VeloCast

Further respect for JV from these quarters, and that comment further underlines why I was surprised when Contador was linked with Garmin - too many refusals to answer tough questions creates enough doubt in my mind to make him almost the antithesis of the Garmin ethos.

In case any of you ever doubted the credibilty of theat JV/ Frankie Andreau IM conversation, then just listen to Frankie's other half pour scorn on her husband for doping in this interview - http://competitorradio.competitor.com/2007/07/1.... Betsy's blunt and even scathing but she's utterly credible.

Competitor Radio also have 2 excellent interviews with David Walsh, which I highly recommend to anyone with an interest in the subject. I found David Walsh, co-author of LA Confidentiel (sic) & From Lance To Landis, to be balanced & credible, somewhat at odds with the way in which he is portrayed from within the more Lance-centric sections of the sport.
http://competitorradio.competitor.com/2007/07/1...

I would recommend Competitor Radio generally, their archive has lots of great cycling interviews from years past.

You seem to be under the impression that we mean 'metaphorical' corpses. Please, let's be clear. We mean ACTUAL corpses ;-)

And I agree about JV; the more I think about it, the more respect I have for the man.

Scott.

P.S. Thanks for that link. I hadn't seen it before.

Just in case anyone hasn't read Walsh, check out the IM conversation:

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/indepth/landis/instant...

Telling line (and, oh, there are many): "why would lance keep doing the shit when he clearly has nothing to prove - it's weird"

Incidentally "vaughters andreu im" is actually a Google search term in its own right!

Stumpy got there before me - hardly surprising given that he & I have the Vaughters debate every single time we get together!

I found the Vaughters segment fascinating, refreshing but not horrifying & not surprising. Fascinating, because I believe that Vaughters is the most credible of the Ex-Postals still in the sport and he is vehemently anti-doping. But make no mistake, this statement from Vaughters and the discussion surrounding it is not about him, it’s about Armstrong and the part that doping may have played in his record-breaking streak of Tour victories.

Refreshing, because all too often I hear “let’s move on”. Vaughters seems happy to be open about the presence of doping in the peloton. Contrast this with Armstrong’s denouncing of “the myth of widespread doping” in 2000. Surely it is time for Armstrong to revisit this statement in light of the rogues gallery of dopers that have emerged since that comment was made.

Not horrifying because those of us who have followed cycling for any length of time have become slightly desensitised to doping stories.

Not surprising because anyone who has read David Walsh’s books knows of the Instant Message conversation between Vaughters and Frankie Andreu in July 2005 where it is fairly clear in their discussion that doping was pretty matter of fact.

I make no attempt to hide the fact that I am not a fan of Armstrong. I read “It’s Not About The Bike” and I found it truly inspiring. I cheered out loud for him as he re-mounted after crashing on the slopes of Luz-Ardiden in 2003. As a human being and cancer survivor and indeed as a competitor I have nothing but the utmost respect & admiration for him and for many years I was more than happy to buy into Lance Inc. However I don’t find his personality particularly engaging and I get the impression that if he were to Twitter me an invitation for a pint, we may find that we don’t have a lot in common & might struggle to be friends. My problem with him, however, is his complete failure to acknowledge that, contrary to what he said in 2000, there most certainly was (and may still be) a culture of widespread doping in the peloton.

I believe that the sport of cycling cannot move on, as many would wish, until the cloud of suspicion surrounding the biggest name that the sport has ever seen, can be lifted. With Vaughters recent statement, this cloud is clearing and unfortunately for those who believe Armstrong did not dope, it is clearing to reveal more evidence of the likelihood that he did. Rest-assured, if Armstrong ever did confess to doping I would not be jumping up & down with glee shouting, told you so. I would be saying thank you for revealing the truth behind our sport, please help it flourish by adding your voice to those who want clean, believable, heroic sport. Vaughters has shown great courage, I would like to see similar displays of courage from others.

Spluttered on the metaphorical coffee when I heard the Vaughters clip. He's hinted for long enough about this albeit refusing to go on the record on the grounds that certain people had better lawyers, etc, etc. Of course one couldn't possibly comment as to who "certain people" might be... ;-)

Chapeau to the man; a very brave step given his position. I wonder what's changed that's let him feel he could even begin to break the omerta tho'? You mentioned Contador knowing where the bodies were buried at Astana. JV obviously knows much much more about where other, more significant corpses lie. That's one biog I'd love to read - maybe Paul Kimmage could help? Mind you, "Chapter 1: Jonathan Vaughters first met David Millar when the Scot was a no-good, washed-up cheat in the cesspit of professional cycling. Just like everyone else..."? Nah, maybe not...