Interesting conversation

[huw williams]

A couple of members asked if I'd seen the trancscript of the conversation between Andreu and Vaughters which Canadian news site CBC ran as part of their coverage of the new David Walsh book.
Here it is in full for those of you who haven't...

How much did Floyd Landis, in yellow, know about doping in cycling? Plenty, according to Jonathan Vaughters and Frankie Andreu. An instant messenger chat between two prominent cyclists challenges Floyd Landis's assertion that he's unfamiliar with doping techniques. The morning of July 26, 2005.

Cyclevaughters: frankie - hey - thanks for talking the other day

FDREU: no problem, where are you

Cyclevaughters: back in CO

FDREU: nice, I just got home, isnt' it like 5AM

Cyclevaughters: sometimes i think i'm going to go nuts

Cyclevaughters: yeah

Cyclevaughters: it's 5am

FDREU: I agree, I came home and the air conditioning is broken

Cyclevaughters: ouch

FDREU: did your kid grow twice it's size in the two weeks you were gone

Cyclevaughters: yeah, his feet look bigger for some reason

FDREU: funny

Cyclevaughters: anyhow, i never can quite figure out why i don't just play along with the lance crowd - i mean sh1t it would make my life easier, eh? it's not like i never played with hotsauce, eh?

FDREU: I know, but in the end i don't think it comes back to bite you

FDREU: I play along, my wife does not, and Lance hates us both

FDREU: it's a no win situation, you know how he is. Once you leave the team or do soemthing wrong you forever banned

Cyclevaughters: i suppose - you know he tried to hire me back in 2001... he was nice to me... i just couldn't deal with that whole world

FDREU: I did not know that

FDREU: look at why everyone leaves, it's way to controlling

Cyclevaughters: once I went to CA and saw that now all the teams got 25 injections every day

Cyclevaughters: hell, CA was ZERO

FDREU: you mean all the riders

Cyclevaughters: Credit Agricole

FDREU: it's crazy

Cyclevaughters: So, I realized lance was full of sh1t when he'd say everyone was doing it

FDREU: You may read stuff that i say to radio or press, praising the Tour and lance but it's just playing the game

Cyclevaughters: believe me, as carzy as it sounds - Moreau was on nothing. Hct of 39%

FDREU: when in 2000-2001

Cyclevaughters: so, that's when you start thinking... hell, kevin was telling me that after 2000 Ullrich never raced over 42%--- yeah moreau in 2000-2001

Cyclevaughters: anyhow - whtever

FDREU: After 1999, you know many things changed. lance did not

FDREU: I believe that's part of whey kevin left, he was tired of the stuff

Cyclevaughters: yeah, i could explain the whole way lance dupes everyone

FDREU: what abut GH (Hincapie) climbing the mountains better than azevedo and the entire group

Cyclevaughters: from how floyd described it, i know exactly the methods

FDREU: explain that, classics to climber

FDREU: when did you talk with floyd

Cyclevaughters: i don't know - i want to trust George

Cyclevaughters: but the thing is on that team, you think it's normal

Cyclevaughters: or at least i did

FDREU: i guess. anything with blodd is not normal

Cyclevaughters: yeah, it's very complex how they avoid all the controls now, but it's not any new drug or anything, just the resources and planning to pull off a well devised plan

Cyclevaughters: it's why they all got dropped on stage 9 - no refill yet - then on the rest day - boom 800ml of packed cells

FDREU: they have it mastered. good point

Cyclevaughters: they draw the blood right after the dauphine

FDREU: how do they sneak it in, or keep it until needed

FDREU: i'm sure it's not with the truck in the fridge

Cyclevaughters: motorcycle - refridgerated panniers

Cyclevaughters: on the rest day

Cyclevaughters: floyd has a photo of the thing

FDREU: crazy! it' just keeps going to new levels

Cyclevaughters: yeah, it's complicated, but with enough money you can do it

FDREU: they have enough money. Floyd was so pissed at them this entire tour

Cyclevaughters: anyhow - i just feel sorry for floyd and some of the other guys

Cyclevaughters: why would lance keep doing the sh1t when he clearly has nothing to prove - it's weird

FDREU: I know. me to. they all get ripped into for no reason

FDREU: he's done now, thank god. but they will prove next year for Johan's sake that they are the greatest

Cyclevaughters: and then lance says " this guy and that guys are pussies"

FDREU: they won't stop

FDREU: I agree


So there you have it: Rest day today of course so it'll be interesting to see if anyone goes 'boom' up the Galibier this week

[Sylv]

[quote="seanieh.NearlyNewCondor©"] Good beer, good food and great conversation.

[adrian]

[quote]Great day yesterday though I did get a ticking off when I got home Good beer, good food and great conversation.

Cheers

Sean

[Dombo]

http://www.thepaceline.com/lance/response.doc

[Dombo]

[quote="marco"]I havent got time to read all that at the moment but does Lance mention that Walsh is an award winning sports journalist with one of the most respected newspapers in the world (Iknow - The Times- its hard to believe but around the world it is held in good light!)

Does he mention that he is the most tested athlete ever but then forget to mention the cortizone failed test, the epo failed retrospectives? does he mention the SCA case which he won but then neglect to tell how his lawyers would have bankrupted anyone that dared stand up and tell the truth? (Dr Prentice, his personal assistant, Mrs Andreu)

I think ive read it before!!!!!!


btw


ex pro with nothing to lose Matt de Canio is calling him out publicly as a dope cheat in the US. Why wont he wield his sword of truth and rusty shield of fair play and go after him?!?

[adrian]

Omertà - excellent and underused word. (Note to self: work it into conversation at least three times before the week is out.)

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

[quote]Ithink this is going to be one of those things like shimano and campag!!!!!!!

[Dombo]

[quote="marco"]i think this is going to be one of those things like shimano and campag!!!!!!!

The lance fanboys will swear blind that he was the only clean rider in the peloton bar boardman

[richv]

I'm sure he was clean as every other rider who didn't test positive

[Alex P]

Here, here Dombo....

All seems part of the British disease, anybody who does well cannot have done it without doing something underhand so lets just try to rip them down for sport.

Whatever anybody thinks about LA I know people that have been inspired by his comeback from cancer to give them hope and to make a real difference to their lives. For me that makes him a 'great' and I hope that he keeps on inspiring people to keep going despite all the detractors.

[Dombo]

[quote="seanieh.NearlyNewCondor©"]what about that Eddie bloke as well?

[Elliot M]

i don't *know* whether lance used doped or not. the truth is now so occluded i don't think it can now be proved either way.

i am not 100% convinced one way or another. i certainly believe that if armstrong was clean he was in a small minority in the peleton.

which means that i look very hard at statements like:

"accusations in Walsh’s book that accuse me of drug use and assert that riders who were on teams with me took EPO with my knowledge or at my request are categorically false"

i haven't read the book and have no idea whether is intended to deny only very specific allegations, but i can't in my most generous frame of mind believe that even if armstrong was 100% clean that he had no knowledge of any teammates taking banned substances in Discovery / US Postal / Motorola over nearly 15 years.

[Alex P]

Yawn......

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

Have you noticed how in this year's "clean" tour that the average speeds have been much slower, and there haven't been as many attacks, and even in the mountain stages, there was more of a group than individuals

Also, on a different note, why was it that a super fit Boardman couldn't recover as quickly as other tour riders

[Dombo]

[quote="marco"]when you weigh up the facts surrounding all this its hard to see him as a sportsman who doesnt dope while his competitors do.