Professional Cycling For the Fans - Frank Schleck & Riccardo Ricco Doping News

Didn't see a thread, so I figured I would make one given the big news of the past few days

Frank Schleck has been suspended by Team CSC for his connections to Operacion Puerto (http://www.cheatorbeat.com/frank-schleck-doping/cycling/1227)

Riccardo Ricco has been banned from the sport for 2 years for CERA positive
(http://www.cheatorbeat.com/riccardo-ricco-doping/cycling/1155)

Obviously Ricco is guilty, but the Schleck thing is a bit more up in the air. What do you guys think?

I think since the news hit that Lance was returning, everything else prior is null and void, hence nobody cares.


Now we can watch Lance get tested again!

It's easier to declare guilt and ruin a career than to have real evidence. After what I saw in the Landis file and the 99 nonsense regarding Lance's samples, I wouldn't trust this bunch as far as I could throw my SUV.

Regardless of the outcome, the damage is done.

Well he has not tested positive, but Ricco even said that he should have been popped on each sample he gave in the Giro, so who the hell knows what they are doing in this test.

I too question the effectiveness of the testing. If it really caught athletes 100% of the time, then they would obviously not be doping anymore. Due to the fact that not everyone is tested regularly, and that the tests don't seem to be fully effective, the riders in the peloton seem to be testing their luck still. I think the CERA development was interesting as well, because they thought they were ahead of the testing in using CERA. I remembered hearing the commentators being shocked that positive tests had come back, because they didn't even realize a test existed yet. Which makes you wonder how many people will be caught in the future with the preservation of samples. I also am wondering who the 10 cyclists are that are currently being retested from the tour samples. We should hear results on that fairly soon.

Schumacher and Piepoli busted, too:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/oct08/oct07news

Yep, I just put up articles on those two as well.

Leonardo Piepoli
(http://www.cheatorbeat.com/leonardo-piepoli-dopin/cycling/1262)
Stefan Schumacher (http://www.cheatorbeat.com/stefan-schumacher-doping/cycling/1245)

So what other names will we see this week as the results come back?

RUH ROH, Just saw this one :

“According to the Dutch newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen five teams are implicated. The paper alleged last week that two are at the forefront of the fight against doping, running internal anti-doping programmes.”

That sounds like it could possibly be the American teams, Columbia and Garmin Chipotle.

Schumacher and Piepoli? I never would have guessed.

Schumacher and Piepoli? I never would have guessed.

I had some doubts about Piepoli, but was pretty certain Schumacher's results just didn't fit. It will be interesting to see what that other news brings. CSC would also fit as being one of the teams with internal controls. Are there others besides them, Columbia and Garmin?

RUH ROH, Just saw this one :

“According to the Dutch newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen five teams are implicated. The paper alleged last week that two are at the forefront of the fight against doping, running internal anti-doping programmes.”

That sounds like it could possibly be the American teams, Columbia and Garmin Chipotle.
I'll go Columbia and CSC.

The name being tossed out for Columbia is Kim Kirchen. For CSC the Schlecks have obviously been under scrutiny, but I guess you would also have to worry about Sastre.

So how long is F.Schleck's suspension?

From the article (http://www.cheatorbeat.com/frank-schleck-doping/cycling/1227) :


“Together with Frank, we have made the decision that he doesn’t enter our race programme until we have had the chance to evaluate the outcome of this.”

So I guess the answer is, until he is cleared. If he isn't cleared, than I assume he will be sacked.

If Sastre is popped, that puts the wheel sucker Cadel in first, which would make Silence Lotto winning and losing.

Cancellara is next. I felt a bad vibe when he did not start the worlds TT.

Cancellara is next. I felt a bad vibe when he did not start the worlds TT.

Possibly Cavendish.

The testing authorities do not seem to develop protocols for testing the way the FDA evaluates drugs in the U.S. Other researchers point out how many false negatives the tests give and also suggest false positives are just as prevalent. But they don't have a way to disprove the false positives so if you test positive, you're screwed. (false positives generated by the test itself, not due to sample mishandling)

eg. Landis' testosterone results.

Hopefully, the biological passport and piles of testing data will over time give the testors the ability to reduce false negatives and false positives.

Frank seems to be doing the Ivan Basso, sending money to Fuentes but not actually doping. His offer of his DNA sounds like a good idea but perhaps he knows already the authorities don't have any blood samples of his with which to bust him.

In the last TdF, Schumacher, Ricco and Andy Schleck seemed to be off the charts with their attacks and speed. Two of the three have been nabbed; I'm sure they are looking at Andy as well.

I would agree with you about Andy. My article on his brother pointed out the very same thing :

http://www.cheatorbeat.com/frank-schleck/cycling/1076


The winner of the white jersey for best young rider in the 2008 Tour de France, Andy had a Floyd Landis like “bonk” on Hautacam, but then recovered to dominate at times in the Alps, including finishing 3rd on Alpe d’Huez.

Possibly Cavendish.

Hmmm, I would think if he was doping, it would have been caught by now. He has too many wins to make it through without something coming to the surface.

In the last TdF, Schumacher, Ricco and Andy Schleck seemed to be off the charts with their attacks and speed. Two of the three have been nabbed; I'm sure they are looking at Andy as well.

For what it's worth, Andy has been benched for the remainder of the season by CSC.

The testing authorities do not seem to develop protocols for testing the way the FDA evaluates drugs in the U.S. Other researchers point out how many false negatives the tests give and also suggest false positives are just as prevalent. But they don't have a way to disprove the false positives so if you test positive, you're screwed. (false positives generated by the test itself, not due to sample mishandling)

eg. Landis' testosterone results.

Hopefully, the biological passport and piles of testing data will over time give the testors the ability to reduce false negatives and false positives.

Frank seems to be doing the Ivan Basso, sending money to Fuentes but not actually doping. His offer of his DNA sounds like a good idea but perhaps he knows already the authorities don't have any blood samples of his with which to bust him.

In the last TdF, Schumacher, Ricco and Andy Schleck seemed to be off the charts with their attacks and speed. Two of the three have been nabbed; I'm sure they are looking at Andy as well.

The test of the second sample is supposed to address the false positive. If false positive are truly random and not some outcome of some other process (like the disappearing twin of Tyler Hamilton), the odds of two false positive should be vanishingly small. The fact that none of the science is openly peer reviewed does make one wonder.

Possibly Cavendish.

That would be a disaster for either cycling or WADA. Remember, he's on the new baseline protocol which is suppose to be the long-term solution. If he's canned for testing positive, either the protocol is bogus, or he's the poster child for bad enforcement. Option one means that there is no solution and we'd might as well write the sport off. Option two would confirm the suspicions of many (following the Landis debacle) that enforcement is a joke.

With all this doping going around, would it be too far-fetched to suspect that team directors and company are forcing these athletes to dope?