Gonchar did a transfusion or EPO or something, and the internal blood profiling in T-Mobile caught it, and they booted him.
Usually, almost always, the teams are complicit. Usually, almost always, the teams provide the docs and the expertise and the dope itself. Then the riders may or may not do something “on top” of that. (Like when Basso defied Riis at CSC and did his own Spanish doc thing).
But T-Mobile’s ass is on the line. Too much Ullrich, too much Riis, too much Zabel, too much Jef d’Hont’s book.
So now the baby has been tossed with the bathwater.
You would think Velonews and others would really cover this like kudzu in North Carolina, it’s the biggest thing to go down in a long time …. it shows a “tipping point” shift in the doping equation. But, they are what they are. More on the dip shit side of the spectrum than the curious. Pretty much what goes down all over MSM media these days.
I think that this is a lot more about TMobile keeping the sponsorship deutschemarks flowing than it is the entire sport having a “come to Jesus” moment. Fat old guys on singlespeeds are the only legitimate cycling heroes left.
i’d be surprised if the team did it with solely ethical motivations but hey, if the sponsors directly or indirectly apply enough pressure to make the teams *act* ethical then so be it. wouldn’t be the first time monetary pressures got the ball rolling resulting in a better net result…
I am not subscribing any nobility to T-Mobile. T-Mobile is just CYAing. I think the reason this is a tipping point is that most corporate sponsors (if there are any left) are going to start insisting on their own docs who will blood profile the riders. Or, at least some sponsors will. At the risk of Polonium in my tea, I don’t think Astana or Tinkov will be in this group of sponsors.
Longitudinal blood profiling, including just before and just after racing, will identify any unexpected (doping) jump in O2 carrying capacity and that is going to do more than a little in flattening the race course against doping. The biggest gains in time are made by boosting O2 carrying in the blood.
I speculate that pretty soon, if your riders aren’t undergoing independent blood profiling, you won’t be allowed to race at the pro level.
And notice they cut loose the old dead wood and not some marquee name. Maybe that’s to keep the young guns in line, make ’em think they’re jobs aren’t safe?
Or maybe it makes people say, oh look, T-epo-oble is serious about this anti-doping stuff after all.
T -mobiles new management is definitely different than the old t-mobile, the team director has enough money and runs the team cause he wants to, as a hobby. He is a fan of cycling and wants to see it survive.