CrueTrue wrote:
Sarcasm again from both of you?

One minute and seventeen seconds later, the disillusioned face of Gilberto Simoni arrived in Aprica. Clearly disgruntled and crossing the line with a laconic grin, the Saunier Duval rider gave his all to win, but against the Behemoth of Basso today, it was simply not enough. However, according to Simoni, Basso asked him to slow down on the descent of the Mortirolo and not drop him - but that did not mean the gift of a stage win.

"Basso said to me, 'Don't drop me on the descent', so I thought I had a chance to win today; if I had thought Basso was going to do that in the finale, I would have played my cards differently," explained Simoni. "I'm just happy that the race is almost over," he said, looking disgusted.

Adding fuel to the fire was the 2003 Giro champion's description of the maglia rosa's performance, which he termed 'extra-terrestrial' - and not in that nice, 'he's out of this world' sort-of-way. "I've never seen anyone dominate [like Basso], never seen any one that strong!" exclaimed Simoni. "He seems like an extra-terrestrial."

Deadpool wrote:
No, there is something between them

Jape wrote:


That's the thing that makes me sad about the fact that HE can find a team cuz he off course does have great talent, but less gifted cyclists who have been more honest about it.(Davis/Jaksche for ex.) are left without teams and/or are having much more trouble finding a worthy spot back in the peleton also beceause of the damage that he created for cycling as a whole being the big name that he is and got caught

Aquarius wrote:
Well, compare Millar and Basso, the first one admitted (I don't trust him when he says he took it only two or three times, but still he admitted), and seems to be riding clean now.

Aquarius wrote:
Basso was "an ET" when he won the Giro, but that was logical given what he had accomplished the previous couple of years, and now he claims he can come back to that level ? That's like saying "I doped like hell, I got caught, I paid, I'll come back and dope like hell again". Disgusting...

I mean a suspension is there to make you think about what you did wrong, and you're allowed to come back only if that taught you a lesson about not cheating. It's not like "spend 5 minutes out then come back doing the same mess again". That's not the spirit.
I can almost forgive to somebody who changed, but that ?

CrueTrue wrote:
Had we had life time suspensions, this wouldn't even be discussed

Dear Jonas Carney and Jonathan Vaughters,

With the eve of my 30th birthday on the horizon, I am contemplating retirement from the sport of cycling. I still have dreams to return to pro racing and I know I still have the engine, however what I don't have is support to send myself to races. Jonas I know Mr. Kelly has a problem with my website, but ask him one more time if he would consider me for 2008 just for fun. And JV, I know you want me to get a top result before I can return, but realisticly I am not going to be able to do that working a fulltime job and 6 days a week.

If you guys can find a spot for me on your team in 2008 I promise I will rise to the top. As you know, when you get older and you have been to the pro level in Europe and the highest level in America, you couldn't just go back to driving yourself to the races like you did when you were 16-17 years old junior before the U.S. National Team picked us up.

I am gifted on the bike, and I have been so ever since I got on one.

At 14 years old I did my first race ever, the O'hill Mt. Bike Race in Charlottesville VA. I won that race and I didn't even know it considering it was a mixed race with seniors.

I could always climb like the wind, and on my team everyone would say that I would spin like a bird, which I took offense to. I didn't know the extent of how good I could climb until I went to my first stage race ever. The Killington Stage Race in Vermont.

In 1993 we had an uphill prologue time trial, a circuit race, a mountain top finish on bear mt, a crit, and a mountain top finish at the top of the final resort.

That year in the time trial nationals I made a wrong turn, I didn't understand the difference between a turn around and a cone. I was told to turn around at the cone, and I saw one so turned around on it. I was furious at myself, as I believed I would have won after calculating my mistake and time.

I was out to prove myself against the 18 year olds of Toby Stantons dominating HotTubes team and the Canadian National Team.

In the prologue I flew up the mountain, so fast in fact that my time would last through the 4's, 3's, pro women, 2's, 1's, and all but less than 9% of the top pros in the nation including Tyler Hamilton who I proudly stomped.

I would have finished 9th in the uphill time trial and this was when I started having dreams of racing in Europe and actually believeing that I could do it. I would go on to win 3 stages of the junior race and win the overall even after losing the lead in the criterium because I was so green I got dropped and nearly lapped by the field. The last day I had to personally make up a gap of minutes on Tom Davis, who would go on to race with the National Team in later years, and win Collegiate Nationals.

