# How many of Lance's old team mates have been busted?



## frpax (Feb 13, 2010)

Is it me, or does it seem like a large percentage of former USPS/Discovery riders have been caught doping AFTER leaving the squad? Or are they just higher profile riders, and they get the press that lesser riders may not?


----------



## jlandry (Jan 12, 2007)

In before the move.


----------



## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

As many as the number of threads that have been moved from the 'Pro Cycling' to the 'Doping' sections of this forum. In other words, a lot!


----------



## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

ibtm!


----------



## Zipp0 (Aug 19, 2008)

My head is too buried in the sand to read this. Sorry.


----------



## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

Moving, moving, moving...


----------



## frpax (Feb 13, 2010)

My bad for posting in the wrong area! Move away!


----------



## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

They were someone else's team mates before and became someone else's team mates after. Lance's famed "Spanish Armada" were all hired from Kelme which supposedly had a team wide program going on. Chances are they were on the road to doping jail before their stops at LA's team. I guess I'd find the question more compelling if they had been neo-pros but USPS didn't hire too many rookies (there was that guy Boonen...).


----------



## frpax (Feb 13, 2010)

Good point, David. I hadn't thought about that, and you are certainly right.

Still though, just seems like a lot. It would be interesting to see a list... just to see if I'm imagining things, or what...


----------



## BAi9302010 (Mar 7, 2002)

You're talking about a span of 18 years that he's been racing in Europe. Even if you just count post-cancer, 12 years is a long time in pro cycling and if you look at any other star with a career that long, you'll probably find a comparable number of teammates who've been busted. Just look at Jan Ullrich and the whole Telekom/T-mobile gang.


----------



## frpax (Feb 13, 2010)

Really, I am only talking about USPS/Discovery. 1998 thru 2007.


----------



## pedalruns (Dec 18, 2002)

Well the main ones I can think of testing positive after leaving usps/disco: 

Landis
Hamilton
Heras
Beltran
*Frankie Andrea who admitted to using EPO while on USPS, but didn't test positive


----------



## orange_julius (Jan 24, 2003)

pedalruns said:


> Well the main ones I can think of testing positive after leaving usps/disco:
> 
> Landis
> Hamilton
> ...


Similarly, Jonathan Vaughters who also admitted to be doping in that chat transcript.

And also Boonen, who was caught twice in out-of-competition testing, for cocaine .


----------



## sw150 (Jul 29, 2009)

Hincapie rode on all those teams. Has he ever been mentioned as doping? He seems like a nice guy.


----------



## frpax (Feb 13, 2010)

sw150 said:


> Hincapie rode on all those teams. Has he ever been mentioned as doping? He seems like a nice guy.


Hincapie has never tested positive. I don't even think there were any "questionable" results for him.

But didn't Leipheimer test positive once upon a time? I'm sure I remember he did, but didn't get much of a penalty. IIRC, it was prior to USPS. Can't remember for sure, though. Technically, it wouldn't count since is was before (IF I'm remembering right) USPS.


----------



## Doctor Falsetti (Sep 24, 2010)

sw150 said:


> Hincapie rode on all those teams. Has he ever been mentioned as doping? He seems like a nice guy.


Floyd said he saw him transfuse


----------



## AdamM (Jul 9, 2008)

> But didn't Leipheimer test positive once upon a time? I'm sure I remember he did, but didn't get much of a penalty. IIRC, it was prior to USPS. Can't remember for sure, though. Technically, it wouldn't count since is was before (IF I'm remembering right) USPS.


He was riding for Gerolsteiner at the time (after his Postal days). IIRC, the positive test wasn't denied by anyone, just that back then the folks who run the sport didn't want to risk losing another team sponsor over doping.


----------



## CHL (Jun 24, 2005)

Levi's positive came while he raced for a US Domestic team. I don't recall the exact circumstances but I believe it got chalked up to supplement contamination or something to that effect. Perhaps it was during his Saturn days but I forget the specifics.

To my knowledge, I don't believe he has "Officially" tested positive as a professional racing on the European circuit.


----------



## kbwh (May 28, 2010)

Here's one that hasn't tested positive:
Norwegian team selector Steffen Kjærgaard. USPS 2000-2003, and on the Tour team 2000-2001.


