"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Basso admits

Basso today admitted his involvement into the Puerto blood affair and agreed to fully cooperate with Italian authorities.
That sounds to be very big news as he is the first one to acknowledge there's some truth behind the scandal. I also saw that Valverde was added to the list during the weekend.

http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/12213.0.html

really not much info yet.

Basso today admitted his involvement into the Puerto blood affair and agreed to fully cooperate with Italian authorities.
That sounds to be very big news as he is the first one to acknowledge there's some truth behind the scandal. I also saw that Valverde was added to the list during the weekend.

This is going to be yet another crazy year for cycling. Hold on to your hats boys, it's about to get really windy out.

... Brad

This is going to be yet another crazy year for cycling. Hold on to your hats boys, it's about to get really windy out.

... Brad
That may be an understatement. We may have to hold on to more than our hats. If he does cooperate and even half of the speculation about other riders is true, it will be a house cleaning the likes of which we have not seen. The UCI, the racers' organization and the sponsors MUST do something to clean this up.

Snipet: I also read that Valverde's blood bags came back positive for EPO but Basso's didn't. But even transfusions are illegal so...

Sucks because I wanted to really believe Basso was innocent.

oh well.. basso's still young enough to have a few racing years after his ban. Too bad he didnt admit last year.

oh well.. basso's still young enough to have a few racing years after his ban. Too bad he didnt admit last year.
Err yea but how long is the ban going to be for? Lifetime? There seems to be records of multiple doping violations so one could argue for a lifetime ban...

The real question is will he admit that his team was involved in the doping as well?

Basso today admitted his involvement into the Puerto blood affair and agreed to fully cooperate with Italian authorities.When asked if he doped, did he hang his head and mutter a barely audible, "Oui."?

Oops, sorry, I'm confused. Oui is French, so that was Virenque. In Italy, he would have hung his head and muttered a barely audible, "Si.".

[audible sigh]Another affair. Cycling has so many[/audible sigh].

What does it mean to admit to "involvement in the affair"? That isn't really the same as admitting he was doping. Maybe he is just admitting he used Fuentes as a Dr. for legal purposes, then lied about it to the investigators?

I just hope this all plays out quickly.

Bah.

Sidenote: Basso is rockin a great lookin suit.

Yea, his sister looks great too, but she's also a fake.

Err yea but how long is the ban going to be for? Lifetime? There seems to be records of multiple doping violations so one could argue for a lifetime ban...

The real question is will he admit that his team was involved in the doping as well?
My guess is, they will give him a 2 year ban in exchange for admitting guilt etc. That's basically what happened with Millar; they found him with a syringe and, presumably, enough proof to boot him permanently if they wanted.

I expect he will roll over on doctors and labs, rather than teams though.

Yea, his sister looks great too, but she's also a fake.
she's nifty, but I bet her ta-tas feel like medicine balls :(

My guess is, they will give him a 2 year ban in exchange for admitting guilt etc. That's basically what happened with Millar; they found him with a syringe and, presumably, enough proof to boot him permanently if they wanted.

I expect he will roll over on doctors and labs, rather than teams though.He is definitely limiting his losses now.

she's nifty, but I bet her ta-tas feel like medicine balls :(I like medicine balls.:D

Can't wait for the next Simoni interview. He knows an E. T. when he sees one.

So does Basso lose his Giro title? Definitely interesting if Heras, Basso and Landis all lose their respective grand tour titles...the saga continues. Valverde next on the chopping block with his ProTour title? Not to mention his wins in the Ardennes etc. last year.

from Comcast.net:


"The Italian cyclist's lawyer, Massimo Martelli, said his client spoke about "methods with which this activity was carried out."

Basso's name had turned up on a list of cyclists who allegedly had contact with a Spanish doctor accused of running a blood-doping clinic in Madrid.

Martelli said he could not disclose the exact contents of what Basso told the CONI prosecutor because the transcript was sealed.

"Basso said, 'The moment has come for me to assume my responsibilities. I only hope that I will be understood,'" Martelli said, adding the rider would "plan his future around the fight against doping."

Basso has been charged by CONI's doping commission with using or attempting to use a banned substance after sports authorities reopened an investigation into his alleged role in Operation Puerto.

The 29-year-old Italian will not be implicating other riders in the investigation, Martelli said.

"This kind of activity was carried out individually," Martelli said in a telephone interview. "He never saw or heard of other riders" being involved."

YEAH, RIGHT.

Can't wait for the next Simoni interview. He knows an E. T. when he sees one.

