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Post deleted by saulraisin
Re: I never doped... [saulraisin] [ In reply to ]
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now schedule your episode of oprah to admit to lying
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Re: I never doped... [saulraisin] [ In reply to ]
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saulraisin wrote:
I never doped nor took performance enhancing drugs during my professional cycling career.

Us clean athletes need to come out! I am proud to be one of them! There are many more!!!


-Saul

As much as I appreciate your transparency, no one cares my friend. I spent 6 years on the US Olympic Team (albeit not cycling, not triathlon) and I never doped or took PED's... not even coffee! I was tested (both blood and urine) at least once a month, usually more, from 17-25 years of age. My wife is currently an elite runner and is tested randomly, she is also clean.

But again, the problem with the world is that I don't think anyone cares except the people doing the testing. As soon as I jump into the pool today or go on my next group ride I will be lumped in with dirty athletes because those are the only one's you here about. Lance's situation just happens to be more sensationalized.

I got a call last night from an old team-mate of mine who is trying to become a pro cyclist and during the glory years really looked up to Lance. Recently he came to the realization of the doping, but last night really crushed him. There's no returning to grace from that.



-Eric
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"The Fit Shall Inherit the Earth" -Endurance Conspiracy
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Re: I never doped... [blackduckracing] [ In reply to ]
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the problem with the world is that I don't think anyone cares except the people doing the testing.

ok, this, this is it. this is what we need to bring to the "process" thread as well as to the USAT and the WTC.

it isn't the world's problem. the world is fine. if the world doesn't care about our sports then its because we haven't gotten them interested in caring. our sales pitch isn't good. we should work on that.
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Re: I never doped... [blackduckracing] [ In reply to ]
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Well then, please excuse me for being a positive role-model for aspiring athletes.
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Re: I never doped... [saulraisin] [ In reply to ]
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I read your book, good read. I think I saw you riding up big cottonwood a few years ago, I thought I looked goofy on my single speed mt bike but you were on a TT bike for some reason so that made me feel a little better. Keep up the good work with everything else your doing.

'STICK EM UP PUNK ITS THE FUN LOVING CRIMINAL'
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Re: I never doped... [saulraisin] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks Saul for your contribution to sport, and doing it without having to cross the line into doping!
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Re: I never doped... [saulraisin] [ In reply to ]
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I haven't either. Then again, my results don't exactly raise anyone's suspicions.

Seriously though. Keep up the good work. Positive-role models are important. One of my son's is a really good athlete and naturally we tend towards endurance sports in our family. I was a swimmer and now triathlete. My wife is a runner. I can see a future for him where he could possibly be put into that situation. Consequently, this is something that I talk to him about. We watched the interview last night together stopping and starting it several times to talk about different parts of it.

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"Unless you have a ... GF who might put out that night and that night only ... skip it and race." - AndyPants 3-15-2007
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Re: I never doped... [saulraisin] [ In reply to ]
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saulraisin wrote:
Well then, please excuse me for being a positive role-model for aspiring athletes.

No one is judging you dude... relax. All I'm saying is that the problem here isn't with you or me or any other clean athlete and therefore it shouldn't be our job(s) to speak-up and save our respective sports. I'm had my ass handed to me (both on the race course and in training) too many times to rationalize my existence to someone who is considering cheating.

The world at large will only see us in the respect of the people who make the news. The Lance Armstrong's, the Floyd Landis', Marion Jones, Ben Johnson, Bonds, Canseco.... the list goes on. I have my reasons for going pro and I'm sure you do to, however the general public doesn't understand those reasons and only sees pro-athlete after pro-athlete doing drugs and performance enhancers... ie: cheating to gain public support. More people have now heard of Hamilton and Landis than Jordan Rapp or Chris Lieto or Mirinda Carfree, right? It's because athletes like Rapp and Lieto and Carfree are clean and therefore don't make the news. Standing up and announcing that, loud and proud, as you suggested in your original post will not make any difference.

As a side note, the punishments for doping are futile and because of this, no one cares. Lance will make more money from this and the following book deal that will be made into a Lifetime movie than if he raced tri's for another 10 years. That's what people see, that's what people believe. They don't care about athletes like you and me.



