I saw an article over at Velonews that says that the organization of a Gran Fondo, the Quebrantahuesos, called the police when an ex-doper was racing their event. The police came and eventually stopped the rider, Ángel Vázquez, and took him to jail. I guess Ángel got a little feisty with the police and they must not like that anymore over there than they do here. Plus, he was probably all jacked up for the race, so wasn’t in the right state of mind to just ride off the course when asked.
Anyway, I have to applaud the organizers for their actions. It is the biggest Gran Fondo in Spain, and they didn’t want a rider that had been found positive for doping to win their event.
That is completely the opposite mindset that we have here in the United States for our ex-doping riders. They put on their own Gran Fondos, that thousands pay to ride, that dozens of American Bicycle Corporations flock to sponsor. If you have time and want to read a good rant on this, click here to read Crankpunks post on Levis Gran Fondo.
Not only that, there are other Gran Fondos that go out of their way and pay ex-doping riders to participate. That is exactly what The First Gran Fondo in Paradise is doing this year. So, if you have nothing to do in October, you can pay $100, or whatever, to clip in and ride with Lance’s number #1 rival, Jan Ullrich.
So, obviously, we, as American participants of cycling, seem to imply, by voting with our feet, we don’t give a shit about doping in the sport. We enter the events these ex-doping riders promote and our promoters pay ex-doping riders to participate. Pretty different from what happened in Spain last week.
I wrote a post late last year – It Pays to Cheat. It pretty much addresses this same subject. Why do we go to these camps and pay these guys that doped, money, just to ride with them? It seems to me that this condones the original actions, doping in the sport. ‘Cause, let me tell you, without doping in cycling, you wouldn’t even know the names of Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie, or Lance Armstrong, for that matter.
That gives me a great idea. Lance should do his own Gran Fondo. It would be sort of a resurrection of the Ride for the Roses. But, he could do it in Aspen Colorado now, since he hangs there some. Then Andrew Talansky could have a 2nd stop on his Gran Fondo tour, after going to Levis. How many of you would pay $100 to ride Lance’s Gran Fondo?
Guys, let me tell you, there are thousands of events held throughout the country that have nothing to do with doping. Exactly the opposite. These events are put on by true cycling supporters that have an honest passion for our sport. When we support events that publicize the riders that have cheated their way to the top, then we’re just adding to the problem. We’re saying that it’s okay to cheat in sport, because when you get caught, after you’ve won all your races, made all your money and lived other athlete’s life experiences, we still support you and will still keep you on your embezzled pedestals. Pretty great message, huh?
Andrew and Levi hangin’ before the start of Levi’s Gran Fondo last year.
I think you miss a critical distinction between Vazquez and the American riders you refer to. Vazquez is currently banned for life from all sports falling under WADA. While none of the Americans is currently suspended. So no, this example does not show Spain is treating ex dopers differently than we do.
“According to reports in the Spanish media, the presence of Vázquez raised the ire of event organizers. Vázquez had been banned for life in triathlon for doping infractions, and also had previously served a ban as a pro cyclist when he tested positive for EPO in 2010.”
Read more at http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/06/news/police-yank-ex-doper-spains-largest-gran-fondo_333182#qwFAS6vDPGFMK6tY.99
you’re spot on – by allowing/supporting events that dopers participate in we give tacit approval of their actions. absolutely, make no mistake about that!
Anthony-I read the Spanish version and in the comments section it said that he currently had a license to race bicycles. I don’t know if that is true or not, but it’s the moral mentality issue I’m getting at.
Plus, you don’t need a license to promote a Gran Fondo, so Lance’s would be fine.
…and, “more than 10,000 cyclists participated in the event over the weekend, including former pros Miguel Indurain and Abraham Olano.”
Spot on, it’s unbelievable that we continue to celebrate these fucking cheaters.
You and Trudi should spend a weekend at George’s cheesy hotel. It could be a most awesome blog post
I bet I could talk the Emir into picking up your tab
Bring the dog and talk crazy at the bar. Assuming this endeavor is a money pit and George will be bankrupt at some point, so you can report on the folks that stay there. I’m thinking the place is basically empty. George and his bro’s are so soooo skezzy that I would recommend not removing any clothing (or even your shoes) for the entire length of you stay – unless you want some kind of social disease. On that note, don’t steal any towels
You’re right on the money with this post Steve.