It gets better. Simoni should end up with the Giro 2006 title. The 2nd placed rider, Gutierrez, is also implicated in Puerto. Speaking of Gutierrez... talk about coming out of nowhere to place 2nd at the Giro.

http://bp2.blogger.com/_iKMBzSWM9lg/Rj95cV0cQBI/AAAAAAAAAdc/Dwu1LAC5Bcw/s320/donkey.jpg

My guess is, they will give him a 2 year ban in exchange for admitting guilt etc. That's basically what happened with Millar; they found him with a syringe and, presumably, enough proof to boot him permanently if they wanted.

I expect he will roll over on doctors and labs, rather than teams though.
He doesn't have to roll anybody or lifter a finger for a 2 year ban. It's his first offense - thats what is called for.

Ok, so if Basso gets a 2-year ban from cycling he can still model for Armani or whomever during that time and make big $$$$$.

Man....what are the races going to look like without PEDs.....pretty soon, they'll need triples and **** to get up the mountains in the 3rd week of the TdF since they'll be weak and can't recover.

Phil Ligget: "And here comes Jason Batten from Jelly Belly, a relatively unknown Cat 3 rider from the United States just a year ago, walking his bike up L'Alpe Duez..."

Paul Sherwin: "He's realllllllllly digging deep into his suitcase of courage on this one"

Bob Roll: "This was about my speed while climbing mountains in the Tour Day France"

Phil Ligget: "Wait! Here comes Tom Danielson, sprinting with his bike on his shoulder and shoes in his hand. I can't believe it...he is a beast of a man. I think he can pull off the sprint for the line!"

Bob Roll: "I see Tommy D riding by my house in all types of weather...sunshine, rain, sleet, snow....nothing stops this kid. He's one tough rider."

Paul Sherwin: "Just to remind our audience, since taking any kind of peformance enhancing drugs has been drastically cut out of the peloton, but yet the races have not changed at all, seeing these types of "sprint finishes" later on in the races has become the norm. Stay tuned for the wheelchair sprint on the Champs-Elysees on the last day of the race"

Phil Ligget: "Tom Danielson has won the stage! He juuuust clipped Batten at the line for the win; he is such a great climber, and The Team Formerly Known As Discovery reallllly saw the potential in this kid several years back.

Paul Sherwin: "That was a great race."

Big props to Basso for this. No, it was not right that he doped in the first place. But this is the honorable thing to do. He could've pulled an Ullrich or a Hamilton and denied, denied, denied... but he didn't.

Big props to Basso for this. No, it was not right that he doped in the first place. But this is the honorable thing to do. He could've pulled an Ullrich or a Hamilton and denied, denied, denied... but he didn't.

So instead of denied, denied, denied...he just denied, denied.

Nothing honorable in what Basso did...nothing at all. It was either confess now or be worse off when he was found guilty. I believe if he felt he could get away with it...he wouldn't have resigned from Disco and he wouldn't now be telling the truth.

Big props to Basso for this. No, it was not right that he doped in the first place. But this is the honorable thing to do. He could've pulled an Ullrich or a Hamilton and denied, denied, denied... but he didn't.
I'm sorry but you are just incorrect. He began denying it less than a week after Saiz was arrested in May of 2006. Here is the way cyclingnews.com reported it on the 26th of May, "Two big riders named by Spanish media outlets in conjunction with the "Operacion Puerto" affair have denied any involvement with Dr. Eufamiano Fuentes, who is alleged to be one of the key figures in supplying doping and blood transfusions to athletes. Giro d'Italia leader Ivan Basso said that he has never had anything to do with Fuentes, while T-Mobile's captain Jan Ullrich also said, "I have never worked together with Fuentes."

If you go to this page http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/puerto_complete you can find many other times where he or his lawyer directly or implicitly denied a) any doping in conjuction with Operation Puerto or b) any interaction with the good Dr Fuentes.

Snipet: I also read that Valverde's blood bags came back positive for EPO but Basso's didn't. But even transfusions are illegal so...

Sucks because I wanted to really believe Basso was innocent.

everyone has someone who he wants to believe is clean ... except me :eek: .

ed rader

good for basso. it's better to fess up quickly like millar or zuelle than to continue to lie like hamilton and der kaiser and make everyone hate your lying ass :eek: .

ed rader

I'm bummed, Basso was my GC favorite. Valverde was my second. I knew he was cooked once he resigned from Disco. Should be an interesting Tour without those two, my new money is on Contador.

Wasn't Contador also implicated at first?
The rosters have been released and I don't remember seeing Contador on Discos list. They're riding for Popo.

So the latest word from cyclingnews.com http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/may07/may08news
is that Basso wont name names. But, he hopes that other will confess. What a frickin mess. I hope SOMEBODY gets DNA samples from all the blood bags and demands that all the riders in the UCI Pro Tour submit DNA samples or they don't race anymore.

Some on the forum have suggested these guys have to dope to keep their "jobs." Hopefully they are not so stupid or inept that they could not make a living for themselves and their families that they can't find any way to do it except for cheating. But given what we know about cheating in general I hold out little hope.

