Denia said:
Limerickman - The evidence against Ullrich in relation to Puerto is massive and damming - enough for me to have no doubt that he was guilty of participating in a sustained doping programme. Likewise Heras, Hamilton, Basso - where there is a clear trail of money payments, phone calls that refer to doping and documents with doping orders and schedules then I think it is reasonable to offer an opinion ahead of any formal prosecutions.
None of this applies to Contador so unless there is other, as yet unreleased evidence he can´t be fingered as a known cheat. No matter what your gut feeling is.
Actually document 31 - which the UCI claim never to have seen - shows AC and his teammates RH (Heras) and JJ (Jaksche) etc doping schedule for last year's TdF. I'm sure the UCI will 'find' such a document if it means they'll be able to discredit the MJ - a very handing bargaining chip.
Just like Bruyneel before him, Contador was Saiz's protegee - can you honestly say that Saiz, who ran the most complete doping operation in the sport at ONCE (so good, Bruyneel hired the doctor who implemented it to run USPS/Discovery's medical programme) signed Contador at 19 and said 'hold on lads, let's keep this one clean'? More likely 'let's give him the best preparation' - which might not have been Fuentes - there's another doc who flies under the radar whose prepped Indurain and Armstrong in his time...
Contador keeps referring to being on the 'wrong team at the wrong time' as if it was all some terrible mistake and he couldn't wait to get away from Liberty and the awful Saiz - a man so dreadful that Contador called him 'my second father'. It was the 'wrong team' for an awfully long time...
I like Contador's riding style - he reminds me exactly of a young Richard Virenque, all shoulders and bouncing on the pedals - but no evidence linking Alberto and Puerto? That's the best laugh I've had all morning.