-Eric
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"The Fit Shall Inherit the Earth" -Endurance Conspiracy
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Re: I never doped... [blackduckracing] [ In reply to ]
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You do know who Saul Raisin is and his story? I do think him making this statement does make a difference. It gives kids hope that they can race in the protour racing clean. Keep in mind the era that Saul raced at Credit Agricole. Sadly for us, we never saw him reach his full potential, but thankfully for us, and his family, he is still with us.
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Re: I never doped... [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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devashish_paul wrote:
You do know who Saul Raisin is and his story? I do think him making this statement does make a difference. It gives kids hope that they can race in the protour racing clean. Keep in mind the era that Saul raced at Credit Agricole. Sadly for us, we never saw him reach his full potential, but thankfully for us, and his family, he is still with us.

Of course I do... I'm insulted you had to ask the question. His book is on my shelf along with all the others. However, with all due respect to Saul and you, I too have had my share of life-changing issues and have been told by someone else that I'm done. Just because it wasn't in a world that you know doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Two 'rounds of chemo, radiation and multiple surgeries... followed by a crash that resulted in a ruptured spinal column and a 6" Ti rod in my back should at least garner the same level of respect as any other injured athlete.

Again, I'm not going to justify my existence to anyone, especially on a computer. All I'm saying is we ought to spend our energy solving he problem not proselytizing about it.



-Eric
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"The Fit Shall Inherit the Earth" -Endurance Conspiracy
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Re: I never doped... [saulraisin] [ In reply to ]
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Guys like Saul have the right to be the most pissed off about Lance and doping in their sports. There is no Saulstrong, private jets, Olson twins, etc. for guys like Saul because of the decisions he and others made to race clean. Saul was on a trajectory to be one of the top guys in cycling based upon his pure, natural abilities and good genes. He raced against Lance and Postal and lost actual money everytime he finished behind them. People can complain about being duped by Lance, buying into the "miracle" storyline along with the yellow bracelet and Lance bios, but guys like Saul and countless others no one has ever heard of were the ones that were actually damaged - actual lost earnings, loss of future earnings, etc. I did not watch all of the Lance interview, but the one question that I doubt he would answer honestly is whether, if he could do it all over, would he do it again. He may be humbled now, he may be disliked, he may be about to right a couple of checks and give some of his fortune away, but none of that erases the fact that he got to experience being a pro cyclists, wearing the yellow jersey, kissing the podium girls, banging the Olson twins and Cheryl Crow, and will still be very wealthy when this is all over. That is a problem that is unlikely ever to be solved and will continue to disenfranchise guys like Saul that make the conscious choice to take the hard road.
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Re: I never doped... [blackduckracing] [ In reply to ]
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I tend to agree with saul here. Professional cyclists could do their sport a lot of good by being honest and outspoken about doping in their sport.

Triathletes are doing it a bit, a few of them, which is 100% more than pro cyclists, and it is wonderful to see.

There is definitely a subset of cycling fans who will become YOUR fan if you happily say "fuck those doping jerkoffs" when asked in the press.

Standing up and announcing it loud and proud may just make a difference, the silence in cycling is extremely frustrating to many fans.



Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter
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Re: I never doped... [blackduckracing] [ In reply to ]
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blackduckracing wrote:
devashish_paul wrote:
You do know who Saul Raisin is and his story? I do think him making this statement does make a difference. It gives kids hope that they can race in the protour racing clean. Keep in mind the era that Saul raced at Credit Agricole. Sadly for us, we never saw him reach his full potential, but thankfully for us, and his family, he is still with us.


Of course I do... I'm insulted you had to ask the question. His book is on my shelf along with all the others. However, with all due respect to Saul and you, I too have had my share of life-changing issues and have been told by someone else that I'm done. Just because it wasn't in a world that you know doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Two 'rounds of chemo, radiation and multiple surgeries... followed by a crash that resulted in a ruptured spinal column and a 6" Ti rod in my back should at least garner the same level of respect as any other injured athlete.

Again, I'm not going to justify my existence to anyone, especially on a computer. All I'm saying is we ought to spend our energy solving he problem not proselytizing about it.

