Iban Mayo

limerickman

According to todays Guardian newspaper, the UCI have given the Spanish Federation until 31st December to impose a ban on Mayo.

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

JohnO

Exactly. Mayo's career is done, and it was finished off by a questionable sequence of events. The odds that he was doping are pretty good, but in this case, the cure is as bad as the disease.

Put it this way - if the Belgian lab had confirmed the positive, would the UCI have still demanded LNDD also test the B sample?

True, it would be more accurate to have A and B samples tested at different labs, but that would be admitting that the system is flawed. And there's nothing wrong with cycling today, right? They fixed the problem in 07. They were so bent on being thorough, that they also fixed it in 06. And 04. And in 98. Have I missed any years?

cyclingheroes

No the have until Deecember 31 to open a case. The Spanish federation saysthey have the problem that the UCI acted against heir own rules by asking for a second examination of the B sample.

Interesting point: Ghent changed their method after the Bleke case. Bleke proved that the WADA method can produce false positives. After that Ghent changed their method. The French didn't.

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limerickman

Thanks for the correction - you're correct, the Guardian reports that they have until 31/12 to open the case.

The case itself appears to be messy, at best.

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

Bro Deal

I would have no problem letting Mayo walk on this, but let's not pretend that he is an innocent man who has had his rights trampled.

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cyclingheroes

I think they should Mayo walk. Although I do understand that people won't like it. The UCI should introduce a C sample for future cases but the b sample should be examined from a second lab and a third lab should examin the C sample. They normal prcedure would still be a and b sample, but a c sample if there are questions like the inconclusive b sample of Mayo. Its not good to let the b sample examin again by the same lab who did the a sample.

Also... why should the second examination of the French lab be more trusty than the examination in Ghent.

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thunder

let him go.

But have no pretense cycling is clean. So why bother with testing. Testing is just a chirade. PR chirade.

cyclingheroes

Its not that I think Mayo is clean (actually I think he isn't...now what a surprise ), its about you have to have a transparent procedure. The way the UCI is handling this case isn't very trustworthy...

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thunder

I agree, I was ambiguous with my reply.

did not mean to reply to you, just an ongoing dialogue.

Mostly, I defer to the great Heroes on all things cycling, in fact, I will put him up again your avatar at the next UCI meeting, we just need someone to second Heroes.

The UCI has to be transparent. No good the OP riders getting screwed in limbo, they either are banned or they ride. Just test them every day to penalise them.

Why should Hamilton, and a few OP riders suffer, when Contador wins the Tour. And Menchov wins Vuelta, and T Dekker is nowhere to be found on those lists.

Come on, this is not fair.

<this was not an overt reply to Heroes, just a continuing dialogue>

cyclingheroes

Good post, the UCI is not the solution for the current crisis. They are part of the problem. Maybe even more...

The way they handle things belong in a Monthy Python film. John Cleese & co would come to this kind of solutions, not to solve problems but to make people laugh.

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grampi

and same for basso, ulle, jaksche..
Have you heard about bode millers new one? he says legalizating everything would be only fair solution...I think hes right.

thunder

but then the riders like Armstrong will win. The ones with better resources. And the guys like Joe Papp will kill themselves.

That is still not a solution. It is a practical option, but it creates its own headaches, as it will stimulate behaviour right down the chain to the grass roots in youth participation.

Doping requires doctors and resources, even if it is legal. Junior athletes cannot bear that financial burden, corners will be cut. It is the slippery slope.

And then there is the moot point that the natural talents like Boogerd and Ullrich and Mocoutie, may lose all their edge, and the new paragidm, talent becomes a function of "the best responder" to dope.

Ofcourse, practially, that is what the system is closer to now.

cyclingheroes

Again a good post. Its a very difficult subject. The question is can we close Pandora's box again? For the next generations we have to but with the people who are governing the sport at the moment it seems to be almost impossible.

New people have to come forward, new ideas, new teams, new concepts.

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italiano

I agree, UCI is part of the problem but less so today than yesterday.

UCI is part of the problem because it’s weak from infighting with everyone claiming the same anti doping goals …WADA, ASO, some national feds (take FERC.with Mayo and OP confrontation). Everyone manipulates the system to their own petty political need while shouting populist slogans. Another reason UCI is ineffective is that they can’t force a Belga lab to buy the same equipment and to run all procedures exactly the same way they do it in France. It’s WADA’s job. But even WADA can’t do much because the labs respond to nationally-based pressures and budgetary realities. It’s a mess all around. The mess was exploited by most riders for too long. Now is not the time to cry. If you doped and got caught, you need to face the music.

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