Feelings in the cycling community are strong regarding Frank Schleck's 7000 Euro payment to Eufamio Fuentes, the doctor at the center of the Operacion Puerto affair. Schleck allows that he made the payment back in 2006, but says it was not in relation to doping. With no official evidence to bring against Schleck, it looks as though the Luxembourger will escape without sanction unless the dossiers from Puerto are released to each national federation.
Before we condemn Schleck though, should we not also admit that the elder of the two Schleck's has raced clean throughout 2007 and 2008? After all, he is part of CSC's comprehensive anti-doping regimen run by Damsgard. If any of his values were abnormal over the past few years, surely he would have been caught. Yes, he probably was seeking assistance from Fuentes to dope back in 2006, but who wasn't? 2006 was the year that saw Basso, Ullrich, Mancebo and a host of others booted from the Tour, signalling the rampant use of drugs in the sport.
Frank Schleck clearly was seeking to break the rules by seeking services from Fuentes, but at what point will bygones be bygones? Since 2007, Schleck has enjoyed many successes at the top level of his sport, and he has the hard data to prove that he did so while riding clean. Like many of the riders who have escaped justice's rule from the Puerto fiasco, Schleck should be able to ply his trade under the same rules as everyone else. In 2006, the atmosphere in cycling was drastically different than today. Schleck is doing all he can to prove he is riding clean, he deserves the benifit of the doubt.
Of course fans and pundits will continue to call for Schleck's head, claiming that he should be held responsibile for his actions. Although I won't do the same, I too would like to see the truth come out. Why not give all riders amnesty from 2006 back, in hopes of encourouging riders to share the happenings of Puerto without fear of retribution. Once and for all, we would then be able to move beyond Operacion Puerto, and into a new future of professional cycling, one of transparency and honesty.
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3 comments:
Like Landis, Schumacher and all the others who come from nowhere to be unbeatable, anyone watching the Tour can smell a rat. It is impossible for any rider in the Tour to stay as fresh as the Schleck brothers did without the possibility of them being on something. Schleck's father has had a mention too and well he should he's also a member of CSC as a driver not a spectator.
I agree with the anon post...If it smells like it, it probably is.
Landis and Schumacher tested positive, but how do you detect autologous blood transfusions? Via a police raid or an unanounced inspection but not a postive doping test.
Will the biological passport be able to detect these cheaters when traditional blood and urine screening cannot?
I think Frank (and others) are certainly suspicious but unless they find his blood stored somewhere and match his DNA . . .
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