I was sent to the O.T.C. that fall and I was tested by the feds. You can check their files and I turned out a top 3 power test, against not juniors, but top senior riders.

I would take me 1 more year to win my first national championship gold medal and I would join the US National Team at the age of 17.

This was the golden years of EPO, and I would struggle to finish the worlds. In years later after befriending the winner Valentino China of Italy while racing on G.S. Filati Alessandra in 1997, I would find out from him, that the entire team was doping with EPO. Ironically this team also contained Ivan Basso.

The stage was set for me to make it or break it in the sport, as I was given ample opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Basso, Betini, Commesso, and the other great Italian riders at the time in Italy. My team offered me HGH, EPO, testosterone, cortisone, and whatever else I dared to take.

My teammates all took the drugs, and I decided that I would win without them. I tried my best and in frustrations with my efforts could only manage top 15s, in some of the hardest U-23 climbing single day races in Tuscany all of which could have turned out a world champion with the winner.

My team would pressure me, and after testing in the lab showed I had the power equal to pros riding on the Italian Brescia Lait pro teams. I would continue to refuse and I would join up with the U-23 National Team for the Peace Race and Tour of Austria.

Knowing that the majority of my competitors were on doping products after my experiences in Italy it was a very difficult and frustrating time for me and first class introduction into pro racing.

I managed to finish in the top 25 GC in the Peace Race getting stronger each day and besting most of the pro Saturn team that came over to race there, and picking up 2nd in the Best Young Rider competition.

Next I would go to the Tour of Austria where I would be the only American to finish other than Steve Cate, and the only American to finish the Peace Race 11 days long, and then on 10 days in between with racing, the 10 day tour of Austria. Keep in that current US domestic based pros Chris Baldwin and others were there.

Heading back to Italy my body would shutdown from the overuse and my team would offer me EPO again as my hemocrit would drop from the mid 40s to mid 30s.

I would recover from the hard races to compete in the U-23 National Time Trial Championships in Altoona.

There I would continue to be tested by the sport as my seat fell off on my GT Super Bike that the national team gave me shortly after the turn around.

I continued to ride hard to the finish and in disgust returned home before the awards. My dad stayed to see the winners.

At the hotel room to my surprise that dad would return with a medal in his hand. I had finished 5th even after losing my seat in the TT. I would later talk to Christian Vandevelde about the incident. He would say, "There is no way that kid could beat me without a seat!"
But it was true, I had tons of talent, I just didn't want to use dope.

I would return home to america to rest up and lost motivation until the following season to reflect on my challenges ahead in the sport.

Being an anti-doper was really hard, I couldn't get help from the US National Team and there was no USADA at the time. And as both of you know, you know how Carmichael who was my coach was operating.

The next season, I would return to Italy and try my best to win clean. I just couldn't do it, and I was so frustrated that I quit.

Still having a love with the sport 2 years later I would return to racing in College and would place 2nd in nationals in the road race even after crashing heavily in the criterium the night before having road rash from head to toe. I fought cramping induced by the wound, and lost by a wheel to Alex Candelario. My legs locked up with 500 meters to go unfortunately for me. I would then again go on to finish 2nd again at nationals this time in the U-23 time trial.

Coming in ahead of the new star Danny Pate I thought that I had the win for sure. Little did I know that Ryan Miller the wonder boy would beat me by a few seconds and then 2 weeks later go on to put on 20 pounds of fat in Beligum once we headed to Europe as I joked with him, why couldn't you do that before nats?

I would go on to be the top American in worlds that year finishing 17th in the time trial, which I considered to be a good result, as I beat many of the current top level pros in the sport today.

The next year I would be offered a contract by Linda McCartney. Things were more or less the same, and the frustrations would continue as my teammate Ben Brooks and many others except Ciron Power admitted to using PEDs, or having them on their person.

I was not selected for the Giro D'Italia, instead passed over by Yates for Brooks who had 28 vials of EPO in the fridge and he was on EPO. This was crushing to me, to be so close to riding a grand tour and to be given the alternate position to an EPO user. The real slap in the face came when 2 or 3 days into the race Brooks and Richard pulled out citing a stomach virus, when in truth they had both taken a doping product which our team doctor said would test positive.

My Giro was lost to a doper, and he wasted my dream! Later that year my mom would get breast cancer (she is ok now) and my father would split up with my mother(they are together today). So the stress of doping, cancer, divorce, finally I made the choice to skip pro worlds to be with my mother.

