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-   -   My (slightly tearful) reaction to the Armstrong news (https://www.bikeforums.net/professional-cycling-fans/605867-my-slightly-tearful-reaction-armstrong-news.html)

Olden Crow 02-19-13 09:09 AM

I can see it all now the future of the O show:

Oprah: We don't want to use any meth crystals, do we boys and girls?
Peanut gallery: Noooooooo!
Oprah: We want mommy to bring home Oprahs prayer crystals from the store don't we?
Peanut gallery: Yeesssssss!

Jed19 02-22-13 02:16 PM

The Feds are in with Landis' suit against Lance.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/...is-suit_275504

Angio Graham 02-22-13 05:41 PM

Since we arent allowed to discuss politics here, I will just say I really hope the federal government fails.

Commodus 02-26-13 10:56 AM

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/arms...tleblower-case


"We will say there was enough information (about doping on the USPS team) to put you (the government) on notice, and you should have filed a false claim before."
So...he basically just called everyone who believed him, and defended him, an idiot.

mprelaw 02-26-13 11:46 AM


Originally Posted by Commodus (Post 15318968)
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/arms...tleblower-case



So...he basically just called everyone who believed him, and defended him, an idiot.

He also admitted (maybe without realizing it) that he brought a host of baseless lawsuits, and the lawyers who represented him were either fellow idiots, or unethical. :lol:

Commodus 02-26-13 12:03 PM


Originally Posted by Olden Crow (Post 15291011)
I can see it all now the future of the O show:

Oprah: We don't want to use any meth crystals, do we boys and girls?
Peanut gallery: Noooooooo!
Oprah: We want mommy to bring home Oprahs prayer crystals from the store don't we?
Peanut gallery: Yeesssssss!

uh...I've ignored this thread for a while now but hopefully in the interim you've stepped away from whatever narcotics you were using. O.o

TomM 02-26-13 07:23 PM


Originally Posted by mprelaw (Post 15319173)
He also admitted (maybe without realizing it) that he brought a host of baseless lawsuits, and the lawyers who represented him were either fellow idiots, or unethical. :lol:

Anybody know if these are the same attorneys he used in his previous lawsuits?

merlinextraligh 02-26-13 08:05 PM


Originally Posted by mprelaw (Post 15319173)
He also admitted (maybe without realizing it) that he brought a host of baseless lawsuits, and the lawyers who represented him were either fellow idiots, or unethical. :lol:

I notice there's pre law in your name.

mprelaw 02-26-13 08:55 PM


Originally Posted by merlinextraligh (Post 15321099)
I notice there's pre law in your name.

The pre part is the first 3 letters of my last name. ;)

There's nothing unethical about a lawyer defending someone who is guilty, in a criminal prosecution (which is the kind of law that I've done for close to 30 years). However, bringing a libel suit against a party who is known to be telling the truth, is, well, at least borderline. I prefer to think that his lawyers were just idiots who drank the Kool-Aid with everyone else.

merlinextraligh 02-28-13 12:27 PM


Originally Posted by mprelaw (Post 15321310)
The pre part is the first 3 letters of my last name. ;)

There's nothing unethical about a lawyer defending someone who is guilty, in a criminal prosecution (which is the kind of law that I've done for close to 30 years). However, bringing a libel suit against a party who is known to be telling the truth, is, well, at least borderline. I prefer to think that his lawyers were just idiots who drank the Kool-Aid with everyone else.

They advanced Armstrong's interests pretty effectively. Those actions now clearly appear to have been baseless on the information that is currently known. That by no means establishes that Armstrong's attorney's knew they were baseless then, or breached any ethical duty.

And simply taking a diffent position in a different case years later isn't unethical.

As the story goes, Abraham Lincoln argued 2 cases before the same court on the same day, taking opposite positions in the cases. The Judge asked Lincoln in the afternoon wether he'd argued the exact opposite that morning. Lincoln responded that this morning I thought I was right; this afternoon I know I am.

Jed19 02-28-13 01:00 PM


Originally Posted by merlinextraligh (Post 15327584)
They advanced Armstrong's interests pretty effectively. Those actions now clearly appear to have been baseless on the information that is currently known. That by no means establishes that Armstrong's attorney's knew they were baseless then, or breached any ethical duty.

And simply taking a diffent position in a different case years later isn't unethical.

As the story goes, Abraham Lincoln argued 2 cases before the same court on the same day, taking opposite positions in the cases. The Judge asked Lincoln in the afternoon wether he'd argued the exact opposite that morning. Lincoln responded that this morning I thought I was right; this afternoon I know I am.

<Slaps forehead>

So, that is how the "honest Abe" moniker came to be. Who would have guessed?

