this is curious. AC "will publicize a communique" at the offices of Spain's Superior Council for Sports along with Discovery Channel Team head Johan Bruyneel, Contador spokesman Jacinto Vidarte said Wednesday." <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/08/sports/EU-SPT-CYC-Contador-Statement.php">iht.com</a>

I have stood by, watched that race, and been a constant fan. After all the crap that has happened, if he comes out and confesses I think I will give up.

Can't be good; communique and no press conference.

I wonder what the Cadel Evans camp are thinking...

I have stood by, watched that race, and been a constant fan. After all the crap that has happened, if he comes out and confesses I think I will give up.

Don't worry with Bruyneel I'd say the chance of him breaking the omerta are zilch, nada, zero.

In the absence of a DNA comparison he'll keep quiet and even if it were there Contador strikes me as the kind of guy to take his punishment and come back in two years.

I think it's going to be the typical "I've never failed a dope test", "UCI and Spanish judges cleared me", "why are you picking on me?".

No follow up questions because then they'll probe him about knowing Fuentes and why A.C. is appearing with other OP Liberty Seguros riders in the documents when they're "implicated" and he is not.

Apparently, this is triggered by race officials in Hamburg banning Contador from their 229 KM road race, as they stated they do not want anyone in the race, whose name was linked to Operacion Puerto. Guess it doesn't matter that he was cleared. The AP, cited in today's on line NY Times reports that Contador has already volunteered to give a DNA sample, so really seems like he is being unfairly treated here!

Apparently, this is triggered by race officials in Hamburg banning Contador from their 229 KM road race, as they stated they do not want anyone in the race, whose name was linked to Operacion Puerto. Guess it doesn't matter that he was cleared. The AP, cited in today's on line NY Times reports that Contador has already volunteered to give a DNA sample, so really seems like he is being unfairly treated here!

Depends on who you're comparing him to. He appears as "implicated" as many other OP riders (although not as much as Alan Davis or Valverde) and yet those guys for some reason have been "cleared".

Finally I believe Scarponi and Basso also offered up their DNA and look where they are now and blood doping isn't the only doping Fuentes was involved with he was directing full-blown preparations.

Guess it doesn't matter that he was cleared.


he <i>was</i> cleared. was being the operative word. that all ended last week when wada said they were (re)opening an investigation into AC's role in OP.

Maybe he hears footsteps coming from behind and getting too close!

Maybe his legal advisors have suggested that the best defence is a strong offence - and he may be trying to get in front of the situation.

However, I suspect that with the Chicken having been deep-fried, AC's goose may be cooked as well!

Apparently, this is triggered by race officials in Hamburg banning Contador from their 229 KM road race

That's just more German oneupmanship. Someone says, we are the most anti-doping! And the Tour of Germany revokes the Elk-Haus invitation. Then someone else has to say, no, we are! And the Vattenfall Cyclassics says the Tour de France winner can't race. It's almost comical. How can you top it? I fully expect an announcement soon from the Rothaus Regio-Tour International saying Lance Armstrong will not be allowed to race. And Marco Pantani is banned, too.

Considering that Hamburg is a sprinters race, it's extremely doubtful Contador was ever a candidate to ride it. Hell, they banned Rasmussen, too, who is also terribly ill-suited for the race, and isn't even on a team at the moment! Way to take a stand! You're the anti-dopers of the year!

Contador has already said he isn't going to race much the rest of the year. I don't think this bothers him.

I wonder what the Cadel Evans camp are thinking...Unless he admits to doping during the TdF, how can anything he says make any difference to the outcome of this year's TdF? So far as we've heard, he passed all the controls. The OP evidence concerns possible doping from previous years, not this year, and Contador rode the TdF without having been charged or sanctioned for anything. Even if he is charged NOW for having doped years before the 2007 TdF, how will the outcome be affected? It's cycling, of course, and due process has all the vitality of a dessicated jellyfish, but I'm having a hard time understanding how Contador can be stripped of his TdF title as a result of OP. The only possible basis might be the UCI contract that riders signed before the TdF, but I've looked at that and that seems like a very weak basis for such an action.

My understanding is that various race organizations want the so-called high-profile winners to attend their races, even if they aren't expected to win them - as their presence alone would simply draw the crowds to the events. Therefore, to dis-invite them (AC & the Chicken) from attending is really making a strong statement about their views of being implicated in doping - not just hot air.

