55 (edited by RickB 2012-10-16 08:09:29)

Re: Cycling 2012

On a side note, I was researching investments years ago and discovered Amgen, the emerging pharma that patented the process of bioengineering recombinant DNA into a drug called Neupogen used to treat cancer patients that had bone marrow damage anemia from radiation and chemotherapy. I figured that a drug that caused the body to create red blood cells at phenomenal rates would be a very good product for sports cheaters as well as cancer patients. I invested and it has returned, and continues to return a huge profit allowing me to chase Joe's music around the world. big_smile Amgen just happens to be one of the big sponsors of cycle racing. Go figure... wink
Rick

Free download from Vienna! http://mbsy.co/bNLR
Lots of unique videos of Joe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwd5vL8fXTw
Buy Joe's merchandise here. http://www.jbonamassa.com/affiliates/id … hp?id=1381

Re: Cycling 2012

Tyler Hamilton claims his former teammate Lance Armstrong, and others, used back-dated prescriptions to cover for doping. He says the International Cycling Union knew about it and looked the other way.

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/12/c … pt=hp_tvbx

Cycling is a great sport. Someday the riders eclipse the shadow of all the doping controversy, and will be seen as the incredible athletes that they are to inspire generations of future cyclists once agian.

Take care,
Bill

Re: Cycling 2012

Rik Emmett Fan wrote:

Tyler Hamilton claims his former teammate Lance Armstrong, and others, used back-dated prescriptions to cover for doping. He says the International Cycling Union knew about it and looked the other way.

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/12/c … pt=hp_tvbx

Cycling is a great sport. Someday the riders eclipse the shadow of all the doping controversy, and will be seen as the incredible athletes that they are to inspire generations of future cyclists once agian.

Take care,
Bill

Agree about the great sport. EPO mentioned by Tyler is the product I mentioned. It is virtually invisible to doping tests because the recombinant DNA used for production is identical to that in blood. Tests showing elevated levels are concluded positive for doping. It was used in Armstrong's cancer therapy and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to add 2+2.

Free download from Vienna! http://mbsy.co/bNLR
Lots of unique videos of Joe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwd5vL8fXTw
Buy Joe's merchandise here. http://www.jbonamassa.com/affiliates/id … hp?id=1381

Re: Cycling 2012

The general view of the BBC 5 Live documentary is that although cycling is cleaning up there is still a ways to go. The teams/riders doctors and chemists are simply better and cleverer than what the authorities have at the moment, so more has to be done there.

The stories about the Testosterone pill popping and EPO are bad enough but the scariest tales covered the blood exchanges the riders started doing. Having blood taken from them and then it being 'boosted' before having it transfused back into their bodies.

The substance abuse at this time was endemic and organised to an incredible degree. The wealth of direct testimony against the guilty BY the guilty is too substantial to be ignored. The non failure of sceduled tests by the riders is meaningless as the tests themselves were meaningless as the riders in the 'Pelaton' knew all the ways around them.

Spare a thought for Christophe Bassons. Forced to quit the sport by being shunned by the Pelaton riders, at Armstongs instigation. Bassons was the only rider NOT doing drugs and he spoke out about it in 1999!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christophe_Bassons

The sport looked the other way then and continued to do so for the next 10 years. It's a sorry tale.

I too thought it sounded like a 'hatchet job' by the USADA. It clearly isn't. It is another tale of the weak, vulnerable and financially dependent being exploited by the strong and powerful.

No Hits, No Hype.......................Classic Rock Jan 2012

Re: Cycling 2012

sad day when one of your sporting heroes who you have backed in argument and debate moves towards guilty, - I say moved as I think that LA is still accused and not proven. Have to say that there is a lot of hype still around this because of who he is, read an article yesterday with accusations against Nike because they paid money to cover up LA's substance abuse..... the substance was a cream to cure saddle sore... hardly performance enhancing?

My YouTube channel with plenty of my Joe's videos dating from 2009 inc his first Hammersmith Odeon ones:
http://www.youtube.com/ian916fun

Re: Cycling 2012

Ian916 wrote:

..... the substance was a cream to cure saddle sore... hardly performance enhancing?

well I guess if it cured the sores and did something else as well it would have been a boost in more ways than one!

