NICE Bobby Julich tells a depressing story about his close friend, training partner and teammate Jens Voigt.
"Jens, winning the Tour of Germany," in August, "winning three stages, instead of celebrating his victory after the time trial, he said, 'I don't know if I should have won the time trial because now everyone will assume I'm doped.'
"He said this two minutes after his victory in the time trial, when he could first catch his breath," Julich said. "Instead of slapping high-fives, he's worrying what people will think. Because, they'll say, it doesn't make sense, it's not normal."
In fact, in less suspicious times, it would make sense. Voigt is a strong time-trialer, and, as a German who was rejected for a job more than a dozen years ago by the Telekom team from Germany and exiled to a little-known team in Australia to become a professional, he especially likes to win in his homeland.
His victory was no fluke, Julich was reminded. Voigt is a major rider, a winner of a stage in the Tour de France as recently as this year.
Julich was unmoved. "The only thing we can do," he said, "is look at ourselves in the mirror and say, 'We can't listen, we know what we can do.'"
If that sounds passive, so be it. Julich, a 34-year-old American rider for the CSC team from Denmark, is one of the sport's few outspoken opponents of doping. So is Voigt. Both ride, however, for a team led by Ivan Basso, a 28-year-old Italian who was a favorite in the last Tour de France, from which he was excluded on doping suspicions that have not yet been made public.
Denying all charges, he began testifying at an official inquiry in Italy on Tuesday.
"The riders getting caught now are the biggest riders out there," Julich said, listing charges again Basso, Jan Ullrich and Floyd Landis, among others.
"So many of them are good, honest people, and when they start to dispute the tests, it's natural to listen to what they have to say and maybe even believe them. But I wish that if someone did get caught and was guilty, he would be honest enough to himself, No. 1, and to the public, No. 2, to admit it so that we would have confidence in the tests.
"The worst scenario for an athlete is to be accused of something you didn't do. But you don't just stumble and fall onto a blood transfusion or a dose of EPO.
"The operators in the labs hold our careers in their hands. If we don't have 100 percent confidence in these tests, why are we doing them? The tests are there to protect the riders. You have to have a belief system, and the only thing we can believe in now is the validity of these tests."
Basso's name came up frequently in a long interview with Julich last week.
"Ivan" was the focus of Julich's account of admiration, loyalty and betrayal, a word that Julich used guardedly.
"It's very difficult for me to know how I feel at the moment, honestly," he began.
"I know that Ivan is a good person. No way he could have got that by me. I respect him absolutely as a person, and the only thing I can see is that, if he's involved" in a doping scandal "in the way that it looks like he's involved, that he lied.
"And that hurts, that definitely hurts. As far as forgiving him, yeah, O.K., if he's guilty, he played with the reputation of our sport, our team, but more importantly, of the individuals on our team. So that's what's tough.
"At CSC we worked together the right way, trained hard, rested hard, won the biggest races. And we had the reputation of having no drug problems, and that was something I was extremely proud of.
"We took these morals and team values to the maximum, the riders did. And Ivan was a big part of that because he was the leader."
Rarely pausing, Julich continued his story. "Jens Voigt and I are very outspoken about doping and making sure the young riders know that's not an option on our team, especially. It should never be an option, period. "I was very proud of being on the No. 1 team in the world. I would put my hand in the fire for anybody on our team and especially for Ivan, because I saw how hard he trained and I saw how serious he is - in December, already with his diet. "Two things matter to him: cycling and his family. "He doesn't tell you how fast his car is, he doesn't tell you how expensive his watch is - he's absolutely the hardest worker I've ever seen, the most serious guy I've ever seen." Then why, if Basso is involved in blood doping, the illegal replacement of blood to increase its oxygen-bearing capacity, would he do it? "That's the question," Julich replied. "We lost our reputation as a team, and it gives people the excuse to say, 'Oh, that's why Bobby is riding so good the last two years, that's why Jens Voigt is winning the Tour of Germany, and that's why Franck Schleck is able to win a classic and the Tour stage into Alpe d'Huez - because they all change their blood. "And that's not fair. That's why I'm extremely upset about Ivan if it's proven that he has anything to do with this. "If he has anything to do with this, absolutely I feel betrayed. It's not normal for a 34-year-old man to look at a 28- year-old guy and put him on a pedestal and say, 'Wow, this is what I need, this is the motivation I need to continue to talk to young riders about clean sport. Because this is what's possible clean. "And then to have that come tumbling down with the realization that he may have been cheating, it hurts, it really does hurt. "I think I could forgive him. If he is involved, O.K., I can forgive him. But unless he proves his 100 percent innocence to his teammates, it would be very difficult to be on the same team with him. "I've been answering questions about Ivan since 2004," when he began starring in the Tour de France, "and I've always said, 'Listen, I know how he trains, come to any of our training camps.' "That was enough for me. I could say that with a clear conscience.
