Hello, could you connect me to Dr. Ferrari please? Or just give me a Ferrari in my bottom bracket.
Marco Pantani had Armstrong on the ropes. It was the Col de Joux Plane in the 2000 Tour de France and the only time Pharmy was in real, genuine difficulty during any of his “seven” Tours. So he did what any reasonable rider would do: he got on the radio with his team boss and demanded he call his coach and renowned doping genius Michele Ferrari to find out precisely how long Pantani could sustain his effort. Ferrari crunched some numbers on his custom Effort Finder-Outer Machine and got back with the good news that Pantani couldn’t hold the pace to the finish.
The problem Batman had with The Joker was that Batman was rational and The Joker was insane. And insane people don’t always do what rational people expect them to do. Like having a plan, for instance. Or wanting to make it to the finish at all. Lance wasn’t Batman – not by a stretch – and Pantani wasn’t insane. But the point is, they weren’t thinking about the race the same way. Armstrong wanted to win the Tour de France but was a stubborn ass who was too proud to let the world’s best climber drop him. Pantani, on the other hand, had already lost everything and been to Hell and back; he had nothing to lose and was more than willing to sacrifice his own Tour if it meant he could fuck with Pharmstrong, even for a bit.
So he rode until the lights went out and climbed into the team car. Ciao. Armstrong was left holding the bag. Or, rather, not holding a mussette with any food in it. Bon jour, Monsieur avec le Hammer. Comment allez vous?
Cyclists have always used whatever dubious means they can find in order to gain an advantage, this is not news. It is only natural in a sport as demanding as this, which is not to say it is by any means excusable. But cheating has been woven into the fabric of our sport since the earliest days; in the first Tours de France several riders were disqualified for getting tows from teammates via cable and jumping on trains to rest the legs and gain a few extra kilometers over their rivals in the process.
When Greg LeMond helped pioneer the use of radios between riders and the team car, I hardly think he imagined his nemesis using the technology to contact the most notorious doping mastermind in the sport in order to gain a mid-race performance update from Italy. I don’t know why that feels so much worse than regular doping. It almost feels like putting a motor in your bottom bracket or something.
Motors? Now we’re getting far-fetched.
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@brett
I'll deja your vu if you're not careful.
@ChrisO
Don't recall BC giving Jon Teirnan-Locke much support, and he still says he didn't dope.
@RobSandy
I'd suggest that was a bit different as in that case there was a Passport irregularity and as I understand it some doubt that a bender could produce that irregularity.
Also in the LA case as I understand it one was not a "failed test" but a spot check where there was a discrepancy in where she was vs the paperwork - no one actually tried to contact her to perform a test. I had not realised that a) that was done (but good that it is) and b) that being done it would count as an actual fail.
@Teocalli
I was just agreeing with @ChrisO about BC supporting some athletes not others.
And I feel torn in this case; I love Lizzie and 100% believe she's clean, but I think we'd all be screaming if this was a Russian, or a Spaniard, or a Texan...
@RobSandy
Exactly. The defending of her and now silence on this is astonishing.
And it's getting grubby now... Armstrongstead's boyfriend Phil Deignan, a C grader on Sky who I have on excellent first-hand authority is "thick as shit", tweeted about PFP's personal life and then quickly deleted it. Sounds kinda familiar tactics doesn't it?
Just read this - it's long, but really well written & reasoned, covers all sorts of sports (including cycling). Don't know how I feel about it to be honest...
"The Drugs Won: The Case for Ending the Sports War on Doping"
https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/the-drugs-won-the-case-for-ending-the-sports-war-on-doping?ex_cid=espntw
Team Velominati,
I'm calling BS on all the rampant negative speculation surrounding Ms Armitstead. Yes I hear everyone and with much respect to PFP I appreciate her perspective. She's super cool and kicks a**. No doubt. I also have read the perspective of Cycling Tips Female Secret Pro as ex fwiw. And you know what? I'm not picking up what all is being put down. And I hope to see Ms Lizzie kick a** in Rio… only to get beat by USA of course.
I swear, if there were ever a reason I'd not encourage my daughter to carry her success in this sport to the next level it is EXACTLY THIS reason. It flat out sucks. And is a regrettable circumstance of our loved sport.
We should all expect better. And it's not on LA… it's on the people managing the sport. I will not hold it on her. Given any doubt whatsoever I most assuredly, today, am siding with the athlete on this specific issue. I'd bet much $$$ that she's not doping to win, she busts her a** to be prepared, she works hard to follow the rules and yet this latest BS is simply what can happen if ya haven' perfected the process or even chose, maybe mistakenly, but probably not, that something else is more important. A for sh** process to begin with that doesn't deserve perfection as is but better deserves to be revised and modified constantly to reflect reality.
I don't like it. And I'm not holding it against LA. The issue is much bigger than her and her actions. Maybe it's hard to explain a perspective well enough w/ words that one, me in this case, just feels. The ol' classic, I don't know how to describe but I know it when I see it perspective. But this is an aspect of the sport that really, really is not cool.
F*** the COTHO for getting us here.
Cheers all
@Randy C
You've missed one. You've missed two, You sure as shit don't miss three.
I reckon that's the bottom line.
There's also a noticeable lack of supportive noises coming from her peers. I am getting the distinct impression that, inside the ladies' pro peloton, she is either resented or suspected (or both).
When I read all this, it seems that top athletes should wear RFID device connected with WADA surveillance unit except when in the competition. The next step would be living under strict video supervision 24/7. Attending funerals of own children is off course prohibited.
This world went crazy...