We have been dealing with, talking about, thinking about and living with the doping issue for decades now. The debates about “is he or isn’t he” doping are all over. All the top contenders were juiced. There simply was no possible way a rider could compete at the top level without being enhanced. End of story. Now I can sympathize, not condone though, with those guys making the decisions that they did, but what about the guys who chose not to dope and returned to a normal, non-pro life? Those guys got screwed and it is not right. It will never be right and yet guys like Hincapie, Armstrong, Leipheimer, CVV and so many other are still profiting from their misdeeds! Hincapie sponsors teams, and makes money on a clothes company that he never would have been able to do without the success he enjoyed due to doping. Armstrong could lose $100 million in lawsuits and endorsement deals and he would till be fantastically wealthy. Without doping that would be impossible. Leipheimer and his money minting gran fondos are a joke! Multiply the number of riders by the entry fees and you’ll see how much he is making. How about Christian Vande Velde? He is now doing tv commentary, along with the world’s biggest Amstrong supporters, Phil Ligget, Bob Roll and to a bit lesser extent Paul Sherwen. I like CVV and he is knowledgeable and articulate, but I feel it is an insult to fans and clean riders everywhere to use him. Why not give a qualified and clean ex-rider the job? Shame on the networks for hiring CVV. Never forget how those tv guys told us all, emphatically, that Armstrong and all the other US riders were pure and clean while it was the europeans who were dirty. Especially Phil and Bob. What a load of crap they fed us all.
All those guys need to exercise some class and just go away. Sadly, this is proof positive that doping does work and proof positive that doping does pay in the USA… even when you get nailed to the wall. It’s shameful. It continues to this day.
Don’t lowball these Dope-fondo’s… To do Hincapie’s it will cost you over $200. But I’m sure some of that goes to a good cause… Not to mention the 100’s of “volunteers” who work these for free. Boggles the mind, like volunteering to be a Walmart greeter.
I’m not really understanding what your issue is with people who you and other people are so fond of saying, “supporting dopers.” Are they stupid for doing so? Perhaps, perhaps not. Personally I wouldn’t pay to ride my bike with anyone in particular, but others obiously do and one shouldn’t think any less of them. It’s their choice, after all. If you think that it’s wrong, fine don’t support the events and businesses, but don’t condemn others for doing what you think is wrong.
But there is virtually no aspect of cycling that hasn’t been touched by doping. Like Pearl Izumi? Well their business grew while supporting Garmin who had known former dopers on the team. Like Power Bars? They sponsored Lance. Ride a Trek? Don’t even get me started. Ride almost any bike for that matter or wheel or component. Prefer Sram? Isn’t Lance still part owner? The list goes on and on.
On a side note, if Lance did a Fondo, gurantee registration wouldn’t last a week it would sell out that quickly.
I understand the “hate the doper” mentality, but it is fairly obvious that many, if not most of the players from the era in question were not clean, so it is hard to single out the villains.
An honest question for everyone to ponder. If they served their prescribed ban, at what point does their punishment end? If you believe in the American legal principal of double jeopardy, once a sentence is served, and any prescribed retribution paid, then the matter is closed.
You don’t have to like the perpetrator, you don’t have to accept or condone their actions, you don’t have to think their punishment was correct or just, and you don’t have to support their current or future endeavors. But you do have to accept that they have been punished, that the punishment period is over, and they are allowed to participate again, unless otherwise proscribed.
racers that dope, will always dope, even as they age, (example, Dave Leduc). Come do some randonneuring, ride with the adults and dope all you want. After 300 miles or 24+ hours in the saddle, I guarrantee not a drug in the world will help except to the contrary.
I completely agree with you, thank you for saying it!!
As for villains, we seem focus on those who we believe profited the most. Seems consistent with our reaction to other criminal enterprises.
When does the punishment end? Well, probably after they go away, or take actions that are actually selfless to actually seek redemption. The fake apologies and ‘charity rides’ and consistent use of the tiniest bit of truth telling to sell a book or movie has been pretty disgusting thus far – so if anything, these (pieces of trash/criminals/cheaters/liars?) should realize the extent that they have brought the continued criticism on themselves.
Without a house cleaning of the corruption at the UCI and USAC levels, I completely disagree with your final point. The punishments involved have been jokes, apart from Lance. We express outrage in many situations when authorities don’t do their jobs. Does anyone feel that justice was served by the 6 month offseason punishments (or even worse, the tiny standard punishments for doping violations currently)?
