Asoprovac, the meat federation of Spain, have come out in support of the UCI - well, indirectly - by reacting with speed and anger to Contador's famous claims about contaminated meat.
In a press release out today - 17th Feb - "Asoprovac confirmed that it had viewed the defence dossier submitted to the federation by Contador's lawyers, and said that several of the points made were untrue."
Woo hoo! I sense a fight!
They further said that Contador's claims that cattle in Spain were being treated with clenbuterol were "absolutely false", and that if his claims about cattle not receiving any veterinary controls were true, it would be "a case of professional negligence" as well as a public health risk.
And now they've asked the public prosecutor to investigate, saying that - I love this - "Contador, whether or not he is guilty of doping, is definitely guilty of trying to clear his image [...] at the cost of a production sector on which, directly or indirectly, more than 150,000 families in Spain depend. And all of this without showing even one piece of proof that that the Clenbuterol found in his urine effectively came from eating bovine meat."
Oh dear, this case is not going to just lie down, is it?
Contador: "Hmm, I thought that blaming it on the steak would be a good idea, never thought about the thousands of meat producers getting really, really angry that I have accused them of using illegal substances on their stock and possibly poisoning all of us."
And, in an astonishing turn of events, Pat McQuaid has appeared on film sounding sensible and reasonable on the subject: check this vid on Cycling News today. Instead of knocking the Spanish racing federation (which is what I would be doing, have to admit) he comments that it is wrong for politicians to throw their weight behind these cases, when they don't know what they are talking about. He doesn't commit himself as to whether they are going to appeal or not, but it seems unlikely that they will let it drop.
Particularly if the meat federation are going to join in!
And, in related news, Chris "Face of Pain" Anker Sorensen from SaxoBlank has stated that he will continue to eat in restaurants and will continue to eat steak.
Well done!
Err, hang on, that's not a tiny suggestion that you don't believe in the contaminated steak story, is it?
And finally for today - as it's ridiculously late and I have to get up for work tomorrow - I just couldn't resist adding Leelu's fab photo of the potential podium outfit worn by Miss Australia.
Just in case any of you couldn't follow the link.
Glorious, isn't it?
Leelu, I forgot to ask you, which category is it? Day wear? Evening wear? Not swimwear, certainly, not with the boots...
Where, exactly, would "one" wear this outfit, if "one" had it?
In a press release out today - 17th Feb - "Asoprovac confirmed that it had viewed the defence dossier submitted to the federation by Contador's lawyers, and said that several of the points made were untrue."
Woo hoo! I sense a fight!
They further said that Contador's claims that cattle in Spain were being treated with clenbuterol were "absolutely false", and that if his claims about cattle not receiving any veterinary controls were true, it would be "a case of professional negligence" as well as a public health risk.
And now they've asked the public prosecutor to investigate, saying that - I love this - "Contador, whether or not he is guilty of doping, is definitely guilty of trying to clear his image [...] at the cost of a production sector on which, directly or indirectly, more than 150,000 families in Spain depend. And all of this without showing even one piece of proof that that the Clenbuterol found in his urine effectively came from eating bovine meat."
Oh dear, this case is not going to just lie down, is it?
Contador: "Hmm, I thought that blaming it on the steak would be a good idea, never thought about the thousands of meat producers getting really, really angry that I have accused them of using illegal substances on their stock and possibly poisoning all of us."
And, in an astonishing turn of events, Pat McQuaid has appeared on film sounding sensible and reasonable on the subject: check this vid on Cycling News today. Instead of knocking the Spanish racing federation (which is what I would be doing, have to admit) he comments that it is wrong for politicians to throw their weight behind these cases, when they don't know what they are talking about. He doesn't commit himself as to whether they are going to appeal or not, but it seems unlikely that they will let it drop.
Particularly if the meat federation are going to join in!
Well done!
Err, hang on, that's not a tiny suggestion that you don't believe in the contaminated steak story, is it?
Just in case any of you couldn't follow the link.
Glorious, isn't it?
Leelu, I forgot to ask you, which category is it? Day wear? Evening wear? Not swimwear, certainly, not with the boots...
Where, exactly, would "one" wear this outfit, if "one" had it?
Uh apparently this is our national costume...? I particularly like the matching sheeps-wool vest. Am thinking of getting one to match my ugg boots, so I can gad-about this winter in style! Also, the skirt may or may not be removable and should be worn over the top of swimwear... you know, for those moments when one is walking along Bondi in national costume and feels the urge to fling off any unnecesarry clothing to go for a quick dip at seemingly our one and only beach worth visiting!