For example, the report, "Academic Dishonesty in Graduate Business Programs: Prevalence, Causes, and Proposed Action," is based on survey responses from 5,331 students at 32 graduate schools in the United States and Canada, and is scheduled for publication this month in Academy of Management Learning & Education. The survey found that 56 percent of graduate business students -- most of whom are pursuing M.B.A.'s -- had cheated, compared with 47 percent of graduate students in nonbusiness programs."

Moreover, a quick google can lead anyone to this site: cheathouse.com. Cheating is now an industry

What the heck is going on in the world? Do my doctor and dentist cheat; did they cheat in order to graduate?

Hopefully this trend can be reversed.

So the latest word from cyclingnews.com http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/may07/may08news
is that Basso wont name names. But, he hopes that other will confess. What a frickin mess. I hope SOMEBODY gets DNA samples from all the blood bags and demands that all the riders in the UCI Pro Tour submit DNA samples or they don't race anymore.

Some on the forum have suggested these guys have to dope to keep their "jobs." Hopefully they are not so stupid or inept that they could not make a living for themselves and their families that they can't find any way to do it except for cheating. But given what we know about cheating in general I hold out little hope.

For example, the report, "Academic Dishonesty in Graduate Business Programs: Prevalence, Causes, and Proposed Action," is based on survey responses from 5,331 students at 32 graduate schools in the United States and Canada, and is scheduled for publication this month in Academy of Management Learning & Education. The survey found that 56 percent of graduate business students -- most of whom are pursuing M.B.A.'s -- had cheated, compared with 47 percent of graduate students in nonbusiness programs."

Moreover, a quick google can lead anyone to this site: cheathouse.com. Cheating is now an industry

What the heck is going on in the world? Do my doctor and dentist cheat; did they cheat in order to graduate?

Hopefully this trend can be reversed.

Some of my classmates were known cheaters, so yes, you may have had a healthcare professional graduate via cheating. Heck, a number of them continue (financially) in practice.

so who still thinks lance was clean?

so who still thinks lance was clean?
I stopped caring the day he retired.

So the latest word from cyclingnews.com http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/may07/may08news
is that Basso wont name names. But, he hopes that other will confess. What a frickin mess. I hope SOMEBODY gets DNA samples from all the blood bags and demands that all the riders in the UCI Pro Tour submit DNA samples or they don't race anymore.

Some on the forum have suggested these guys have to dope to keep their "jobs." Hopefully they are not so stupid or inept that they could not make a living for themselves and their families that they can't find any way to do it except for cheating. But given what we know about cheating in general I hold out little hope.

For example, the report, "Academic Dishonesty in Graduate Business Programs: Prevalence, Causes, and Proposed Action," is based on survey responses from 5,331 students at 32 graduate schools in the United States and Canada, and is scheduled for publication this month in Academy of Management Learning & Education. The survey found that 56 percent of graduate business students -- most of whom are pursuing M.B.A.'s -- had cheated, compared with 47 percent of graduate students in nonbusiness programs."

Moreover, a quick google can lead anyone to this site: cheathouse.com. Cheating is now an industry

What the heck is going on in the world? Do my doctor and dentist cheat; did they cheat in order to graduate?

Hopefully this trend can be reversed.

The naivete displayed in this statement defies comment.

So I'll let it speak for itself.

The naivete displayed in this statement defies comment. So I'll let it speak for itself.Odd, I see pragmatism and idealism in Rockymtnmerlin's words. Our view of the world is fundamentally subjective.

The naivete displayed in this statement defies comment.

So I'll let it speak for itself.

Well, just to make sure, I read all eight definitions of naive :eek: at dictionary.com. I am 55, a retired Naval Officer with an advanced degree, have lived in four countries, visited 32 others and at one time had 280 people working for me. I am not naive; I may be wrong, but I assure you I am not naive. In this case I may be best describe as disappointed but still hopeful. I have been called a lot worse things than naive. So go ahead an flame away patentcad it does not hurt my feelings. :) Plus, it gives me the opportunity to examine what I wrote and why from another point of view. :beer:

Well, just to make sure, I read all eight definitions of naive :eek: at dictionary.com. I am 55, a retired Naval Officer with an advanced degree, have lived in four countries, visited 32 others and at one time had 280 people working for me. I am not naive; I may be wrong, but I assure you I am not naive. In this case I may be best describe as disappointed but still hopeful. I have been called a lot worse things than naive. So go ahead an flame away patentcad it does not hurt my feelings. :) Plus, it gives me the opportunity to examine what I wrote and why from another point of view. :beer:

Good Creds and I may not call you naive but as a Naval Officer and senior manager you can't be surprised what people will do to further their career/interest. When I look at the money and fame being tossed at the "contenders" I'm not surprised at all. I see it as a cost of doing business and business is business...just ask the mafia or any candidate for elected office! If you could get elected Senator/President by blood doping I guarantee you the highest paid people in this country would not be lobbyist but doctors that know how to dope.

