I thought the interview that Velonews did with Jørg Jaksche was pretty good. I think it is good to hear the impressions of ex-pros that have no stake in the game. They are few and far between. Most guys that retire have something to protect. Their current cycling job, their results, or maybe just their self-esteem. Jørg seems to be in a situation that he feels comfortable commenting publicly on the current situation in cycling.
I pretty much agree with just about everything he says. This question/answer is the important one –
VN: So you insist that it’s naïve to believe that today’s winners are clean?
JJ: I often hope that things are as good and perfect as they tell us, but to be honest, the guys are racing faster today than when everyone was on EPO. Genetics doesn’t change in 10 years. Should we believe it that they are suddenly as fast as when EPO was widespread? You have to make up your own mind.
That is kind of just guilt by intellect. It is the same thought process that the French press were using pertaining to Lance. You are beating a bunch of guys that are doping, so how can you not be doping. They were right, as it turned out.
I like the line “genetics doesn’t change in 10 years”. He could have gone a step further and said that the same guys that were winning ten years ago are still at the top level now. A few of the riders named in Operation Pûerto have retired, but look at Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) win a couple days ago at the Giro. He had to serve a timeout because of Puerto. Now he is sitting 3rd overall in the Giro, with just a few days to go.
It is naïve to believe that the same riders that were the best when they were taking drugs could or would be the best riders that aren’t taking drugs. Just as naïve thinking that the speeds and recovery in the races are faster and better because of technology or nutrition. Show me what these guys are eating that the rest of us aren’t. Even if they are eating the freshest organic food in existence, I’ve seen many a great athlete chow on McDonald’s hamburgers and then kick ass.
When I went to see the Garmin team pre-Tour testing, Tommy D. was telling me that I needed to eat a ton of coconut oil and then take saunas after my ride to build up more red cells. And look what Tommy D. was really doing, taking synthetic testosterone. Video below of what Tommy is doing currently.
Everyone is trying to persuade us all that everything is hunky dorky. Paul Sherwin, announcing, for the Tour of California, was talking about Bradley Wiggins and how he lost 7 or 8 kilograms to transform from an Olympic Pursuit Champion to a Tour de France champion. That is such bullshit. It was more closer to 15 kilograms or over 30 pounds. I’m not going with his 71 kg weight at the Tour, he was much lighter. By his own account, he has gained over 11 kilograms back since winning the Tour of California in 2014. That is going from 156 to 183. It is much easier to put that weight on than just spot remove it. (And yes, I know, Bradley Wiggins has never tested positive.)
The point is that if our announcers are still minimizing the amazing facts about what historically happened, then the sport is ultimately screwed. It would be like the Major League Baseball announcers talking about Mark McGwire’s 70 home run season .
Okay, enough. Click on the link above and read Jørg’s Velonews interview. It mirrors pretty much my current views on most aspects of the sport. Or maybe more accurately, sports in general.
Tucker doing his creepy walk approaching a butterfly.
Just saw Tommy T-Patch yesterday in Boulder. Waved to him before I recognized who it was.
Hate myself now.
Rory Sutherland towing the UCI line. http://veloclinic.tumblr.com/post/144835230183/not-sure-why-anyone-thinks-the-delete-a-tweet
Also, it’s important to know that Verbruggen is back in charge of the federation and is not leaving. So, whatever they are taking, is okay by him.
There is a revolution going on right now with peptides as PEDs, so maybe the target has moved. They may still be doing EPO, who knows!
You know who knows is the federation. If WADA’s reports are believable, then they test quite a bit.
“Never tested positive” is back!
How is it that Garmin/Slipstream allows that POS to keep his “earnings” and continue with this lavish lifestyle??? Armstrongs sponsors were able to recover their investment. Maybe JV doesn’t want to go after him because Tommy D has the goods on what garmins training program really entails. That whole garmin “100% clean” thing is both laughable and sickening
Shano, you realize the case against Danielson hasn’t been concluded yet. He’s been accused, but the case has not been resolved. Do you believe you should have to return your wages when charges are filed against you?
Tommy D. is more or less retired at this point. I would bet against him making any kind of comeback, and what team would take him? At this point, perhaps he is sponsorship kryptonite.
His Cinch coaching setup seems like a good endeavor and perhaps he’ll be successful. A dude has to make a living and god knows what skill set/education outside of cycling would be useful.
I would guess he’s probably got 1-2 more nasty articles in the cycling press to come at the conclusion of his testosterone case before he can fade out of professional cycling for good and live a quieter life.
Kind of surreal seeing Danielson’s cycling camp. It’s hard to put myself in the position of someone who would actually want to attend one of his camps.
I want the 2 minutes back that I lost watching that video. Why would anyone pay to attend a camp and have Tommy D to train them? I can’t think of anything less inspiring – when you’re suffering, the last thing you want is a doper telling you to push through it. There’s some sad irony in that.
