The Spanish doping scandal may get a whole lot worse before it gets better.
Now, it seems that police have found lists with the names of more than 100 top-level athletes who allegedly used the services of doctors offering doping procedures.
And among those names: Jan Ullrich, according to Cadena Ser radio, quoting "sources close to the investigation."
Says Jan on the T-Mobile website: "I never worked with (physician Eufemiano) Fuentes."
Adds T-Mobile physician Lothar Heinrich: "It's the first time that we've heard of this and there's no truth to it."
Ullrich is currently 42nd in the Giro d'Italia after 18 stages.
A report in the newspaper El Pais said that the names of elite foreign cyclists (not just Spaniards) were on the lists. Five people were arrested in this week's raids, including Manolo Saiz, a major figure in Spanish cycling and director of the Liberty Seguros team.
Police have filmed athletes arriving at a Madrid apartment building apparently to have blood extracted for doping purposes or to pick up performance-enhancing drugs. Police seized large amounts of steroids, hormones and the endurance-boosting substance EPO, as well as 100 bags of frozen blood and equipment for treating blood. They also found documents on doping procedures performed on cyclists.
Former Spanish cyclist Jesus Manzano, who triggered a probe two years ago by alleging widespread doping in the sport, said he was among those using the blood doping treatments and had done so while competing in a Vuelta. Manzano said he ran into Olympic athletes and soccer players at the doping clinic. "Spanish sports has a cancer," he told TV station Telecinco.
Liberty Seguros announced that it is ending its sponsorship of the team, saying the arrest of Saiz hurts "our name and the name of cycling."
Blood doping is a procedure in which blood is extracted from an athlete, centrifuged to extract a concentration of oxygen-rich red blood cells and then injected back into the athlete before competition to boost performance.
Now here's what I just don't get:
Is doping still so widespread that cyclists believe it is worth the risk? After all, recent scandals have included Roberto Heras and Tyler Hamilton, both major figures in the sport. And the rumor mill just won't leave Our Boy Lance alone. And now, we hear Jan Ullrich's name.
What are we to believe?
Are the athletes and team leaders of this wonderful sport so stupid as to think they can avoid detection, or is doping really the norm?
And if it is the norm, why do we continue to care about these athletes and this sport?
How high does this have to go before the athletes will learn that cheating won't be tolerated by the public?
Or perhaps we, the public, tolerate the cheating, which enables to athletes to continue doing it.
Who is guilty here?
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Thursday, May 25, 2006
Say It Ain't So, Jan ...
The Spanish doping scandal may get a whole lot worse before it gets better.
Now, it seems that police have found lists with the names of more than 100 top-level athletes who allegedly used the services of doctors offering doping procedures.
And among those names: Jan Ullrich, according to Cadena Ser radio, quoting "sources close to the investigation."
Says Jan on the T-Mobile website: "I never worked with (physician Eufemiano) Fuentes."
Adds T-Mobile physician Lothar Heinrich: "It's the first time that we've heard of this and there's no truth to it."
Ullrich is currently 42nd in the Giro d'Italia after 18 stages.
A report in the newspaper El Pais said that the names of elite foreign cyclists (not just Spaniards) were on the lists. Five people were arrested in this week's raids, including Manolo Saiz, a major figure in Spanish cycling and director of the Liberty Seguros team.
Police have filmed athletes arriving at a Madrid apartment building apparently to have blood extracted for doping purposes or to pick up performance-enhancing drugs. Police seized large amounts of steroids, hormones and the endurance-boosting substance EPO, as well as 100 bags of frozen blood and equipment for treating blood. They also found documents on doping procedures performed on cyclists.
Former Spanish cyclist Jesus Manzano, who triggered a probe two years ago by alleging widespread doping in the sport, said he was among those using the blood doping treatments and had done so while competing in a Vuelta. Manzano said he ran into Olympic athletes and soccer players at the doping clinic. "Spanish sports has a cancer," he told TV station Telecinco.
Liberty Seguros announced that it is ending its sponsorship of the team, saying the arrest of Saiz hurts "our name and the name of cycling."
Blood doping is a procedure in which blood is extracted from an athlete, centrifuged to extract a concentration of oxygen-rich red blood cells and then injected back into the athlete before competition to boost performance.
Now here's what I just don't get:
Is doping still so widespread that cyclists believe it is worth the risk? After all, recent scandals have included Roberto Heras and Tyler Hamilton, both major figures in the sport. And the rumor mill just won't leave Our Boy Lance alone. And now, we hear Jan Ullrich's name.
What are we to believe?
Are the athletes and team leaders of this wonderful sport so stupid as to think they can avoid detection, or is doping really the norm?
And if it is the norm, why do we continue to care about these athletes and this sport?
