julian

Geeez, what am I getting??

Crash716

Did anyone notice when asked if he raced clean he didn't say yes?...he responded by saying "i am available for testing 365 days a year".

Hmmm..

it would be allot cooler if he is clean.

orcanova

Merging threads? What about locking threads? Unfounded accusations of doping tarnish people's character and accomplishments. Random speculation and attacks, just for recreation, bring this forum into the gutter.

Obviously doping exists, but pointing the finger at riders just because they win a race is caddy, schoolyard gossip.

If he were to get busted for doping, so be it. Otherwise, mods should just kill the slander.

Crash716

really?...you do know this whole web site is based on slander and false accusations right?

julian

Every web site with a TDF forum is just like the other. Lance hater, Lance fanboy, doper this, doper that, armchair quarterbacks, yada, yada yada and more yada. Lemond is a jerk, Merckx is the best, Rumor this, rumor that, grassy knoll theory, people getting banned. Have I left anything out???

reef58

That's actually pretty good I think you have covered it with the exception of go away 99er from the crusty old dudes.

Richard

julian

I would have done that but I have to go out riding, on a mountain bike that is.

Laggard

That's about it.

I've been looking for a racing forum that is less Armstrong/TDF centric and where every other thread is not about doping.

bigfred 

Patently incorrect.

fauxto nick

Not sure if you guys went over this already and I refuse to read through this junk thread to find out, but a lot of you are saying he got a blood clot in the brain and that this was a sign of EPO usage. I had a Velonews from earlier in the year with an article about him sitting by the ****ter, I opened it yesterday and read this.

"Take for instance his brush with death. One of his brothers suffers cerebral cavernoma and is confined to a wheelchair: it is a congenital condition that almost cost Contador his life. The condition causes brain hemorrhages and potentially strokes which are often preceded by severe headaches like the ones Contador was suffering from just days before the 2004 Vuelta a Asturias in northern Spain..."

Velonews January 2009

Just sayin'.

bratton

gg

fauxto nick

GG that's a new one for me.

buddy

Greg LeMond made this charge against Contador:

"Alberto Contador established a speed record: he went up the 8.5 km climb in 20:55. How to explain such a performance?" wrote LeMond. "He would have required a VO2 max [maximal oxygen consumption] of 99.5 ml / min / kg to produce the effort. To my knowledge, this is a figure that has never been achieved by any athlete in any sport.

"It is like a Mercedes sedan winning a on a Formula 1 circuit. There is something wrong. It would be interesting to know what's under the hood."

Is there any bases of truth? Was Contador VO2 max 99.5? Can a person attain this level of fitness without dopping?

buddy

dstrong 

Basis, not bases.

Poor Greg. Besides...a Mercedes sedan could win on a Formula 1 circuit...as long as it was racing against Kia's or Hyndai's and not against Formula 1 cars.

Rober

Agreed, ...and Kias and Hundais, not Kia's and Hundai's. Fair's fair.

DrPete 

LeMond continues to prove that you can win Le Tour fueled completely by sour grapes.

RecceDG

All your bases are belong to us.

DG

Flatballer

Actually, it's Hyundai.

DrPete 

For the love of God, it's spelled Hyundai.

qwer

Of course he is doped, what else?

Give me a break - he flies up to Verbier at warp speed. He wins the TT before FC, skinny and at 61 kg. The absolute best finally was yesterday at the Mt. Ventoux - he doesn't even sweat !!! All others are riding at the limit, sweaty, but Contador, even on the last couple of km's, with average grades of 8 - 11%, a stage of over 160 km and an actual Tour distance of approx. 3300 km in his legs, looks like some dude that just had a cappucino with some brioches 10 minutes ago, going for a charity ride.

The point is - we're actually used to see this superhuman stuff to such an extent, no matter if cycling, swimming, athletics or whatever, that we don't even notice it anymore.

bigfred 

Buddy,

There's a link somewhere to a cycling science article that points out all the errroneous assumptions Greg had to make in order to come to that number. He's just out on his typical witch hunt. Then, attempting to place the burden of proof on the athlete. When we all know that you can't prove a negative beyong a shadow of a doubt. Pay him little mind.

bigfred 

Passed a Ka yesterday.

JBBOOKS

LeMond is like an itch you can't scratch. Why doesn't he just go away?

JeremiahW037

Vo2 max is very misunderstood by many people and this proves it. The highest VO2 max every recorded, to my knowledge, was a northern european cross country skier who measured 96 ml/kg/min during the off season. It was very possible for this athlete to measure in the 100's after training for the season. And there is no way that LeMond would know enough about Contador's physiology to say what type of exersion level he was at. An athlete with a VO2 max in the high 80's could be faster than one in the low or high 90's, its all about muscles, lactate threshold, etc. etc.

mr handy

From watching the tour, I think he was on the juice... No proof, just my hunch. I hope that he was/is not, but it would definitely not surprise me one bit if he was.