And you know who leads me through my core training? YouTube… for FREE. Endless possibilities there.
Some people like to associate with infamy. The reasons are probably similar to why Dr. Ferrari has a thriving coaching business to this day.
When are you going to denounce the “mountain lion” video? 😉
I think baseball is the best example of PED use. It was rampant, the numbers were huge. Then they cracked down and the numbers dropped despite better training practices, eating habits etc…
It’s sad to think that most professional cycling is likely tainted either by current doping or by the long term benefits of past doping. I didn’t bother to watch the Giro this year and may not bother with the Tour de France either. Add in mechanical doping and general dubious behaviour such as Nibali taking a blatant tow from a team car and it’s too much for me. I do however enjoy competing at my local crits and cyclocross races – having rivalries with guys and trying to improve myself.
IMO, Rory Sutherland’s tweet is more than toeing the line … it’s an attempt at bullying and intimidation to enforce the sports Omertà. The man tested positive for clomid (a pregnancy hormone drug!!!) years ago while riding for Rabobank.
The doping in cycling is truly sad. BUT— I’ve noticed many internet users believe what they read without looking further, and go into a feeding frenzy, like a school of Piranha, attacking whoever the target du jour may be. The reality is, we don’t know all the facts, calling Danielson a POS is kind of cruel with respect to the idea that we’re all pretty much outsiders to what is really going on. All we have to go on is what we read from news releases.
That being said, I read the following about possible inadvertent contamination. Also read that some competitors attempt to sabotage the others, by putting banned substances in food or drink. Can you imagine? How sportsmanlike. The point is, we really don’t know Danielson’s story, and I err on the side of not passing judgment, until the facts are clear. There has been no news about subsequent action, since Novemeber, that I could find. Does anyone know? Anyway, here’s what I read:
“…The possibility exists that Danielson’s positive could have come from a contaminated supplement, since the unregulated dietary supplement industry is a minefield of deception and contamination. Anti-doping organisations have been repeatedly warning athletes of using supplements.
USADA created a website, Supplement411.org, to educate athletes and alert them to high-risk supplements. Last week, USADA issued a warning that certain supplements illegally contained drugs with steroid-like properties, known as Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs), that aren’t even on the market yet.”
Wait, not one comment about the selling of a cycling camp with sex? Really? You are all a bunch of hosers.
I will start-WTF! Does “Tommy D” stand for “Is Tommy Doing Her?”.
Anthony, Barb – good points all and yes due process is in order. But since this is coming from a known cheat doper (by his own admission) he gets no sympathy from me. Ask Kalan Beisel, Tilford, anyone this dude has stolen from and I’ll be very surprised if they declare “innocent until proven guilty!” It just really bums me out how rampant the cheating is at every level of the sport and TD makes for a very very fat target.
Side note at a GP I raced recently the Moto marshals were doing some weird stuff, not staying with group, kinda wandering it seemed. I was told later that they were looking for ‘racers” hiding in obscure places. Apparently some one had been caught jumping into a race with a few laps to go. Yeah… Wow… Really… Nice job on the win dude
I thought that image was some porno hacker stuff so I scrolled down! Ol’ Chris Carmichael’s still making a pretty good living with his “coaching” program though it’s rather obvious his secrets were pretty much like Tommy D’s. BigTex still (so far anyway) is sitting on a rather large pile o’loot from his fraudulent schemes as well.
Jaksche interview backed up pretty much what I’ve been wondering about for awhile now and as long as this continues who, other than the bike biz (Standardized will put $3.5 million into Astana/Sagan for 2017) gambling interests, rich chamois-sniffers or corrupt governments will put money into pro cycling sponsorship? The sport’s reaping what it’s been sowing for a long time now..ya gotta wonder if things will ever change?
Exactly!!! Just have fun!
Who’s the girl in the video? That’s Kourtney (spelled with a “K” because a “C” just won’t do). Her role on the camp “team”? Undefined. Although she is Tommy D’s live-in girlfriend.
Who’s the girl in the video? That’s Kourtney (spelled with a “K” because a “C” just won’t do). Her role on the camp “team”? Undefined. Although she is Tommy D’s live-in girlfriend. https://cinchcycling.com/team/kourtney-compton/
The only rider of the leaders at the Giro that seems ‘unehanced’ it Orica’s Chavez…and now maybe Nibili since he has already cashed in at the TDF and would be stupid to risk it all now.
All pro sports are entertainment and as such…not due the respect they get…but that is our modern world…they make millions while teachers, Nurses, people who collect our garbage…scrape by…
The only way to correct this is to stop paying attention to these people.
BTW Bob Roll, Sherwin, and Phil show is ridiculous….and to make matters worse..Phil actually referred to himself as a Journalist during the T of Cal.
Kind of like Horner, huh?