If I’m not mistaking, I think I read that ALL of the proceeds go to a particular cause and not to Levi. Just sayin
Steve, you should tell people about this event to raise money for trail maintenance. Not many doing a mtb style race/fondo. Good cause here. Hope to see you there. http://stlbiking.com/forum/index.php/topic/37262-ozark-trail-100-mile-pt-to-pt-mtb-race-2014/
Who should be commentating other than CVV? It has to be someone who raced at that level and was successful. They also have to be a househould name.
This post highlights another one of many gaping holes in the WADA code. It was never the intention of the IOC to protect the integrity of sport. Until there is some kind of public opinion shift where people stop watching and spending money, doping is okay. The IOC and sports federations know this and act accordingly.
Specific to cycling, I don’t see many of you NOT racing USAC sanctioned events because of Thom and Steve Johnson’s support of doping.
The sport has a much bigger doping problem than just athletes.
Best Buddies charity ride. In support of retarded and challenged folks. $1,300.00 entry fee. Many thousands of riders.
Hincapie is the featured, dopey rider accompanying the herd.
I like your attitude and fully agree with you on doping but:
1. At Gran Fondo New York riders who have been banned by a federation for a doping violation will be refused (no matter how long they have been banned).
http://granfondony.com/granfondo-2014/race/rules/
2. We test in- and out of competition.
3. “The first granfondo in paradise” is GFNY Cozumel.
4. My take on granfondos put on by dopers:
http://issuu.com/granfondony/docs/gfny2014/10
like bob roll was a household name when he started? someone who could actually call a race, recognize racers (and correctly pronounce their names)–that’s really all you need. a “name” usually just gets in the way.
I don’t know about $100, but I’d pay $50 to ride with the greatest cheater of all time. (In a “minor” sport like cycling)….Lance could get the ‘ol gang together to ride it (including Frankie and Floyd), and have big Jan as a “special guest”.
.
One of the problems is events like this is the accounting is never clear and there’s plenty of wiggle room in the phrase “all proceeds.”
For example, appearance fees can be paid to Levi and still maintain the strict claim of “all proceeds” going to a particular cause. An appearance fee is just a cost., like port-a-potties.
I find this same old diatribe somewhat tiresome. Yes, some people riding clean got screwed by a culture of doping that continues to this day. Yes, there is endemic and systematic corruption that enables that culture to continue outside of merely the riders. And yes, if we say we are holding ourselves to a moral standard and fail to do so, that is clearly immoral. But, in the spirit of philosophical gadflies everywhere, what do we really think sport is about? Isn’t it about winning, dominating, ranking and selecting? I cannot reasonably see why there would even be a standard of ‘purity’ we could hold sport to, or where that line can be drawn. Can riders make dietary choices? Can they deliberately choose to train such that they increase their VO2 max? Can they ride lighter bikes? Why is the technology of the bicycle even involved, if it is about ‘pure competitors’? What IS the philosophical line we draw between mechanical technologies like aero wheels and medical technologies like EPO and cortisone? Should athletes be required to be unvaccinated from contagious diseases? After all, if they unfairly prevent measles that would have otherwise killed them in childhood, they’re getting an unfair advantage… is being born to money and therefore able to afford nice bikes (or born white…) an unfair advantage? Those last two are a bit obnoxious, I’ll concede, but I have trouble with the Platonic essentialism (the idea that there’s an ‘essential’ or ‘real you’ that exists somewhere outside your temporally situated, physical body) that anti-doping on moral grounds assumes. I think as we get further into the 21st century, as genetic technologies and information technologies become more and more commonplace, that we rethink the assumption that doping is a moral issue and change the conversation to something about health and safety. I agree that these guys are getting rich from fame that would never have come their way had they not doped. I agree that many people decide to ride these fondos and idolize these men without much thought to who it is they are supporting. But don’t discount the possibility that people are making a considered decision to support these guys precisely because the situation is very difficult to assign a black and white moral status to.
“but don’t condemn others for doing what you think is wrong”
Huh? Is your point that only Steve thinks so, or is this your moral relativism run amok?
just put a few hells angels at the sign in and make sure everyone regstering knows they better be drug free cause if they are not they’ll have to spend a few minutes with these guys at the dark end of the street..
