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Post by allegra on May 1, 2007 9:58:46 GMT 8
Basso leaving Discovery By Andrew Hood VeloNews European correspondent This report filed April 30, 2007 Basso has asked for and been granted his release from Discovery
photo: Casey B. Gibson (file photo)
Beleaguered Italian rider Ivan Basso has removed himself from his two-year contract with the Discovery Channel team at his own request just days ahead of a hearing before the Italian Olympic committee for alleged links to the Operación Puerto doping investigation.
Basso requested to meet with sport director Johan Bruyneel and general manager Bill Stapleton on Sunday. In a press release issued Monday, Basso said the decision to leave the American team was his.
"This was a very difficult decision, for me and my family, but I think it is the right thing to do. Johan, Bill and my teammates have always believed in me and shown me great respect. This decision is my way of showing them that same respect," Basso said in a team statement. "The team is trying to find a new sponsor and win bike races, and my situation is a distraction to both of those goals.
"It is important that everyone knows this was 100 percent my decision. Nobody asked me to leave. I am grateful to all of the staff and riders and wish them the best of luck."
Basso's world was thrown into chaos in early April when German authorities used DNA samples to match nine blood bags found among the nearly 200 confiscated in lespu raids last May to 1997 Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich.
In light of the startling discovery, Italian authorities re-opened an investigation into allegations that Basso may have been linked to the blood-doping ring. Officials are expected to ask Basso to give DNA samples to match against seven bags identified with codenames "No. 2" and "Birillo" that authorities allege could belong to the defending Giro d'Italia champion.
Basso is scheduled to appear before CONI officials in Rome on Wednesday.
The prospect of DNA testing came just as Discovery Channel is searching for a new title sponsor to take over the team for the 2008 season. The team had suspended Basso from competition until the new investigation was completed.
The Italian was among nine riders kicked out of last year's Tour de France after their names appeared in lespu documents as part of the Puerto investigation. Last fall, however, Italian authorities cleared Basso for a lack of substantial evidence.
"Ivan's request was unexpected and he was very emotional, but adamant, about his decision to be released," Bruyneel said in a team statement. "We spoke with him at length before granting his request. Although he was only on our team for a short time, he was a great leader and a very well respected and selfless teammate. I, along with the entire team, wish him the best."
Tailwind Sports general manager Bill Stapleton said there are no regrets about signing Basso despite the potential negative fallout surrounding the Puerto case.
Stapleton expressed his confidence in the team's ability to carry on without the 2005 Tour runner-up, whom many called the successor to Lance Armstrong.
"Ivan was a great addition to our team and I am very sad to see him go," Stapleton said in a team release. "He was one of our leaders and we expected big things from him this season.
"However, this team has 15 wins in 2007 and we have great depth and talent on our roster. We will continue to win and be competitive in all of our races, including the Tour De France.
"When we signed Ivan, all the necessary governing authorities had cleared him. He deserved a team and we had always wanted to sign him. We did our due diligence and we have no regrets."
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Post by king on May 1, 2007 20:03:56 GMT 8
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Post by grnhrnt on May 1, 2007 20:15:58 GMT 8
delicadeza?
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Post by allegra on May 1, 2007 22:34:58 GMT 8
Dang , Lance kicked 2 superstar doper's butts!
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Post by allegra on May 1, 2007 22:38:11 GMT 8
Basso: 'I'm at peace with my conscience.' By Agence France Presse This report filed May 1, 2007 Ivan Basso said Tuesday that he is "at peace" with himself ahead of his Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) hearing on doping allegations that may well decide his future as a cyclist.
Basso, last year's Giro d'Italia winner and a pre-race favorite for the 2007 Tour de France, quit Discovery Channel on Monday noting that ongoing suspicions on him were damaging the team and its hunt for a new title sponsor.
The decision has ruled him out of defending his Giro title in less than two weeks time, and has likely ruled him out of the Tour de France for the second year running.
The 29-year-old Basso was one of dozens of riders implicated in the Operación Puerto doping affair last year, which has re-emerged in recent weeks.
Basso has always protested his innocence and says he is feeling relaxed ahead of the hearing, where he could be asked to provide a DNA sample.
"I left Discovery Channel because I didn't want my team or my teammates to pay for something which really only concerns me," Basso told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Whether I'm going to a hearing or not, I'm at peace with my conscience."
Basso's recent suspension by Discovery, the former team of Lance Armstrong and in which the seven-time Tour de France winner still has a stake, had already placed his Giro d'Italia participation in doubt.