----------



## orange_julius (Jan 24, 2003)

CHL said:


> Levi's positive came while he raced for a US Domestic team. I don't recall the exact circumstances but I believe it got chalked up to supplement contamination or something to that effect. Perhaps it was during his Saturn days but I forget the specifics.
> 
> To my knowledge, I don't believe he has "Officially" tested positive as a professional racing on the European circuit.


It was in 1996 for Ephedrine. He won the US crit championship, and had to give up his title. It was the amateur championship. 

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=16137497

The funny thing about this is how little this has been mentioned in the press. And a more recent development: I'm not a fan of Joe Papp, but his blog does have interesting tidbits. He contacted USA Cycling to inquire if Mr. Leipheimer had indeed been caught doping in 1996.

http://joepapp.blogspot.com/2010/04/levi-leipheimer-tested-positive-for.html

At first USA Cycling said, oh, we have moved and it's hard to find the paperwork. And by the way, "we would need Leipheimer’s express permission to share information." 

I think if you were caught doping, then that information should be public record, no?


----------



## Gatorback (Jul 11, 2009)

Maybe Big George could be the hero in all this and come forward to expose the culture of doping that existed. He's got a great reputation, never tested positive, and I don't think he would be stripped of any big titles.


----------



## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

Gatorback said:


> Maybe Big George could be the hero in all this and come forward to expose the culture of doping that existed. He's got a great reputation, never tested positive, and I don't think he would be stripped of any big titles.


well it's limited how many there is to take away


----------



## frpax (Feb 13, 2010)

I wonder how many of the old team mates will be subpoena'd... ?


----------



## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

pedalruns said:


> Well the main ones I can think of testing positive after leaving usps/disco:
> 
> Landis
> Hamilton
> ...


For what it's worth: Most of them got caught while riding for other teams. By itself this doesn't impress me.
If you look at other big teams, say, Telekom, Astana, CSC, Gerolsteiner, etc. over 12-year period including riders who moved to other teams, the numbers would be easily at least the same if not much greater.


----------



## pedalruns (Dec 18, 2002)

55x11 said:


> For what it's worth: Most of them got caught while riding for other teams. By itself this doesn't impress me.
> If you look at other big teams, say, Telekom, Astana, CSC, Gerolsteiner, etc. over 12-year period including riders who moved to other teams, the numbers would be easily at least the same if not much greater.


Exactly, they got caught while riding for other teams.....after riding for USPS or Disco... Most all major teams had riders testing positive, some teams even folded due to it... like Phonak. 

So how many riders were found positive while riding on USPS or Discovery?? I can't think of any??? (But, maybe someone can come up with someone??) Kind of wierd, huh...


----------



## frpax (Feb 13, 2010)

pedalruns said:


> Exactly, they got caught while riding for other teams.....after riding for USPS or Disco... Most all major teams had riders testing positive, some teams even folded due to it... like Phonak.
> 
> So how many riders were found positive while riding on USPS or Discovery?? I can't think of any??? (But, maybe someone can come up with someone??) Kind of wierd, huh...


That's what I was getting at in a round about sort of way. While riding for LA/JB, they were never caught. Only after. Seems like, anyway...


----------



## joe.p01 (Oct 14, 2009)

pedalruns said:


> Exactly, they got caught while riding for other teams.....after riding for USPS or Disco... Most all major teams had riders testing positive, some teams even folded due to it... like Phonak.
> 
> So how many riders were found positive while riding on USPS or Discovery?? I can't think of any??? (But, maybe someone can come up with someone??) Kind of wierd, huh...


Apologies for not having time to dig-out a link right now, but this topic was covered in detail, and an accurate list compiled, in the "Clinic" forum at cyclingnews.com: 

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20

I'm sure with some basic searching through the forum you can turn-up the thread and the list. It's quite illuminating, actually. 

Cheers. 

Joe Papp


----------



## Dazed (May 5, 2009)

kbwh said:


> Here's one that hasn't tested positive:
> Norwegian team selector Steffen Kjærgaard. USPS 2000-2003, and on the Tour team 2000-2001.


Kjærgaard came clean and admitted using EPO (etc.) at a press conferece this morning.

Just weeks after he stepped down from his position as the Norwegian Cycling Federation's sports director.


----------



## kbwh (May 28, 2010)

Yeah, I opened a separate thread on that just. Big news in Norway, of course.


----------