We just tend to put "athletes" on a different pedestal. We expect them to play fair at the same time allowing sponsors/owners to invest millions of dollars on their ability to win. Would you gamble a possible suspension from your chosen career for a few million dollars and the celebrity spot light? I don't know many people who would not be tempted by that offer.

Some on the forum have suggested these guys have to dope to keep their "jobs." Hopefully they are not so stupid or inept that they could not make a living for themselves and their families that they can't find any way to do it except for cheating. But given what we know about cheating in general I hold out little hope.



I used to believe that the majority of riders were clean, but as the years go on....that belief has been reversed. If you want to hold out hope that the majority of Pro Tour riders are clean, have at it chief.

I'll go back into my cave and make some hand paintings now.

:rolleyes:

so what's the word on valv? is he for sure out of the tour, or will it be the night before the tour banning like last year?

Good Creds and I may not call you naive but as a Naval Officer and senior manager you can't be surprised what people will do to further their career/interest. When I look at the money and fame being tossed at the "contenders" I'm not surprised at all. I see it as a cost of doing business and business is business...just ask the mafia or any candidate for elected office! If you could get elected Senator/President by blood doping I guarantee you the highest paid people in this country would not be lobbyist but doctors that know how to dope.

We just tend to put "athletes" on a different pedestal. We expect them to play fair at the same time allowing sponsors/owners to invest millions of dollars on their ability to win. Would you gamble a possible suspension from your chosen career for a few million dollars and the celebrity spot light? I don't know many people who would not be tempted by that offer.

Good points.

I used to believe that the majority of riders were clean, but as the years go on....that belief has been reversed. If you want to hold out hope that the majority of Pro Tour riders are clean, have at it chief.

I'll go back into my cave and make some hand paintings now.

:rolleyes:

Well, I actually said I hold out little hope. But I still would hope that there are enough people interested in competing honestly that the sport could field a clean(er) peloton. But in the end, I may just have to go to the cave too. :(

Well....if everyone's "cheating", then wouldn't it technically be a "level" playing field amongst the contestants?

There have been a few riders over the years who've come out and stated that everyone is cheating, there's no way they can race that much (clean) and not be dead, etc. etc. etc.....yet the masses seem to shun those people that break the silence.

I have no doubt that there are some truly gifted athletes out there, and then there are many who may not be as genetically gifted, but still have a monsterous work ethic that allows them to ride amongst the best. I'm sure that all the riders, minus the doping/drugs/etc would all still compete with one another on a top level, but I'm realllllllllllly curious to see how they would fare in the third week of say, the Giro....which has some absolutely brutal mountain stages during the race. I'm willing to bet the drop-out rate would double, riders would be getting sick, and the speeds would drop well off of what is now considered "normal".

Well....if everyone's "cheating", then wouldn't it technically be a "level" playing field amongst the contestants?

.

Hence Uhllrich's comment that he never cheated his fellow riders. Very different statement than I never took PED's.

Anyone wonder how Disco has had 12 seasons of 100% clean racing?

Well....if everyone's "cheating", then wouldn't it technically be a "level" playing field amongst the contestants?

Yes it would be level, but it would not be ethical because when they applied and paid for their racing licenses they said they would abide by the rules.

There have been a few riders over the years who've come out and stated that everyone is cheating, there's no way they can race that much (clean) and not be dead, etc. etc. etc.....yet the masses seem to shun those people that break the silence.

Sadly, that is true.

I have no doubt that there are some truly gifted athletes out there, and then there are many who may not be as genetically gifted, but still have a monsterous work ethic that allows them to ride amongst the best. I'm sure that all the riders, minus the doping/drugs/etc would all still compete with one another on a top level, but I'm realllllllllllly curious to see how they would fare in the third week of say, the Giro....which has some absolutely brutal mountain stages during the race. I'm willing to bet the drop-out rate would double, riders would be getting sick, and the speeds would drop well off of what is now considered "normal".

Good and probably accurate points!!!

A very good exchange last night and this morning on the topic. I hope it encourages everyone to reexamine their position (no matter where they come down on the issue). Best of all the weather is finally good here and I can actually ride my bike outdoors!!!!!!

so who still thinks lance was clean?

innocent until proven guilty.

"Ethics" and big business do not go hand in hand :)

Anyone wonder how Disco has had 12 seasons of 100% clean racing?


Frankie Andreau admitted to using PED's (I believe EPO) when he rode for Postal.

SOOO technically they were NOT clean, they just did not caught ;)

Wizard: Often true, but still a bit sad. :( :)