Letter to Jonathon Vaughters

Jonathon
Read your article with a little understanding of the situation you found yourself in , when you were aspiring to be a Pro Cyclist ! Those of you reading this post can refer to the article direct :

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/opinion/sunday/how-to-get-doping-out-of-sports.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

Whilst it is a " Mea Culpa " it does not show how to solve the situation ! I have for some time been writiung to John Fahey of WADA and Jacques Rogge of IOC asking them to impose an " Amnesty " , so as to get ALL the Skeletons out into the open !

You with your exposure and " high Profile " could if you wished see this necessary step imposed ! No matter how many " Mea Culpa's " we see on the road to Rio , the next Olympic Games WILL BE  " THE CHEMICAL OLYMPIC GAMES " ! So many see that there are exploitable loopholes and decide that if " Joe Athlete " is able to escape detection , then it is worth the effort !

Usain Bolt comes from a country where " Random OOC testing seems to be the exception rather than the rule . His success is being unfairly questioned as a result . How many of the Brits find the finger of suspicion levelled at them ? Dave Millar was at the Olympic BECAUSE there are " Lawyers " making a substantial income from defending the undefensible , " Sporting Fraud " ! Not read Dave's book but " Rhino " as he knows i now call him , is tarred by his 2003 mistakes . I was thrilled to see his victorious Etappe at the 2012TDF , the only Breakaway that succeeded as far as i am aware . Dave inspired his companions to work together to stay away until 5km from the finish line . It would appear that those riding with him trust his judgement and thus cooperated where on other days the racers treated each other with suspicion .

CALL FOR THE AMNESTY ! You can and should demand of the " Hierachy of Sport " to ACT NOW and bring into the open ALL that transgressed in their careers . Why talk about what you did when you have the opportunity to lead from the front !

In imposing an " Amnesty " , IOC & WADA can give until , say , 1 October 2012 to disclose as an Athlete OR coach , DS , Team Owner their episodes of stepping over the line ! After that date they risk being found out by " Whistle Blowers " and LIFE TIME BANS WILL APPLY !

If 1 October 2012 , is imposed then during October / November a website will publish ALL names that stepped forward and NO PENALTY will apply ! Those disregarding this deadline risk the following possibilities !

On 1st December 2012 any Trainer/Coach , DS , Team Owner , Mechanic or Soigneur that worked with an Undisclosed Athlete will risk Life Time Bans , Also , should they not disclose what they know about those , that choose to take the risk of discovery ! There will be many who think they can escape detection and ONLY by imposing on their associates the same HARSH PENALTIES will we the public be rid of the menace of " Sporting Fraud " !

What i have proposed to those with the ability to act , is not simple , but HARSH METHODS need to be applied to rid the coming Generations of Athletes from the CRAP imposed on you in your youth , and continues to be applied to other " LESS RESOLUTE YOUNGSTERS " these days  .

You know me as a " pain in the Ass ", but do you think i needed " PEDs to ride the routes of the Grand Tours ? I didn't but then , firstly i was under no " peer Presure " , and secondly i could get off my bike to enjoy a break as and when i chose ! 15 visits to the " Le Tour " and 14 rides of the route of the Giro d'Italia as well as various other Tours toughened me up to the reality the racers have to endure . It dismays me to hear of even " shamateurs " using PEDs to gain " bragging rights " with their Buddies .

On 1st January of 2013 , i should like to think that families can deliver their offspring to Coaches / Trainers whose background has been revealed ! There will be some Coaches that will lose " prestige and clients ", but overall there will be an " Informed Public " who can choose those that will best train their charges without resorting to Underhand methods to achieve results !

Can we trust YOU to ensure the Authorities will sit up and LISTEN ?

Can we trust you to start the ball rolling to ensure that SPORT IS CLEAN ?

Have you the willpower to ensure " SPORTING FRAUD IN ALL SPORT " has had it's day ?

PARALISED SPORT !

YES , it will now be obvious to ALL that Pro Cycling has problems ! Jacques Rogge has seen the " royal salute " during this Olympics Men's Road Race ! Unbelievably " UCI " and " WADA " allowed a " Convicted Doper " to have a two year holiday and then come back and give them the two fingers !

