Breaking: Police Raid Quick Step!!
by Chris Fontecchio on Jun 7, 2007 9:13 AM EDT
in News
Email
PrintAgain, from VN via the wires, various homes of riders and staff were searched and doping products were found. Ten homes were searched, and the VN version says a trainer was arrested. Over at CN, which will have more details by 10am EDT or so, ten homes were searched in the area of Kortrijk, in western Belgium, and large volumes of doping products were found. Patrick Lefevre gave a 'no comment'. Bram Tankink and Eddy Engels both said they were out training and their homes weren't searched. Tom Boonen is from another region of Belgium and lives in Monaco, so I'm guessing he's not on the suspect list. Hopefully soon we will know who is.
51 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
It will be interesting
by Drew on Jun 7, 2007 9:15 AM EDT reply actions
Yeah...
People beat up on the riders, but a hard look at the sport reveals a whole herd of idiots like this (and McQuaid, and Pound, and...).
Maybe -- just maybe -- we're about to do away with the whole lot of 'em, so DS's like Stapleton can get the shot they deserve.
This Post Brought to You By Hennie's Hordes:
We're not one of the other VDS teams
Lefe... what a fucking waste of skin.
According to the IHT
The police raid came after the man that Lefe sued for claiming that QS doped turned his info over to the police. Take that you old snake!
Oh yeah, and McQuaid is quick to point the finger at "riders" as the problem. All together now... IT'S THE TEAMS!
Even more... from FOX
EPO, Cocaine and cops... oh my.
I'm not averse to that
Lather, rinse, repeat.
by Drew on Jun 7, 2007 9:36 AM EDT reply actions
At this rate
At this rate, they might be in THIS year . . .
Go Slipstream!
Riders salaries
by Drew on Jun 7, 2007 9:43 AM EDT reply actions
It's their fault
The trainer that was arrested
Boonen was on my mental
Boonen doesn't look like a doper. That comment is based on my special PED sensing ability--so take it with a grain of salt. My mental image of a doper is from the photo of Museeuw in the Mapei 1-2-3 at Roubaix. (doper! doper!! doper!!!)
Riders with the skin tone of 14 year old girls, and the muscle development of 30 year old body builders are on my "under suspicion" list.
Your PEDar
by Chris Fontecchio on Jun 7, 2007 10:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Nope, and maybe it was correct this time
The trainer done it
I don't know what conclusion to draw from that.
Where did Johan Molly work previously? I'd like to put on my Nancy Drew skirt and piece this stuff together.
He's been with QS since
My theory is the trainers are the mules
Trainers
by Chris Fontecchio on Jun 7, 2007 10:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Oops
by Drew on Jun 7, 2007 10:30 AM EDT reply actions
downward spiral
I read an interview
Giro
like I was saying during the final TT, it's a farce, and it will be a farce until the last dime is cheated out of this corrupted sport.
Not sure I understand
What the hell?
If you're suggesting that Di Luca, Simoni, Schleck and others were doping, then back it up with more than all the doping hysteria that's sweeping cycling right now.
What have you got?
This Post Brought to You By Hennie's Hordes:
We're not one of the other VDS teams
"Corrupted"?
Cycling doesn't have a doping problem, it has a perception of rampant doping problem. Cyclists don't dope any more than football, soccer, baseball players, cricket players or rugby players do.
And Kevin, I've found the best way to maintain my enthusiasm in pro cycling is to get rid of those Post-it notes of clean riders, 'cause you're only setting yourself up for a mega let-down --- the idea is don't assume everyone's doping. But don't assume everyone's clean, either. Sort of a quantum uncertainty attitude.
And of course, it also helps to just get on the bike and ride, 'cause cycling is still so awesome.
Pardon the California-isms,
J
That is true
But I like your "quantum uncertainty" notion; it's an apt description for my current attitude. That's the way I regard the whole Floyd doping saga.
Sez you
by Chris Fontecchio on Jun 7, 2007 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions
hysteria...???
You'd think that Ullrich, Basso and about 100 or so other names that are going to be soon forwarded to the press isn't exactly an isolated incident.
Now we have doping raids, cocaine, suicide and the Mafia.
...and here I thought OP was going to be the leading story going into the TdF...?
and the stars of the Giro
you believe that, then you are setting yourself up for some major disappointments.
OK...
And why even mention cocaine? Is that a PED? (hint: no). Suicide? (still no). The mafia?! What role do all those play in cycling that they don't play in the rest of society as well?
I have my doubts about one of the top five in this year's Giro.
What have you got that suggests the other four doped? Anything? Anything at all?
I know farcical when I see it, and suggesting that every rider in the peleton be burdened with the impossible task of proving a negative pretty much qualifies.
This Post Brought to You By Hennie's Hordes:
We're not one of the other VDS teams
ahh yes, you're right
innocent until until proven guilty-- business as usual.
<sigh>
I think TC's point...
It is a shame when our heroes have feet of clay, but c'mon, let's get over the shock and awe already. It also occurs to me that pro cycling are the highest branches on cycling's tree, and I would imagine that the doping starts much, much earlier.