How high does this have to go before the athletes will learn that cheating won't be tolerated by the public?
Or perhaps we, the public, tolerate the cheating, which enables to athletes to continue doing it.
Who is guilty here?
Now, it seems that police have found lists with the names of more than 100 top-level athletes who allegedly used the services of doctors offering doping procedures.
And among those names: Jan Ullrich, according to Cadena Ser radio, quoting "sources close to the investigation."
Says Jan on the T-Mobile website: "I never worked with (physician Eufemiano) Fuentes."
Adds T-Mobile physician Lothar Heinrich: "It's the first time that we've heard of this and there's no truth to it."
Ullrich is currently 42nd in the Giro d'Italia after 18 stages.
A report in the newspaper El Pais said that the names of elite foreign cyclists (not just Spaniards) were on the lists. Five people were arrested in this week's raids, including Manolo Saiz, a major figure in Spanish cycling and director of the Liberty Seguros team.
Police have filmed athletes arriving at a Madrid apartment building apparently to have blood extracted for doping purposes or to pick up performance-enhancing drugs. Police seized large amounts of steroids, hormones and the endurance-boosting substance EPO, as well as 100 bags of frozen blood and equipment for treating blood. They also found documents on doping procedures performed on cyclists.
Former Spanish cyclist Jesus Manzano, who triggered a probe two years ago by alleging widespread doping in the sport, said he was among those using the blood doping treatments and had done so while competing in a Vuelta. Manzano said he ran into Olympic athletes and soccer players at the doping clinic. "Spanish sports has a cancer," he told TV station Telecinco.
Liberty Seguros announced that it is ending its sponsorship of the team, saying the arrest of Saiz hurts "our name and the name of cycling."
Blood doping is a procedure in which blood is extracted from an athlete, centrifuged to extract a concentration of oxygen-rich red blood cells and then injected back into the athlete before competition to boost performance.
Now here's what I just don't get:
Is doping still so widespread that cyclists believe it is worth the risk? After all, recent scandals have included Roberto Heras and Tyler Hamilton, both major figures in the sport. And the rumor mill just won't leave Our Boy Lance alone. And now, we hear Jan Ullrich's name.
What are we to believe?
Are the athletes and team leaders of this wonderful sport so stupid as to think they can avoid detection, or is doping really the norm?
And if it is the norm, why do we continue to care about these athletes and this sport?
How high does this have to go before the athletes will learn that cheating won't be tolerated by the public?
Or perhaps we, the public, tolerate the cheating, which enables to athletes to continue doing it.
Who is guilty here?
2 comments:
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53rd Tooth said...
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Well said 03. The simple fact is that OBL has been more than evasive in answering the direct question.."have you EVER used performance enhancing drugs".
The reaction to Bonds' 714th is proof that the public over it but apparently not enough if we're still attending games and supporting their ridiculous salaries.
Pertaining to cycling...well, we all know it's been an issue from teh BEGINNING. Chiapucci (sp?) said it best when questioned about the Pyrenees...."you don't think we get up those climbs on just sparkling water do you?" There were reports of Cocaine usage as far back as the 20's and 30's. Cycling is constantly in the spotlight given the UCI's "intolerant" nature. What about the NFL, NBA or MLB? We haven't even scratched the surface there. -
11:14 AM
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Ride on Rider said...
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Absolutely 53rd (like NFL off. & def. limemen necks are the result of hard work!!)
as J Wauthers said (I think one of the Cranksets was this source), "there are no miracles in cycling"
they're all juiced! - so let's move on and figure out how to open it up a little so that the 'gray area' recovery strategies can be separated from more dangerous and 'illegal in all areas' growth drugs ... -
3:45 PM
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2 comments:
Well said 03. The simple fact is that OBL has been more than evasive in answering the direct question.."have you EVER used performance enhancing drugs".
The reaction to Bonds' 714th is proof that the public over it but apparently not enough if we're still attending games and supporting their ridiculous salaries.
Pertaining to cycling...well, we all know it's been an issue from teh BEGINNING. Chiapucci (sp?) said it best when questioned about the Pyrenees...."you don't think we get up those climbs on just sparkling water do you?" There were reports of Cocaine usage as far back as the 20's and 30's. Cycling is constantly in the spotlight given the UCI's "intolerant" nature. What about the NFL, NBA or MLB? We haven't even scratched the surface there.
Absolutely 53rd (like NFL off. & def. limemen necks are the result of hard work!!)
as J Wauthers said (I think one of the Cranksets was this source), "there are no miracles in cycling"
they're all juiced! - so let's move on and figure out how to open it up a little so that the 'gray area' recovery strategies can be separated from more dangerous and 'illegal in all areas' growth drugs ...
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