Greg Oravetz update

gregs a stud.....

soon Armstrong and Greg may be catching waves together somewhere on the north shore....Armstrong
stated in an interview he loved it and will be back for more.... if he does take up surfing, thats
the end of his cycling. surfing is much more addictive than cycling. much more relaxing to.

I saw some of the writings on the old outdated threads...Some of those who say they knew him in the
"early" days during his time spent riding as an amateur over in Europe. A lot of that writing is
very disturbing and I wanted to add my POV as someone who knew him in the true early days.

I raced with him as a junior in dozens of crits and road races in Southern California. While he was
not "supremely" dominant in our peloton, he almost always could count on a top-five result in
virtually any race on any given day. I went to nationals in 1984 most likely because Oravetz and his
Coast Velo teammates didn't show up to our district RR championship in Boulevard (Thanks Greg...I
really like my medal). While we were in New Hampshire, Greg was probably already in Europe. He had
business to finish.

What struck me about Greg was that even when he was just 16 or 17, he was different from the other
juniors in that he behaved and projected an image as if he were already a profesional cyclist. I
knew I'd be hearing his name again. After high school I quit racing while I went to college and the
next time I heard his name, he was US PRO champion.

Hope he is happy doing whatever he is doing now.

"Alan Sandoval" <alan@(removespam)intertrader.net> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I see him listed quite a bit in the rec. archives and I thought I'd let anyone who's interested
know what I know to fill in a few blanks.

In the time between his road racing and mountain bike racing Greg worked in my retail sporting
goods store in Newport Beach, Calif. He still worked for me a while after he resumed racing. When
he quit racing he moved to Santa Barbara and worked as a BMW salesman. I guess that didn't suit
his style and he soon moved to Mammoth Lakes to snowboard.

When summer hit he moved to Maui to take up pro windsurfing. Kiteboarding was just taking hold
then and he became an instructor of kiteboarding on Maui. I think he held that position until
about a year ago. Lost track of him since then.

I've heard Greg described in various ways here and I have to put in my two cents worth. I first
met Greg windsurfing at Seal Beach. He was attempting to learn windsurfing on a board that was WAY
too small for him. I saw him struggling and I introduced myself and asked him if he needed any
advice. He admitted he was having a difficult time and didn't know why. I asked him why he was on
such a small board and he told me the shop that sold it to him told him he'd grow into it. (That
shop was famous for selling the wrong gear when they didn't have the right gear.)

I told Greg that I had a used board that was very low tech and inexpensive but it would allow him
to learn the basics. He came into my shop the next day and bought the board. I had no idea who he
was but he looked pretty athletic and I knew he would progress quickly on the right gear. Sure
enough, after about two weeks on the bigger board he was able to sail on the smaller board. He
progressed in windsurfing to a level that takes normal humans years to attain in about two months.

I got to know Greg a bit and he told me he was out of work at the moment. I hired him on the spot.
I still had no idea of his competitive background. I put him to work on the floor as a hourly
salesperson. He was great. The customers loved him. We had lots of really lame customers but Greg
never got frustrated or acted superior to them. We finally got a clue when the staff went out to
dinner and someone approached our table and very shyly asked if he was "Greg Oravetz?" They asked
for his autograph.

We were stunned. We asked him what was up with that and he told us about his background as a bike
racer. Not long after that my ex-wife came into the store and took me outside and said "you have
Greg Oravetz working for you!?" She's much more into biking than I am. I said, yeah, is that a big
deal? She assured me it was.

I know Greg as a very likeable and humble guy. I was disappointed when he left but I knew I
wouldn't hang onto him at our modest store for long. I suppose those who came up against him in
competition may have a different impression.

Alan Sandoval

----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
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So Alan, Did you let him come in your mouth?

"Alan Sandoval" <alan@(removespam)intertrader.net> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I see him listed quite a bit in the rec. archives and I thought I'd let anyone who's interested
know what I know to fill in a few blanks.

In the time between his road racing and mountain bike racing Greg worked

in

Quoted message said:

my retail sporting goods store in Newport Beach, Calif. He still worked

for

Quoted message said:

me a while after he resumed racing. When he quit racing he moved to Santa Barbara and worked as a
BMW salesman. I guess that didn't suit his style and he soon moved to Mammoth Lakes to snowboard.