Please understand that i like Vinky , as a person , he has always been friendly and cooperative with me since we met after he won the Paris-Nice ITT on Mt Eze in 2000 . I even congratulated him on his win in the Tour de France last week , when i was photoed with him in Chartres . I am also friendly with Dave Millar , also a " Convicted Doper " and greeted him there , calling him " Rhino " , and in return he called me  " Skippy " , as he has since his win in Futurescope when he startled Lance with the win . Both these Racers were in an event that they had no place to be on Saturday !

Dave was there as Road Captain of the British Squad due to a " Smarty Pants set of Lawyers " , whether it was his doing , or he just benefited from their looking for a way to increase their income and profile , i am unable to say . Dave admitted his complicity in Doping and was given the suspension which stood at two years at that time . Happily he won an Etappe at the " Le Tour  " due to convincing those in the breakaway to cooperate with each other and use their skills to arrive in the last 5km with a huge time margin and there settle their differences . Looking at this TDF i would say all the riders benefited as a result , contrary to other breakaway/escapes , where the racers were caught , even though had they helped each other , one of them would have won and the others would have had recognition  with minor places .

Since returning from the " Jolly " that was two years suspension " Vinky " has enjoyed winning many events and truth be known , a win at the TDF and yesterday's win were well within his outstanding abilities , so why , did this talented Racer resort to Doping ? Seems that there are many who go that route because they are subjected to " Peer Pressure "! A team member of T-Mobile and thus of Bjarne Riis ( Admitted Doper ) , Rolf Aldag ( admitted Doper ) and Jan Ulrich ( no contest to charges but paid 250 big ones for the case to go away ) and Andreas Kloden ( Paid 50 big ones also ) ! Wonder what Jan And Klody said to themselves last night ?

Who knows what " Windbag Mc Quaid ( phat the rat ) " had to say BUT you will be certain that Jacques Rogge will have deflated his persona during a telephone call ! Did i hear Jacques address the " Doping Issue " in his Homily on the Olympic Podium at the opening ceremony ? You can imagine after my letters to him and John Fahey , that i feel  that he behaved like a " Whimp " , with his soft shoe comments ! Money and Sponsors are more important to the " IOC " than cleaning up the " shoddy cheats " that are allowed to continue in sport !

Four years suspensions have been voiced by " Windbag Mc Quaid " for several years  , and what has he done ? Had he acted in concert with WADA , many years ago , then we would not have seen either Dave or Vinky in the race ! Sorry guys , you both know my attitude to Doping , since we first met BUT then as a guy emailed me on Friday , i am perceived as a " Cycling Groupie ",  by him ! Clown wanted me to stand about with him on Thursday and relate what i told him he could discover in reading my blogs . In meeting many people i ask them to refer to " Google " , rather than appear to be " bull shitting " or " one man upping " when
i first encounter them .

When i arrive on someone's premises i always ask for the " Boss " as a courtesy , and most times that is the person i am speaking with  , but no matter their appearance , even then they can surprise you . Athens 2004 Olympic Torch Relay as an example , after greeting a Portugese Relay Runner , i quickly realised it was Rosa Motta , but later after she had gone for a shower asked the Guy she greeted with kisses , who he was  . I was surprised to discover that he was " George " , the then President of Portugal  . Just a guy on the street , but the armed chauffeur , standing quietly in the background no doubt was nervous about his decision to be in the crowd like  " Joe Public " ?

Had checked the " Olympic Oath " with the intention of voicing my opinion in a post , and i am certain those involved on Friday will be shaking their heads ! Make no mistake , i am not saying that " Vinky " will be a " shamilton " , BUT , i am certain that the alarms have been strident , since Vinky crossed the line ! Standing at 45km from the start , i voiced the opinion , that if the break consisted of more than a handful and  was more than two minutes ahead , i was sure they would stay away ! When 3 minutes passed i knew that the race was done and set off to the Olympic Rowing course and then west of High Wycombe calling in on a few people i had not seen in a while . Happened to read the results in Cycle Care Bike Shop at High Wycombe , but all i told Simon was that the result was " surprising " , since he wanted to stay in the dark until he watched a TV replay in comfort .