Maybe it's also time to start focusing on all the PED stuff that goes on in all the lower tiers ... the stories about what you see riders doing before local kermesses in Belgium, for example. Don't just keep hacking away at the rotted vine on top, change out the soil.
j
PS, Miss the pink.
undistributed middle, leap of logic
Brilliant Kevin
If any announcer can be more over the top than Phil during a TDF sprint finish it's John Cleese with the Twit call.
by Drew on Jun 7, 2007 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions
it's unfortunate
but on the bright side, it's so funny that I'll take any excuse I can get to reference it.
Similarly, I vote that whenever a doping reference comes up, somebody needs to figure out a way to post a picture of Elisa Basso, preferably in a bikini.
One of the news pieces I read
unrelated occurrences...?
The same teams, with the same managers, with the same riders (if they haven't died from overdosing) at the same races year after year.
How is it unrelated, again...?
--as for getting over the shock and awe, well, I was warming up to the idea that it was only half of the peloton that was doped if you were to believe the OP investigation, and that Fuentes was the only supplier of PED-- but then all the new new new news hit the wires this morning.
The distinction to be made
I'm not able to believe that the Giro was clean. I can't believe that the riders who get caught are the only ones who dope. I can't believe that those involved in recent doping scandals like Pino, Labarta, and Belda have changed tactics on their new teams. I believe that what happened to Quick Step and Telekom could happen to most teams.
But that doesn't mean we can indiscriminately throw blanket accusations. For example, just because I believe that if I accused every individual member of congress of corruption/quid pro quo that I would be right more than 50% of the time, this doesn't mean I can say they take bribes without actual evidence to support my claim.
There is a big step between saying something like "I don't believe that the 2007 Giro was completely free of PED use" or "I don't believe every PED user has been caught and I don't believe preparation techniques have changed." and saying "These specific riders are using dope."
Suspicion is not evidence and it is poor form to make specific accusations without evidence.
Mafia...!
by mobilegoat on Jun 7, 2007 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions
VN interview with
"wanted to know the purity of it before he used it. And so he gave a vile of it to this clinic and had them confirm it was good. An important detail, this laboratory is still accredited by the UCI. When I talk about the mafia, I don't use this word lightly."
When Festina was busted
More tranquility
"I think we can be calm about the outcome of this affair. It's undoubtedly the result of what has been written in a newspaper,'' Peeters told Belga.
Cocaine?
Cocaine? Really? As a performance-enhancing drug? I'm surprised. I'd always assumed that when Simoni tested positive for cocaine at the Giro, he had been doing it recreationally, not to boost performance.
by socal @ Podium Cafe on Jun 7, 2007 1:38 PM EDT reply actions
Google pot-belge . . .
Everyone laughed this off when he first made the excuse, but few, apparently, paid attention to the subsequent reports that cleared him.
Absolutely.
First, cocaine metabolites appeared in his urine in a stage of the Giro Trentino, then again in the Giro D'Italia.
Gibo searched frantically for an explanation (like many who get busted), first thought it might be from a dentist's visit (some dentists use a cocaine by-product as a numbing agent). Then he had the throat lozenges his great-aunt sent him from Peru tested. The lozenges tested matched the cocaine metabolites exactly. Thus it was proved that the cocaine metabolites in Gibo's urine came from the lozenges.
However, Gibo went a step further. He had his hair tested. The hair test for cocaine is much more exact and will reveal use over a longer period of time than the urine test. The hair test showed the presence of the lozenge metabolites and no (none, zero, zilch) signs of any other cocaine use.
What Gibo did to be cleared was to open himself up 100% to further testing that went above and beyond the WADA code, UCI rules, or any other limits. This testing provided enough data to clear him beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Where others who are caught in similar situations or try to use the same justification (tainted supplement etc.) fail to convince is that they are not willing to open themselves to tests that go above and beyond the UCI/WADA regulations. Example: when Botero claimed his steroid positive came from a tainted supplement (Animal Pack) he provided the first half of the evidence needed to clear himself: i.e., he showed that the supplement could have triggered the AAF. He failed to provide the second half of what Simoni's defense, i.e., proof that not only did the supplement trigger the test, but that there were no other possible sources for the positive test.
Pretty heavy burden...
You'll recall the case of Scott Moninger, who pretty clearly proved his steroid "positive" was due to a tainted supplement (and had the supplement), but still got reamed with a suspension because the panel said his evidenciary chain wasn't 100%.
It was a classic Catch 22; no evidenciary chain could be solid if you weren't planning a drug defense from the moment you bought the supplement.
It's not always about opening yourself up to further testing, especially when a "zero tolerance" policy is in effect.
I wish it were so, but it's not. And innocent people do get screwed in the anti-doping process, and pretty regularly, while some fairly blatant cheaters walk.
This Post Brought to You By Hennie's Hordes:
We're not one of the other VDS teams
As usual,
Quick Step denies police raids focused on team
http://velonews.com/news/fea/12374.0.html
A QS trainer was apparently detained for a short time and released. According to QS, that's the extent of their involvement.
by ghisallo on Jun 7, 2007 3:24 PM EDT reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
Featured Stories
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recommended FanShots
Recent FanShots
![This is funny on so many levels. [Html should open bigger]](http://cdn3.sbnation.com/fan_shot_images/239959/flagged_small.jpg)
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