When summer hit he moved to Maui to take up pro windsurfing. Kiteboarding was just taking hold
then and he became an instructor of kiteboarding on Maui. I think he held that position until
about a year ago. Lost track

of

Quoted message said:

him since then.

I've heard Greg described in various ways here and I have to put in my two cents worth. I first
met Greg windsurfing at Seal Beach. He was

attempting

Quoted message said:

to learn windsurfing on a board that was WAY too small for him. I saw him struggling and I
introduced myself and asked him if he needed any advice. He admitted he was having a difficult
time and didn't know why. I asked

him

Quoted message said:

why he was on such a small board and he told me the shop that sold it to

him

Quoted message said:

told him he'd grow into it. (That shop was famous for selling the wrong gear when they didn't have
the right gear.)

I told Greg that I had a used board that was very low tech and inexpensive but it would allow him
to learn the basics. He came into my shop the next day and bought the board. I had no idea who he
was but he looked pretty athletic and I knew he would progress quickly on the right gear. Sure
enough, after about two weeks on the bigger board he was able to sail on

the

Quoted message said:

smaller board. He progressed in windsurfing to a level that takes normal humans years to attain in
about two months.

I got to know Greg a bit and he told me he was out of work at the moment.

I

Quoted message said:

hired him on the spot. I still had no idea of his competitive background. I put him to work on the
floor as a hourly salesperson. He was great.

The

Quoted message said:

customers loved him. We had lots of really lame customers but Greg never got frustrated or acted
superior to them. We finally got a clue when the staff went out to dinner and someone approached
our table and very shyly asked if he was "Greg Oravetz?" They asked for his autograph.

We were stunned. We asked him what was up with that and he told us about his background as a bike
racer. Not long after that my ex-wife came into the store and took me outside and said "you have
Greg Oravetz working for you!?" She's much more into biking than I am. I said, yeah, is that a

big

Quoted message said:

deal? She assured me it was.

I know Greg as a very likeable and humble guy. I was disappointed when he left but I knew I
wouldn't hang onto him at our modest store for long. I suppose those who came up against him in
competition may have a different impression.

Alan Sandoval

----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet

News==----

Quoted message said:

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Newsgroups

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Here's the deal the way I remember it Alan. Greg looked like absolute gang-busters for a couple of
years in bicycle racing. He just didn't seem to have any limits. Then he peaked and began looking
suspiciously like one of those guys who use drugs to get where they are.

I know that some guys can look that way naturally but it started getting more suspicious when it was
noted that he dropped out of races with announced drug tests while he was at or near the front.

He never, to my knowledge, tested positive and I don't want to make it sound like I think that he
was a druggy. I'm just saying that he looked suspicious, acted suspicious and then disappeared like
a will-o-the-whisp.

I hope that he just got tired of the bike racing, tired of all the suspicion and now lives happily
ever after.

He was, after all, a superb bike racer who looked like he was going to become a real big
time Euro pro.

"Alan Sandoval" <alan@(removespam)intertrader.net> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I see him listed quite a bit in the rec. archives and I thought I'd

let

Quoted message said:

anyone who's interested know what I know to fill in a few blanks.

In the time between his road racing and mountain bike racing Greg

worked in

Quoted message said:

my retail sporting goods store in Newport Beach, Calif. He still

worked for

Quoted message said:

me a while after he resumed racing. When he quit racing he moved to

Santa

Quoted message said:

Barbara and worked as a BMW salesman. I guess that didn't suit his

style

Quoted message said:

and he soon moved to Mammoth Lakes to snowboard.

When summer hit he moved to Maui to take up pro windsurfing.

Kiteboarding

Quoted message said:

was just taking hold then and he became an instructor of

kiteboarding on

Quoted message said:

Maui. I think he held that position until about a year ago. Lost

track of

Quoted message said:

him since then.

I've heard Greg described in various ways here and I have to put in

my two

Quoted message said:

cents worth. I first met Greg windsurfing at Seal Beach. He was

attempting

Quoted message said:

to learn windsurfing on a board that was WAY too small for him. I

saw him

Quoted message said:

struggling and I introduced myself and asked him if he needed any

advice.

Quoted message said:

He admitted he was having a difficult time and didn't know why. I

asked him

Quoted message said:

why he was on such a small board and he told me the shop that sold

it to him

Quoted message said:

told him he'd grow into it. (That shop was famous for selling the

wrong

Quoted message said:

gear when they didn't have the right gear.)

