Contador - CAS ruling. (All things Contador/doping - merged)

[Wyatt Earp]

I think the reason why they dragged their heels so long was to ensure Berto won't be out of competition for too long. They allowed him to race and essentially his only going to be out of racing for a few months. Thats far better than having the best guy in the sport on the sidelines for 2 hole years. At the same time they're making a point that doping won't be tolerated.

If he was the best, then he wouldn't have felt the need to dope.

[Bianchisti]

"I'm sure of one thing. I want to come back to ride the best races. I'll train clean as I've always done. Right now even though my morale is low I know I'll come back just as strong."

 

I feel bad for Berto but even if his not guilty of doping, he isn't exactly innocent of ignorance. Surely if his that intent on being clean he wouldn't want to hold onto a title he may have won with an unfair advantage. There was what? 40 seconds between him and Schleck that year?

 

Or maybe its just to easy for me on the sidelines to say take it on the chin and walk away. I didn't work for this my entire life! I think it's a well balanced outcome for the hole saga. CAS made their point and the damage to Berto's career has been minimised.

Edited February 8, 2012 by TMobile

[Bianchisti]

If he was the best, then he wouldn't have felt the need to dope.

 

I'm not convinced he delibirately doped

[Lucky Luke.]

If he was the best, then he wouldn't have felt the need to dope.

 

What are the chances? Within the human gene pool of professional cyclists, there is one rider who is 3% more gifted than everybody else?

[Wyatt Earp]

I feel bad for Berto but even if his not guilty of doping, he isn't exactly innocent of ignorance. Surely if his that intent on being clean he wouldn't want to hold onto a title he may have won with an unfair advantage. There was what? 40 seconds between him and Schleck that year?

 

Or maybe its just to easy for me on the sidelines to say take it on the chin and walk away. I didn't work for this my entire life! I think it's a well balanced outcome for the hole saga. CAS made their point and the damage to Berto's career has been minimised.

He was given a second chance, I guess all of us are allowed that.

As for feeling sorry for him, nah not me.

Blaming the steak is more laughable than plausible.

I would have thought more of him if he didn't choose to go through the rest of his life thinking that people are stupid and gullible enough to actually believe he ate contaminated meat.

A real man stand up and takes responsibility.

[Wyatt Earp]

What are the chances? Within the human gene pool of professional cyclists, there is one rider who is 3% more gifted than everybody else?

The chances are actually great, babies like these can be raised form a lab by getting two athletes with incredible genetic ability to donate their juices in order to create an almost "super human"

Contador on the other hand needed the Clen to give him that extra 3 %.

I must be honest, I can't believe how blindsided people are sometimes by thinking the harder they train the quicker they may become like the world best.

No siree, it's genetics first, then hard training and when you have "everything to lose AKA Contador" you resort to doping.

 

I reckon there are so many people with super genetics that never get to showcase it.

I still remember this first time I met Froome, it was when he was around 16 if I recall correctly, nobody at that stage knew what he was capable of, he wasn't "groomed" form the age of 5 to win a Grand Tour.

[Tumbleweed]

http://www.sudouest.fr/2012/02/08/un-steak-contador-s-il-vous-plait-627466-4697.php

 

[Lucky Luke.]

The chances are actually great, babies like these can be raised form a lab by getting two athletes with incredible genetic ability to donate their juices in order to create an almost "super human"

Contador on the other hand needed the Clen to give him that extra 3 %.

I must be honest, I can't believe how blindsided people are sometimes by thinking the harder they train the quicker they may become like the world best.

No siree, it's genetics first, then hard training and when you have "everything to lose AKA Contador" you resort to doping.

 

I reckon there are so many people with super genetics that never get to showcase it.

I still remember this first time I met Froome, it was when he was around 16 if I recall correctly, nobody at that stage knew what he was capable of, he wasn't "groomed" form the age of 5 to win a Grand Tour.

 

Ok, no point arguing the stats on that.. I can't tell if you're being serious or not.

 

Just on the Clen thing - speaking for the whole thread here - it's still doesn't seem as obvious to others that it's just an indicator of a transfusion. Pointless to take during the tour and never going to come from a supplement.

 

Clenbuterol is absolutely not a drug that will win you the tour. Undoubtedly there were others. Clen is just the one that he accidentally put back into his system at an inopportune moment.

[SwissVan]

Yeah, to be honest apart from here I have not seen one article supporting the ban, most of the people,

from past riders, to managers, to the guys in the peleton, have said it was unfair, and have voiced support for 'Berto.

GoG I think you will find that most of those that support AC do so because of the length of time it took to reach a verdict, not because they believe he is innocent.

 

 

Yeah I know that.There just seems to be something really skewed about the whole thing.Esp when it's acknowledged that he did not benefit in any way.

How exactly do we or anyone know he did not benefit, sure the amount found in his sample was to small to be of benefit, but thats not the issue...It's about it being a banned substance and not naturaly found in humans therefore there should be zero zilch in a sample.