ReplyDeleteLeelu
I do love that she's got sheep's wool on feet and shoulders but apparently the weather is conducive to exposing a vast expanse of her chest to the elements.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that the meat producers spoke up - and awesome that they reminded us that there are real people impacted by these kinds of statements. I guess I wonder, though, how much attention this will get. We'll see.
PeeDee
LOL Leelu, love the thought of you swanning about in your national costume (thinks: does Britain even have a national costume? Wales and Scotland do, I guess, but not England.. will have to look into that.)(Or just stick with Schleckland National Costume including Stomach of Anger tee and stripey Lux socks, of course) and discarding the skirt when the urge to swim becomes too great to resist....
ReplyDeleteHey PeeDee, "vast expanse of her chest", ha! ha! that is, of course, the drawback of me thinking about wearing Aus national costume, I don't really have the tatas to fill it!
Meat producers - yes, it's about time they spoke up "legally" as it were, rather than just grumbling about it. Conti is basing the whole of his defence on the concept of him eating a steak that, by a statistically ridiculous chance, was contaminated. And he's cheerfully suggesting that so much of their meat is contaminated that it was a reasonable suggestion.
If I were a meat-producer anywhere round there, I'd be furious! Furious!
Oh well, we'll have to wait and see.
Apparently, though, although Conti is now allowed to race ("but the legs are not what they have been in other years" Contador said, thus leaving himself wide open to accusations that he's not as good without the clenbuterol as he was with it...) any victories can be taken away from him if the UCI/WADA appeal and the appeal is successful.
Whups, time to go to work, bye! (so happy to be out there working again!)
Coug
I don't think that Chris 'Face of Pain' Sorensen (great nickname, Coug!) actually did the right thing in telling all those things about meat to the press. Now it really looks like he doesn't believe Conti too much - and he's even a teammate of Alberto! I think Uncle Bjarne will not be happy about this :S
ReplyDelete'Hooray' for the Spanish meat producers! I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I hope that Contador won't race the Giro. I can't stand riders taking part in important races when they should actually be suspended :(
That outfit is certainly a lot more festive than the Danish national costume :P (In my quest for finding out what it looks like I found a picture of the queen wearing it. It's... nice...)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the Spanish meat producers are doing something too. My dad's a farmer and he's been pissed with Bertie about the whole thing - and he's not even a Spanish farmer.
Fede, I agree, hopefully he won't be racing the Giro.
About Chris, he can't really just stop eating, can he? But it does make it look like he doesn't believe Bertie's story - which I don't mind but obviously isn't the smartest move if you want to show Bertie support. I'm pretty sure Barnaby Riis is now shaking Chris instead of Bertie :P
I love that picture of Bertie, it's brilliant! Ha, ha!
Hey, Susanne, a cursory google search turned up this site, http://nookdeejung.blogspot.com/2010/08/miss-universe-2010-contestants-poses-in_2812.html which features lots of the girls in their various national costumes.
ReplyDeleteMiss El Salvador looks far too much like Princess Leia on the barge for comfort... but your Danish National Costume, as worn by Miss Denmark, Ena Sandra, is - well, "Wow!" is the phrase that comes to mind. Nothing like as frumpy as I had imagined it. Your queen must be a right cracker!!
Glad to hear that you both agree that Chris AS has possibly put his foot in it... I bet that Uncle Bjarne has taken him aside by now and given him a stern talking-to.
FeeDee, I quite agree, I think that Bjarne should have kept Contador sitting out on the sidelines until all this business has been properly settled.
Of course, he doesn't have much of a team without Conti - with all due respect to the rest of the team, sorry, that sounds a bit rude to the other SaxoBlankers, but you know what I mean - so I suppose he thinks that he must get Conti out there spinning those pedals.
But I don't think it's right. And if Contador is subsequently banned, and has this year's victories taken away, well, that's really not fair on all the rest of the peleton, is it? For every podium place that Conti gets, he's depriving another rider of the glory on the day. (If he's later banned, that is.)
As Our Andy keeps saying, he wants to win races on the day, not months afterwards.
And I'm sure that's how many other riders feel, too.
