Posted on 10/11/2012 9:55:58 AM PDT by AmericanSamurai
Officially, Jose "Pepe" Marti was listed as trainer for the Postal Service cycling team. But those on the team knew him as "The Courier."
One day while chatting with Tyler Hamilton, Pepe told the Postal Service surrogate that he had to drive to Nice, France, to make a delivery. That night, at the Villa d'Este Restaurant in Nice, Pepe arrived to a late dinner that included Lance Armstrong and his then-wife, Kristin, as well as Betsy Andreu, wife of Postal rider Frankie Andreu. According to Betsy, the reason given for the late dinner was because Pepe was there to deliver EPO (erythropoietin, a banned hormone that controls red blood cell production) to Lance and it was safer for him to cross the border with illegal drugs at night.
After dinner was over, the Armstrongs drove Betsy home. At some point, she saw Pepe hand Lance a brown paper bag. As Armstrong opened the car door for Andreu, he smiled, held up the bag and said, "Liquid gold."
On another occasion, as the Armstrongs and Andreus drove to a bike race in Milan, Italy, Armstrong stopped at a hotel/gas station outside Milan to meet Dr. Michele Ferrari, now infamous for supplying cyclists with performance-enhancing drugs. When asked why they were meeting him in such an odd place, Armstrong replied, "So the [expletive] press doesn't hound him." Leaving the other three in the car, Armstrong disappeared into Ferrari's camper for about an hour. When he returned, Armstrong exclaimed, "My numbers are great!" – the insinuation being he wouldn't test positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
The next day, Betsy Andreu asked Kristin Armstrong about her feelings on EPO. Her answer: It's a necessary evil.
Just three months later, Lance Armstrong won the 1999 Tour de France.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.yahoo.com ...
That’s a big If
but they’ve already “stripped him of his medals”.
They will never denigrate his great acheivements.
I don’t believe eyewitness testimony is hearsay.
Your RBC count would be sky high.
If he’s taking testosterone, the levels might actually be lower since it suppresses the body’s levels.
I think in summary, this is the bottom line. Armstrong, realizing that “virtually everyone cycling” is doping, figured that he’s not going to get beat by someone who is doping. So he sets up a sophisticated system to beat them at their own game.
If we’re talking about affecting muscle type, fast twitch vs slow twitch, (these guys are all slow twitchers I’m sure), then what he’s doing might in fact increase his stamina.
the other thing, is the benefits would come during training periods, and not be detected on race day.
W’s help would be hugh
What is the downside to taking EPO? Does it have long-term health ramifications?
Wow...if an athlete cannot win on personal endurance; mentally and physically...they should not be so amitious as to have to try and alter their body’s functions for heaven sakes! This man worships winning, that is the problem. Huge ego.
I think he spilled to the USADA before he went to grand jury.
WRT Lance being unfairly targeted...Look, I know he’s a guilty, nasty SOB as you asy. I just don’t really see where it is in the USADA charter to go after a guy for stuff that happened so long ago. Seems to me more like the USADA is trying to make a name for themselves by showing the world that they will take down a famous American.
I agree with the judge who dismissed Lance’s lawsuit when he said, “As mystifying as USADA’s election to proceed at this date and in this manner may be, it is equally
perplexing that these three national and international bodies are apparently unable to work together
to accomplish their shared goalthe regulation and promotion of cycling.”
I think it is pretty well documented how much of an edge the riders were gaining a decade ago...
Here is a good link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18921784
—
Dr Tucker says you can see a marked difference between today and the bad old days when there were no tests for blood doping or drugs such as EPO.
“In the late 1990s and early 2000s if you were going to be competitive and win the Tour de France you would have to be able to cycle between 6.4 and 6.7 watts per kilogram at the end of a day’s stage.
“What we are seeing now, in the last three or four years, is that the speed of the front of the peloton [of] men like Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali, is about 10% down compared to that generation and now the power output at the front is about 6W/kg.”
Its a feather in their cap to bring down an Armstrong...and they need to do something of the sort to “legitimize” their existence and function. No bureaucracy will tolerate an individual thumbing their nose at it.
Downside to EPO - if I recall correctly, the extra blood cells thicken your blood and you tend to die of heart attack/stroke in your sleep.
No one lives long enough to find that out.
Just more abusive personal politics attacking a citizen using government power. No facts are in that report, just accusations.
I believe those were the ones he contested and won due to some form of perscription related to his cancer or some medical treatment.
Either way, it is not the guilt or innocence at issue here. It is the fact this is a turf war with thest “officials” having decided guilt YEARS ago and gaming a system absent ANY form of due process to ensure a conviction outcome.
Remember the system required the accused to PROVE innocence.
“People, come on. He did it”
Then show your proof. Otherwise, you’re just lying by repeating rumors.
That’s not what is happening. You seem interested in the subject, read this...I’ll be interested in your thoughts.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Race-Cover-ups-Winning/dp/0345530411
With that attitude, you should get up to speed on the subject.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Race-Cover-ups-Winning/dp/0345530411
Tyler? Is that you?
United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 9: "No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed."
So much for the Constitution and your support of the government abusing its power to slander and punish a citizen without trial.
You’d almost think Lance Armstrong is a REPUBLICAN or something, the way he’s being persecuted these days.
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