Basso admits to doping attempt not to having doped

[Bro Deal]

I advocated giving him credit for sitting out the last half of the 2006 season, but if he's going to pull this ******** then the maximum penalty should be imposed. A full two years. I hope the ASO never lets him race their races again.

I never expected him to give up his Giro win but this Clinton defense is total ****.

 

[ilpirata]

In fact it was better when we thought he might be doping but still riding for DC.... now its a sham... the whole show.... I can understand him protecting his money earned but they way it was released yesterday was that he was wrestling with his conscience and demons and has now done the right thing.... ********... he was backed into a corner and got out the best way he could...

That pretty much is how i see it as well. The eventual DNA tests would have implicated him, so he is better of coming forward to start serving his suspension, rather than losing another year of racing.
But he gave them the minimum because perhaps he felt everything else was circumstantial, in the sense that they may not have enough to strip him of the 2006 Giro title.

 

[micron]

That pretty much is how i see it as well. The eventual DNA tests would have implicated him, so he is better of coming forward to start serving his suspension, rather than losing another year of racing.
But he gave them the minimum because perhaps he felt everything else was circumstantial, in the sense that they may not have enough to strip him of the 2006 Giro title.

Of course, considering how much more they have on him now he has admitted he is Birillo, they could charge him with sporting fraud - bet that would focus his mind wonderfully.

 

[AdamW]

I just don't get it. Basso keeping his mouth shut for fear of staining other doping riders in the peloton. Meanwhile with each out and out lieing denial that is presented to us, it is increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to believe any rider claiming his innocence. I hate to say it, but thanks to Ivan, Jan, Scarponi, yes Tyler, and the rest, I now presume guilty until proven innocent. If there are innocent riders accused of doping, they are the ones that are being hurt by statements like these out of the mouth of Basso. It's a shame that he is out to protect himself and other dopers at the expense of athletes competing by the rules and the sport itself.

 

[Bro Deal]

I just don't get it. Basso keeping his mouth shut for fear of staining other doping riders in the peloton. Meanwhile with each out and out lieing denial that is presented to us, it is increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to believe any rider claiming his innocence. I hate to say it, but thanks to Ivan, Jan, Scarponi, yes Tyler, and the rest, I now presume guilty until proven innocent. If there are innocent riders accused of doping, they are the ones that are being hurt by statements like these out of the mouth of Basso. It's a shame that he is out to protect himself and other dopers at the expense of athletes competing by the rules and the sport itself.

This Basso deal has the potential to be a disaster. It's one thing to have Hamilton or Landis deny until the day they die. That is expected from people being accused. But if the sport accepts Basso's non-confession then it will bring cycling's anti-doping rules and organizations into disrepute. If OP would have blown over without consequences, the authorities could at least claim they wanted to do something but did not have the evidence. This Basso deal stinks and their is no way to excuse it.

 

[fscyclist]

I advocated giving him credit for sitting out the last half of the 2006 season, but if he's going to pull this ******** then the maximum penalty should be imposed. A full two years. I hope the ASO never lets him race their races again.

I never expected him to give up his Giro win but this Clinton defense is total ****.

Agreed!! Couldn't he get a 4 year ban from the Pro-tour?

 

[AdamW]

Basso by Basso: "Well I just won the Giro by 9 minutes without doping, Simoni just called me an "extraterrestrial", fans couldn't believe that I had to coast through the uphill switchback turns because I was carrying so much speed ... hmmm, yeah I better get on the line with that Fuentes dude and see if he might be able improve my performance for the Tour."

 

[ilpirata]

I
I never expected him to give up his Giro win but this Clinton defense is total ****.

LOL, wait do you mean the "I didn't inhale" or the "I never had sex with that woman" ? Hey what about GWB "faulty intelligence" defense? that one is pretty good too.

 

[Bro Deal]

LOL, wait do you mean the "I didn't inhale" or the "I never had sex with that woman" ? Hey what about GWB "faulty intelligence" defense? that one is pretty good too.

With american politcians it's hard to keep track of who tells the most outrageous lies. Too bad Basso didn't get to stay longer on an American team. He could have learned a lot, especially with Armstrong as his guide.