No, it was not directed, directly at Steve. I’ve read enough posts, both polite and impolite essentially calling people who support those “dopers” stupid. I very well could be overly sensitive to it, but frankly the topic is getting old. Do I think he over-simplified the situation? Yes, from some reports there were other questionable athletes doing that ride, not just the one A-hole who was banned for life. Some people do fondos because they are better managed than a race with better safety measures in place, not because of some “doper”. Most people don’t even get within a 100 yards of these guys anyways. The only people who get that close are the VIPs and such and if that’s how and who they want to spend their time with have at it.
However I’m actually quite offended by his last paragraph. I buy Hincapie clothing does that make me a part of the problem? I even had some involvement with his Fondo, does that mean I support doping? Am I an idiot for doing so? To insinuate that by being involved with a doper that I’m somehow part of the problem is very insulting. I sponsor three teams, one of which is a full junior squad and I can assure you that I’d be beyond livid if any of the riders I support decided to dope, but I wouldn’t stop supporting cycling because of it.
Speaking of morals, I have mine, not anyone else’s. If you think I’m crazy, stupid, or whatever please by all means send me an email and let me know. Matter of fact I’ll share with you the guy who destroyed my love of bike racing because he was a doper. ward @ rms-events. com Of course their are spaces where none should be. 🙂
Jason,
I think you’re missing the point about CVV. He is definitely knowledgable about the racing at that level, but he is an admitted PED user. He would never have gotten the commentating job if he hadn’t raced at the Pro Tour level. He never would have raced at the Pro Tour level had he not doped. So, you have to ask what message is his hiring sending out? Well, the message is that his doping has paid off. It’s simple.
I like CVV. He seems to be a good guy and I don’t even judge him for the doping. If I am honest, I cannot say that I wouldn’t have done exactly the same thing if I had been in his circumstances. But I wasn’t. He was and he made the decision. I am not saying he should be punished forever. I am saying that the tv network should have made a wiser choice for the greater good. I wish CVV all the best.
Uli-I was meaning to put in a paragraph about your event. You went out of your way, two years ago, to bring in testing and busted two riders for EPO. That was a high percentage of all positives in the US in 2012. I thought that was outstanding and beyond what was to be expected from a Gran Fondo promoter.
It always blows me away that there are guys that cherry pick this big money events and there is never dope testing. You took never out of that sentence.
Thanks. Steve
Okay- How about this. The link below is to a USA Cycling talent camp that invited George Hincapie to talk last week. I’m not even sure what to think. Maybe they should hire George or Levi as the new National Team coach. The have such vast knowledge and experience in the sport. “What a treat!”
https://www.facebook.com/USAC.TID.camps/photos/a.222626057753953.73298.189847184365174/895523993797486/?type=1&theater
Hell’s Angels as the anti-doping police LOL
A good read:
http://www.theouterline.com/perspectives-on-doping-in-pro-cycling-2-inga-thompson-5/
He lives literally less than four miles from where the camp is held. Both kids and parents were glad he came and talked. Cycling needs George to remain in the public eye to remind us of the past and the pitfalls that exist. Cycling needs people like you, Jeremiah Bishop, and Adam Myerson to keep questioning the past and the hero’s of the past. Cycling also needs you to work together to make the future better.
I heard that Och is a bell hop at that gay hotel
He lives literally less than four miles from where the camp is held.
You don’t see how this could possibly be inappropriate? Not even a little?
Hey guys, let’s invite Bernie Madhoff to speak to people about retirement plans. He’s locked up in the prison just down the road.
Like I posted earlier, cycling has an enormous doping problem and you are part of the problem.
The sport desperately needs more leadership like Ms. Thompson.
The comments section always blows up when you bring up doping. The same thing is happening on moto x sites now, James Stewert failed a test.
No, no I don’t think it’s inappropriate. I would rather have someone talk who was in the lion’s den then one who wasn’t. Do you honestly think George is telling them how to take drugs? Do you honestly think he’s telling them if they want to be successful they need to cheat?
And yes I would take financial advice from Bernie Maddoff, he may be a lying sack of scumbag, but that doesn’t change his knowledge of the markets. I wouldn’t give him my money but I would listen to his advice.
