Oh Astana, never change...fifth positive test...

[54ny77]

[CunegoFan]

I think there are a few things going on here. First, these guys are testing positive for stuff that is easily cycled so the actual testing must be so lax that the riders don't feel it is necessary to be careful. Second, Astana is probably being targeted as a way to get rid of Vino, who is a public embarrassment to the UCI. Third, if the first two are true the Brian Cookson regime at the UCI is no different than Pat McQuaid regime; the faces change but the corruption remains.

[oldguy00]

Originally Posted by The B

Yep. Check out his 27,000 adoring "follower" fans on Strava and 2.4 million on his facebook page.... then all he has to do check his bank balance- I'm sure he'd tell you it was worth it.

I'm not condoning doping. Just being realistic. I bet the other guys who also made pretty decent money for riding their bike would also say it was paradoxically regrettably worth it.

+1.
Of course it was worth it. He'll never have to work again, and will continue to live a rich lifestyle, part time in Texas, part in Hawaii.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by The B

For as long as you pay people to be a professional athlete, people will do whatever they can to go/do whatever.

I think news of people getting caught just solidifies the justification of other riders. The more people who get caught, the more obvious it is that everyone always has, is, and always will use PEDs.

And if I'm being really honest with myself, thinking about what it would be like to be out there killing yourself for mid-pack finishes, seething resent for the dopers always finishing ahead of the bunch.. I'd probably want to do it to. Why should we all sit back here with our ethics and do a couple of years of grunt work for minimal pay and no glory, while those guys make careers and 7-figure sponsorships for themselves?

Fortunately for me, I don't have to make decisions like that.

FiFy.

What's amazing to me is knowledge of doping is wide spread among the professional peloton. The guys who 'may' be clean know of the guys who aren't. BUT say anything and ya better have a back-up profession.

Plus all these guys have doctors on staff. They know the white/gray/black areas of doping by heart. What's legal, what's legal to a certain level, what isn't and how to hide it.

For all you guys who start threads about all the 'ball' sports, US or Euro, even college football, anything that makes guys BIG $$...they are all using something.

Cynical, I know, and I watch a lot of it but entertainment, afterall.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

when people ask that question, I always think about A-rod and his cheating via peds. When he got busted, his lifetime earnings were 270 million. I'm going to go ahead and guess he thinks it was worth it.

And he will suit up in February for the Yankees.

[Jgrooms]

Guilt through association?
It's also the "Continental" squad & has more to do with the Kasak federation than necesaririly WT Astana.

Have a little faith in the bio passport & readup: http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/...ositive_354438

Or be a skeptic...but at least get some facts lined up...

[FGC]

From this post: http://rustywoods.wordpress.com/2014...nale-part-iii/

Ilya Davidenko, a 22 year old Kazakahstan version of Ivan Drago came to Qinghai Lake, riding for the Astana Continental team, and made the rest of the field his bitch. This kid won the yellow jersey, placed 2nd in the green jersey classification, was the best young rider, dropped the majority of climbers on climbs, and won a field sprint. There were other questionable riders at this race, but Davidenko took the level of questionability to entirely new level. Sure enough, a few weeks ago he tested positive. However, unlike most UCI races that do not release prize money until 6 weeks after doping controls have been cleared, Qinghai Lake, like most Chinese races that I know of, simply handed out cash like it was a drug deal. At the end of the 13th stage, managers from the team would walk into a room, where a box of cash totalling $500,000 sat, and were simply given what they won. Although this practice should be awesome, as riders are often desperate to get cash asap, it also opens the door for assholes like Davidenko to come in, clean house, and get away without any repercussion. Davidenko and Astana literally stole close to $100,000 from the rest of the field, and there is no way we are going to get that money back; bull-····.

(Editors note – since writing this blog, another rider from Astana that took part in TOQ was announced to have tested positive prior to this race.)

(Another editor’s note – on the date of the publication of this blog yet another rider from Astana that took part in TOQ was found to have tested positive)

[PQJ]

En route to yellow, did Nibbles nibble on something nefarious?

[Shiversolitude]

personally I think they should just allow PED during all sports... just make the rider/ athlete declare wether or not they are using so that people know. Maybe have two seperate classifications. Dopers and non dopers lol.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Shiversolitude

personally I think they should just allow PED during all sports... just make the rider/ athlete declare wether or not they are using so that people know. Maybe have two seperate classifications. Dopers and non dopers lol.

just like body building-how natural

[Cicli]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

just like body building-how natural

That dude is ugly.

[Roadguy]

I have never heard of the UCI pulling the license of a conti squad but this would certainly make for a good case in doing so. Wishful thinking though.

[CunegoFan]

A lot of the testing that teams do is done not to prevent doping but to prevent official positives. There has to be some serious incompetence at Astana.

[ceolwulf]

Nibbles sez he's staying put.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/...leaving_354447

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by CunegoFan

A lot of the testing that teams do is done not to prevent doping but to prevent official positives. There has to be some serious incompetence at Astana.