Cat4Lifer 03-08-13 06:12 AM


Originally Posted by Cat4Lifer (Post 15212108)
Keep in mind that steroids were not at all in existence during Eddie's time. so there's no way he could have possibly used them. So as the BF experts note, doping in his era had "minimal effect," which of course is why they did it.


Originally Posted by LarDasse74 (Post 15212271)
Are you joking? Eddy retired in he late 70s. Steroids had been in use by athletes for ~20 years by then. I don't know what he took or didn' take, but he certainly had access to steroids if he had wanted to take them.


Originally Posted by Cat4Lifer (Post 15213057)
Actually, yes, I am joking. It's just funny to me to read all the definitive statements made by BF' self-appointed doping experts. You know what I mean, the geniuses that say the steroids of Eddie's time had minimal effect on performance, while the steroids in Armstrong's era had maximum effect. I agree with what you're saying, I was just mocking the foolish idea that PEDs of the 70s had minimal effect on performance.


Originally Posted by Commodus (Post 15212334)
Please, I am interested to see some research suggesting that the doping practices of this time were especially effective. I await your learned response.


Originally Posted by gsteinb (Post 15213111)
What's unquestionable though is that the steroids of Merckx's era don't compare to EPO (not a steroid) in increasing the body's ability to move oxygen.

Science is science.

It's also true that sometimes guys on internet forums actually know what they're talking about because they're old, and have been involved in sports for 3 or 4 decades.

It's also true that sometimes -- probably most times -- guys making definitive statements about the effect of doping in different eras on internet forums don't actually know what they're talking about, but believe they do because they're old and have puttered around on their bikes for 3 or 4 decades.


Why does the role played by transfusions in the years before Gen-EPO matter? Why does the role played by transfusions during Gen-EPO matter? It matters because it alters our perception of what happened in those years. Many cycling fans have a somewhat rose-tinted view of doping in the years before Gen-EPO, comparing the two eras to pop-guns versus howitzers…You can compare EPO to howitzers if you want, but you cannot say that transfusions were just pop-guns.

The path from transfusions to EPO is clear and unambiguous. In one you inject red blood cells into the body, in the other you inject a hormone that stimulates the production of red blood cells. For the men who worked with transfusions in the 1970s and 1980s, the progression to EPO was as natural as upgrading your smart phone. One might be more powerful than the other, or at least easier to use, but the two are, in essence, the same thing….

Hormone rebalancing, blood transfusions, EPO, they really aren't all that different. The members of Gen-EPO, were they really all that different from the generations that went before them? Scapegoating them for doing the same as the generations that had preceded them had done, does that really make sense? But they're the ones who are going to be held accountable. They're the ones who we are clamouring for truth from. While we sit back and watch the generations who preceded ride off into the sunset in glorious silence, never to be held to account for the role they played in creating Gen-EPO. Because they were only playing with pop-guns.

Cat4Lifer 03-08-13 06:19 AM


Originally Posted by MMACH 5 (Post 15212025)
Even though Eddy was caught doping, he is still highly respected as a cyclist. Regardless of LA's character flaws (and lack of conscience), he's still one hell of cyclist. However, people seem quite ready to write him of as the guy who couldn't even balance on two wheels except that he took a "TdF Victory Pill" (coming soon to a pharmacy near you).


Originally Posted by gsteinb (Post 15212044)
Nor is it reasonable to compare the kind of doping Merckx did with that of the modern era.

Why is it not reasonable to compare blood transfusions of the 70s with blood transfusions of the "modern era"?

ChasH 03-18-13 08:11 PM


Originally Posted by himespau (Post 15235417)
The nice thing about all this is that that if you want an inexpensive early 00's CF bike and don't care what it says on it (or have access to a can of spray paint), now might just be the time to get your best deal as all the people who bought those post office special editions start putting them on the market.

Thanks for the heads-up. I'll be looking for a great deal - I'm not so shabby with a can o' paint either.

Zinger 03-19-13 02:45 PM


Originally Posted by Cat4Lifer (Post 15359831)
Why is it not reasonable to compare blood transfusions of the 70s with blood transfusions of the "modern era"?

Good question but Merckx tested positive for amphetamines on a few occasions. I don't think they used transfusions back then that I'm aware of. I guess he means that amphetamines have limits and a downside in long stage races that EPO doesn't have. The downside of EPO is dying of a heart attack in your sleep if you don't know what you're doing with it.

Btw, I know that Armstrong admitted using EPO to his doctor in front ofBetsy Andreu in '96 or '97 so I'm wondering how long he was boosting while riding with Motorola. I really liked the guy back then but kind of started putting 2 and 2 together about 10 years or so ago when he started dominating the Tour. I just stopped watching European cycling for awhile back then so I'm for cleaning it up. If they can just get a handle on the blood/oxygen boosters I'll be happy because that's what blows the whole race out for the less financed underdog teams......I think that's the point gsteinb was making.

