ASO Running At “Two Speeds”?
ASO Running At “Two Speeds”?
It’s said that the Peloton runs at two speeds, one for “boosted” athletes and one for clean. TOUR organizers ASO have taken admirable steps to try and exclude Non negative riders or teams in the past, but do they also now run at two speeds by excluding Kelme while allowing Cofidis a spot?
Kelme had a “Reserved” invitation to participate in the tour until Jesus Manzano decided to imply the team were tainted by drugs. As the allegations poured out of Manzano, the Tour took the decision to pull Kelme.
Note should be taken that no drugs were found, and that in each case that Manzano indicated that he was doped to the gills, nothing was found.
Enter Cofidis.
Phone taps between Cofidis Team Physio Mogdan Madedjak and Merak Mutkiewicz revealed “Blood for sale” from other team members. Former Cofidis team member Robert Sassone, who won a World Track title in 2001, was placed under judicial investigation after a stash of drugs was found in his home during a police search. That led to Cofidis Team members Cedric Vasseur and Phillipe Gaumont’s arrest and subsequent admissions.
So this further begs the continued question to ASO and Jean Marie Leblanc;
WHAT THE *#@# DO YOU USE FOR SELECTION CRITTERIA?
Kelme has a guy who first threatens to hurt the team for firing him, then makes good (in spades) on the threat. His words alone are enough for ASO to snap to a decision to pull the invite to the oldest team in cycling as it is working to clarify it’s financial situation and continue on.
So the ASO in effect says; “An as yet unfounded accusation from guy who got fired is enough! No Tour For you!”
Enter Cofidis…
The COFIDIS TEAM DOCTOR IS ON THE INVESTIGATOR’S TAPE offering up Blood doping solutions, CURRENT TEAM MEMBERS admit they are doping, and drugs are found with connections that lead directly to team members.
As reported in L’Equipe, Jean Marie says the proper evidence is not there to make a decision, more evidence is on the way and the evidence already made public is, among other vague descriptives, “Fuzzy”…
Fuzzy…
Cyclingnews.com quoted the best line in the Article:
Leblanc told L’Equipe, “If grave faults reveal themselves, we would act, but that is not the case now.”
“Reveal themselves”…
So the flashing lights attached to and sirens with a 300 piece marching band music and fireworks bursting from the clues already there don’t quite stand out enough to consider dropping a French team…
Fuzzy…
I would imagine a Q and A session with JML to go something like this…
Charles: Jean Marie, is there too much Violence in the Middle East?
jml: Well, thousands are dead and more will follow but “too much” needs to be better defined…
Charles: Jean Marie, is it hot in Arizona in August?
jml: It can get to 115-120, but on the surface of the sun, it can be much worse, so it would be difficult to say that Arizona is Hot…
Charles: Jean Marie, was Hitler a bad person?
jml: Well someone may come along that will be much worse and I am sure he loved his mama, so I would need to know how he treated animals and most Children first…
Charles: Jean Marie, are you so intent on giving any advantage possible to French team’s that you have lost your ability to think clearly?
jml: Clear compared to what, Milk? Concrete?
Charles: Jean Marie, describe a bear’s ass…
jml: Ah… Fuzzy!
Right…
I wrote a while back that nothing is worse for the sport than the group of rejects, has beens, mystery men and glory seekers “pounding” away at the sport…
I was wrong.
ASO and Jean Marie have done the only thing they could possibly do that could hurt the credibility of the sport more than Manzano’s comments and the Cofidis affair. They stood up as a respected organization and made a mockery of the the hard evidence found against Cofidis by tossing Kelme and letting Cofidis stay.
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