Dave Brailsford on Sat night's highlights.

[MichaelM]

I only caught a couple of seconds of the programme on Sat night so maybe I completely misunderstood what he was saying.

He seemed to say that they were considering a world class overseas name for the Sky team, but turned the big name down on seeing the biological passport.

Did I hear it correctly? If so, what could it be that is indicated on the biological passport that would cause such concern for a rider who I assume has not tested positive for PED's?

Then again, maybe I got it totally wrong.

 

[rich p]

I didn't hear that but if it was true I'd have thought there would be a clamour to name and shame.

Let's start a witch hunt anyway

Ivan Basso?

 

[Aperitif]

Fletch?

 

[Chuffy]

Well he gave a clear 'no' when asked about Contador...

The passport, as I understand it, tracks various biological values over a period of time. These values could indicate the possibility that the athlete has been naughty even when tests for PEDs are negative. The problem with it is that it is down to the teams to interpret the results. Not all teams will have that expertise (something that Jonathan Vaughters has highlighted) and not all teams will be equally scrupulous. For example, Garmin were considering Kohl (iirc) but turned him down based on his passport data. Silence-Lotto didn't but I bet they wish they had.

 

[andy_wrx]

For example, Garmin were considering Kohl (iirc) but turned him down based on his passport data. Silence-Lotto didn't but I bet they wish they had.

You're giving Silence-Lotto the benefit of the doubt

An alternative interpretation might be that they knew just what the data meant but have a slightly different attitude to doping than Slipstream...

 

[Chuffy]

You're giving Silence-Lotto the benefit of the doubt

An alternative interpretation might be that they knew just what the data meant but have a slightly different attitude to doping than Slipstream...

I don't have any evidence (or suspicions) to the contrary. But it does highlight ambiguities about how the data is used.