"Now," Julich said, anguished, "I can't."
"Jens, winning the Tour of Germany," in August, "winning three stages, instead of celebrating his victory after the time trial, he said, 'I don't know if I should have won the time trial because now everyone will assume I'm doped.'
"He said this two minutes after his victory in the time trial, when he could first catch his breath," Julich said. "Instead of slapping high-fives, he's worrying what people will think. Because, they'll say, it doesn't make sense, it's not normal."
In fact, in less suspicious times, it would make sense. Voigt is a strong time-trialer, and, as a German who was rejected for a job more than a dozen years ago by the Telekom team from Germany and exiled to a little-known team in Australia to become a professional, he especially likes to win in his homeland.
His victory was no fluke, Julich was reminded. Voigt is a major rider, a winner of a stage in the Tour de France as recently as this year.
Julich was unmoved. "The only thing we can do," he said, "is look at ourselves in the mirror and say, 'We can't listen, we know what we can do.'"
If that sounds passive, so be it. Julich, a 34-year-old American rider for the CSC team from Denmark, is one of the sport's few outspoken opponents of doping. So is Voigt. Both ride, however, for a team led by Ivan Basso, a 28-year-old Italian who was a favorite in the last Tour de France, from which he was excluded on doping suspicions that have not yet been made public.
Denying all charges, he began testifying at an official inquiry in Italy on Tuesday.
"The riders getting caught now are the biggest riders out there," Julich said, listing charges again Basso, Jan Ullrich and Floyd Landis, among others.
"So many of them are good, honest people, and when they start to dispute the tests, it's natural to listen to what they have to say and maybe even believe them. But I wish that if someone did get caught and was guilty, he would be honest enough to himself, No. 1, and to the public, No. 2, to admit it so that we would have confidence in the tests.
"The worst scenario for an athlete is to be accused of something you didn't do. But you don't just stumble and fall onto a blood transfusion or a dose of EPO.
"The operators in the labs hold our careers in their hands. If we don't have 100 percent confidence in these tests, why are we doing them? The tests are there to protect the riders. You have to have a belief system, and the only thing we can believe in now is the validity of these tests."
Basso's name came up frequently in a long interview with Julich last week.
"Ivan" was the focus of Julich's account of admiration, loyalty and betrayal, a word that Julich used guardedly.
"It's very difficult for me to know how I feel at the moment, honestly," he began.
"I know that Ivan is a good person. No way he could have got that by me. I respect him absolutely as a person, and the only thing I can see is that, if he's involved" in a doping scandal "in the way that it looks like he's involved, that he lied.
"And that hurts, that definitely hurts. As far as forgiving him, yeah, O.K., if he's guilty, he played with the reputation of our sport, our team, but more importantly, of the individuals on our team. So that's what's tough.
"At CSC we worked together the right way, trained hard, rested hard, won the biggest races. And we had the reputation of having no drug problems, and that was something I was extremely proud of.
"We took these morals and team values to the maximum, the riders did. And Ivan was a big part of that because he was the leader."
Rarely pausing, Julich continued his story. "Jens Voigt and I are very outspoken about doping and making sure the young riders know that's not an option on our team, especially. It should never be an option, period. "I was very proud of being on the No. 1 team in the world. I would put my hand in the fire for anybody on our team and especially for Ivan, because I saw how hard he trained and I saw how serious he is - in December, already with his diet. "Two things matter to him: cycling and his family. "He doesn't tell you how fast his car is, he doesn't tell you how expensive his watch is - he's absolutely the hardest worker I've ever seen, the most serious guy I've ever seen." Then why, if Basso is involved in blood doping, the illegal replacement of blood to increase its oxygen-bearing capacity, would he do it? "That's the question," Julich replied. "We lost our reputation as a team, and it gives people the excuse to say, 'Oh, that's why Bobby is riding so good the last two years, that's why Jens Voigt is winning the Tour of Germany, and that's why Franck Schleck is able to win a classic and the Tour stage into Alpe d'Huez - because they all change their blood. "And that's not fair. That's why I'm extremely upset about Ivan if it's proven that he has anything to do with this. "If he has anything to do with this, absolutely I feel betrayed. It's not normal for a 34-year-old man to look at a 28- year-old guy and put him on a pedestal and say, 'Wow, this is what I need, this is the motivation I need to continue to talk to young riders about clean sport. Because this is what's possible clean. "And then to have that come tumbling down with the realization that he may have been cheating, it hurts, it really does hurt. "I think I could forgive him. If he is involved, O.K., I can forgive him. But unless he proves his 100 percent innocence to his teammates, it would be very difficult to be on the same team with him. "I've been answering questions about Ivan since 2004," when he began starring in the Tour de France, "and I've always said, 'Listen, I know how he trains, come to any of our training camps.' "That was enough for me. I could say that with a clear conscience.
"Now," Julich said, anguished, "I can't."