The Giro begins May 12, and Basso confirmed Tuesday that he won't be there
"No matter what happens, I won't be riding the Giro," he said. "The moment I left Discovery, I decided I would not be racing there. It's been five days since I last trained. The idea of going there to defend the maglia rosa is not something I'm preoccupied with at the moment."
Basso and Discovery's decision has left a huge question mark over the Italian's future. He missed the Tour de France last year after being implicated in the affair, which also led to the suspension and sacking of Jan Ullrich by T-Mobile. Germany's 1997 Tour winner also protested his innocence and has since retired from the sport.
A DNA sample from Basso is expected to be compared to blood found among the hundreds of frozen bags discovered by lespu when they raided the premises of a Madrid sports doctor Eufemiano Fuentes in May 2006.
A recent DNA sample from Ullrich reportedly linked him to blood found in Fuentes' laboratory.
On Monday Gazzetta claimed that another, as yet unidentified, 49 cyclists are implicated in the doping affair, bringing the total to 107 and threatening to cast an even darker cloud over the sport ahead of the first two major stage races of the season.
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said he's unwilling to risk allowing anyone implicated in the investigation to ride in the world's most prestigious bicycle race.
"The sport just cannot allow cyclists who are still implicated in this affair to start the Tour de France if suspicion still hangs over them," he said.
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Post by anthrax76 on May 2, 2007 9:40:22 GMT 8
Discovery was trying to groom him. I've read somewhere that there's some sort of something like a "structured" doping in teams before.
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Post by king on May 8, 2007 4:59:46 GMT 8
www.velonews.com/news/fea/12213.0.htmlBasso admits involvement in Puerto scandal Ivan Basso on Monday confessed to the anti-doping prosecutor of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) that he was involved in the Operación Puerto blood doping scandal. CONI said the 2006 Giro winner came to them of his own accord and offered to cooperate with their investigation and clarify his part in the scandal. The 29-year-old Basso now faces a ban from cycling of up to two years and an additional two-year exclusion from riding on ProTour teams. If his doping is connected to his 2006 Giro win, authorities could also strip him of that title. "He wasn't feeling good and he wasn't calm, and he wanted to lift a weight off his conscience," said Basso's lawyer Massimo Martelli. "During the interrogation he was shaking, but then he regained his composure to show great character." Ivano Fanini, owner of Italian cycling team Amore and Vita, was happy to see Basso come clean. "I knew it would finish this way and it could be a great chance for things to change," he said. "Basso has shown his intelligence and understands that this is the right road to take. "He mustn't only think about saving himself, and I hope that what he has done proves to be important." Basso, last year's Giro d'Italia winner and a pre-race favorite for the 2007 Tour de France, is one of dozens of riders implicated in the Puerto investigation. The scandal erupted before last year's Tour De France when Spanish lespu uncovered an alleged blood doping network run by doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. lespu discovered bags of blood and doping products on a raid on Fuentes's laboratory in Madrid, along with codenames of cyclists and documents which suggested the doctor had been paid to manipulate and store blood. Last year, Basso's implication in the scandal cost him his place at the Tour de France. UCI president Pat McQuaid expressed his dismay at hearing the news. "Most of all I am very sad that a talented rider like Basso seems to have been involved in some illicit practices," he said. "On the other hand I'm trying to look at this news in a more positive light. Our constant efforts, with our other cycling partners, to put cyclists under pressure are paying off. "Right now it's not easy to break the rules," he added. Last week Basso parted company with the Discovery Channel team after CONI had called him to a hearing to answer doping charges. Up until now Basso had protested his innocence. He was initially acquitted by CONI of any involvement in the scandal due to what Italy's governing body for sport described as insufficient evidence. But CONI reopened its investigation after German officials matched blood seized in the Puerto raids to 1997 Tour winner Jan Ullrich. Until now, Basso had refused to submit to DNA testing, but in recent weeks the pressure to do so was increasing.
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Post by allegra on May 8, 2007 7:39:30 GMT 8
How about Floyd?
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Post by kulot_salot on May 8, 2007 8:09:05 GMT 8
it's the beer....
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Post by hdreynolds on May 9, 2007 20:15:26 GMT 8
It seems anyone implicated in the Operación Puerto are guilty till proven innocent. OTOH, if these riders feel unjustly accused why don't they sue? AFAIC, I don't give a rats ass if an accused doper races another TdF but I still smell something fishy with the way the implicated riders have carried their cases.