I think if you hear that documentary there can be no doubt. I guess until LA wants it to go before a court it will never be 'proven' because the testimony of the witnesses cannot be put to test. But I think that LA won't want that to happen. Once you hear those interviews with the individuals that worked with him, rode with him, competed against him telling their stories, it makes a very obvious picture. Why obvious? because it was all too much of a good thing. Everyone wanted to believe it. What I don't get is if they were all pretty much doing it, then why not ALL stop doing it and then you have the status quo. But thats it isn't it? Would LA have been sooo good without the substances? That, we'll never know.

I read that his 'team' have suggested lie detector tests. That is a joke isn't it? That would be just another test to be scammed through, so more inconclusion. they would have to have a drugs test to prove that he hadn't taken something to subdue body functions during the lie test! Aaaahh!

No Hits, No Hype.......................Classic Rock Jan 2012

Re: Cycling 2012

Ian916 wrote:

sad day when one of your sporting heroes who you have backed in argument and debate moves towards guilty, - I say moved as I think that LA is still accused and not proven. Have to say that there is a lot of hype still around this because of who he is, read an article yesterday with accusations against Nike because they paid money to cover up LA's substance abuse..... the substance was a cream to cure saddle sore... hardly performance enhancing?

Just a quick note as it's very late and I've got loads to say on this subject - Ian, you and dknight and any other doubters are simply going to have to man up and swallow the bitter pill. You, me, the whole cycling public, and anyone else who ever defended LA and maintained that he was innocent because of all the tests he 'passed' have been duped, conned, and lied to by a champion liar and manipulator. There is no point in prancing about or mincing words, this spade really needs to be called out for the spade that he has been since he came back from cancer, if not already before then. The evidence is overwhelming. The notion of a 'witch hunt' is totally misplaced. LA is the most important target because of the image he created, the millions he made by deceit, and the monstrosity of the fraud he perpetrated together with Johan Bruyneel and various shady Italian and Spanish doctors - whose time is also coming. This snowball has turned into an avalanche today.

Both the present and previous bosses of the UCI, Pat McQuaid and Hein Verbruggen, are implicated in the long term cover-up, and are thoroughly corrupt men who must be kicked out of the sport if cycling is to move forward to better, cleaner times.

LA has today been dropped by all his principal sponsors - Nike, Radioshack, Anheuser-Busch, Trek bikes, Giro helmets, FRS Sports Drinks, Honey Stinger and 24 Hour Fitness. All have posted statements on the web today.

There is a Livestrong 15th anniversary do planned for this weekend - rumors abound that LA may come out with some kind of limited public mea culpa, justifying or explaining why he has lied so consistently for so long.

Anyone wishing to be better informed really should watch this excellent Australian documentary, which I highly recommend.

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/ … 608613.htm

An excellent and informative time-line  -

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012 … dence.html

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith

Re: Cycling 2012

To all of you who are still unable to accept reality - trust me, 'coming out' and accepting that you too were duped by a masterful liar and cheat is good for the soul, and a necessary part of the healing process. I know, I was like you, I believed.

The unavoidable truth however, is that we were all conned. Anyone who still refuses to accept what actually happened needs to pull their heads out of the quicksand right now!

http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0 … 20,00.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/22/sport … ?hpt=hp_t1

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith

Re: Cycling 2012

No angry, just sad. Lance fought so hard to beat cancer, I can't understand how he would then use drugs that could imperil his health. And since it appears everybody was using, then it's safe to assume he may well have won in clean races. Regardless, he will have a special place in my heart for all the hope he gave to cancer patients as well as the thrills he gave me with those wins.   Cathy

64 (edited by ohiodawg13 2012-10-22 14:18:11)

Re: Cycling 2012

Do you cycling fans share the same view for Barry Bonds, Mark Maguire, Sammy Sosa, Rodger Clemens, etc., etc., etc.!!!

                                                                                              Rock The Vote!!!

                                                                                              J Dawg

What is success? Is it do yo' own thang, or is it to join the rest?   -Allen Toussaint

Re: Cycling 2012

Cheating is the new normal

Makes me very glad when I was born.  We no longer have heroes.

Re: Cycling 2012

Everyone must have been cheating (and still are?) He only won by a very small margin, but he won. I agree with Curby.
Rick

Free download from Vienna! http://mbsy.co/bNLR
Lots of unique videos of Joe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwd5vL8fXTw
Buy Joe's merchandise here. http://www.jbonamassa.com/affiliates/id … hp?id=1381

Re: Cycling 2012

Amsterhammer wrote:

To all of you who are still unable to accept reality - trust me, 'coming out' and accepting that you too were duped by a masterful liar and cheat is good for the soul, and a necessary part of the healing process. I know, I was like you, I believed.

the issue that I had and to some extent still have is that he had been announced guilty without proof within the parameters that were set out by the sport, and that is not right. Okay as we all know the evidence has been to an extent been substantiated with the facts of how the the tests were avoided, but it still can be said that there is still no failed drug test. I am not saying that LA did not cheat, my opinion on this has shifted, the evidence is overwhelming.