In my letters to John Fahey and Jacques Rogge , posted previously , i called on then to ACT NOW , on an Amnesty , so as to get the " Skeletons of the past " into the open ! Neither has replied ! No surprise there , secretarial staff and minders probably think i am a crank ! Simon passed on second hand impressions of recent reports about me by Eurosport Commentators  . In asking if they mentioned my efforts to help find Sponsors for " Para Sport " he thought that it was not mentioned ! Well i met Sean in Chartres and enjoyed a long chat with him and a variety of others that were passing , that we both knew . Certainly Dave Harmon will know what i am about since we have chatted and tweeted , but frankly , unless they mention WHY i ride, i wish they would leave me out of their " who we know " asides !

" El Diablo " was missing from the TDF due to health reasons as was confirmed by Sean and Henri Sannier , appears he had surgery for a Brain Clot , Speedy recovery being underway . First noted there was a problem when i saw an email from Didi  posted by a  commenter to Live Update Guy , this being Chas Pelkey , asked then by email for advice on the situation , with no result .

UNTIL THE SPORTING PUBLIC AT LARGE , get to canvassing their Sports Bodies , there will be NO CHANGE in Doping Practices !

YOU THE PUBLIC can make the difference !

ACT TODAY

WIGGO

Brad from my own experience is a retiring sort of Guy ! Nor easy to approach in earlier years from my experience . Remember when he arrived for the Team Time trial in the Giro d’Italia , in the team Jaguar . I was looking to get him to autograph the Maillot that I had awaiting him . Seemed a bit distant , perhaps distracted / huffy , but then his mind would be on the business in hand ,rather than my concerns . Recently after the conclusion of the Dauphine Libere in Les Chablets I rode alongside him as he was going from one place to another and he was quite friendly as I wished him luck at the TDF . Same response from Cadel who was carrying his son on the bike as he was heading back to the Team Pullman .

Remember being in Pau at the Novotel one  “ Le Tour “ rest day , saw Lance going in from the Training ride which I had missed having been with another Team . Called out for him to autograph a Maillot , but he too was hurrying . Knowing where he would be having lunch in the hotel I sat in that foyer for perhaps an hour . Knew that he would arrive eventually I was content to wait but had not realised he had gone out the other door until Eki told me as he passed .

Racers have lives and they do some things like ordinary people , but they give up a lot of their free time , to give the Media and “ fans “ the attention THEY DEMAND ! Yes , demand ! Fact is , WE THE PUBLIC , are not entitled to demand their time !  That they give up their time is a bonus ! So many want a moment with a “ personality “ from whatever activity they choose to follow , guess it gives them “ bragging rights “ ?

In these Blogs  you will find numerous examples of my contact with “ personalities “ even some have asked to be introduced to me , yes me !  Happens some of their family will say “ Get his Photo or autograph “! Won’t embarrass the Aussie Cycle Racer that recently told me he needed my photo .

Seem to recall in earlier years photos of Stuey O’Grady and Robbie Mc Ewan exchanging autographs in Cycling news ! Recall the 2001 Vuelta rest day when Jimenez asked for my autograph as we rode around Barcelona , this started the others asking and it was a nightmare with me wobbling all over the road as I tried to oblige .

Reading the CNF “ Clinic “ makes you realise the depths , people will descend to in their vitriol towards those , on whom they choose to turn the spotlight . Lance of course is their No 1 target . The jealousy and hatred they exude is unbelievable , on a scale of 1 to 10 it would be 110 !  Whenever a cycle Racer wins an event , the scrutiny starts , yet to look there to see what and how much has been heaped on Dave Millar’s shoulders , after yesterday’s victory !

Millar time was the theme of his fans at Futurescope , when he won the  Time Trial on his first ride in the “ Le Tour “ , and it continues a decade later . Would not surprise me if he won another Etappe before Paris , certainly he will have raised the morale of the team , which was damaged by Christian losing 10 minutes in the first week and Ryder going home injured .  Read an article last night on Dave that  written earliy in the week , computer crashed overnight and it was lost !

Brad’s behaviour at the Press Room was greeted with many supportive Tweets from other of the TDF Racers but one wonders what Sky Management had to say on the subject . It’s a free for all in the Press Room , most ONLY get paid when their article is used so it is necessary for them to create controversy . They got it in spades that night , may even have pushed the Lance story aside for a period . Even more speculation was created when the “ WAGS “ started tweeting about the day’s events after Froomy made an attack from the rear .