How do you think any change happens in the world? The people who are impacted most speak out. Whether that's civil rights or better working conditions - you have to make your voice heard. You are right - nobody seems to care. Part of the reason is that not enough pro athletes are vocal about why they think that a clean sport is important. Fans think pro's don't care - so fans don't care.
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Re: I never doped... [saulraisin] [ In reply to ]
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You made the right choice. Nothing wrong with being vocal about it either.

I didn't know you were a forum member. I don't want to hijack necessarily, but I'm incredibly curious about your time at CA.
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Re: I never doped... [jackmott] [ In reply to ]
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I think we should all head over too (ie: read) the new "moral outrage" thread by LuketheDrifter. He makes very succinct points, although I don't agree with allowing Armstrong to race again, but that's another discussion.

Plus I have to get back to work!?!



-Eric
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"The Fit Shall Inherit the Earth" -Endurance Conspiracy
Last edited by: blackduckracing: Jan 18, 13 7:47
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Re: I never doped... [blackduckracing] [ In reply to ]
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If you do not have one and would like it. You can always buy a signed copy of my book from me here: http://www.tourdelife.org
A portion of all sells go towards a good cause.

Thank you!

Saul
In Reply To:
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Re: I never doped... [saulraisin] [ In reply to ]
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saulraisin wrote:
If you do not have one and would like it. You can always buy a signed copy of my book from me here: http://www.tourdelife.org
A portion of all sells go towards a good cause.

Thank you!

Saul
In Reply To:

I have a copy, not signed... but maybe someday you'll allow me the honor of riding with you (and then sign my copy)!!!



-Eric
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"The Fit Shall Inherit the Earth" -Endurance Conspiracy
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Re: I never doped... [jackmott] [ In reply to ]
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Quote:
I tend to agree with saul here. Professional cyclists could do their sport a lot of good by being honest and outspoken about doping in their sport.

Triathletes are doing it a bit, a few of them, which is 100% more than pro cyclists, and it is wonderful to see.

There is definitely a subset of cycling fans who will become YOUR fan if you happily say "fuck those doping jerkoffs" when asked in the press.

Standing up and announcing it loud and proud may just make a difference, the silence in cycling is extremely frustrating to many fans.



This is a great point, and its one that I made about Baseball a few years back. It appears that the biggest problem with doping in cycling is that not many were really speaking up about it, and seemingly not enough was done. I think Floyd Landis was the first high profile bust (by high profile, I mean he finished 1st in the tour). I much time did he try to proclaim innocence before deciding to just give up and out everyone?


-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485
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Re: I never doped... [saulraisin] [ In reply to ]
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saulraisin wrote:
Well then, please excuse me for being a positive role-model for aspiring athletes.

Saul,

If you feel you can answer this. In your experience, how much pressure there was to do it? Does the pressure changes if you are racing in Europe (irrespective of which race) versus USA?

Peace out

______________________________________
"Bros b4 Hos, man" House MD

Team Aquaphor 06-08
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Re: I never doped... [BarryP] [ In reply to ]
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Of course the casual fan lumps cheats with non-cheats, duh!
How can anyone be trusted?
Pro Cyclists need to take back their sport, they need to be vocal and call out cheats.
TDF organizers need to structure their race to allow non-dopers a chance.
UCI needs to disband or at least have independent auditors scrutinize them.
Everyone dopes, you can't win without dope etc etc is weak.
Mistakes are only bad if nothing is gleaned from them, this is a rare opportunity that lies solely in the hands of athletes.

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Re: I never doped... [blackduckracing] [ In reply to ]
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Where do you live? Let me know if you're ever in Georgia. Love to ride anytime.
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Re: I never doped... [Mr. Burns] [ In reply to ]
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Email me your number, happy to discus CA with you.

saul@raisnhope.org
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Re: I never doped... [ivansie] [ In reply to ]
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There was no pressure, everyone suspects what teams are doing it and which ones are not. That is why I signed with a French professional team; I did not want to put myself in a position where I would be potentially pressured into doing something. I can tell you now without a doubt that every cyclist with a French professional racing license is a clean cyclist; no questions asked!
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Re: I never doped... [saulraisin] [ In reply to ]
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saulraisin wrote:
Where do you live? Let me know if you're ever in Georgia. Love to ride anytime.

In the northeast... but if I'm ever in your neighborhood I'll take you up on that!



-Eric
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"The Fit Shall Inherit the Earth" -Endurance Conspiracy
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