 

I'm not convinced he delibirately doped

LOL, so how did it get into his system? The liklihood of AC getting it from a contaminated EU cow steak is 0.0042%, he was more likely to choke to death on the steak....

 

 

Cyclingnews.com sum it up quite nicely:

"In the end, though, the Contador case has merely demonstrated that a founding principle of anti-doping remains. The burden of proof lies with the athlete. It was not up to the sporting authorities to prove that Contador had doped; it was up to Contador to prove that he had not. He failed to do that. The only possible verdict was guilty. Shame it took 565 days to reach it".

[Wyatt Earp]

Ok, no point arguing the stats on that.. I can't tell if you're being serious or not.

 

Just on the Clen thing - speaking for the whole thread here - it's still doesn't seem as obvious to others that it's just an indicator of a transfusion. Pointless to take during the tour and never going to come from a supplement.

 

Clenbuterol is absolutely not a drug that will win you the tour. Undoubtedly there were others. Clen is just the one that he accidentally put back into his system at an inopportune moment.

I am actually very serious.

The saying "it's in the breeding" holds more water than any training, coaches, power meters and hours in the saddle.

As for the Clen being performance enhancing, a Myprodol can be seen as such, if on the day it allows you to perform a little outside of you God given talent, it's performance enhancing.

Which begs the question, what should be illegal and what should not be.

I am still heart broken for poor Charl Mattheus, he was stripped from a Comrades win in 1992 for taking cough meds.

For Contador I have no sympathy.

And in this little arrogant runts case, we still have the plasticisers.

I reckon giving him a 6 month suspended ban is criminal in itself and sets no president.

 

And then for that fat Belgian to say what he did, he feels cycling is being victimised ,hell yeah ,it should be.

[TNT1]

As for the Clen being performance enhancing, a Myprodol can be seen as such, if on the day it allows you to perform a little outside of you God given talent, it's performance enhancing.

Which begs the question, what should be illegal and what should not be.

 

Yeah, that's the crux of the thing.

[nickc]

I am actually very serious.

The saying "it's in the breeding" holds more water than any training, coaches, power meters and hours in the saddle.

As for the Clen being performance enhancing, a Myprodol can be seen as such, if on the day it allows you to perform a little outside of you God given talent, it's performance enhancing.

Which begs the question, what should be illegal and what should not be.

I am still heart broken for poor Charl Mattheus, he was stripped from a Comrades win in 1992 for taking cough meds.

For Contador I have no sympathy.

And in this little arrogant runts case, we still have the plasticisers.

I reckon giving him a 6 month suspended ban is criminal in itself and sets no president.

 

And then for that fat Belgian to say what he did, he feels cycling is being victimised ,hell yeah ,it should be.

 

 

 

 

And in this little arrogant runts case, we still have the plasticisers. Yes - that has largly been overlooked but points to something more sinister.

[kosmonooit]

Let get back the ruling: he was found guilty because be could not prove that he had a contaminated steak. Yet the ruling also said that reasons for the positive test could be from ingesting contaminated food. So that was a possibility, but could not be proved. But they could not prove he doped either. And precedents have been set elsewhere for contaminated food. And they blundered in handling this.

 

And the question should also be asked: did he need to dope?

 

I think the judgement is flawed.

 

It's all very depressing. Just when the seasons begins as well.

[SwissVan]

 

1. Let get back the ruling: he was found guilty because be could not prove that he had a contaminated steak. Yet the ruling also said that reasons for the positive test could be from ingesting contaminated food. So that was a possibility, but could not be proved. But they could not prove he doped either. And precedents have been set elsewhere for contaminated food. And they blundered in handling this.

 

2. And the question should also be asked: did he need to dope?

 

3. I think the judgement is flawed.

 

4. It's all very depressing. Just when the seasons begins as well.

 

1. It makes no difference, he had it in him and it can only get there by ingesting it somehow. Its known that eating meat in certain countries can produce positive tests for Clen and all the other cases had been to one of the suspect countries. Spain, France are not one of the suspect countries.

 

2. Irrelevant your honor, doping is not restricted to specific individuals and he has already tested positive.

 

3. Hmm I'd say the sentence is flawed. 2 years = 24 months and not 7

 

4. Not really, he tested positive, could not prove his defence and in the end was found guilty and sentenced.

 

QED

[kosmonooit]

he tested positive, could not prove his defence and in the end was found guilty and sentenced.

 

So guilty until proven innocent? Even though reasonable doubt?

 

It is not impossible that it could have been contaminated meat ie possible.. Was it proven that it was impossible?

 

Weighing up the merits of the case (from a distance), the issues is not clear cut thats why it took so long. Then there was political interference.

 

Maybe that's it: its more of a political issue. Politics in terms of power. UCI power. They certainly are on a power trip up there.

[Tumbleweed]

Who remembers this quote?

"You're innocent and we know you're innocent, but we have to find you guilty."

I didn't buy it, and had a rather public fallout over the story:

http://www.iol.co.za/sport/team-vow-to-stand-behind-innocent-mcleod-1.616795