Each morning  when the Team Pullman arrives in the “ Ville Depart “ the team have a meeting and discuss “ Broad Strokes “ for the day’s Etappe . Duties are assigned and “ what ifs “ are discussed in some detail . Cadel is a thorn in the side of the Sky team and they plan how to negate his plans . With Chris being by Brad’s side they have the chance to cause Cadel problems . Who is to say that Froomy dropped back as planned and then attacked , so as to cause Cadel and the others , to waste energy in a fruitless chase ?

With the TV in each team car and France 3 TV doing such a good job , Sky’s DS was able to see Cadel’s negative response . Could he then have decided that there was little point in Chris continuing the attack ? Could Brad have been left adrift in the last 4km ? If he was left alone would he have lost some time to others whilst Froomy chased hard on the possibility of taking the Etappe victory  ? Critical decisions that only a Team DS can make BUT subject to the wild speculation of outsiders , particularly the media !

Much has been made of the events surrounding Sky this week and Brad has tried to help outsiders understand his POV in his blog to the English Guardian newspaper :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/jul/13/bradley-wiggins-dope-drugs

An interesting and articulate exposition of his point of view ! Doubt that he wrote all , no doubt dictated and then transcribed by the PR guy on the Team Pullman . Perhaps it has been playing on his mind all week and thus several versions were then polished until he was satisfied . When you see him oh the bike he looks pensive and now we see the result .

From my POV it was a well thought out article and covers most of the questions that anyone would wish answered .

I think all Pro Cyclists have a responsibility to be forthright on the subject of doping, the culture of “ Omertá “ is one that cannot be allowed to continue. My blogs are full of calls for the Racers to take responsibility and call for a “ Sports Moratorium “!

On the other hand, there is a right and wrong way of questioning cyclists about it, and  half an hour after a tough mountain stage probably isn't the best time to antagonise the person who gives up their Personal time to help you earn your living  .

Because of “ le Tour “ there is increased interest at this time of the year, people will still continue to point the finger because they don't appreciate that there are “ clean Racers “ and racing  can be done another way .   Things are slowly changing ,but  it's through the strict policies of teams like Sky and Garmin that doping will be driven into a smaller segment of the  minority of “ Chancers .

Was interested to read of his experiences with Team Cofidis and his decisions in Pau airport . Regrettably this was the same team that lost a Racer during this TDF . Yet so many will praise David Moncoutie for his opposition to Doping and remember also that notables such as Stuey O’Grady , Matt White , David Millar and Lance Armstrong have been members of this team over the past 15 years .

Speculation has surfaced in the last days as to who should lead the Sky Team until Paris . Bjarne Riis was replaced by Jan Ulrich some years back during the 1996 “ Le tour “ but one hopes that there is no substance to those thoughts . One thing is clear from Chris’s comments , and that is that he follows Team Orders . When the TDF is over there will be time for the Media to consider who should employ his talents ! I think that SKY will reward him for his efforts and he will lead their other teams as a Captain if he chooses that path .

During the Dauphine libere i asked you to voice support for the " PARALYMPIC GAMES " . Your PR guy , to whom i also addressed this request ,  would also have mentioned this request to you . With your Foundation you are able to help many people but the Media need to be reminded , constantly , that there are many less fortunate than you or i needing " Sponsors " to achieve their best in Sport .

Calling on John Fahey of WADA and Jacques Rogge of IOC , to put an end to " Doping " by introducing a " Sports Moratorium " is perhaps the best approach to cutting the " gordian knot " ! My articles http://bit.ly/Obuo0C & http://goo.gl/fb/q7UXl   ask them to ACT ! TIME PEOPLE got a grip on the situation and made those with " skeletons in the closet " confess and reveal their disdeeds , so that those in Sport are aware of whom they are dealing with !

As Johan Bruyneel said " It's windy at the Top "! Whilst you have the audience , you can achieve what few others would like to be able to get , a result !

Brad as I said to you , on our last meeting , “ Be the best you can be , everything else is icing on the cake “!

Best Wishes for your safe arrival in Paris !