Spanish cylcling has taken a pretty big hit over the last month. Mosquera, David Garcia Dapen, Sevilla, Margairta Fullana and Contador have all tested positive for certain substances. This past Saturday McQuaid took a swipe at the Spanish Government for not enforcing current laws that are similar to doping laws in France and Italy.
Is McQuaid correct for once or is there more of a doping mentallity with Spanish cyclists for whatever reasons? I don't want to single out Spanish riders, but it does seem that recently Spanish riders have been getting caught for doping at a pretty high rate.
Spanish cylcling has taken a pretty big hit over the last month. Mosquera, David Garcia Dapen, Sevilla, Margairta Fullana and Contador have all tested positive for certain substances. This past Saturday McQuaid took a swipe at the Spanish Government for not enforcing current laws that are similar to doping laws in France and Italy.
Is McQuaid correct for once or is there more of a doping mentallity with Spanish cyclists for whatever reasons? I don't want to single out Spanish riders, but it does seem that recently Spanish riders have been getting caught for doping at a pretty high rate.
It's anti - Spanish conspiracy. Spaniards are among the best (if not the best) in almost every sport, so jealous people in power want to stop their domination.
I'm sure you'll find this argument in Spanish tabloids and certain sport circles.
Always convenient to find a scapegoat for an endemic problem...
Is this thread meant to let all the other nationalities off the hook a bit, or give them a pat on the back for a job well done WRT cleaning up the rampant doping in pro cycling????
Yeah, pro cycling would be fairly clean if it weren't for those dirty Spanish riders...[IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/rolleyes.gif[/IMG]
Definitely no worries here, pro cycling at this stage garners only a passing interest from me. My personal racing and the local scene is far more in-touch with reality than those artificially enhanced machines out there on the pro circuit, Spanish cyclists notwithstanding...
I don't know about you, but my collar gets consistently ruffled when folks start pointing fingers trying to single out someone or some group when the whole lot is complicit and duplicit...
Definitely no worries here, pro cycling at this stage garners only a passing interest from me. My personal racing and the local scene is far more in-touch with reality than those artificially enhanced machines out there on the pro circuit...
... so you actually think that all the Cat 3 peeps that you race with are clean - even the Masters guys?
Spanish anti-doping authorities have tightened their controls on five cyclists, a government official said Thursday, a week after three-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador was suspended.
“There are five Spanish cyclists who are facing a higher degree of controls than the others because of a series of unusual parameters,†Albert Soler, the Director General of the Spanish Sports Council, said at a conference on doping.
“We have five Spanish cyclists who we suspect may be in a dangerous situation,†he added.
Soler did not name the cyclists but he stressed that Contador was not among the five.
... so you actually think that all the Cat 3 peeps that you race with are clean - even the Masters guys?
You may care, but I don't really give a rip about some amateur juicing themselves...with cycle racing, I'm not searching for personal validation, or external adulation - I know who I am. Those who need to cheat to keep up, they have to look at themselves in mirror. I feel sorry for those who feel the need...
Spanish anti-doping authorities have tightened their controls on five cyclists, a government official said Thursday, a week after three-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador was suspended.
“There are five Spanish cyclists who are facing a higher degree of controls than the others because of a series of unusual parameters,†Albert Soler, the Director General of the Spanish Sports Council, said at a conference on doping.
“We have five Spanish cyclists who we suspect may be in a dangerous situation,†he added.
Soler did not name the cyclists but he stressed that Contador was not among the five.
In trying to keep this silliness of pointing fingers at Spaniards fair, see the linked article that states Italian doping prosecutor Torri is currently assisting with 8((!), with a 9th on the way) Italian police districts that are investigating doping cases...
Always convenient to find a scapegoat for an endemic problem...
Is this thread meant to let all the other nationalities off the hook a bit, or give them a pat on the back for a job well done WRT cleaning up the rampant doping in pro cycling????
Yeah, pro cycling would be fairly clean if it weren't for those dirty Spanish riders...[IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/rolleyes.gif[/IMG]
This thread isn't a scapegoat; I just wanted to highlight McQuaid's thoughts on the Spanish Government not doing enough to curb doping with their riders. Certainly there are plenty of dopers across all boarders, but in the past month certain Spanish cyclists seem to be getting much of the features when it comes to doping stories.