I still respect the mans achievements both in cycling and his personal battle with cancer and the good that he has done for so many through Livestrong. His book helped a good friend of mine in her last months of life as she lost her own battle. Maybe he is a cheat and a liar but that is not the entire story.

My YouTube channel with plenty of my Joe's videos dating from 2009 inc his first Hammersmith Odeon ones:
http://www.youtube.com/ian916fun

Re: Cycling 2012

ohiodawg13 wrote:

Do you cycling fans share the same view for Barry Bonds, Mark Maguire, Sammy Sosa, Rodger Clemens, etc., etc., etc.!!!

                                                                                              Rock The Vote!!!

                                                                                              J Dawg

I don't know enough detail about the various baseball steroid cases down the years to make any meaningful comparisons, AND I don't want to turn this topic into a general doping discussion because that discussion is truly endless.

Agree with Curby that sadly, we live in an era where cheating has become more the norm than the exception. Cycling is merely the most high profile sport as far as widespread and organized abuse goes, but I'm sure that there is also much cheating in other sports, though probably more on an individual, rather than on an organized team basis.

The salient difference between LA and others who have either been caught through testing, or who have held their hands up and confessed, is that LA is still denying everything, despite all the first hand witness testimony.

Ian, I wore my wife's yellow band from the day of her death in 2007 until earlier this year, when I could no longer stomach the hypocrisy of openly appearing to support LA, even though for me it was just wearing something of her's. We supported Livestrong by buying and giving away yellow bands from the time that they were introduced in 2004, when my wife was already sick - so yes, I totally understand why people think of Livestrong in a positive way with regard to somehow helping in the fight against cancer.

Be clear about one thing though, LA the person, and Livestrong the organizations, have always been totally intertwined. There is a livestrong.org, but there is also a livestrong.com. LA has personally made a fortune off Livestrong donations. Just one example -

On one weekend in 2005, as the seven time Tour winner, he pocketed in excess of half a million dollars for doing two rides with a bunch of wealthy Canadian cyclists who had each paid $35k to Livestrong for the privilege! They found out afterwards, that their receipts only showed a 'donation' of $25k because $10k of each donation went straight into LA's pocket.

Meanwhile, ASO, the company that runs the Tour, is claiming $3m back from LA. And then there's this, some of you may remember this case, it was pretty high profile at the time -


Lance Armstrong asked to pay $11m to US insurance company

By Simon Austin BBC Sport

A Texan insurance company is pursuing Lance Armstrong for $11m (£6.9m).

SCA Promotions insured performance bonuses paid to the American after he claimed his fourth, fifth and sixth Tour de France victories.

As the International Cycling Union (UCI) has now stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour titles, SCA will demand the money back from Armstrong.

"We will make a formal demand for return of funds," SCA's lawyer, Jeffrey M. Tillotson, told BBC Sport.

"If this is not successful, we will initiate formal legal proceedings against Mr Armstrong in five business days (Monday 29 October)."

The insurance policy was taken out by Tailwind Sports, owner of the US Postal team, to cover performance bonuses that would be due to Armstrong if he won the Tours.

SCA initially refused to pay out money covering the bonus for Armstrong's sixth Tour de France win in 2004, totalling $5m, because it argued Armstrong was not a clean rider.

Armstrong took the company to an arbitration hearing in Dallas in 2005 and won, because the contract between the parties stipulated the insurance money would be payable if Armstrong was the "official winner" of the Tour.

It meant SCA was forced to pay out $7.5m - a $5m bonus, plus $2.5m in interest and legal fees.

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith

Re: Cycling 2012

LYING, CHEATING, HURTING...that's what Lance seem to do!! Messing around with every drug in town...

Painful that he's an American with so much adoration from fans young and old, all around the world...bicyling enthusiasts & cancer survivors...just a sad day...

StringsforaCURE~Helping cancer patients one STRING at a time.
http://stringsforacure.com/

70 (edited by Rocket 2012-10-25 04:15:21)

Re: Cycling 2012

Oh well, cheer up.  The only way NASCAR could be as blemished for cheating would be a random drivers get moonshine instead of water at all pit stops to promote crashes scandal or an entire racing team had 100% college graduates to their credit! yikes lol

Live strong or live wrong and live it down,
Rocket

"He still doesn't charge for mistakes! wink"
http://jbonamassa.com/tour-dates/
"Everybody wants ta get inta the act!"
“Now, this isn’t your ordinary party crowd, here.  I mean, there are professionals in here.”