Cat4Lifer 03-24-13 05:36 AM

Well, from what I've read the performance benefits of blood doping were well known by the 70s. Considering what we're finding out today about the propensity of pros to dope, it would be foolish to believe that at least some cyclists weren't blood doping in the 70s.

Here's what Hinault said about blood doping in the early 80s:

"Moser made use of auto-transfusion. So he was playing with his own blood. He did no more no less that the Finnish athletes, Lasse Virén and the others. It suffices to take some of one's own blood during the Spring when it is rich, hyper-oxygenated, and to re-inject it when one is fatigued. Is that really doping? Maybe not, except if the blood is placed into a machine to re-oxygenate it to the maximum."

Just saw a really good doc "30 for 30: 9.79*" on Netflix about doping in track and field during the 80's
HGH was first used by T&F athletes in the mid 80s!; T&F doping results (including positives) from the 1984 Olympics were lost/destroyed;
Dr. Don Catlin years after the '84 Olympics, for his own curiosity it seems, tested saved samples and found more & more evidence of doping, so much so, he thought it better to stop testing. Didn't feel it would do any good to publish who tested positive years after the fact.

gsteinb 03-24-13 06:25 AM

As things progressed guys were transfusing doped blood. It's what Contador got popped, and had his wrist slapped for. If Eddy was transfusing blood so be it. It still wasn't the prevalent doping methodology of the period, which largely centered around energy. It wasn't until the late 70s/80s that steroids for recovery became prevalent, and around the end of the Lemond era that blood manipulation really became the norm. What you're posting confirms an increasing sophistication in doping methodologies.

mprelaw 03-24-13 08:18 AM


Originally Posted by gsteinb (Post 15424544)
As things progressed guys were transfusing doped blood. It's what Contador got popped, and had his wrist slapped for. If Eddy was transfusing blood so be it. It still wasn't the prevalent doping methodology of the period, which largely centered around energy. It wasn't until the late 70s/80s that steroids for recovery became prevalent, and around the end of the Lemond era that blood manipulation really became the norm. What you're posting confirms an increasing sophistication in doping methodologies.

Up until 1986, anyone who was transfusing wasn't utilizing a banned method of enhancing performance. I only consider illegal methods as "cheating".

Cat4Lifer 03-24-13 11:37 PM


Originally Posted by gsteinb (Post 15424544)
It wasn't until the late 70s/80s that steroids for recovery became prevalent

Source?

gsteinb 03-25-13 06:20 AM

Depending on your use of the word prevalent, one could argue I'm a couple-5 years off. They weren't even illegal until 1975.


http://sportsanddrugs.procon.org/vie...ourceID=002366

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ine/index.html


but if you look at the 1976 and 1983 highlights it certainly supports the timeline offered.

1976 East German swimmers are deceived into taking anabolic steroids by their coaches and trainers. They win 11 out of 13 swim events at the Montreal Summer Olympics that year.

1983 Seventeen athletes, including two from the United States, test positive for anabolic steroids at the Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela, and are disqualified. Eleven others leave the games in protest.

Cat4Lifer 03-30-13 01:24 AM


Originally Posted by gsteinb (Post 15428018)
Depending on your use of the word prevalent, one could argue I'm a couple-5 years off. They weren't even illegal until 1975.


http://sportsanddrugs.procon.org/vie...ourceID=002366

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ine/index.html


but if you look at the 1976 and 1983 highlights it certainly supports the timeline offered.

1976 East German swimmers are deceived into taking anabolic steroids by their coaches and trainers. They win 11 out of 13 swim events at the Montreal Summer Olympics that year.

1983 Seventeen athletes, including two from the United States, test positive for anabolic steroids at the Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela, and are disqualified. Eleven others leave the games in protest.

The legality isn't at issue. What was being discussed, if I remember correctly, was the potency of PEDs (Merckx Era vs. Armstrong Era).

Now as far as you supporting your claim that steroids weren't used prevalently (even occasionally used or used at all) for recovery until the late 70's/early 80's--you haven't. What you have provided are sources that delineate a timeline of athletes testing positive for anabolic steroids.

As far as I have read, anabolic steroids have been available to athletes since the 50's. It seems unlikely to me, especially considering what we're now learning about doping and pro-cycling, that elite athletes would forgo the use of potent PEDs for some twenty or so years. Here is excerpt from Ferrari about testosterone, anabolic steroids, and "blood doping":


TESTOSTERONE and ANABOLIC STEROIDS have been available from the 50's and 60's, and it is very likely that athletes have made wide use of those, but tests for the probable intake of exogenous testosterone were approved only in 1986, while specific tests for the numerous anabolic drugs were developed as new molecules were coming on the market.

