He has done.
He has done.
OMG, what a travesty -- Vamosfire banned, and such insightful and profound posts he was posting. Will miss his numerous threads.
The Spanish government told everyone that it only concerned the cyclist, as they turned the key to the lock. They clearly were trying to save face as their were likely other types of athletes (soccer,tennis etc.) Its ridiculous to think the offices raided and documents obtained were only for cyclist LOL!!!!! GTFOH
It kind of does, actually, if you consider that cycling was already a cesspool of doping in the minds of just about everyone at that time (and rightly so). But when names such as Real Madrid and top Spanish tennis players came out, they probably did what is called "damage control", ie everyone knew that Fuentes had tons of sportsmen as clients, so hey, let's make sure that all of these are cyclists and "forget" the rest. At this point, the name of cycling was already sullied, so they protected the other sports (and their other sportsmen).
And the Spanish cyclists caught in the case got no sanctions anyway. It was the other countries that came down on *their* cyclists because of the case.
Fuentes repeatedly said that he had lots of clients outside cycling (plus see below), and then, suddenly, he didn't have anything more to say. So a deal is the most likely option (yeah, I guess they could also have threatened him, but that would only make it worse, not better).
Actually, I mixed them up. It was Fuentes himself who said that, should he talk, Spain would be stripped of the World Cup and the European Championship (that was after Operation Galgo, ie the *second* doping scandal he was implicated in: http://www.sudpresse.be/sports/foot...re-la-coupe-du-monde-a-l-espagne-831186.shtml (this link is from a Belgian website, but they say this came out in Marca, so I guess you can easily find it in Spanish).
His wife said that Spanish sport would be ruined should she talk: http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=3712847
Fuentes said it at the time (that and high-profile soccer players/clubs such as Real Madrid) before clamming up.
Other federations *did* sanction their cyclists based on what this revealed, though, so they obviously felt it was more than enough.
Plus, look at what Bartelby quoted: "The Civil Guard has twice opened formal investigations into Fuentes' suspected doping activities only to have a judge close them down because at the time of the 2006 raids Spain did not have explicit anti-doping laws in place."
Which fits with what I wrote a few days ago: up until very recently, doping was *perfectly legal* in Spain (lots of performance-enhancing drugs could be bought freely at any chemist, you didn't even need a doctor's prescription). It's only with international pressure that they're backpedalling on this issue (they already lost the Madrid bid for the 2016 Olympics because of that), because now the cat is out of the bag and they don't have any more choice in the matter. They're sure taking their own sweet time about it, though...
What is your point?Of course not all are doping, this is why spanish people are b*tthurt about it, because it casts a shadow over ALL spanish athletes. Now obviously no one is gonna believe in fairytales that everybody is innocent but the spanish boom was a factor of increased interest and spending in sports infrastructure(after they hosted Olympics) by government and yes, possibly doping as well.
If you indeed need the magic potion to succeed, how come Spain is doing it now(the last 10-20 years)? Surely sports powerhouses like the US,Russia,Germany and so on would be right there with meekly Spain when it came to doping their athletes. Or did they suddenly develop a conscience?
Spain is "dominating" world sports yet in the last summer Olympics they weren't even in the top 10 as far as medals were concerned. Canada,Belarus,Japan,Italy,Ukraine,Cuba had more medals than Spain. Romania won almost as many gold medals as the Spanish in Beijing and sports infrastructure here is almost non-existent.As a sidenote,the French won 23 more medals than their neighbours in 2008.
Of course not all are doping, this is why spanish people are b*tthurt about it, because it casts a shadow over ALL spanish athletes. Now obviously no one is gonna believe in fairytales that everybody is innocent but the spanish boom was a factor of increased interest and spending in sports infrastructure(after they hosted Olympics) by government and yes, possibly doping as well.
If you indeed need the magic potion to succeed, how come Spain is doing it now(the last 10-20 years)? Surely sports powerhouses like the US,Russia,Germany and so on would be right there with meekly Spain when it came to doping their athletes. Or did they suddenly develop a conscience?
Spain is "dominating" world sports yet in the last summer Olympics they weren't even in the top 10 as far as medals were concerned. Canada,Belarus,Japan,Italy,Ukraine,Cuba had more medals than Spain. Romania won almost as many gold medals as the Spanish in Beijing and sports infrastructure here is almost non-existent.As a sidenote,the French won 23 more medals than their neighbours in 2008.