Re: Cycling 2012

Our remaining (untarnished) three time Tour winner, Greg LeMond, has now taken a stand for what's right and proper. Big props to him.

As I have mentioned several times, the leadership of the UCI, the world cycling governing body, is as corrupt as can be and needs to go. Greg thinks so too. cool

LeMond Calls on Cycling Leaders to Resign

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/10 … ;_r=1&

Here's the full text that Greg published on his FB page. Judging by the numerous little errors, he wrote this himself too!

Open Letter to Pat McQuaid from Greg LeMond

Can anyone help me out? I know this sounds kind of lame but I am not well versed in social marketing. I would like to send a message to everyone that really loves cycling. I do not use twitter and do not have an organized way of getting some of my own "rage" out. I want to tell the world of cycling to please join me in telling Pat McQuaid to f##k off and resign. I have never seen such an abuse of power in cycling's history- resign Pat if you love cycling. Resign even if you hate the sport.

Pat McQuaid, you know damn well what has been going on in cycling, and if you want to deny it, then even more reasons why those who love cycling need to demand that you resign.

I have a file with what I believe is well documented proof that will exonerate Paul.

Pat in my opinion you and Hein are the corrupt part of the sport. I do not want to include everyone at the UCI because I believe that there are many, maybe most that work at the UCI that are dedicated to cycling, they do it out of the love of the sport, but you and your buddy Hein have destroyed the sport.

Pat, I thought you loved cycling? At one time you did and if you did love cycling please dig deep inside and remember that part of your life- allow cycling to grow and flourish- please! It is time to walk away. Walk away if you love cycling.

As a reminder I just want to point out that recently you accused me of being the cause of USADA's investigation against Lance Armstrong. Why would you be inclined to go straight to me as the "cause"? Why shoot the messenger every time?

Every time you do this I get more and more entrenched. I was in your country over the last two weeks and I asked someone that knows you if you were someone that could be rehabilitated. His answer was very quick and it was not good for you. No was the answer, no, no , no!

The problem for sport is not drugs but corruption. You are the epitome of the word corruption.

You can read all about Webster's definition of corruption. If you want I can re-post my attorney's response to your letter where you threaten to sue me for calling the UCI corrupt. FYI I want to officially reiterate to you and Hein that in my opinion the two of your represent the essence of corruption.

I would encourage anyone that loves cycling to donate and support Paul in his fight against the Pat and Hein and the UCI. Skip lunch and donate the amount that you would have spent towards that Sunday buffet towards changing the sport of cycling.

I donated money for Paul's defense, and I am willing to donate a lot more, but I would like to use it to lobby for dramatic change in cycling. The sport does not need Pat McQuaid or Hein Verbruggen- if this sport is going to change it is now. Not next year, not down the road, now! Now or never!

People that really care about cycling have the power to change cycling- change it now by voicing your thought and donating money towards Paul Kimmage's defense, (Paul, I want to encourage you to not spend the money that has been donated to your defense fund on defending yourself in Switzerland. In my case, a USA citizen, I could care less if I lost the UCI's bogus lawsuit. Use the money to lobby for real change).

If people really want to clean the sport of cycling up all you have to do is put your money where your mouth is.

Don't buy a USA Cycling license. Give up racing for a year, just long enough to put the UCI and USA cycling out of business. We can then start from scratch and let the real lovers in cycling direct where and how the sport of cycling will go.

Please make a difference.
Greg

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith

Re: Cycling 2012

WOW! No other word for it. That is a letter and a half. It is just like FIFA isn't it? The power they have matters more than the sport. They'll do anything to cling to it, anything to defend their self interest. No thought to who they destroy or defame in the process.

All the rotteness is seeping out now, like the boil has been 'Lanced' well and truly.

This is gonna run and run. If they won't go, the riders should form a new body. and breakaway. Or get an emergency general meeting of the UCI and the members and make a vote of 'no confience' and get them out that way.

I think LeMond could right though. You don't want to see the baby chuck out with the bathwater but maybe cycling's 'Year Zero' is 2012. I just hope to god all the current cycling heroes are clean.............

No Hits, No Hype.......................Classic Rock Jan 2012