Being part of the problem means I get to be a part of the solution too. I’ve donated money to USADA, I’ve counseled riders on the dangers of doping both from a cheating and physical standpoint, I’ve had conversations with people on how to help clean up cycling’s image to the public and worked on implementing some of the ideas. What is your solution? My email address is above if you want to discuss how we can make it better Mr. channel_zero, if not, take your judgy mcjudgerson attitude somewhere else. 🙂
Jason-I understand the two sides to this subject. Here is a guy that is giving a ton of time and money to the sport, but got all his fame and fortune by screwing over the very same riders and sport. It is strange. I have a conflict of interest and have some strong feelings about the subject. Part of my failure to forgive and forget is that I don’t think that any of these guys told the truth, or are telling the truth. They made deals to keep as many results and much money as they could. I have no problem with Frankie talking to the developement riders. He “confussed” on his own terms, without a gun to his head. Crankpunk wrote a post that mirrors my views. He is a much better writer than me.
http://crankpunk.com/2014/05/01/the-curious-case-of-george-hincapie/comment-page-1/
Inga, always one of my favorites! Great interview, thanks for the link.
Jason,
Without a doubt, this is a complicated subject. Specific to junkie George, there is no way he should be involved in any aspect of the IOC sanctioned part of the sport. At all. Meaning, no reliving the glory days to kids, no sponsoring development squads. The end. How can the sport ever possibly have an image of generally fair play, generally safe if dopers are directly involved in development?
It’s not the act of doping that gets junkie George and his pals special recognition. It’s the value system that lead to decades (!!) of decisions to perpetrate and sustain a sporting fraud. The counter-example to junkie George and his pals is Frankie’s handling of his doping and Inga Thompson’s interview linked further down the page. Frankie, Steve and Inga are the kind of leadership this sport desperately needs at the Federation level.
Don’t worry, the pressure always gets to Stewie, especially now that he can’t “concentrate”. The last several days have probably been a huge distraction. He’ll go back to being the worlds fastest lawn dart soon enough but he’ll wreck a part of the sport in the process. Sound familiar?
“Proceeds” doesn’t have to mean “gross proceeds”. It can (and often does) mean NET proceeds. As in whats left over after all expenses including fees and payments to staff etc…
There’s a difference between Justice and the Law. In the cases of the dopers like George, Levi, Tyler et al the “Law” in the form the bodies that regulate competiton (UCI, USAC WADA) hands down rulings on their offenses. Suspensions, fines, penalties are imposed on the athlete and in the minds of some they get a fresh start after their penalty is completed.
Justice seems to be a more emotional subject, and maybe the sense that Justice has not been done is what motivates much of the resentment and outright hostility directed towards those previously punished. Just as a bell cannot be un-rung, the punished offenders cannot in the minds of many ever redeem themselves. Their mis-deeds were too extreme, their lies and denials damaged their own credibility too deeply, their cheating impacted too many lives in a negative way for many to forgive-and-forget. When the cheaters can continue to capitalize on the fame they gained at the expense of others then an injustice exists.
There’s a school of thought that says Justice is take your dirty money and go away, it says to the cycling industry don’t you dare enlist any of these guys to promote your product or event. It says to the coaches and team directors don’t you dare to put this disgraced person in front of a group young riders…anything he has to say is without credibility. It says go ride your bike if you still love cycling, but stay away from what you have damaged and degrade again by your presence
I share Steve’s misgivings about out societies and cyclings willingness to embrace those who have damaged the reputation of our sport, and continue to profit from their crooked pasts
Steve, are you implying LA was doping when he won Worlds in 1993?
I’d say we cycling fans would know his name with/without what happened at TdF.
I don’t get this VIP Fondo thing. What kind of ppl wants to ride them? To pay money to ride them!! Are they like cycling groupies or what?
JR-Absolutely. I raced against him often before 1993 and I personally witnessed his capacities on a bike. It wasn’t close to being able to win a Professional World Road Championship.
But, if you doubt my observations, from the book – Cycle of Lies
When Armstrong arrived at Motorola in 1992, a system that facilitated riders’ drug use was firmly in place on the team — and most likely in the entire sport. Hendershot said he would take a list of drugs and bogus prescriptions for them to his local pharmacist in Hulste, Belgium, to get them filled and to obtain other drugs, too.
Cycling has been one of Belgium’s most popular sports for generations, and the pharmacist didn’t question Hendershot’s request for such large quantities of drugs. In exchange, Hendershot would give the pharmacist a signed team jersey or all-access passes to big races. Then he would leave with bags filled with the blood booster EPO, human growth hormone, blood thinners, amphetamines, cortisone, painkillers and testosterone, a particularly popular drug he’d hand to riders “like candy.”
By 1993, Armstrong was using all of those substances, as did many riders on the team, Hendershot said. He remembered Armstrong’s attitude as being, “This is the stuff I take, this is part of what I do,” and Armstrong joined the team’s program without hesitation because everyone else seemed to be doing it.