I told Greg that I had a used board that was very low tech and

inexpensive

Quoted message said:

but it would allow him to learn the basics. He came into my shop

the next

Quoted message said:

day and bought the board. I had no idea who he was but he looked

pretty

Quoted message said:

athletic and I knew he would progress quickly on the right gear.

Sure

Quoted message said:

enough, after about two weeks on the bigger board he was able to

sail on the

Quoted message said:

smaller board. He progressed in windsurfing to a level that takes

normal

Quoted message said:

humans years to attain in about two months.

I got to know Greg a bit and he told me he was out of work at the

moment. I

Quoted message said:

hired him on the spot. I still had no idea of his competitive

background.

Quoted message said:

I put him to work on the floor as a hourly salesperson. He was

great. The

Quoted message said:

customers loved him. We had lots of really lame customers but Greg

never

Quoted message said:

got frustrated or acted superior to them. We finally got a clue

when the

Quoted message said:

staff went out to dinner and someone approached our table and very

shyly

Quoted message said:

asked if he was "Greg Oravetz?" They asked for his autograph.

We were stunned. We asked him what was up with that and he told us

about

Quoted message said:

his background as a bike racer. Not long after that my ex-wife came

into

Quoted message said:

the store and took me outside and said "you have Greg Oravetz

working for

Quoted message said:

you!?" She's much more into biking than I am. I said, yeah, is

that a big

Quoted message said:

deal? She assured me it was.

I know Greg as a very likeable and humble guy. I was disappointed

when he

Quoted message said:

left but I knew I wouldn't hang onto him at our modest store for

long. I

Quoted message said:

suppose those who came up against him in competition may have a

different

Quoted message said:

impression.

Alan Sandoval

----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet

News==----

Quoted message said:

newsfeed.comnewsfeed.comOpen ↗ The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups ---= 19
East/West-Coast Specialized Servers - Total Privacy via

Encryption =---

"JTN" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

gregs a stud.....

soon Armstrong and Greg may be catching waves together somewhere on the north shore....Armstrong
stated in an interview he loved it and will be

back

Quoted message said:

for more.... if he does take up surfing, thats the end of his cycling. surfing is much more
addictive than cycling. much more relaxing to.

Dumbass -

the original poster was talking about windsurfing.

"JTN" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

gregs a stud.....

soon Armstrong and Greg may be catching waves together somewhere on the north shore....Armstrong
stated in an interview he loved it and will be back for more.... if he does take up surfing, thats
the end of his cycling. surfing is much more addictive than cycling. much more relaxing to.

My only memory of Greg was at the Tour du Point (Point Richmond) criterium here in the SF Bay Area.

His wife was there, watching the Pro/1/2 start and she said something like "Greg's just back
from Italy and he's going to WIN this race today." It was a very hilly, technical race course, 1
mile laps.

Greg came in first but was DQed because he hooked John Peters into the judging stand so Peters won.
(Fred Rodriguez was there too)

-Ken

Thanks to (most) of those who responded to my message. I know that when Greg was around us he was
VERY careful about his diet. He drank very little, if any alcohol and he wouldn't eat most of the
stuff that was normal fare at our shop.

He got into MB racing and was sucessful at it, I guess there are very few who cross-over like that.
You can tell I don't know a hell of a lot about bike racing. I do know why he stopped MB racing. He
got sick. He got a disease that went undiagnosed for a long time. It sapped all his energy and he
lost his sponsors. It turned out to be that parasite you can get from unfiltered mountain stream
water, I forget the name of it. Greg traced it to a day he ran out of water while training and asked
some people on the trail for water. He figures they had filled their bottles out of a stream and
that's where he got it.

As far as drugging goes, I really couldn't say. I know Greg had a whole lot of respect for his body
and it would suprise me if he did that. I once asked him about conditioning for biking and he told
me his lungs had something like twice the capacity of a normal person.

Whatever, I liked him a lot and I wish him well, Alan

"Tom Kunich" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Here's the deal the way I remember it Alan. Greg looked like absolute gang-busters for a couple of
years in bicycle racing. He just didn't seem to have any limits. Then he peaked and began looking
suspiciously like one of those guys who use drugs to get where they are.

I know that some guys can look that way naturally but it started getting more suspicious when
it was noted that he dropped out of races with announced drug tests while he was at or near
the front.

He never, to my knowledge, tested positive and I don't want to make it sound like I think that he
was a druggy. I'm just saying that he looked suspicious, acted suspicious and then disappeared
like a will-o-the-whisp.

