The Hamilton Diaries

[thatwomanagain]

Hi Folks
I've been reading on the other cycling websites- sad person that I am- that they've uncovered Tyler Hamilton's 2003 doping diary from the Fuentes clinic. There was just about everthing listed - blood, steroids the lot. Absolutely unbelievable. I mean,all that stuff and he still looked like a real weed!

But why oh why couldn't they uncover his 2004 diary? And then the Olympic committee could finally restore the 2004 Time Trial medal to its rightful owner -Viatcheslav Ekimov.This must be one of the greatest injustices in cycling history. I'm surprised he didn't make a bigger fuss about it at the time. But I guess he's just the strong, silent type. What a cyclist..what a hero..what a mullet.
But hang on,maybe he's planning to burst out of retirement again in 2008 to win back the medal fair and square in Beijing!

Dream on....

[idiotsavant]

thatwoman: "I'm suprised he (Ekimov) didn't make a bigger fuss".

Why do you think that fellow pros at the top end of the results sheets never make a fuss about a fellow pros doping?
If you read between the lines of Ullrich's recent quote, "I have never cheated a fellow rider", I reckon it says a lot about what's going on. As far as Ullrich is concerned, he's never cheated a fellow pro because he knows (?) that the guys racing with him at the front are doing the same as him, so he's not cheating them, is he?

[Brian]

Thats agood point. Of caorse all the top guys know they are all doping, so in that respect they are still performing on a level playing field, even in the highest mountains.

[SimonRichardson]

Unfortunately the 'level playing field' arguement is a common misconception. If you were to take any two riders who are doping and looked in to what they were doing, and how, you'd find that they're anything but level. Different substances affect people in a variety of ways (think of patients who do and don't respond to treatment). The other main difference is (as can be taken from the Hamilton case) budget. Not all riders can afford the support of a doctor like Fuentes.

The only level field they're on is their moral one.

[idiotsavant]

Woah there. I'm confident there are plenty of pro riders out there NOT on a scary doping programme and they are most certainly NOT competing on a level playing field. Clearly –*obviously – I don't know who is and who isn't on a big hormone cocktail, but I find it hard to believe that anyone finishing on the podium of a major Tour in recent years isn't 'at it'. Look at the riders who've been 'caught'! Pantani, Ullrich, Frigo, Casagrande, Basso, Mancebo, Heras, I'm sure there are others...