I apologize for my slow response, I had deadlines at work today. I get the anger I really do. I was coming back from an injury and raced against a guy who was doping, I got destroyed. At that moment I realized I would never be good enough and it broke my heart. Lost my desire to train and never really gained it back. I didn’t know at the time he was doping, I figured he knew how to beat the tests, which he did, until they surprise tested him and pop goes the weasel. He accepted his ban and will most likely never race again (his ban ended a couple of years ago). If I had lost my job opportunity because of a doper I would be just as mad. Which, if that’s you, I get it.
Some might say good riddance to bad rubbish but now I’ll never know if I could beat him while he was clean. I would’ve preferred that his ban was only 30 days and he would have to pay for his own testing which would be determined by the Local Assoc. Only because I would want to race him again. He made more than enough money at his 9-5 why kill us other working stiffs for a little prize money?
Let’s just leave my comments to George and to lesser extent Frankie, since I know them both. I dislike CVV and DZ for entirely different reasons. We were under no illusion that George raced clean, he never really talked about it and no one asked while he was racing it was just understood that he probably did. I remember doing a ride with Frankie and he was being a huge jerk and I figured that was just the ‘roids talking. I will only speak broadly for where I live, but the general consensus was that George had the goods to get there but to stay there he did what he had to do. I’m not talking about just racing in Europe, we’ve all known those guys or been one, but actually had the good to race on the big stage. George was one of them. Let’s just assume his timeline is correct which means he raced the first couple years clean and the last few. He enjoyed moderate success during his clean years. Which I suppose could be even more frustrating being that he still did well during the doping heyday even if one might argue that the peloton was doping less (not cleaner, just less) when he cleaned up his act. Based on that it’s not an unreasonable conclusion that he might have had a very similar career if he had been clean the entire time. Financially he could be almost exactly where he is today if he raced clean…maybe. We can’t know the what if, we only the what happened. He doped and he made a ton of money.
So it brings us to the main point/question, should he be involved in cycling? I think he should, but not because I’m some fanboy but because if he goes away doping won. He’ll still have his money, the clothing company still exists, the hotel still exists, even the Development team still exists the only thing that goes away is Fondo. Speaking of the team, those kids work their ass off, they’re not stupid, they have to prove themselves because of the association. I’ll admit that maybe one of them should have spoken at the camp instead of George, but not entirely sure any of them have the public speaking skills to pull that off.
Steve, I’m going to paraphrase some of your prior posts about how you raced in Europe with some success but you knew what you would have to do to get to the next level and you were not willing to go down that path. You more than most, probably could pick someone who has the “goods” to race over in Europe and you know the actual number who had the goods were very small. Even smaller still were the ones who tried. So I’m not sure how many people were actually cheated out of their dream but being angry for them doesn’t make it better. Same for the guy who cheated me, don’t be angry for me, be angry if he cheated you too.
One more comment then I’ll shut up, mostly cause I’m pretty sure I’m just rambling at this point. Steve, you mentioned you have a hard time forgiving/forgetting cause you essentially don’t trust them. I have felt that as well and this is my mantra, “if you lied or continue to lie, that’s on you not me. I will accept what you say as being true, but I won’t discuss it as the truth. You haven’t earned that level of respect. I will not be angry, but I will not trust.” – Gets me through the mountains of BS that we’ve had to deal with.
for some reason, that link doesn’t exist anymore: “This content is currently unavailable
The page you requested cannot be displayed at the moment. It may be temporarily unavailable, the link you clicked on may have expired, or you may not have permission to view this page.” …
Somehow Levi, Zabriske, and George got put way up these pedestals for testifying against LA. Maybe people feel sorry for them like LA made them do it as it was HIS team. Levi’s dope history goes back way farther than that. All of these guys are getting ridiculous VIP treatment. Carmichael somehow managed to slip and slide through all of this.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2006/04/news/six-years-later-strock-case-comes-to-court_9763
No kidding on the Carmichael has been untouched. The list is much, much longer though.
Mark Gorski
Steve Johnson
Thom Wiesel
Lance’s lawyer
Och
Verbruggen
McQuaid
Zorzoli
The sport is *so* broken.
Thanks for the reply Steve. I was hoping the Worlds “win” was at least clean.
you got it Channel zero. Can’t wait for that shit to blow up.