- Hilton Clarke’s win at Somerville?
- Or that it was Karpets first, then Rogers 2nd overall at Catalunya?
- Or that the most honest and perhaps briefest of EPO-users, Erik Zabel, has both won a stage and taken the lead at the Bayern Rundfahrt?
- Or that DiLuca is still out in front on GC at the Giro?
I should have mentioned all of that, anyway.
- Hilton Clarke’s win at Somerville?
- Or that it was Karpets first, then Rogers 2nd overall at Catalunya?
- Or that the most honest and perhaps briefest of EPO-users, Erik Zabel, has both won a stage and taken the lead at the Bayern Rundfahrt?
- Or that DiLuca is still out in front on GC at the Giro?
I should have mentioned all of that, anyway.
Danilo DiLuca has taken the lead (again) in what is turning out to be a good, combative Giro. With the Zoncolan still to come, it may still become great. Simoni proved his worth again and Cunego is not far off the pace. The hillclimb TT comes next, which should give Cunego a boost. We shall see!
Meanwhile a tearful Erik Zabel has confessed to EPO doping in the ’96 TdF. He dropped it quickly, he says, due to side effects and was obviously regretful – as you would be. His teammate at the time, Rolf Aldag, admitted at the same T-Mobile press conference (hmmm, funny that Zabel gate-crashed this party, eh?) to more extensive doping and stopped when his haematocrit was consistently over 50. I guess he got a bit worried about (a) getting caught and (b) adverse health effects. I don’t balme him, or Erik for that matter. We are all fallible and build our lives incrementally on our decisions, both good and bad. Sometimes we make mistakes – but seeing that it’s a mistake and righting it matters. Admitting to doping when you’re unlikely to be caught – although there’s more than just a slight chance of being given up by the suspect T-Mobile doctor or even one of your ex-teammates – takes a lot of strength. Zabel could have just sat on it and waited but chose to come clean before his name was brought up. Is there a lesson here for other ex-T-Mobile /Telekom riders?
And some good news – Alby Davis takes a win after some close results. He bested both Baden Cooke and Bennati in the Catalunya stage 3 sprint. Tell us again you really weren’t involved in Operacion Puerto and Dr Fuentes, Allan. Thinking of which, another rider cleared of Puerto-affiliation – Oscar Sevilla – took a tough stage 4, Michael Rogers taking 2nd. Both riders moved up the classification and will fight it out in the TT. For which I can hardly wait!
Danilo DiLuca has taken the lead (again) in what is turning out to be a good, combative Giro. With the Zoncolan still to come, it may still become great. Simoni proved his worth again and Cunego is not far off the pace. The hillclimb TT comes next, which should give Cunego a boost. We shall see!
Meanwhile a tearful Erik Zabel has confessed to EPO doping in the ’96 TdF. He dropped it quickly, he says, due to side effects and was obviously regretful – as you would be. His teammate at the time, Rolf Aldag, admitted at the same T-Mobile press conference (hmmm, funny that Zabel gate-crashed this party, eh?) to more extensive doping and stopped when his haematocrit was consistently over 50. I guess he got a bit worried about (a) getting caught and (b) adverse health effects. I don’t balme him, or Erik for that matter. We are all fallible and build our lives incrementally on our decisions, both good and bad. Sometimes we make mistakes – but seeing that it’s a mistake and righting it matters. Admitting to doping when you’re unlikely to be caught – although there’s more than just a slight chance of being given up by the suspect T-Mobile doctor or even one of your ex-teammates – takes a lot of strength. Zabel could have just sat on it and waited but chose to come clean before his name was brought up. Is there a lesson here for other ex-T-Mobile /Telekom riders?
And some good news – Alby Davis takes a win after some close results. He bested both Baden Cooke and Bennati in the Catalunya stage 3 sprint. Tell us again you really weren’t involved in Operacion Puerto and Dr Fuentes, Allan. Thinking of which, another rider cleared of Puerto-affiliation – Oscar Sevilla – took a tough stage 4, Michael Rogers taking 2nd. Both riders moved up the classification and will fight it out in the TT. For which I can hardly wait!