The sad part, at least to me, is that the BIG teams continue to roll like nothing has happened yet every year the smaller domestic teams (who employ riders who race because they want to do it even for free) just dry up and blow away.
On a somewhat related note, I just found out that Dave LeDope rode in the Master’s Nationals today and finished 21st.
Several questions:
1) Why does he show his face?
2) Why does USAC allow him to race?
3) 21st is the best he can do after years of doping?
I raced against him years ago and was confident that he was filthy way back then. Turns out that I was correct.
What a POS!
Yeah, but in baseball they let the records stand and didn’t burn anyone to the ground. Part of the cycling joke is how dopers have been handled. Instead of a psychotic scorched earth policy of going after a few and letting the rest continue, it would have been more effective to use asterisks, sequential bans and increased testing …. but that wasn’t going to happen. By martyring some and not actually fixing the problem they have created the current mess….
In case any of you are wondering what kind of lifestyle can be afforded by Tommy D, here is a recent real estate listing in his “Boulder” neighborhood (Longmont, actually)…
http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/67149270_zpid/any_days/globalrelevanceex_sort/40.138162,-105.104603,40.127826,-105.124258_rect/15_zm/
Cheaters never prosper – right??
i like how he said “EVERYONE” was on epo when he rode… of course you know steve, but just tell trudi to have the BMC team doctor write down what all those guys take and post it up here..this way all your followers will know the REAL life of a pro.. i know its not a secret organic diet, or better equipment, or better training methods… is the drugs… get that info from trudi and post it up here.. thanks.
Has anyone read the new Jens Voigt book yet? I have only seen the stuff on Amazon regarding his book. The index has a lot of drug stuff listed!
http://www.amazon.com/Shut-Up-Legs-Wild-Ride/dp/1623365201/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464221649&sr=1-1&keywords=jens+voigt
I am sure that Tommy D has lots of experience to share; I doped and have great genetics. If you look at his site his brand is “Tommy or Tommy D”, does not even use his last name from what I saw. Any amatuer who would take coaching advice from Chris C., Levi, Hincapie, Tommy, Horner should have his head checked because all they are looking for is the Celebrity name check. Stop giving these a-holes money. Remember some of these guys are dumb as rocks. Chris C. doped Juniors for gods sake.
Glad to see Tommy found a nice girlfriend.
I don’t know what is more idiotic, “cribs” or being a grown ass man named “Tommy D”
Fuck off Mike
Big deal he doped. So what. I bet 95% of pro cyclists do. There is no proof that doping wins races. Zero, none, zilch. When the IOC originally banned the use of POD’s nearly a century ago, it wasn’t because the worked, but because the were proved to be unsafe. Athletes at the time began to boycott international competition if they were going to be required to take them risking their health for a perceived gain. But believe it most r on it. Most dont get caught using, but on the trafficking. Remembet Kelme. What about Festina. Or maybe Phonac. Maybe u heard of a little named Postal Service. They all denied it. My favorite of all time, Mapei……..doped. Hell i wouldn’t be surprised one bit if Tucker was on something. Hey steve, test his urine.
Yep, I went back and looked at some foto’s of Tucker. He has a classic side effect of steroid use, little balls. They look like some fuzzy marbles. I’ve seen bigger nuts in a Snickers. Pretty soon he’s gonna have to use a gender neutral tree. We know he’s on Zanex, cause he can ride in a car for 16 hours every weekend. Well I start my Memorial day weekend tomorrow. Time for a Nati-lite.
$850K house is supposed to indicate a lavish lifestyle? give me a fucking break. That’s the average going price for some shitty 2br house in north park San Diego.
“I was part of this USADA report because I wanted to be transparent and help change cycling, but I have to say in retrospect, it was a mistake to have testified. The USADA report wasn’t about truth and honesty and change, it was only about going after Lance. I am almost embarrassed to have been part of this report, because it is so biased. All these people that testified, the only picture they draw is that Lance was evil, and that he made them dope. Well, that’s not true, because they continued to dope when they were on other teams!”
About time someone does something to correct that.
Funny, I was on a Boulder group ride earlier this month and the two strongest guys working together to drop the group were Kalan Beisel and Tom Danielson. Full circle or something.
https://twitter.com/kalan_beisel/status/502560055737466880
https://www.strava.com/activities/572674423
Both Thetaz and Tinkoff are closing their teams that they were funding from their own pockets. It looks like it is getting boring to hang out with Sagan and everyone else. And I won’t mention the guy from Luxembourg with the Schleck…
The Cinch cycling video made me throw up in my mouth a little.
According to procyclingstats Jaksche didn’t race the 2000 TdF
Still it is a lot of money given that there are plenty of more talented, clean riders living on below poverty level wages. Or no wages!
Just a normal homewrecker
https://thedirty.com/gossip/hollywood/kourtney-compton-couldnt-stay-straight-for-too-long/