Originally Posted by
Bacciagalupe
Both, but I'm thinking mostly "national bias."
Even as recently as last month, a lot of the pro-Landis camp were still proclaiming the usual: the labs are sloppy and incompetent; the UCI / ASO / WADA / USADA any organization with an acronym are both incompetent and hate cyclists; "The French" hate Americans.
I don't know what's changed, other than the nationalities and popularity of the accused....
I'd add one more difference: w/ Landis, there was more familiarity of the rider as a person. Given his family background & culture, it was much harder to fathom he'd cheat that way. Ricco is less known, but has much more of a persona as a "punk" than Landis, for example - so it's much easier to see him flouting the rules as a rebel.
I still think there have been problems with the chain of custody of samples (at least, there was with Landis' samples) and the fact the testing lab, tour organizer, and main French newspaper that leaks test results are all owned by the same outfit creates a conflict of interest that makes me uncomfortable. These guys are all found guilty in the court of public opinion before the B samples even confirm results - which isn't healthy for anyone involved, IMO.