Connect the dots.

Submitted by adammyerson on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 13:04

Child's play, really. For me, it all goes back to this:

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doping_cases_in_cycling: 

1984

Systematic Blood doping at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The USA cycling team's successes were coloured by revelations that riders had blood transfusions before their events, a practice known as blood-doping. The transfusions were to increase red blood cells in riders' blood. That would take more oxygen to their muscles. They received the blood of others with similar blood types.[85] The practice, instigated by national coach Eddie Borysewicz, was not against Olympic rules although Games medical guidelines discouraged it. Borysewicz and a colleague, Ed Burke, set up a clinic in a Los Angeles motel room and four of the seven athletes who had transfusions won medals.[86] The US federation banned blood-doping in January 1985. Borysewicz and Burke were fined a month's pay. Mike Fraysse, a former president of the federation, was demoted from first to third vice-president.[87]

Steve Hegg, won a gold and a silver; Rebecca Twigg, Pat McDonough and Leonard Nitz won silver medals. The others were John Beckman, Mark Whitehead and Brent Emery. They were identified in the subsequent inquiry as having had transfusions. The rest of the team had refused.[85]

 

So, Chuck Coyle just got busted, huh? I hear that the story about to come out is that he was buying stuff for teammates, and didn't know what he was actually purchasing. We'll have to wait for his story to see if that's true. But the transaction took place in 2007. So let's look at 2007:

http://www.velobios.com/teams.successfulliving2007.htm

Hegg was the director of the team. Escuela was killing it in 2007 and 2008, and signed to Team Type 1. He was the fastest guy out there. But didn't Team Type 1 send Escuela home for the season in March of 2009 after just a few races, and release him from the team? I know why they did that - do you? There are other names on the roster from that year that I expect to come out in the coming weeks, possibly related to Operation Papp Smear, possibly connected to Chuck getting busted, possibly former teammates of mine, even.

But my real point here is that Eddie B. is the father of American doping, period. If you think Lance was dirty, who was his first mentor? Someone make a chart, build us a road map, show us the connections. They're all there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Borysewicz

Montgomery Securities, Weisel, US Postal - go look at the riders who came through there, and under his tutelage.

From his Wiki page:

 

Borysewicz claimed Lance Armstrong as his discovery and not that of Armstrong's later coach, Chris Carmichael. When Carmichael said of his work at the US federation that he wished he had "five Lances," Borysewicz replied,

“ "Why doesn't he (Chris Carmichael) produce Lances? That's his job. And anyway, Lance is not his product. Lance is my product." [10] ”

 

"Product." Product. Seriously. PRODUCT.

I've always surmised that before Eddie B., amateur bike racers in the US (there were very few pros at that point) didn't know how to dope. When Eddie B. came, he brought all his Eastern Bloc knowledge with him. All of it. I think you can divide US doping into before Eddie B., and after. Papp rode for Fraysee, they were both connected to and close with Eddie B.

The whole thing fucking stinks. I wish I could tell you all the stories I know. I feel like I'm just ranting like a madman conspiracy theorist right now. But when more guys get busted, the connections will be easier to make.

 

Comments

Submitted by Pendejo on Fri, 11/26/2010 - 00:05.
The timeline may be coincidental. Was Eddie B close to Grewal, Shapiro or Olivarri? I think there is probably a strong isolationist influence prior to the 80's as well: few internationals riders came to compete here in the US and few American teams went to Europe to compete as well. Remember that up to the early 80's, the USOC and the NGBs were still operating pretty much as low key non-profits until Peter Uberroth taught them how to whore out sports for a few bucks. But at least the whoring did provide more financial resources to allow more riders to get to and compete in Europe than previously and fund teams properly. You also have to look at the extent of testing then and since then. You're forgetting who (and with who's assistance) blood-doped in the 1984 Olympic Trials that set the whole ball rolling. There is at least one other US rider (with European experience) who was busted for steroids in the 70's. Finally, I think your view of Eddie's sphere of influence may be overestimated. Yes, he will always be associated with the '84 blood doping affair but other than reading about it indirectly, how many people did Eddie really influence?
Submitted by danschmatz@aol.com on Sat, 11/27/2010 - 12:00.
"I wish I could tell you all the stories I know" Why can't you?
Submitted by skibikejunkie on Tue, 11/30/2010 - 16:25.
So why not tell the stories you know? If you're telling the truth, why protect the guilty? Didn't realize that omerta applied to clean riders as well.
Submitted by belivelo on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 13:18.
I read the wiki on Eddie B and was amused to see his connection to Lemond. Lemond has of course said he has never doped?
Submitted by beecharmer on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 18:47.
I remember reading in my issue of Velonews back then about blood packing as a legal way of improving performance. Hard to condemn Eddy B for doing something that was out in the open and not even seen as 'doping' by the cycling community at the time.
Submitted by Russell on Thu, 12/02/2010 - 23:15.
Adam, In regards to "I wish I could tell you all the stories I know.": If you care about the sport as much as you seem to do, you should DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. 1-877-Play Clean (1-877-752-9253). You don't have to tell us, but your knowledge will come to light one way or another. -Russell I'm just a Cat 2 CXer cutting his teeth in his first Elite races, so I don't have stories, but I would like to see more done to clean the sport up.