What on earth was she thinking?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/riccos-par...sitive-for-cera

Might as well test the baby and their little dog too.

What was she thinking? She was thinking "If you race bikes this is what you do." For many, this is such a fundamental assumption that even your partner (or you yourself; I wonder where Ricco himself stands these days?) getting busted doesn't alter the assumption.

Vania Rossi's brother Enrico is also a member of Ceramica Flaminia:

http://www.teamflaminia.com/index.php?opti...&Itemid=120

There may be enough guilt by association here to scuttle CF's chances for a Giro invite. Too bad, because in another forum, the buzz was that the Giro could be a showdown between a resurgent Ricco & Basso, which would have been very interesting.

Maybe she was thinking, "He doesn't need these left over vials anymore, and we shouldn't let them go to waste -- CERA's expensive!" Spin instructors don't pull in the best income, ya know.


This is rather pre-feministic: article on HER getting busted for doping, and the accompanying picture is of HIM.

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/2925/Ric...e-for-CERA.aspx

Great thread title Jayhawk! Couldn't say it any better.

I would have liked to hear her explanation before jumping to any conclusions. I mean it's not like testing is 100% reliable. Anyway, it's always better to get both sides before hanging a person out to dry (for me at least). The author of this thread obviously doesn't agree with that sentinment.

Well, you're right, Ali, it's really not fair to judge before hearing the whole story. But the initial reports sure lead one to slap the forehead and roll the eyes. I can't imagine why she would take the chance given the microscope they must be living under. She of all people would know that testers are looking for the stuff. The story is almost too stupid to believe.

Hey if I had thought of such a great thread title in reference to this story I wouldn't have been able to resist jumping to conclusions either! Maybe it's just because I love that movie...

Groan.

The subtext here is pretty obvious. Particularly given the posting record and fundamental coincidence of initiated activity/showing up raison de'etre on these forums.

There has been much criticism for inserting a reference to HWMNBN into many a thread. But, to try and use this thread to redeem Floyd? The excesses of the Free Floyd campaign have no bounds.

Shame on you.

The road to redemption starts with one action.

Repent ye sinner, repent.

Mark McGuire figured that out. So did Tiger Woods - though he should have tried sobbing publicly. Their reputations will be salvaged long before Floyd's.

Dave.

Then again you have shown that you believe in innocent until proven guilty and innocent even when proven guilty if you personally don't believe the proof. I suppose you are referring to Floyd's case with your not 100% reliable comment.

You are right though, her explanation will probably be good for a laugh if nothing else.

And here it is, handed to us on the proverbial silver platter:

"I was breastfeeding"


Ohhhh-kayyyy, pass out the popcorn, get in your comfy recliner, let the cat jump in your lap. This is going to be a most interesting show.

I believe her.

Another blow against the credibility of the anti-doping labs, who now are about as credible as the three stooges.

Seeing as DQueued brought up the Landis case, let's not forget that the results from all the tests which were used for his A and B tests were thrown out because they hadn't been conducted properly ... and that was one of WADA's premier labs ... the best in France. Right !

I'm not completely sure, but I think my favorite class of dopers are these kind. Rumsas, Frigo, and now Ricco. The ones that somehow involve their wives in the mix. It's one thing to cheat, be conscious of it and do it for the money and fame, I get that, I can completely understand that. You have to be a different kind of train wreck to involve the ladies. I mean, don't you try to impress the ladies because you're an ultra-skeletor pro cyclist that wins big races and makes lots of money?

So I'll bet: Ricco does some jail time in the next handful of years. Probably get's nabbed for some recreational street drugs in there. Almost certainly is booted for a second positive. And then ultimately goes down as one of the really could have been greats but wasn'ts.

This could only be more perfect if the claim was:

I was breastfeeding twins. But, then again, I am jumping to conclusions on yet another vanishing excuse.

Give her some credit, though, fo the support of anti-doping laws and legal penalties.

I’d deserve to be put in jail

Sometimes you do get what you deserve?

Dave.

Alberto? They really named the baby Alberto?

At least he wasn't named Lance.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ricco-deni...o-cera-positive

Ricco trying to keep his distance from the affair.

“What’s happened? I know as much as anyone else. I’ve been away from home for three months but now everyone will put two and two together and ask ‘Who gave it to her? I’ll be guilty again,” Ricco said.

“I trust her. If she tells me something, I believe her. I don’t think she tells lies. At least I hope so because otherwise it a mess, especially with a baby involved.”

“When I was found positive, I confessed everything. I was honest. I hope she does the same. People know I don’t like her racing, you can imagine what I think about her taking anything. Cycling isn’t for women, it hurts too much.”

“The thing that bothers me is what people will think. I didn’t need this but I can’t go and kill myself. I’m going to carry on training. It’s a strange situation but it’s nothing to do with me. We’ll do the counter-analysis but in the meantime I’ve been splashed all over the newspapers.”


Life is much more entertaining with the Riccos of the world in it.

LOL

Facepalm! Good one.



From the "pseudodictionary"



facepalm - To bring one's hand to one's forehead in an exasperated or irritated fashion. Often accompanied by shaking one's head.

Dave.

I suppose it's funny in an inept criminal way, but the breast feeding angle makes it scary.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ricco-deni...o-cera-positive

If her child survives well enough to surf the internet, this look on his mother's face might give him pause:
http://www.bikenews.it/ciclocross/2003/CAM...VANIA-ROSSI.JPG

The problem here (and elsewhere) is you get people like me, who are keenly attuned to human nature and you get people like you lot who are oblivious to it. If your opinions are the result of some sort of mental poll, then they're not opinions ... they're the results of a popularity contest.

It is possible to judge the feasability of accusations by applying logic to the response of the accused ... think about, really ...

Here's a good take on dumb and dumber: http://nyvelocity.com/content/toto/2010/toto-turns-168

Oooouuuuch ...

Lots of catching up to do on Toto ...

mmmmhhhh... Interesting...

So, that's why most "accused" people say : "I didn't do it" ?

That's good to know...

Speaking of Vince -- Vania Rossi would probably like to slap chop Little Ricky for that comment about her cycling career.

This was already brought to attention in the Toto thread. But yeah, it's been forever since we last hooted and hollered over Toto.

The B sample is negative. Wow!

Does anybody know of any other instance of a negative B sample after a positive A sample?

Yep. There've been a few. Here's a memorable one:
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/trackandfiel...tory?id=2576909

Of course it was less than a year later that she stood on the courthouse steps making her tearful confession, preparing to plead guilty and go to jail.

Happened with 1500m runner Bernard Lagat in 2003 ... Kept him out of the World Champs at the time.

So now CONI is claiming the CERA degraded over the 2 1/2 months it took to get around to testing the B sample. Seems to me it's bad lab technique and unfair to the cyclist to have waited so long.

i think there is more bad lab work than is realized.

Yep. The whole B-sample process has been taken prisoner of the insincere manipulation, aimed not at getting at the truth, but at thwarting the truth. I'd much rather see a A-process that's conducted with better standards as the "safeguard," rather than the whole B-game nonsense. I've yet to see a B-sample clearance I thought saved a truly innocent athlete from unjust result.

Can't recall all of them, but I think several Spanish cyclists in the past several years have gotten cleared on B-samples. I distinctly remember Iban Mayo getting off the hook that way, after a re-test of his B-sample. Another result where I don't have any doubt a guilty athlete got let off the hook.

And for the latest update on the Ricco affair:

Riccò gets suspended jail term, fine for doping

Read more: http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/06/new...r#ixzz0sHKNtrlu

At least this sounds a bit more severe than the easily regained eligibility situation that got under my skin previously.


Dave.