You seem to continue conflating two sports systems: the eastern European/communist bloc system (where the authorities more or less decide the sports for the athletes) and the system in Western countries like Spâin, where the sports associations primarily exist in order to facilitate whatever sports the Spaniards chose to participate in (motivated by culture, tradition, fashion... etc). For a long time that has been cycling and soccer and now in the last few decades they have added tennis and a few other stuff.
Haha. Yer not up-to-date, dude. Alonso has already been surpassed by a young German kid named Vettel, who has been the Formula one champion for the last two years. And his last championship was won by an extreme wide margin (the kind of margin that Alonso never had in his entire career)
This bit is actually funny. Could you name a country which is strongerthan Spain in tennis atm? As in more players in the top 5, top 10, top 20, top 50, or even top 100?
See, this is the kind of BS I hate. This woman should either talk about it or shut up. Sounds like she is waiting on a better deal also.
The name Real Madrid came from Fuentes's lips or was it just another press speculation?
I say this because Le Monde had reported in December 2006 that they had possession of documents of Fuentes detailing "seasonal preparation plans" for Spanish football clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. They lost both trials against Barcelona, in 2009 and 2011 because they couldn't show proof, all they had were rumours. A sort of french laptop girl if you will. Le Monde had to play 15,000 euro cause they used false and unverified facts.
This bit is actually funny. Could you name a country which is strongerthan Spain in tennis atm? As in more players in the top 5, top 10, top 20, top 50, or even top 100?
This came out at the very start of Operation Puerto, during the first week of Wimbledon 2006. I don't remember Barca being mentioned at the time, just Real Madrid, athletes, and top Spanish tennis players (plural). Le Monde mentioned Barca and Real months later, supposedly after interviewing Fuentes.
Fuentes also said at the time that 30% of his clients were cyclists, which leaves quite a lot of room for other sports, unfortunately.
Oh, and here is something I just found while doing some research on the subject:
Oscar Pereiro rips press on Spanish talk show for favoring footballers over cyclists in doping cases
By Andrew Hood Published Nov. 19, 2011
Oscar Pereiro took it to journalists on a Spanish talk show when he vehemently defended cycling against media bias that he says favors soccer.
The 2006 Tour de France champion blew up when a panel of journalists criticized cycling’s doping past, saying that the media treat soccer different than cycling when it comes to doping cases.
Referring to Spanish soccer players who tested positive during their careers, Pereiro said the media are quick to label a cyclist as a cheat while footballers are given the benefit of the doubt.
“Giovanella was positive, Gurpegui, Guardiola … and all because they took energy mixes. If a cyclist takes it, they’re positive,” Pereiro said. “All of San Mamés, Balaidos, Barcelona (stadiums) yell ‘innocent!’ and later I have to put on a mask just to walk down the street.”
An indignant Pereiro even cited a reference by former superstar Zinedine Zidane, who supposedly told French singer Johnny Hallyday that he used blood transfusions in Switzerland twice a year during his playing years.
“Zidane has admitted that he underwent blood transfusions in Switzerland to regenerate his body. That’s a positive in cycling,” he said. “The problem is the difference between the journalist and the public who interpret the cyclist is doped, and if the other does the same thing, it’s taking care of themselves or fighting for the colors of your club.”
Pereiro has had his name dragged through the mud. Initially, he was linked to the Operación Puerto doping scandal by one of the nicknames used by ringleader Eufemiano Fuentes.
That nickname — “urko” — was later linked to Spanish track and field star Marta Dominguez, who was involved, yet later cleared, in the Operación Galgo doping investigation this winter in Spain.
Floyd Landis, who saw his 2006 Tour victory stripped and passed on to runner-up Pereiro, has said that Pereiro doped when they were teammates on Phonak. Pereiro has denied those allegations.
Pereiro also defended cycling, saying that 10 percent of a rider’s salary is dedicated toward anti-doping efforts.
“No hay cojones (no one has the balls) to tell the truth story about Operación Puerto in this country,” Pereiro said. “Don’t even bring up Fuentes. Hopefully some day Fuentes will stand up and say everything he knows. A lot of those bags found in the raids had ‘European championship’ written on them. There isn’t a European championships in cycling. It’s all been an embarrassment.”
Pereiro retired at the end of the 2010 season and has been working as a journalist in radio and television.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2011...tballers-over-cyclists-in-doping-cases_198209
No mention of tennis here, but yet somebody else saying that Puerto sure wasn't just about cycling.
This bit is actually funny. Could you name a country which is strongerthan Spain in tennis atm? As in more players in the top 5, top 10, top 20, top 50, or even top 100?