My understanding is that various race organizations want the so-called high-profile winners to attend their races, even if they aren't expected to win them - as their presence alone would simply draw the crowds to the events. Therefore, to dis-invite them (AC & the Chicken) from attending is really making a strong statement about their views of being implicated in doping - not just hot air.

No, in this case it's hot air. This is a ProTour race, and there are plenty of high-profile riders coming. They don't need Contador, a climber wildly out of place on a hardman's course, because they will likely have guys like Bettini, Freire and Zabel (an admitted doper), maybe Boonen. Not sure if Pettachi is back or not, but if so, expect him to be there. (Unless he is uninvited, of course). Di Luca could come. It goes on and on. I can't imagine that Disco ever considered bringing Contador to this race, which makes this all hot air.

Wow! Look at all this publicity BUZZ he's creating for the new sponsor he's going to announce!

Wow! Look at all this publicity BUZZ he's creating for the new sponsor he's going to announce!

You mean the new sponsor they DON'T have?

You mean the new sponsor they DON'T have?
That rush you heard going overhead was my point.

Maybe he's announcing their new sponsorship for next year. Being the Tour champion and having the DS there seems like the appropriate time to announce. I think Lance is going to foot the bill and the team will ride next year as Team LiveStrong!! That would be great publicity for his fundraising.

Here is what I think will happen;

Contador sits quietly as Bruyneel reads the statement.

The statement; "Contador is innocent. The press is out to get him. It's a conspiracy. If any lab work was done is was clearly faulty. Any paperwork that proves that Contador was on a doping program is false and obviously has been forged/altered (take your pick). Doping officials are obtrusive liars. Contador will not enter any races until this matter has been cleared (There are no races he wants to do anyway). He loves and honors the sport of cycling and would never even consider cheating. His feelings are hurt by these false and vicious allegations. Contador has never failed a drug test and he's the most tested... Oops, bad habits die hard. Anyway, bla, bla, bla."

Refusing to answer any questions is the classic Lance Armstrong control the environment crap. BTW, there is no chance Lance sponsors a cycling team. He wants to get as much distance from himself and the sport as he possibly can. The doping lid is slowly coming off and he wants/needs to be somewhere far away when it does.

It's hard to hate the sport you love.


www.elviskennedy.com

Here is what I think will happen;

Contador sits quietly as Bruyneel reads the statement.

The statement; "Contador is innocent. The press is out to get him. It's a conspiracy. If any lab work was done is was clearly faulty. Any paperwork that proves that Contador was on a doping program is false and obviously has been forged/altered (take your pick). Doping officials are obtrusive liars. Contador will not enter any races until this matter has been cleared (There are no races he wants to do anyway). He loves and honors the sport of cycling and would never even consider cheating. His feelings are hurt by these false and vicious allegations. Contador has never failed a drug test and he's the most tested... Oops, bad habits die hard. Anyway, bla, bla, bla."

Refusing to answer any questions is the classic Lance Armstrong control the environment crap. BTW, there is no chance Lance sponsors a cycling team. He wants to get as much distance from himself and the sport as he possibly can. The doping lid is slowly coming off and he wants/needs to be somewhere far away when it does.

It's hard to hate the sport you love.


www.elviskennedy.com

Lance's reputation is pretty much untouchable at this point and my guess is he couldn't give a **** about distancing himself from cycling. If he doped, he got away with it for the tune of $20 million a year. Get over it.

The press conference won't be an admission of anything because if it was Bruyneel wouldn't be there. Its likely a statement stating AC won't race until this is cleared up and an offer of his DNA.

I think with Bruyneel there it will be FAR from any admission.... more like deny, deny, deny the team stands behind Contador and they will try and put a 'nice spin' on it.... make it sound like a witch hunt...

Now I'd love for him to make a FULL confession and Bruyneel admits what he knows, that would be great for cycling and if that happens I'll buy a Disco jersery and actually wear it!! A pipe dream I know... (but NOT a confession like Basso... which IMO was crap)

I think the WADA investigation has him scared but like Dwayne I expect the standard Disco denial statement.

The spanish are definitely getting some heat from other countries. The latest Bicisport had a little inset comparing various non-spanish riders treatment and the evidence vs a spanish rider's treatment for similar evidence. Valverde was top of the list compared to Basso.

I think the WADA investigation has him scared but like Dwayne I expect the standard Disco denial statement.