And as for the poor farmers, well, (*waves hands around in agitated fashion*) what can we say? Conti gets away with telling the world "oh, meat is all contaminated, nothing unusual" while they are doing their best to make good healthy meat for the rest of us to eat.
Grrr....
I know this all sounds like Contador-bashing, but I really, really feel that he should have taken responsibility and accepted the ban, especially as he was being offered a shorter ban.
"One thing is clear — I am not going to ingest any more meat," Contador said. Huh, yeah, likely story! I doubt he'd get up those hills on a tofu-burger and a nice salad..... in face, has there ever been a vegetarian pro-cyclist?
(*pause for quick google search*)
http://www.pelotonwebdesigns.com/lindamccartney/2000/index.htm
...indicates yes, but did they ever win anything?
Coug
Schleckland fave, Dave Z, has apparently been moving towards a more plant-based diet for a couple of years and as of this off-season he intends to only eat vegan - http://davezabriskie.com/?p=323 (Also, the little pic with his hood up? So cute.)
ReplyDeleteAdam Myerson, a successful US domestic cyclocross racer, is vegan most of the time, I think, and vegetarian all of the time.
OK, just sayin'. And none of this implies I believe AC's no meat vow.
I'm torn about the issue of whether or not cyclists should race while dealing with appeals and such. As of now, Bertie is actually in the clear. By the time of the Giro, we will know if an appeal has been filed so that will be a little different. But, even if the decision is appealed, he's STILL been cleared. So is it fair to have him not race? On the other hand, I HATE that we never really know who won a race. So not good for the sport (and hard on the fans). I find it a little bit of a thorny question.
Er, well, Miss Denmark's dress is... nothing like our national costume. Unless they've changed it. It reminds me a bit of a swan - which incidentally is our national animal. Maybe she mistook animal for costume?
ReplyDeleteHere http://vofl3450.homeunix.net/danishfolk/Dronning/Romo.gif is the queen in a Danish folk costume. Pretty, huh? :P
If/when the decision is appealed, will Bertie still be able to race? I mean, he won't be suspended while they process the appeal?
Maarten Tjallingii van Rabobank is also a veggie.
ReplyDeleteBtw, I understood that Clentador wouldn't eat beef anymore. I heard nothing about other kind of meats and fish.
I dunno Coug, would Morris Dancer outfit be national dress?!
ReplyDeleteEli xx
Robert Millar was a vegetarian (and I expect he still is).
ReplyDeleteThose 'Ugg'(?) boots are rubbish, how is one supposed to show off their Lux socks?
Actually the real ugg boots aren't as 'stylish' and you can get them in lots of different heights. So you could get shorter ones and pull up the Lux socks, no probs ;)
ReplyDeleteAlso, you might be wondering if Aussies wear ugg boots with their summer outfits (her dress looks summery, no?) The answer - yes, people do... *sigh* people do...
Damn it, why do I always forget to check your blog!?!? I love your notes on mister pain face. I honestly think no one of SB (except Bjarne) is happy with Clenbutador....
ReplyDeleteLeela I'd like to nominate you for our fashion/styling expert on here, you definitely seem to know what you're talking about! :)
ReplyDeleteLOL Kara, if you want to nominate someone who regularly wanders around in her Stomach of Anger or Schleck Bros t-shirts, trackie-dacks that she constantly trips over and breaks her toes in, and ugg boots... ok then, I happily accept the nomination ;P
ReplyDeleteLeela
Leelu, the job is yours. No question. Nominations are now closed!
ReplyDeleteOK, so there are some vegetarian/vegan riders, I'm amazed. I just can't imagine them getting enough energy without scoffing "stuff-with-faces". I'm not likely to try it myself, because a) I love eating meat and b) I'm not a pro-cyclist.
Susanne, ah, that's more like it, that's several steps more "queenly" than the White Swan outfit.
Should Blertie be suspended from racing if an appeal is lodged? Well, I would have said "yes", but on the other hand if he were innocent, or if (just for the sake of argument) it were Unndy who was the subject of this enquiry, I am sure we would all think that he should be allowed to race, having been cleared by the relevant body.
Of course, we all think that the "relevant body" should not be the (understandably) utterly biaised Spanish Fed but should be an impartial organisation.
But that's a separate issue.
So in answer to the question, yes, I suppose (*huffs moodily*) that Blertie should be allowed to race while an appeal is being lodged.
And I am going to totally ignore that comment about Morris Dancers, hmmph, I have Strong Views on that subject!!
Coug