I hope that he just got tired of the bike racing, tired of all the suspicion and now lives happily
ever after.

He was, after all, a superb bike racer who looked like he was going to become a real big time
Euro pro.

"Alan Sandoval" <alan@(removespam)intertrader.net> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I see him listed quite a bit in the rec. archives and I thought I'd

let

Quoted message said:

anyone who's interested know what I know to fill in a few blanks.

In the time between his road racing and mountain bike racing Greg

worked in

Quoted message said:

my retail sporting goods store in Newport Beach, Calif. He still

worked for

Quoted message said:

me a while after he resumed racing. When he quit racing he moved to

Santa

Quoted message said:

Barbara and worked as a BMW salesman. I guess that didn't suit his

style

Quoted message said:

and he soon moved to Mammoth Lakes to snowboard.

When summer hit he moved to Maui to take up pro windsurfing.

Kiteboarding

Quoted message said:

was just taking hold then and he became an instructor of

kiteboarding on

Quoted message said:

Maui. I think he held that position until about a year ago. Lost

track of

Quoted message said:

him since then.

I've heard Greg described in various ways here and I have to put in

my two

Quoted message said:

cents worth. I first met Greg windsurfing at Seal Beach. He was

attempting

Quoted message said:

to learn windsurfing on a board that was WAY too small for him. I

saw him

Quoted message said:

struggling and I introduced myself and asked him if he needed any

advice.

Quoted message said:

He admitted he was having a difficult time and didn't know why. I

asked him

Quoted message said:

why he was on such a small board and he told me the shop that sold

it to him

Quoted message said:

told him he'd grow into it. (That shop was famous for selling the

wrong

Quoted message said:

gear when they didn't have the right gear.)

I told Greg that I had a used board that was very low tech and

inexpensive

Quoted message said:

but it would allow him to learn the basics. He came into my shop

the next

Quoted message said:

day and bought the board. I had no idea who he was but he looked

pretty

Quoted message said:

athletic and I knew he would progress quickly on the right gear.

Sure

Quoted message said:

enough, after about two weeks on the bigger board he was able to

sail on the

Quoted message said:

smaller board. He progressed in windsurfing to a level that takes

normal

Quoted message said:

humans years to attain in about two months.

I got to know Greg a bit and he told me he was out of work at the

moment. I

Quoted message said:

hired him on the spot. I still had no idea of his competitive

background.

Quoted message said:

I put him to work on the floor as a hourly salesperson. He was

great. The

Quoted message said:

customers loved him. We had lots of really lame customers but Greg

never

Quoted message said:

got frustrated or acted superior to them. We finally got a clue

when the

Quoted message said:

staff went out to dinner and someone approached our table and very

shyly

Quoted message said:

asked if he was "Greg Oravetz?" They asked for his autograph.

We were stunned. We asked him what was up with that and he told us

about

Quoted message said:

his background as a bike racer. Not long after that my ex-wife came

into

Quoted message said:

the store and took me outside and said "you have Greg Oravetz

working for

Quoted message said:

you!?" She's much more into biking than I am. I said, yeah, is

that a big

Quoted message said:

deal? She assured me it was.

I know Greg as a very likeable and humble guy. I was disappointed

when he

Quoted message said:

left but I knew I wouldn't hang onto him at our modest store for

long. I

Quoted message said:

suppose those who came up against him in competition may have a

different

Quoted message said:

impression.

Alan Sandoval

----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet

News==----

Quoted message said:

newsfeed.comnewsfeed.comOpen ↗ The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups ---= 19
East/West-Coast Specialized Servers - Total Privacy via

Encryption =---

----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
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East/West-Coast Specialized Servers - Total Privacy via Encryption =---

Yes, very true otherwise you may end up with a parasite like the ones in mountain streams.

"TritonRider" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

From: "Alan Sandoval" alan@(removespam)intertrader.net

Quoted message said:

As far as drugging goes, I really couldn't say. I know Greg had a whole

lot

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of respect for his body and it would suprise me if he did that. I once asked him about
conditioning for biking and he told me his lungs had something like twice the capacity of a
normal person.

