualified for getting tows from teammates via cable and jumping on trains to rest the legs and gain a few extra kilometers over their rivals in the process.
When Greg LeMond helped pioneer the use of radios between riders and the team car, I hardly think he imagined his nemesis using the technology to contact the most notorious doping mastermind in the sport in order to gain a mid-race performance update from Italy. I don’t know why that feels so much worse than regular doping. It almost feels like putting a motor in your bottom bracket or something.
Motors? Now we’re getting far-fetched.
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But the UKAD officer apparently f***d up the process. That's the ruling. And yet despite the administrative process having been wrong, the UKAD moved forward on something in retrospect they shouldn't have. They should have done better by her and all the athletes should expect better. And the end result is all of this BS never should have come up in the first place had the UKAD just managed their own process fairly and correctly. And unfortunately for Ms Armitstead, she bore the responsibility of pointing out she was wronged and it became a public affair. At least she had the resources to do that. How many athletes would simply get steamrolled by the process?
I'm siding with the athlete on this one.
@Pali65 no kidding!
Under the whereabouts provision the targeted elite athletes are required to provide their whereabouts for one hour every day 90 days in advance. Did I read somewhere that Lizzie was tested something like on avg once every three weeks in past year and three times alone in one week. Can you imagine not only being the pincushion for this process but also having to let the prickers know exactly where they can find you EACH and EVERY day so that they can draw your blood when they chose to do so and certainly not at your convenience??? Where is the privacy ?
These process is simply looney friggen tunes to begin with and due to admin cock-ups, yea, sure she brought on some herself, she has to deal with the public speculation and suspicion ???
It just stinks to me and IMO.
@Randy C
And yet the people who actually live and work under the same terrible regime - her fellow athletes - have been virtually unanimous in a range of reactions from raised eyebrows to outright condemnation.
Which suggests that the system is not the problem here.
@ChrisO I don't know… I understand what you are saying. It's like they all want to say the politically correct thing other than acknowledging the process really does suck. Maybe someone oughta just stand up and say you know, this sucks and it's time to change it. But then again, I know no one wants to have to compete against cheats… There just needs to be a better way.
And reality is: most of peloton aren't targeted elite athletes getting blood drawn at a moments notice every couple of weeks. For the life of me, I can't imagine thinking for my daughter, yea sweetheart, this is what you sacrifice and get to look forward to if you want to participate.
Let's just say this: She's apparently been following the process correctly for years and years and three times it's cocked up and everyone throws her under bus so to speak ?!? And it NEVER should have been a public issue in first place.
It's wrong.
@Randy C
Are you sure on that, Randy? Don't forget she didn't appeal that first missed test, so UKAD would have simply logged it as a standard "not available for testing". The officer not trying hard enough argument might not have appeared on their radar until after they'd sanctioned her, at which point it could only be reversed on appeal.
@Randy C
That's what makes them suspicious isn't it? All of those years getting it right and then she cocks up and is suddenly unavailable for tests a few days before 2 big wins?
If anybody is getting thrown under a bus it's the tester. Wonder if we'll ever hear their side of the story?
Oh, and as previously mentioned, if she's only been unavailable for testing three times in the last year, how unlucky is it that the vampires turned up on those very three days?
@Steve Trice
That would be suspicious apart from that in each instance she was tested the next day or the day before or shortly afterwards.
@RobSandy
Yeah, but it's all in the manual, Tyler Hamilton's "Secret Race". Dopers know their "glow times" and when they can and can't be tested. I got the impression most readings could be manipulated to within normal parameters given a few hours. Part of Armstrong's success was in getting tip offs so he knew when vampires were coming, so he was always prepared. However, if they turn up at a really bad time, the only choice is to avoid the test. She's exhibited classic evasive, doper behaviour. It doesn't make her guilty of anything, I hope she's not, and I'm happy for people who can so easily look at this stuff and not be suspicious, but this whole affair is full of holes and inconsistencies.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rosa-to-race-olympic-games-after-resolving-whereabouts-case/?utm_content=bufferea029&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer