An anti-doper goes soft
I just read David Millar's comments at cyclingnews about the Armstrong and Contador cases. Frankly, I skipped over most of the Armstrong stuff because it is largely irrelevant. His comments about Contador had more bearing on the current race scene. My only conclusion is that Millar was drunk or he was trying not to piss off the "best" current rider. His comments were non-sensical
Below is the Contador portion of the story with my thoughts in bold.
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In contrast to his comments on Armstrong, Millar defends Alberto Contador after the way he has been treated since his positive test. He goes as far as suggesting that the Spaniard could go on to be the greatest grand tour rider in the history of the sport.
Contador tested positive for Clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour de France but the legal process has been slow and complicated.
Contador has always insisted his positive test was caused by contaminated meat he ate on the second rest day of the Tour de France. He was cleared of doping by the Spanish Cycling Federation but that sentence was appealed by both the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Cycling Union (UCI). A final verdict was expected before this year’s Tour de France but has now been delayed until at least August, meaning Contador will ride this year’s Tour de France. "It's farcical. He (Contador) should have either been vindicated or sanctioned a long time ago," Millar told the BBC.
It is not a fast process but you can blame Contador's legal team, as much as anyone, for slowing the matter down
"I think it's bad for Alberto and it's bad for the sport that it hasn't been sorted out yet. Whether he's positive or negative, it's the system's fault for not dealing with it. There should be a two-week timeframe for when it is actually resolved.”
That would be nice
"This case is opening everyone's eyes to the discrepancies we have regards the sanctioning and disciplinary process in the anti-doping world. The science is now so advanced, and yet the judicial side of it is medieval and makes no sense. Alberto deserves a presumption of innocence, but unfortunately he has now been tarnished with that brush. People will never believe him, whichever way it goes, which is really sad. It's not healthy for cycling and not healthy for professional sport. It makes it all look pretty stupid."
I dont agree with everything in that paragraph above but I can accept his views. From here on, he goes off the deep end.
Millar saw from close up how Contador dominated the recent Giro d’Italia. For Millar, Contador’s consistency is a sign of his unique talent.
Or, it could just as easily be a sign of good doping
"Alberto Contador is untouchable as rider, (agreed) he is a physical freak (perhaps) and we in the peloton have known that for a long time and respect his supreme talent (or is it the good doping?). I would be very surprised if he didn't end up as the greatest Grand Tour rider in the history of the sport. It’s a tragedy that he has got mixed up in this Clenbuterol thing but I am keeping an open mind on his case,” Millar told the Telegraph.
Tragedy? My viewpoint is that he doped and tragedies are not self-imposed.
"Does anybody out there seriously doubt that Contador was riding clean in the Giro d'Italia that has just finished? (Yes, many people David) You don't win the biggest races in the world with such clockwork regularity and comparative ease, and in such style, by not being the supreme talent and clean. (What are you smoking, David? You win the biggest races with such clockwork, regularity and comparative ease when you are NOT clean.) In my experience the profile of a doper is always much more erratic and unpredictable.” Bad dopers are erratic
"The rest of us mere mortals have "magic days" when every so often when we can take on the world. Contador's default setting is a "Magic day". (That's not normal David) His only departure from the norm is when he experiences merely an average day. They are the only two levels he rides at. (You speak the words and yet you not see and hear the sirens going off?) My strong instinct is to trust that." Bangs my head on the desktop
Below is the Contador portion of the story with my thoughts in bold.
--------------------------
In contrast to his comments on Armstrong, Millar defends Alberto Contador after the way he has been treated since his positive test. He goes as far as suggesting that the Spaniard could go on to be the greatest grand tour rider in the history of the sport.
Contador tested positive for Clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour de France but the legal process has been slow and complicated.
Contador has always insisted his positive test was caused by contaminated meat he ate on the second rest day of the Tour de France. He was cleared of doping by the Spanish Cycling Federation but that sentence was appealed by both the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Cycling Union (UCI). A final verdict was expected before this year’s Tour de France but has now been delayed until at least August, meaning Contador will ride this year’s Tour de France. "It's farcical. He (Contador) should have either been vindicated or sanctioned a long time ago," Millar told the BBC.
It is not a fast process but you can blame Contador's legal team, as much as anyone, for slowing the matter down
"I think it's bad for Alberto and it's bad for the sport that it hasn't been sorted out yet. Whether he's positive or negative, it's the system's fault for not dealing with it. There should be a two-week timeframe for when it is actually resolved.”
That would be nice
"This case is opening everyone's eyes to the discrepancies we have regards the sanctioning and disciplinary process in the anti-doping world. The science is now so advanced, and yet the judicial side of it is medieval and makes no sense. Alberto deserves a presumption of innocence, but unfortunately he has now been tarnished with that brush. People will never believe him, whichever way it goes, which is really sad. It's not healthy for cycling and not healthy for professional sport. It makes it all look pretty stupid."
I dont agree with everything in that paragraph above but I can accept his views. From here on, he goes off the deep end.
Millar saw from close up how Contador dominated the recent Giro d’Italia. For Millar, Contador’s consistency is a sign of his unique talent.
Or, it could just as easily be a sign of good doping
"Alberto Contador is untouchable as rider, (agreed) he is a physical freak (perhaps) and we in the peloton have known that for a long time and respect his supreme talent (or is it the good doping?). I would be very surprised if he didn't end up as the greatest Grand Tour rider in the history of the sport. It’s a tragedy that he has got mixed up in this Clenbuterol thing but I am keeping an open mind on his case,” Millar told the Telegraph.
Tragedy? My viewpoint is that he doped and tragedies are not self-imposed.
"Does anybody out there seriously doubt that Contador was riding clean in the Giro d'Italia that has just finished? (Yes, many people David) You don't win the biggest races in the world with such clockwork regularity and comparative ease, and in such style, by not being the supreme talent and clean. (What are you smoking, David? You win the biggest races with such clockwork, regularity and comparative ease when you are NOT clean.) In my experience the profile of a doper is always much more erratic and unpredictable.” Bad dopers are erratic
"The rest of us mere mortals have "magic days" when every so often when we can take on the world. Contador's default setting is a "Magic day". (That's not normal David) His only departure from the norm is when he experiences merely an average day. They are the only two levels he rides at. (You speak the words and yet you not see and hear the sirens going off?) My strong instinct is to trust that." Bangs my head on the desktop
1 Comments:
Really, nice idea.
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