Whatever, I liked him a lot and I wish him well, Alan

Alan, you could bring up Mother Theresa, and Florence Nightingale here

and

Quoted message said:

they'd get attacked. I don't know about Greg but you've got to filter anycomments here through a
serious filter. Bill C

I was the Chief Official at the Natz were Oravetz won his National Championship. Afterwards, when we
were testing him, he could not pee. After alot of convincing that drinking one beer would be okay,
and after letting me know that he was not happy about drinking beer, he had the one beer, peed and
his test was negative for any drugs.

John Bickmore www.BicycleCam.com www.Feed-Zone.com

"Alan Sandoval" <alan@(removespam)intertrader.net> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Thanks to (most) of those who responded to my message. I know that when Greg was around us he was
VERY careful about his diet. He drank very little, if any alcohol and he wouldn't eat most of the
stuff that was

normal

Quoted message said:

fare at our shop.

He got into MB racing and was sucessful at it, I guess there are very few who cross-over like
that. You can tell I don't know a hell of a lot about bike racing. I do know why he stopped
MB racing. He got sick. He got a disease that went undiagnosed for a long time. It sapped all
his energy

and

Quoted message said:

he lost his sponsors. It turned out to be that parasite you can get from unfiltered mountain
stream water, I forget the name of it. Greg traced it to a day he ran out of water while training
and asked some people on the trail for water. He figures they had filled their bottles out of a
stream and that's where he got it.

As far as drugging goes, I really couldn't say. I know Greg had a whole

lot

Quoted message said:

of respect for his body and it would suprise me if he did that. I once asked him about
conditioning for biking and he told me his lungs had something like twice the capacity of a
normal person.

Whatever, I liked him a lot and I wish him well, Alan

"Tom Kunich" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Here's the deal the way I remember it Alan. Greg looked like absolute gang-busters for a couple
of years in bicycle racing. He just didn't seem to have any limits. Then he peaked and began
looking suspiciously like one of those guys who use drugs to get where they are.

I know that some guys can look that way naturally but it started getting more suspicious when it
was noted that he dropped out of races with announced drug tests while he was at or near the
front.

He never, to my knowledge, tested positive and I don't want to make it sound like I think that
he was a druggy. I'm just saying that he looked suspicious, acted suspicious and then
disappeared like a will-o-the-whisp.

I hope that he just got tired of the bike racing, tired of all the suspicion and now lives
happily ever after.

He was, after all, a superb bike racer who looked like he was going to become a real big time
Euro pro.

"Alan Sandoval" <alan@(removespam)intertrader.net> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I see him listed quite a bit in the rec. archives and I thought I'd

let

Quoted message said:

anyone who's interested know what I know to fill in a few blanks.

In the time between his road racing and mountain bike racing Greg

worked in

Quoted message said:

my retail sporting goods store in Newport Beach, Calif. He still

worked for

Quoted message said:

me a while after he resumed racing. When he quit racing he moved to

Santa

Quoted message said:

Barbara and worked as a BMW salesman. I guess that didn't suit his

style

Quoted message said:

and he soon moved to Mammoth Lakes to snowboard.

When summer hit he moved to Maui to take up pro windsurfing.

Kiteboarding

Quoted message said:

was just taking hold then and he became an instructor of

kiteboarding on

Quoted message said:

Maui. I think he held that position until about a year ago. Lost

track of

Quoted message said:

him since then.

I've heard Greg described in various ways here and I have to put in

my two

Quoted message said:

cents worth. I first met Greg windsurfing at Seal Beach. He was

attempting

Quoted message said:

to learn windsurfing on a board that was WAY too small for him. I

saw him

Quoted message said:

struggling and I introduced myself and asked him if he needed any

advice.

Quoted message said:

He admitted he was having a difficult time and didn't know why. I

asked him

Quoted message said:

why he was on such a small board and he told me the shop that sold

it to him

Quoted message said:

told him he'd grow into it. (That shop was famous for selling the

wrong

Quoted message said:

gear when they didn't have the right gear.)

I told Greg that I had a used board that was very low tech and

inexpensive

Quoted message said:

but it would allow him to learn the basics. He came into my shop

the next

Quoted message said:

day and bought the board. I had no idea who he was but he looked

pretty

Quoted message said:

athletic and I knew he would progress quickly on the right gear.

Sure

Quoted message said:

enough, after about two weeks on the bigger board he was able to

sail on the

Quoted message said:

smaller board. He progressed in windsurfing to a level that takes

normal

Quoted message said:

humans years to attain in about two months.

I got to know Greg a bit and he told me he was out of work at the

moment. I

Quoted message said:

hired him on the spot. I still had no idea of his competitive

background.