The spanish are definitely getting some heat from other countries. The latest Bicisport had a little inset comparing various non-spanish riders treatment and the evidence vs a spanish rider's treatment for similar evidence. Valverde was top of the list compared to Basso.

...investigation or witch hunt? [re: contador]...

...johann has already publically impuned Franke's credibility with Franke's Hondo defense position ...as well he should have given the incredibly stupid statements Franke made at the time...which were something like [paraphrasing] : yeah, Hondo doped but it wasn't a significant amount...WTF ???...

...that's a credible defense? GMAFB, from someone who is a "renown" molecular biologist?... I don't think so.....

...so now Mr Outlandish himself [Dick Pounder] has "teh case"...prolly try to use it to get back on the IOC...if he's smart & cares about cycling [which he doesn't] he'll let Gripper handle it...we'll see...

AC to confess to doping in the past....even if possibly to preempt an embarrassing and imminent disclosure by a 3rd party....is the heat on him?

Does anyone seriously think this is going to be some sort of admission?

No friggin way.

I didn't really think about the benefits of only riding one big tour a year until I read this thread... basically you can dope all you want for 10 months and then just clean up for that one important race.

I didn't really think about the benefits of only riding one big tour a year until I read this thread... basically you can dope all you want for 10 months and then just clean up for that one important race.

Only if you can avoid the random testers.......a la Ras.

I didn't really think about the benefits of only riding one big tour a year until I read this thread... basically you can dope all you want for 10 months and then just clean up for that one important race.

You don't clean up for a big race! You come in to it and compete fully prepared. It's just that if you only have one or two big targets for the year than you don't have to risk too much.

pez says that VRT Nieuws says that AC is "hosting the press tomorrow in Madrid to enable him to read a statement that may address some of the ongoing issues surrounding his time in the Liberty Seguros team". this should be rich.

My money is on him using the Barry Bonds line : "Whatever they gave me, I didn't know what it was." :skep:

My money is on him using the Barry Bonds line : "Whatever they gave me, I didn't know what it was." :skep:


But the no questions afterwards, is like he's going into seclusion and hiding/running away.

Will JB be left there to field questions?

pez says that VRT Nieuws says that AC is "hosting the press tomorrow in Madrid to enable him to read a statement that may address some of the ongoing issues surrounding his time in the Liberty Seguros team". this should be rich.

Yeah, rich in BS!!

Regarding Operacion Puerto we're likely to hear something along the lines of;

"I wasn't there. If I was, I didn't do it. If I did, nobody saw me. If they did see me, I thought the stuff was multi-vitamins. Thank-you."

More interesting is the timing. Was there a deal made so that he could pre-empt any official announcement/bust/suspension? In other words, is he coping a plea?


http://www.elviskennedy.com

My sources tell me that tomorrow, young Alberto Contador will admit to being the second person on the grassy knoll.

:)

Regarding Operacion Puerto we're likely to hear something along the lines of;

"I wasn't there. If I was, I didn't do it. If I did, nobody saw me. If they did see me, I thought the stuff was multi-vitamins. Thank-you."

More interesting is the timing. Was there a deal made so that he could pre-empt any official announcement/bust/suspension? In other words, is he coping a plea?



Give me a break. In the history of doping, has an announcement of this type ever not leaked beforehand? Think about it. There is no way that someone like Dick Pound would not leak anything that even smelled of a confession or plea or whatever. Even if Dick Pound somehow could restrain himself (which is unlikely), there is no way that someone else at WADA or the UCI does not leak the same information. They would be falling all over themselves to get this out and make their organizations look like the greatest crusaders since Richard the Lion Heart. That's a pretty big clue as to what Contador is NOT going to say.

Why make a statement at the offices of the Spanish national sports council? And why no questions?

If this were going to be anything but bad news it wouldn't go down this way.

www.elviskennedy.com

Why make a statement at the offices of the Spanish national sports council? And why no questions?

If this were going to be anything but bad news it wouldn't go down this way.

www.elviskennedy.com

How bad could it be? So far the Spanish haven't gone after anyone, Contador and Valverde appear to have been set aside for special "clearance" beyond even the apathy toward the others. Maybe they will specify why Contador was "cleared"? The long suspected agreement to cooperate with the investigation? But that still doesn't mean he had to cop to any doping himself or that he's going to do so now.

It would be a complete about-face if the Spanish are going to go after the dopers now.