Dueñas and Piepoli confess!

Hermy

Just read this from cyclingnews.com.

First Edition Cycling News, July 20, 2008
Edited by Laura Weislo
Dueñas, Piepoli confessed


Two riders who have withdrawn from the Tour de France confessed to using EPO, the Spanish daily El Pais reported Saturday. The first, Moises Dueñas, a Spanish rider who was the second to test positive for EPO at the Tour de France, confessed to using the drugs after testing positive. After police uncovered doping products in his hotel room, Dueñas told investigators in Tarbes that he had purchased the products from a Spanish Doctor named Jesus Losa.
Losa, a former team doctor for Euskaltel-Euskadi, was quick to deny he had any involvement. "I have never given banned products to Moises Dueñas," Losa told El Pais. "In fact, I have worked with Dueñas, but only in matters of nutrition, diet and training. And indeed, I have received money from him, I do not know how much, but there are bills around."
Four years ago Losa was named by David Millar as providing him with EPO, but while he was suspended from Euskaltel-Euskadi after that revelation, Losa said he never was charged. "I was never called by a judge to testify as a witness or even less as a defendant," said Losa Saturday. "And if they call me to Tarbes I shall have no problem in going to testify."
Barloworld announced Saturday that it will withdraw its sponsorship from the team following the Tour de France because of the doping scandal.
In the same article, El Pais reported that Italian Leonardo Piepoli, the winner of stage 10, confessed to his directeur sportif Joxean Fernandez Matxin to using EPO. After his team-mate Riccardo Riccò was taken away by police after testing positive for EPO, Piepoli reportedly said to Matxin, "I have done the same as Riccardo."
No positive doping control has been announced yet for Piepoli, but the team's manager, Mauro Gianetti, pulled the entire squad out of the race. Riccò was indicted on the same charges as Duenas in a court in Foix, but denied using EPO.

Chips Lovell

Hermy wrote: »

Four years ago Losa was named by David Millar as providing him with EPO, but while he was suspended from Euskaltel-Euskadi after that revelation, Losa said he never was charged.

I remember this guy. One thing that wasn't really commented on at the time was that his departure from Euskaltel conincided with a complete collapse in Iban Mayo's form. He went from Tour de France contender to out the back on the first major climb of any race he started. I'm sure it was just a conincidence.

Mayo had a couple of nondescript seasons after that until he left for Saunier Duval last year and made something of a comeback. Won a stage in the Giro, came second on a stage in the Tour and then tested positive for EPO.

Complete f**kup, but he was always one of my favourite riders.

Hermy

Thanks for the response tonto.
In reply, what can I say?
None of us want to see these positive tests but we must take solice in the fact that the dopers are being caught!
I really looked forward to Piepoli, Cobo, Rico and De La Fuente dominating the key mountain stages but they've been found out and... good riddance to them I suppose.
When are we gonna get a Tour that we can really relish!
I want to see a real mountain goat in polka dots but sans EPO if they wouldn't mind!
Another fcuked up Tour...I'm still shouting for Evans but it's hard to be excited about yet another Tour de Dopage.

Diarmuid

Hermy wrote: »

I really looked forward to Piepoli, Cobo, Rico and De La Fuente dominating the key mountain stages

Was it ever a realistic thought to expect a (clean) 37 year old cyclist to dominate a mountain stage?

Quigs Snr

Diarmuid, age isn't as much a barrier in cycling as it is in other sports. A specialist 37 year old climber winning a stage ? I don't see anything strange in that. In this case however the manner of victory told its own story and I don't think age came into it.

As an aside, I take it you don't race youself Diarmuid. If you did you would have experienced the exquisite pain of chasing some of our vets around ! Some of the best riders in this country are above 40 !

smithslist

Quigs Snr wrote: »

As an aside, I take it you don't race youself Diarmuid. If you did you would have experienced the exquisite pain of chasing some of our vets around ! Some of the best riders in this country are above 40 !

don't remind me, I know the feeling!!!!!!

Diarmuid

Quigs Snr wrote: »

Diarmuid, age isn't as much a barrier in cycling as it is in other sports. A specialist 37 year old climber winning a stage ? I don't see anything strange in that. In this case however the manner of victory told its own story and I don't think age came into it.

As an aside, I take it you don't race youself Diarmuid. If you did you would have experienced the exquisite pain of chasing some of our vets around ! Some of the best riders in this country are above 40 !

Sure plenty of 40 year olds (and 50s) can and have beat me. However Piepoli was competing against the best climbers in the world (many 10 years younger than him and in their prime) and beat them. That, I found hard to believe.

smithslist

Diarmuid wrote: »

Sure plenty of 40 year olds (and 50s) can and have beat me. However Piepoli was competing against the best climbers in the world (many 10 years younger than him and in their prime) and beat them. That, I found hard to believe.

also if you see Piepoli's face as he crossed the line, it looked like he could have done another 200k, reminded me of when Landis went over the line when he won the stage in Morzine.....

Quigs Snr

I just don't think 37 is over the hill for a pro, physically at least, although granted you are getting near the top. It might be a bit old for an overall win, but on an given race day theres no reason why a specialist sprinter, hill climber, tt rider etc.. of that age cannot win. Most pro riders lose the head before the legs I reckon. Hard to motivate yourself year in year out, the fact that so many pile on the weight and abandon the bike altogether when they are finished tells its own story. Wasn't Ekimov 40 when he quit (don't start going on about US Postal / Lance Armstrong and all his lieutenants now either !)

Interested to see what Pipeoli's test says, he obviously jumped before he was pushed, but it would be pretty embarassing for the testers if he came back negative, might even throw some doubt on Ricco's case. I agree with smithslist too, I watched Piepoli cross that line and knew it was fake, not because of his age but because he looked so bloody casual. Last time I saw that was Vino in the Dauphine a couple of years ago, they were climbing Ventoux I think, bunch broken to pieces, Vino in the lead group, people in agony and Vino ? His mouth wasn't even open, it takes one hell of a rider to ride the Ventoux is a break with the favourites, leaving bodies all over the hillside and be able to breathe only through your nose. Near impossible I would have thought, that was the moment I was convinced that Vino was a fake, and so it proved sadly.

As an aside, interesting to see Hamilton winning in China at the moment. Would have liked to see that movie they were making about him, maybe a workprint will eventually come out. Himself and Landis make me sick though, starting up a fund so people can donate to help pay their legal bills to clear their names... disgusting.