Manzano, Guamont and Lobato have all been doing pro cycling
a load of good. And that ain't sarcasm.
And yes, having Riis talk about doping as if he wasn't
involved is pretty funny. Of course all we have to go on as
far as Bjarne is concerned is rumors of rumors. That ought
to be more than enough for Lafferty. After all, as a lawyer
he knows the impact of his statements.
The problem is that the clean riders get tarred with the
same brush. You'll note that Lafferty has never hesitated to
throw his tar in every direction at the slightest
inclination.
And it is more than likely that indeed the third or so of
pro rides who tested positive for EPO effects are the extent
of the problem. Manzano believes that everyone dopes and
Lance believes that hardly anyone dopes.
One third is pretty damed high for sure but is isn't
everyone. How many football players got that big
"naturally"? And if they were "natural" then explain why in
the last 15 years the average size has increased by 15%?
And Lafferty believes that actovegin makes a superman out of
you. Despite the idiotic theory behind it. Calve's serum
ain't likely to do anything but thin your blood. Big
surprise that huh?
Chump observed that these guys taking drugs are complaining
that they're sick all the time and feel like [censored]. And this
is performance enhancement?
Sure there are performance enhancing drugs. EPO and steroids
are formost. HGH has never shown any significant results in
laboratory studies.
Most of the drugs that Manzano was discussing such as using
a skin cream to mask injected drugs is just silly. Yes, you
CAN mask injected drugs that way. But here's the way it
works - you get a prescriptionb for a skin cream and then
you inject your steroids and then you prey like hell that
you don't get tested for the next week. Then if you're
tested the levels are low enough that you can pass it off as
a legal skin cream.
Insulin certainly would show effects but I'd sure as hell
hesitate to shoot that into myself or anyone else. Ask any
diabetic about the side effects of too much insulin. They
include: shakiness, jitteriness, dizziness, fainting,
confusion, sweating, fast heartbeat, and blurry vision.
Anyone recognize Manzanos symptoms in there? Worse things
have been known to happen - seizures, fainting, chest pains,
dificulty breathing. You can develope an immunity to insulin
and you all know what that means don't you? The big sleep.
All in all Manzano is doing a tremendous favor to future
cyclists. And all in all he shouldn't feel too put upon when
the majority of cyclists who don't dope call him a few
names. It is likely that in the future they'll be a great
deal more respectful of him.