by Andrew G » Wed Aug 04, 2010 9:01 pm
It's a very loose definition of "apology". Along with a lot of posters in the thread I don't believe for one minute that the races he mentioned were the only ones he doped in. He is hardly full or remorse, has turned down the option to reduce his ban by assisting with information about how he got his drugs and how he used them. Personally I suspect that this is in part due to not wanting to have to say how much he was using and when as it would point out numerous other results to those he says he doped in.
From Paul's link to the rowing forum he doesn't exactly come across as someone who's new to the doping game, or sees anything wrong in what he did.
It's all a bit pathetic to do what he was doing, including the doping sessions abroad with mega training camp where he could train harder than the Astana squad, for a few races that are in reality pretty small time. I also think that if he was doping enough to out train a pro team he should have been getting better results than he was. I can hardly see that he was playing a more cagey game in those races to try and avoid being detected when he seems to have ridden in some races in such a stupid manner to almost wage a flag highlighting that he was on something.
A bloke in his late(?) 30s doping to win a few UK time trials and get a few decent results in regional races hoping to get something in a National level race...pitiful really. if he does come back to domestic racing after his ban I can't imagine he'll be really popular at HQs. The people he'll be seeing are normal folk competing, by and large, for their hobby and some will have been robbed of some results that could have meant a lot to them because of his doping. I hope the £30 he won for a TT victory was worth cheating all those people for and risking his own health.
His post on the TT he punctured in and admits to doping in.
[quote]Got back on course then flatted!!! [img]http://www.clochette.co.uk/style_emoticons/default/hysterical.gif[/img] Was going very well.[img]http://www.clochette.co.uk/style_emoticons/default/naughty.gif[/img]
Nice choice of emoticon after "going very well".
In a thread in the build up to the Hainault Hilly
[quote]Just putting in some base miles in tenerife atm with the astana team[img]http://www.clochette.co.uk/style_emoticons/default/naughty.gif[/img]
The emoticon again.