This thread isn't a scapegoat; I just wanted to highlight McQuaid's thoughts on the Spanish Government not doing enough to curb doping with their riders. Certainly there are plenty of dopers across all boarders, but in the past month certain Spanish cyclists seem to be getting much of the features when it comes to doping stories.
Wasn't my intention to step on only your toes with my comment...As I mentioned, my britches get in a twist anytime someone or some group is singled out for some indescretion where the finger pointer is (or just as - if not more) guilty as well...
Only things this latest rash of Spanish busts tells me is that maybe the Spanish riders' doping technique isn't as refined as the other nationalities', or their (Spanish riders) political clout is so low that kicking them while they're down doesn't bother the collective conscience and is seen as being "good for the sport"...
Wasn't my intention to step on only your toes with my comment...As I mentioned, my britches get in a twist anytime someone or some group is singled out for some indescretion where the finger pointer is (or just as - if not more) guilty as well...
Only things this latest rash of Spanish busts tells me is that maybe the Spanish riders' doping technique isn't as refined as the other nationalities', or their (Spanish riders) political clout is so low that kicking them while they're down doesn't bother the collective conscience and is seen as being "good for the sport"...
Can't argue with that. Another possible factor in McQuaids reaction is the high-level of spanish riders that have failed controls recently, Contador and Mosquera inparticular. If there was a rash of riders from St Kits failing tests I highly doubt that McQuaid would have called out that country's government and there wouldn't be this media frenzy. On the other hand if Nibali, Scarponi and some lesser Italian riders failed several tests I would imagine the McQuaid would have said the same thing about the Italian government.
The cook who prepared the steak that Alberto Contador believes contained the Clenbuterol that caused his positive test at the Tour de France has said that he has no doubt about the Spaniard's innocence of any doping offence. Paco Olalla, who runs the El Palacete restaurant in Peñaranda de Duero, near Burgos in north-east Spain, has also revealed that Contador's Astana team still hold the receipt of purchase for the much-discussed steak.
Olalla, who has worked as a cook for a number of Spanish teams since the 1980s, has no doubt that Contador is innocent of doping. Describing the Tour winner as "a really friendly person", Olalla added: "I feel more relaxed about the affair now because the president of the UCI has said there is no case to answer. There is only one path to the truth and Alberto Contador has done nothing irregular, of that I am very sure."
No case to answer... Maybe McQuaid was refering to people not getting answers from luggage.
El Palacete - thats an anagram for the entire incident. Eat, Call, Pee.
Can't argue with that. Another possible factor in McQuaids reaction is the high-level of spanish riders that have failed controls recently, Contador and Mosquera inparticular. If there was a rash of riders from St Kits failing tests I highly doubt that McQuaid would have called out that country's government and there wouldn't be this media frenzy. On the other hand if Nibali, Scarponi and some lesser Italian riders failed several tests I would imagine the McQuaid would have said the same thing about the Italian government.
Well, as reported (see link above) the Italian doping prosecutor Torri is assisting in 8, with a probable 9th on the way, on-going doping investigations in various Italian districts. As such, it's quite possibe what you've imagined may get put to the test in the not-so-distant future...
I think the sad truth is if we "know" some of the top riders are still doping then unfortunately although I don't want to believe it, it's most likely they all are. It's the Spanish that are being caught just at the moment before that it was the Italians, I very much doubt that the percentage of Spanish riders doping is much higher than the other Countries.
I would love to believe that the riders that are doping have been caught and the other top guys haven't because they're riding clean Just maybe, one day this will be the case. We can only hope!
The migration from locations like Nice (France) and Biarritz (France) to places like Girona (Spain) by professional cyclists after the French Cycling Federation started to really clamp down and when it became a criminal offence to dope in France, tells you all you need to know.
The rumour is that the Fuentes (Peurto) scandal had lots of athletes from other sports involved as well.
One would have assumed that in light of the Fuentes scandal that Spanish sport and Spanish cycling would have ensured that Spanish participants were trying to compete cleanly.