Quoted message said:

I put him to work on the floor as a hourly salesperson. He was

great. The

Quoted message said:

customers loved him. We had lots of really lame customers but Greg

never

Quoted message said:

got frustrated or acted superior to them. We finally got a clue

when the

Quoted message said:

staff went out to dinner and someone approached our table and very

shyly

Quoted message said:

asked if he was "Greg Oravetz?" They asked for his autograph.

We were stunned. We asked him what was up with that and he told us

about

Quoted message said:

his background as a bike racer. Not long after that my ex-wife came

into

Quoted message said:

the store and took me outside and said "you have Greg Oravetz

working for

Quoted message said:

you!?" She's much more into biking than I am. I said, yeah, is

that a big

Quoted message said:

deal? She assured me it was.

I know Greg as a very likeable and humble guy. I was disappointed

when he

Quoted message said:

left but I knew I wouldn't hang onto him at our modest store for

long. I

Quoted message said:

suppose those who came up against him in competition may have a

different

Quoted message said:

impression.

Alan Sandoval

----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet

News==----

Quoted message said:

newsfeed.comnewsfeed.comOpen ↗ The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups ---= 19
East/West-Coast Specialized Servers - Total Privacy via

Encryption =---

----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet

News==----

Quoted message said:

newsfeed.comnewsfeed.comOpen ↗ The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000

Newsgroups

Quoted message said:

---= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers - Total Privacy via Encryption

=---

That sounds serious...make sure to use a serious filter.

"Dumbass" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8lSbb.2379$gi2.1107@fed1read01...

Quoted message said:

Yes, very true otherwise you may end up with a parasite like the ones in mountain streams.

"TritonRider" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

From: "Alan Sandoval" alan@(removespam)intertrader.net

Quoted message said:

As far as drugging goes, I really couldn't say. I know Greg had a

whole

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lot

Quoted message said:

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of respect for his body and it would suprise me if he did that. I once asked him about
conditioning for biking and he told me his lungs had something like twice the capacity of a
normal person.

Whatever, I liked him a lot and I wish him well, Alan

Alan, you could bring up Mother Theresa, and Florence Nightingale here

and

Quoted message said:

they'd get attacked. I don't know about Greg but you've got to filter anycomments here through a
serious filter. Bill C

This happened at Superweek, circa 1994. Greg Oravetz and David Farmer (I believe), both from Coors
Light, were off the front clean -- they had at least 3/4 of a lap. Unbeknownst to us (we we're
watching the race on the backstrecth), the officials announced surprise drug testing with less then
10 to go (can you imagine drug testing at Superweek -- What's Gagg to do?!). Within a couple laps,
they lost their gap, and then quit the race after they were "caught". Although we didn't know what
happened then, it was the talk of the town the next day. Neither placed, but they we're both
"randomly" picked for testing. As legend goes, both made an arrangement with the USCF to keep their
positives quiet by never racing on the road again. I can't verify this last sentence, but it is
consistent with my memory. I believe both raced mountain bike for sometime after that (possibly
before NORBA and the USCF merged???). -Skippy

"Dumbass" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<8lSbb.2379$gi2.1107@fed1read01>...

Quoted message said:

Yes, very true otherwise you may end up with a parasite like the ones in mountain streams.

"TritonRider" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

From: "Alan Sandoval" alan@(removespam)intertrader.net

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

As far as drugging goes, I really couldn't say. I know Greg had a whole

lot

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of respect for his body and it would suprise me if he did that. I once asked him about
conditioning for biking and he told me his lungs had something like twice the capacity of a
normal person.

Whatever, I liked him a lot and I wish him well, Alan

Alan, you could bring up Mother Theresa, and Florence Nightingale here

and

Quoted message said:

they'd get attacked. I don't know about Greg but you've got to filter anycomments here through a
serious filter. Bill C

Please, this charge has been addressed. Search Google, use the keywords 'Oravetz' and 'Superweek',
you'll find it.

Among the threads will be this bit:

"As a former teammate of Greg Oravetz, I can state emphatically that he was in no way involved with
performance enhancing drugs. The man has his faults (as we all do), and his actions certainly gave
him a healthy share of enemies (including on occasion,
me). In this case, however Greg being Greg, he just bagged a race he may well have won for no reason
more than lack of emotion. Sorry, but case closed, you have to know the guy to understand his
motivations. There is nothing worse than tarnishing an athlete falsly with a drug taking label.
Please resist the urge.

