Lance folds on drug charges

flyaway for President

it was like watching a parody. Honestly, it was truly unbelievable. Why the F didn't they have the management meeting before the damn press conference? That guy needs to GO .. but he is a sticky cling-on that just won't detach. Honestly - it was really pathetic. You couldn't try to be so pathetic if you were the most pathetic person in all of Patheticdom.

The most cringeworthy bit was when he was defending taking money from people under suspicion of doping with the brilliant statement that UCI is not FIFA. Unbelievable.

Well, I've written to Brian Cookson, the UK's representative on the UCI panel, who (I hope!) will be at the meeting on Friday, and asked him to table a motion of No Confidence and request that McQuaid resigns. You can email info@britishcycling.org.uk and put FAO Brian Cookson in the title.

Head of WADA has some interesting things to say, but rather disheartening comments from Oceania's UCI committee member at the end of the article

http://espn.go.com/olympics/cycling/story/_/id/8540566/wada-chief-john-fahey-says-uci-take-blinkers-off

Five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain believes Lance Armstrong is innocent of the doping scandal that has seen the US rider stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.

Indurain, who won the Tour five consecutive years between 1991 and 1995, is now once more the joint-record holder for most wins after Armstrong's punishment.

He says: "Even now I believe in his innocence. He has always respected all the regulations. He has won all the cases he's had.

"What surprises me is that he doesn't keep fighting. I think he will come back and appeal and try to show that he played fair for all those years."

WTF!!

Mmm to many drugs ovet the years has affected Miguels mind

Sounds to me like his brain beats even slower than his heart.

All due respect to Bradley Wiggins hero but Indurain's as thick as the pig shit he shoves about with his tractor. Already drinking, again.

mcquaid should go and maybe most of the UCI , then we can get all the big sponsers to follow Rabobank, get some new sponsers in on realistic wages to encourage those who want to race to come on up and those who want to be rich can go and play football. Plus new conditions of strict testing , lifetime bans for anyone caught , make it a sport for the athletes and the fans!

Look where money has taken football with the players too rich to be controlled

Yeah genius and once we've got all the riders to sign up to lower wages and the vast majority of the public who don't even know who McQuaid* is excited about slower racing with less razzmatazz due to less money we'll get all the turkeys lined up and ask them to put an X in the box marked Christmas.

I'm not saying for one moment we don't need change but we are where we are and starting over isn't really an option.

As you were. 

* my poll today scored a big fat(Pat) zero on people realising the guy they saw 'taking Lance's wins away' was as much a part of the problem as Lance himself.  Crikey Samaranch, Blatter, whoever helped cover up Agassi's drug positive etc.  Having a complete tw@t at the top isn't the preserve of cycling.  People know Blatter and Samaranch are @rseholes and they didn't exactly get thrown out overnight.

point taken. I like to think big, the small changes will keep us where we have always been, perhaps with LA out, and Rabobank out and the UCI being questioned closely maybe that will do for a start!

I follow the NFL closely and this year the first 4 games of the seaon (of 16 games )were presided over by replacement referee crews when the professional refs went on strike! It was a BIG deal and made everyone look at the way things were run. Not a bad thing to have a big change or at least suggest one and see what you actually value. They begged the referees to come back.

On a similar note the NHL missed an entire season a few years ago when the owners and the players couldn't agree on money. Imagine a year without a tour, it would be a shame but would put things in perspective for the 2014 tour !

"On a similar note the NHL missed an entire season a few years ago when the owners and the players couldn't agree on money. Imagine a year without a tour, it would be a shame but would put things in perspective for the 2014 tour !"

with respect, that was an issue over money and the problem with cycling isn't money.  it's a system that needs cleansing not the financing of it.  if sponsors pull out because they have no faith in the way the sport is being managed and their brand gets tainted, that's a much more powerful argument in the whole issue than 2 sides arguing over money.

McQuaid will go eventually, either voluntarily or with a boot up his arse, and I suspect the "management meeting" on Friday could see the start of the process as there is an upswell of feeling from the constituent members of the UCI that will start pushing for this.  

Ultra cougie wrote (see)

I think the lesson here is not to investigate sport too closely. As you will find cheats.

it doesn't seem to matter if you're a pro or an amateur as the temptations to juice to win are there at all levels viz. the age group triathlete just busted in the US for testosterone.   and I guess amateurs feel they can get away with it more as they aren't as routinely tested but drug testing is filtering down now.   we did a local tri in SW France in September - probably on a par with one of the bigger UK ones with race distances of sprint, standard, middle and LD plus paratri and maybe 1000 competitors in total across all distances.   there was a drug test tent at the finish area - something I've never seen in any UK event outside IM.

Its never going to affect me but imagine you were a good AG racer, but you always missed the qualification by 5 mins to get to Kona 6 or 7 times. Then someone says "look mate , youve spent thousands chasing qualification, 200 quid in my pocket and you will have that little extra to get you there"  There will be those who are tempted. Sadly it is human nature to look for an "easy" way.

It could be as simple as a few patches to get you from cat 3 to cat 2 racing say. People dont necessarily cheat for money. They sometimes cheat to say "I did this"  Yes I know they are only cheating themselves, but if people are prepared to dope just to get kudos, imagine what it is like when there is money and prestige at stake.

Zero tolerance is the way to go, but you cant turn back the clock. What we do need to do, is clean house at the top, where complicity compounded the problem as the man concerned made lots of people lots of money and make it known there is a new sheriff in town.  

Exactly.  A new Sheriff in town.

Not the old dodgy one who was pals with the biggest Varmint around and took his cash.

Get someone in from another sport even. We need fresh blood to protect the riders. It has to be an environment where a clean rider can win and the penalties of being found out outweigh the benefits.

Ultra cougie wrote (see)

We need fresh blood to protect the riders.

 Possibly could have phrased that better!!

Anyway they'll need all the drugs they can get on Stage 18 this year Alpe D'Huez twice!

Skinny Fetish Fan wrote (see)

Ultra cougie wrote (see)

We need fresh blood to protect the riders.

 Possibly could have phrased that better!!

 

I had to guffaw when I read that - nice one cougs!

Dammit.

Yes that twice up the Alpe will be awesome. I've done that descent off the back of the Alpe before now - its spectacular. Only the bottom half was tarmacced. The top part was a gravel road - with fords and unguarded hairpin bends.  I was clearly young and foolish in those days to come down there at speed ! 

I'm guessing they'll tart it all up a bit for the peleton if its not been done already. 

Armstrong has magically disappeared

And so bizarrely has 1999 to 2005.