Later that year, I would sign with Saturn. Linda McCartney was living a lie, and even to the sponsor as they signed a complete team of pros only to lie to them about the reality that the team really didn't exsist and that they were only pretending to have a pro team in order to attract another sponsor which they never could get.

I was in good fortune, and I head to malaysia with the team. I knew racing and I was smart at this point and I had to put up with Trents bitching and complaining during the race about my tactics, until I dropped him and became the team leader finishing 15th Overall.

The next big race for me was Redlands and after a specific call from Copeland, telling me that in no way was the team riding for me, and it was Trents team I would race as a domestique.

I helped Trent win turning down powerful breaks on all of the difficult days including the Sunset loop. I felt my riding was critical to helping him win, but he was obviously the strongest rider at the time, even better then Chris Horner, who was his best friend.

I wouldn't get my chance to shine until the Tour of Willamette a few months later. I would be riding in 2nd Overall with Wohlberg in 1st place on G.C. Then the test of my integrity came on the final stage.

A break formed with Pate, Kluck, and Montiger. I wanted to go across for a free ride and the overall win. But first I looked to Eric asked, and he told me to wait with him. I would settle in a ride the front, being one of the strongest on the team protecting Erics win for the overall and slipping to 3rd on G.C. to Danny Pate.

The team continued to frustrate me, skipping me for the Peace Race and sending me to autoshows disrespecting me which I felt, considering my previous experiences racing in Europe. I felt like they didn't want me to go back to Europe and wanted to keep me down.

The stab in my gut came at the TT Nats while rooming with Klasna, when he told me to help him take an injection before he would go on to win nationals that year.

I wanted off the team in 2002 and would join Knickman on Prime Alliance. We dominated that year and again I would ride as a domestique, and ride well in Redlands and all great stage races in America at the time for Horner even when the critics said we had a weak team and could not protect Horner.

I finally got my chance to be the team leader in Beauce with Horner skipping the race. Everyone was there including Mapei and Michael Rogers who I wanted to beat. It wasn't until the Mt. Megantic stage that I really felt my legs dropping the entire field and attacking Rogers, Montiger, Wherry, and every other top domestic pro at the time.

As I climbed the hill in my big ring, I would win from the group and take the yellow jersey. My greatest achievement ever on the bike. I would unfortunately lose the jersey to Rogers in the TT the following day and finish 2nd on GC.

I was upset by my loss and went back to focus on Altoona. There Horner would miss the race again with a broken collar bone, and I would get in a break on the Blue Knob Stage which included Danny Pate, and now strong pro Ben Jaques-man . With constant attacking from Pate I finally countered and would solo for the win by a minute and take the yellow jersey.

With a small team, we had no orders to control the race and it was an attack fest the following day. Danny would attack in a break, and even though it was hard for me to swallow, a good tactical move. Danny would take the overall.

The next season I failed to get a contract on Postal which was extremely disheartening for me considering that was my dream and considering that they took Damon Kluck who I easily dropped in Beauce and who had never had a UCI yellow.

I felt I need to dope, and after talking with David Clinger who just came from Postal to join us on Prime Alliance in 2003, it was secured that I would dope after clinger told me of the doping by Postal.

I would take testosterone and epo in 2003, and also start smoking and drinking a lot and training less. Unfortunately Vaughters this is when you knew me, at my worst. Gone were the days of living like a monk for the sport.

After 2003 I no longer wanted to race my bike, because I hated doping. I had to get off my chest every negative experience I had in my life and sport. I did it on a personal journal known as Stolenunderground.com.

I fought through a sanction, firing, and paid dearly for my short decision to experiment with doping.

Now I am fully recovered, fully mentally healthy, and ready ride my bike again, but I can't get backing from any teams. I am asking you guys to consider me again, and have patience, but I will rise back to the top as I always have.

I have what it takes to be a team leader, and to team domestique that can lead a team to victory. I have what it takes to wear a UCI, NRC yellow and to win. The changing of the guard is happening now, and I can be the top guy in the NRC and a good pro in Europe, I believe.

If you guys can give me a chance to spend the next 6-7 years as a pro, I will give you all I got, and I will give your team some fire! My career is in your hands, and as my 30th birthday is arriving I am at a point in my life where I need to either sh1t or get off the pot.

I just hope you guys let me take huge dump in your pot.

Sincerely,
Matt DeCanio

ps. I know you guys wanted my letter to sercretly to end that way. If you guys don't decide to take me, I promise we will still be friends and no hard feelings.