Basso to Liquigas

nns1400

Yeah, but that analogy implies that all the other workers have never stolen anything....instead of being like Fagin's boys...where they are all pickpockets.

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Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is. Mark Twain

RdBiker

Well as you say 80% of the peloton dope so even considering that it's very likely that he will continue doping. I base my assumption in Basso's statements that he is going to race for the Giro09 pink jersey. He has won it once (very likely) doped and if he won it again without dope why would he have doped in the past.
I'll get the proof next summer: if Basso produces the same performances he has in the past then I read that as such that he has and still does dope. On the other hand if his performance is considerably worse than before then I will believe that he isn't on the dope now. Then of course there's still the possibility he never doped if people want to believe that...

It would be great if everyone could race in a "new, dope-free era" but I just don't believe the peloton is dope-free this season. The season is young, let's wait until summer and let the positive test results commence... In my opinion everyone farkin doped and still do. I'm with you in that I too think the guys in suits should be punished. That's why I stated that it wasn't very ethical for the Liquigas team to hire a lying rider. Actually I think the team staff are more responsible for cleaning the sport than the riders. If a team manager forces team-wide doping it's pretty hard to ride on the team and not dope.

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It never gets easier, you just go faster
Oton ATK Sandisk Mp3-soittimet ja Koss kuulokkeet

Malkmus

Hold on. Basso isn't a doper. He was never going to use those bags.

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RdBiker

And who would swear on their mother's grave that they didn't dope if they really had

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It never gets easier, you just go faster
Oton ATK Sandisk Mp3-soittimet ja Koss kuulokkeet

fscyclist

No, that analogy has no implications other than what was stated.

Crankyfeet

Exactly. I have it from reliable sources that he thought he was donating blood to kids with leukemia.

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Originally posted by Frigo's Luggage...

"[Calling him] 'dickcheese' is the insult of a master. Some people work in oil, some people work in clay. He [thoughtforfood] works in profanity. Open your mind and enjoy its beauty."

Bro Deal

Liquigas has been disinvited from Rund um den Henninger Turm for not signing an anti-doping declaration.

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"You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." -- Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates

Rolfrae

I'm sure this race isn't big on their Italian sponsor's list of important races. Leekygas are gambling on the Pro Tour folding. They are also gambling on ASO inviting them to their races next year. They'll get their Giro invite but the French races are uncertain. I have zero respect for Basso but I guess he deserves to ride again, esp when Valv (piti) never faced a ban.

Runitout

Yeah, I won't be cheering for him, but he's done his time and should be let back in. And tested in the dead of night. And in the morning. Gripper should go apeshit on him.

I totally support those who have served their time being allowed back in the peloton, so long as the vampires have carte blanche to ensure that they're behaving.

It's simply unrealistic to expect anyone to tell the truth - Jacksche and Sinkewitz are proof positive that if you blab, they cut your throat. Basso did what he had to do, and they've welcomed him back to the fold.

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And saying so to some
Means nothing; others it leaves
Nothing to be said.

Rolfrae

Spot on, the truth doesn't pay in the "new" cycling. I had read that Basso is still being tested by the UCI and agree that they should make a special case of him.

Bro Deal

Cyclingfansanonymous' take on the situation really needs to be posted. He is a bit pissed off.

Liquigas can kiss my ass. They just had to go and do it, didn't they? Can't last long without a mega-doper as their team leader, it just wouldn't be right! Without Mr. Tranquilo Teflon Killer Di Luca to maintain their all-doper-all-the-time street cred, they had to rush out and hire Mr. I Never Inhaled Basso to set things to rights. Now all is clear. Liquigas just loves the dopers, one and all. Vampire fetish, maybe? And I really can't wait to see Basso riding head to head against fellow dopers Valverde and Di Luca. The twin angel-faced Draculas and the pre-pubescent who drinks gallons of water after every stage because he is so "thirsty." As for Basso, anyone who paid a doping doctor five figures for "preparations" to dope, but no actual doping, has a truly unusual and imaginative ability to lie through his teeth. Anyone who believes that Basso can be trusted while riding for Liquigas, a team more than happy to turn a blind eye to doping, has forgotten the fundamental edict of cycling....trust no one. And don't forget, Basso never tested positive. And don't we all know exactly what that means. Nothing at all. My only shred of hope is that maybe Torri is still pissed at him, and puts Basso under the microscope and tests the hell out of him all the time. Still, if Di Luca got away with it, why wouldn't Basso? Seeing as the bio-passport is stuck in some totally typical idiotic bureaucratic limbo, and is seemingly useless to actually sanction anybody anyway, what are fans to think? Who exactly wants to watch High Road and Slipstream try to ride against a bunch of perfectly-doped Italian playboys, whose own team sponsor has no ethics whatsoever, laughs at the idea of the ProTour ethics code, and actually praises Basso for serving his suspension "with dignity." Dignity?? Since when is it dignified to be a liar and a cheat? Basso may spout all the right rhetoric, but words mean nothing without truth and credibility behind them, and he has NONE. Treating your own (ex) devoted fans like they are a bunch of brainless morons is not dignified, it is revolting. I wish to hell that Basso would go get a job as a plumber or something and leave us the hell alone. No such luck.

__________________
"You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." -- Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates

Crankyfeet

I think he is warming up to him, Bro... gradually...

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Originally posted by Frigo's Luggage...

"[Calling him] 'dickcheese' is the insult of a master. Some people work in oil, some people work in clay. He [thoughtforfood] works in profanity. Open your mind and enjoy its beauty."