Davis Phinney"

You will also find an explanation from Len Pettyjohn regarding that specific race, particularly how
Oravetz and Dave Mann (who was away with Oravetz during the race in question) were impacted by a mid
race neutralization due to a crash.

This is old news.

Bob Schwartz [email hidden]

"Skippy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This happened at Superweek, circa 1994. Greg Oravetz and David Farmer (I believe),

Farmer had retired before 1994.

Alan, thanks for this story. I remember Greg Oravetz from Central Park races in the 80's when I
lived in NY (I think that was him) lapping the field during the spring series and later reading
about his career as a pro. Now I live on Maui and my kitesurfing pal tells me Greg just recently
returned here from the east coast but doesn't know how long he plans to stay. He's a very good
kitesurfer but from what I understand, has had persistent problems from a nagging dislocated
shoulder injury.

As for Lance, it's true he was here surfin' up a storm last year. He flew in on Thom Weisel's
private Lear, stayed at his beachfront home and after 80 mile bike rides where he would casually
drop the fastest
(i.e. not me) guys on the island, would drive to the beach and paddle
1/2 mile out on days that were big enough to scare the bejeezus out of most beginners. He would stay
out for hours proving once again the guy is nothing short of nuclear powered and pretty damn
fearless as well.

Aloha!

Gary

Again, thanks to all. I have no agenda relating to Greg, I simply wanted to relate my
experience with him.

If he's there with you on Maui all I can say is get to know him. I doubt he stays in any one
place for very long, If you run into him tell him his friends from The Water Planet have not
forgotten him.

Alan

"Mauiguy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Alan, thanks for this story. I remember Greg Oravetz from Central Park races in the 80's when I
lived in NY (I think that was him) lapping the field during the spring series and later reading
about his career as a pro. Now I live on Maui and my kitesurfing pal tells me Greg just recently
returned here from the east coast but doesn't know how long he plans to stay. He's a very good
kitesurfer but from what I understand, has had persistent problems from a nagging dislocated
shoulder injury.

As for Lance, it's true he was here surfin' up a storm last year. He flew in on Thom Weisel's
private Lear, stayed at his beachfront home and after 80 mile bike rides where he would casually
drop the fastest
(i.e. not me) guys on the island, would drive to the beach and paddle
1/2 mile out on days that were big enough to scare the bejeezus out of most beginners. He would
stay out for hours proving once again the guy is nothing short of nuclear powered and pretty
damn fearless as well.

Aloha!

Gary

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"Mauiguy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Alan, thanks for this story. I remember Greg Oravetz from Central Park races in the 80's when I
lived in NY (I think that was him) lapping the field during the spring series

I don't believe it is possible to lap the field in Central Park like that - it would mean having at
least a 12 minute gap on the field. Note also that Oravetz was at his peak in the early 1990s. I was
out of town a lot from NYC in the late 1980s, so perhaps I missed it, but I never heard of Oravetz
racing there.

JT

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As an aside, if you want to really see who is on the juice at Superweek, its not that hard. Once,
they announced testing at the line and a bunch of people picked up bottles on the first lap after
dumping the full bottles they had started with. This was especially true of one particular team.

I don't know the team, this was related to me by the official that was working the feed
zone that day.

This story came back to me this week after reading how the WADA zinged the Tour for a very
similar offense.

Bob Schwartz [email hidden]

soon we will be reading about the big Kelly - lance showdown at pipe line. lance has a better chance
at becoming good at surfing than Greg lemond at being a formula one racer.....thats for sure....

kite surfing. i have one question. how the hell do you get back to shore? can you tack with
those things?

Hmm... you could be right on both counts. It's been a while (=20 years) since I raced there and may
have him confused with someone else. Perhaps it could have been a mengoni race and not the spring
series I'm thinking about?

Either way I'll ask since I found out he'll be at the Red Bull kitesurf contest at Ho'okipa beach
the week after next. Alan, if I see him I'll be sure to pass your message along to him as well.

Cheers!

-Gary

"John Forrest Tomlinson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I don't believe it is possible to lap the field in Central Park like that - it would mean having
at least a 12 minute gap on the field. Note also that Oravetz was at his peak in the early 1990s.
I was out of town a lot from NYC in the late 1980s, so perhaps I missed it, but I never heard of
Oravetz racing there.

JT