Ass'tna are in the headlines again, for all the wrong reasons: not only have both of the Iglinskiy brothers separately tested positive for EPO - shocked intake of breath at their stupidity - but now one of their tiny little stagiaires has failed a doping test for anabolic androgenic steroids, something which sounds as though it involves elements of a sex change along with weight-lifting enhancements.
Presumably it has some application for cyclists.
Unless the stagiaire is really a girl... which seems unlikely.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't like Vino, I was glad when he chose to retire, although I did have to give him a bit of respect for getting back on the bike after than horrendous tumble down the ravine, when he broke quite a list of bones. And why do I dislike him? Apart from him having no eyebrows? Answer, he's an unrepentant doper. I can forgive the ones who did it, confessed, and stated how stupid they'd been and that they would not do it again. But I have no time at all for the ones who only regret being caught.
David Millar is a case in point, I saw him on an English news programme talking about his disgrace, and to see a grown man so nearly in tears was very moving. He spoke out so strongly about how he'd been pressured into it, and how stupid he had been for giving in to the pressure, and ever since then, he has been a vocal opponent of doping.
Vino, on the other hand, did it repeatedly, got caught, and muttered and fumed all the way through his ban, and has refused to acknowledge any wrong-doing. These days, he won't even talk about it. He says he has "paid for" his doping. Not, you note, for his mistake, just for getting caught.
And now two of his team have been caught doping, just when cycling really doesn't need any more of these episodes. And it's two brothers, which is particularly hateful, as it adds fuel to the "Frankie doped, so Andy must have done it too" brigade. Which of course is ridiculous in so many ways, not least because Frankie wasn't doping: he was found to have ingested something that would be extremely bad for his health, and he strongly maintained it was contamination. At that time, there was no excuse but we have all seen that in recent months the UCI are relaxing that rule. Pity they can't relax it retrospectively, eh?
Getting back to Astana, it's worsened by the fact that they should have immediately taken themselves out of racing, according to the MCC rules, but they swindled it so that they could compete in the races which were important to them, and then used the voluntary ban to get out of going to Beijing, while waving a halo and saying "Hey, look what good guys we are, voluntary ban, look, we're giving up racing all on our ownsome". Hopefully the UCI will fine them good and proper for not attending.
I've always worried about the lovely Jacob being on his team... am I the only one to be concerned about him? He seems so mis-placed there, although they have allowed him to shine a little more than he would ever have done, had he remained at Stinkoff, what with Contador and now Sagan. So from a career point of view, top marks. But on the other hand...
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