 

[fbircher]

I think part of why he is doing this is the following:

Regardless of when his suspensions starts, it clearly should start no later than his recent public confession to attempted doping. That means that at the latest, even if he doesn't get the benefit of an earlier start date to the suspension for having confessed to attempted doping, he can return to the peloton in May 2009 BEFORE the Giro and the Tour (although not to a ProTour team without special dispensation). But a team with Basso is likely to get invited to the Giro and the Tour, assuming the ProTour concept is still around by then.

So, Basso makes sure that, for what he cares about (the Giro and Tour), 2007 counts as one of the years of his two years he will be suspended from those races.

I think you've hit the nail on the head - he's trying to start the clock ticking now, so he'll be able to get back in time for the '09 Giro. But by explicitly denying actually re-injecting any blood during races, he could be setting himself up for additional punishment later. If he makes these denials under oath to a prosecutor or judge, and it's later shown that he DID re-inject (e.g., Fuentes cuts a deal with prosecutors by giving details on Basso), then he could be prosecuted for perjury. I agree with the general sentiment of the other posters that this "confession" amounts to nothing. They were about to nail him with DNA anyway.

Who decides when the official start of his ban begins? That person or group would be well-advised to drag out the process long enough to block out the '09 Giro, TdF and Vuelta. Maybe they could come up with an excuse as disingenuous as his confession - e.g., We'll start the ban for all the OP riders at the same time, so yours won't begin until we've processed everyone else's information.

 

[Powerful Pete]

Fbircher, you are mistaken. He is hoping to have the ban begin sometime before the 2006 Tour de France. Not now!

 

[Rolfrae]

Fbircher, you are mistaken. He is hoping to have the ban begin sometime before the 2006 Tour de France. Not now!

But he raced this season, including Tirreno Adriatico which is Pro Tour. And he was voluntarily withdrawn from last year's team at the request of ASO, not the UCI. It was essentially his and his team's decision not to ride the 2006 Tour. His ban should start as of yesterday and last two full years. Should.

 

[Serafino]

With american politcians it's hard to keep track of who tells the most outrageous lies. Too bad Basso didn't get to stay longer on an American team. He could have learned a lot, especially with Armstrong as his guide.

Let's not forget that he was doping while in the employ of CSC. I'm sure Riis could teach anyone a thing or two about the use of PEDs.

Still no denial from Riis about doping during his carreer and the Telekom doctor revelations.

Let's not shift blame away from Riis/CSC in this affair.

Basso's not naming names stinks of a deal to protect the guilty in exchange for a lenient sentence. Smells of a cover up. Hopefully, somebody will blow the whistle of the teams, management, doctors, no matter who's involved.

 

[helmutRoole2]

Let's not forget that he was doping while in the employ of CSC.

What? But he said he didn't dope. He just thought about it. Like me, for example. I've thought about spanking my monkey, but I've never actually acted on it. Okay, I've been spotted at the adult "book" store... in the video arcade booth, but I was only thinking about spanking. The actual act itself never took place. Never.

Can you imagine how much time Bass would have won the Giro last year if he had doped? An hour? Two hours? How about a day. Yep, he would have been the first cyclist in the history of the sport to lap the field in a stage race, starting one stage ahead of everybody else.

 

[Rolfrae]

What? But he said he didn't dope. He just thought about it. Like me, for example. I've thought about spanking my monkey, but I've never actually acted on it. Okay, I've been spotted at the adult "book" store... in the video arcade booth, but I was only thinking about spanking. The actual act itself never took place. Never.

Can you imagine how much time Bass would have won the Giro last year if he had doped? An hour? Two hours? How about a day. Yep, he would have been the first cyclist in the history of the sport to lap the field in a stage race, starting one stage ahead of everybody else.

that man would have been unstoppable at the Tour, he would have made Landis' stage 17 antics look like a granny on a zimmer frame!

 

[Powerful Pete]

But he raced this season, including Tirreno Adriatico which is Pro Tour. And he was voluntarily withdrawn from last year's team at the request of ASO, not the UCI. It was essentially his and his team's decision not to ride the 2006 Tour. His ban should start as of yesterday and last two full years. Should.

Yup, we know that and agree, but I think that is what he is trying to get out of CONI and the Italian Cycling Federation...