I asked a Grand Champion of the 70's which drugs were used in his time. "Amphetamines, cortisone" he said. "Decadurabolin, durabolin, sustanon?" I added. "Ah yes, those too..." (he had not even considered them as doping...).
and

The first scientific publication on the effects of blood TRANSFUSIONS over aerobic performance dates back some 67 years ago! (Science 1945, 102:589-591). It's very likely that endurance athletes have used it since the 60's, though only a decade later we had contextual certainty. As of today, there is no test that can demonstrate autologous blood transfusion.
Since doping, even in the 60s and 70s, has (had) the tendency to be done secretly, I am left to wonder how anyone (an "outsider") can intelligently, honestly, and correctly say, imply, or even hint that the use of anabolic steroids began many years after they were first available. So what I'm wondering: if these performance enhancing drugs and practices (and knowledge of there effectiveness) have been around at least since the 50's, why are you so sure that they weren't used "prevalently" (or at all?) "until the late 70s"?

achoo 03-30-13 08:38 AM


Originally Posted by Cat4Lifer (Post 15447512)
The legality isn't at issue. What was being discussed, if I remember correctly, was the potency of PEDs (Merckx Era vs. Armstrong Era).

Doesn't really matter what hte potency is, Merckx got busted more times for PED violations while actually cycling than Armstrong did.

But never forget Merckx is a hard-assed hero while Armstrong is a cheating imposter.


Now as far as you supporting your claim that steroids weren't used prevalently (even occasionally used or used at all) for recovery until the late 70's/early 80's--you haven't. What you have provided are sources that delineate a timeline of athletes testing positive for anabolic steroids.
Steroid use was pervasive in US college football by the early 1980s.

Period.

Guys I went to high school with and were recruited by upper level Div I schools were told by coaches whose name you'd recognize that they'd be EXPECTED to use steroids.

I played Div III ball and there were guys using steroids even at that level.


As far as I have read, anabolic steroids have been available to athletes since the 50's. It seems unlikely to me, especially considering what we're now learning about doping and pro-cycling, that elite athletes would forgo the use of potent PEDs for some twenty or so years. Here is excerpt from Ferrari about testosterone, anabolic steroids, and "blood doping":


and


Since doping, even in the 60s and 70s, has (had) the tendency to be done secretly, I am left to wonder how anyone (an "outsider") can intelligently, honestly, and correctly say, imply, or even hint that the use of anabolic steroids began many years after they were first available. So what I'm wondering: if these performance enhancing drugs and practices (and knowledge of there effectiveness) have been around at least since the 50's, why are you so sure that they weren't used "prevalently" (or at all?) "until the late 70s"?
No, he's probably right. Well, almost, anyway. I'd put the date somewhat earlier - more like early 1970s. Can you say "Pittsburgh Steelers"? I knew you could.

Look at all the NFL stars from the 1960s that are still with us. Look at all the NFL stars from the 1970s that have already died from weird stuff - Lyle Alzado et al. There sure seems to be a lot more strange deaths from 1970s NFL players. Walter Payton, for another. And a whole bunch of those Steelers...

Cat4Lifer 03-30-13 03:15 PM


Originally Posted by achoo (Post 15448046)
Guys I went to high school with and were recruited by upper level Div I schools were told by coaches whose name you'd recognize that they'd be EXPECTED to use steroids.

Oh.

Zinger 03-31-13 03:10 PM

A lot of this is speculation but when I read of riders boosting for uncontrolled one day races back then, or support riders not likely to be randomly tested needing recovery, I'm reading accounts of amphetamines. Not that much had changed on the road since Anquetil's decade I don't imagine.

gsteinb 11-15-13 10:53 AM


Originally Posted by Cat4Lifer (Post 15359831)
Why is it not reasonable to compare blood transfusions of the 70s with blood transfusions of the "modern era"?

BTW, in Armstrong's recent interviews even he acknowledged that the doping methods changed from 'low octane' to 'high octane,' and it would be impossible to compete without getting on board.

LA: [Laughs] That’s what I mean, more or less. Again I don’t know what others did or didn’t do, and I don’t want to get into the details, but at some point cycling switched from low-octane to high-octane. I don’t know who had made that switch to high-octane first. In Motorola, we had not in 1993. It’s well documented that we did make that switch in 1995, but in the years before, we were low-octane [Armstrong later defined "low-octane" as meaning "Cortisone, etc"– ed.] That worked okay in 1993 but it did not work okay in 1994. In that winter between '93 and '94, there was a tectonic shift.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/...terview-part-1


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