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Post by allegra on May 9, 2007 22:06:50 GMT 8
bring back Lance!!
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Post by king on May 9, 2007 23:01:57 GMT 8
there's a funny comparison in velonews about basso insisting that he only planned to cheat in the tour de france, like clinton saying he didn't inhale basso is obviously trying to protect his 2006 giro d'italia win. from the evidence presented though, it looks like that title will be stripped from him.
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Guilty?
May 10, 2007 11:45:03 GMT 8
Post by allegra on May 10, 2007 11:45:03 GMT 8
there's a funny comparison in velonews about basso insisting that he only planned to cheat in the tour de france, like clinton saying he didn't inhale basso is obviously trying to protect his 2006 giro d'italia win. from the evidence presented though, it looks like that title will be stripped from him. After ulrich and basso , I dont know of anyone else to cheer for sa tdf does this mean the "cleanest " athletes in cycling are....Freeriders!
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Guilty?
May 10, 2007 12:09:02 GMT 8
Post by Ben Dover on May 10, 2007 12:09:02 GMT 8
i wouldnt bet on that allegra...even in baseball where they all do there are sit, stand, spit, run for several yards and get fat, may drug ek ek rin.
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Guilty?
May 10, 2007 13:35:50 GMT 8
Post by allegra on May 10, 2007 13:35:50 GMT 8
Tainted na lahat, just not Lance
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Guilty?
May 10, 2007 13:51:37 GMT 8
Post by Ben Dover on May 10, 2007 13:51:37 GMT 8
Tainted na lahat, just not Lance actually i'm beginning to doubt him..one thing i'm sure of is our pinoy pros dont do it...i mean the blood transfusion thing...walang budget ;D
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Guilty?
May 10, 2007 14:13:28 GMT 8
Post by allegra on May 10, 2007 14:13:28 GMT 8
Tainted na lahat, just not Lance actually i'm beginning to doubt him..one thing i'm sure of is our pinoy pros dont do it...i mean the blood transfusion thing...walang budget ;D I'm not really a die hard Lance fan, but as a sport psychologist and coach naks! I dont believe Lance ( and Michael Jordan, tiger woods,muhammad ali,schumie etc ) won competitions because of their physical gifts Ika nga ni fafa Jordan , the difference between the talented and the superstars , is the ability to make the shot when the game is on the line
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Guilty?
May 10, 2007 14:22:28 GMT 8
Post by kulot_salot on May 10, 2007 14:22:28 GMT 8
baka naman primitive kind of doping the euros are doing.... they get caught eh... even floyd, maybe he's out of budget for the hitek doping the americans are doing kaya he put it in his beer.... ;D so if basso, entered discovery team earlier baka the method of doping will not be traceable.... hehehehe.... ;D ;D ;D check out lance, he put the dope in his pwet.... hahahaha! galing! cortisteriod for saddle soreness daw.... ;D ;D ;D peace ye all!
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Guilty?
May 10, 2007 15:24:15 GMT 8
Post by Ben Dover on May 10, 2007 15:24:15 GMT 8
maybe jordan was just being humble when he said that ...they should have asked muhammad ali instead hehe!
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Guilty?
May 10, 2007 22:45:55 GMT 8
Post by allegra on May 10, 2007 22:45:55 GMT 8
maybe jordan was just being humble when he said that ...they should have asked muhammad ali instead hehe! Jordan was as big a trashtalker as ali He's different from the smiling dude in the gatorade commercials He's even scarier I think Anybody have a pic of the Jordan and Mahorn face to face staredown? Mahorn was huge and there was a small Jordan staring him down halos magdikit muka nila, to protect Pippen Astig! i've searched everywhere couldnt find it anymore
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Post by allegra on May 11, 2007 9:59:31 GMT 8
This is w/ xavier mcdaniel another thug este enforcer pala I would have loved to see Basso or ulrich do this to Lance
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Guilty?
May 11, 2007 22:48:21 GMT 8
Post by jr on May 11, 2007 22:48:21 GMT 8
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Guilty?
May 12, 2007 15:58:13 GMT 8
Post by kulot_salot on May 12, 2007 15:58:13 GMT 8
Landis says USADA sought dirt on Armstrong
AFP May 11, 2007
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Floyd Landis warmed up for his doping arbitration hearing with another swipe at the US Anti-Doping Agency, claiming USADA offered him a short sentence if he provided information incriminating Lance Armstrong.
Landis, who is battling to keep his 2006 Tour de France title, said that USADA general counsel Travis Tygart approached his attorney, Howard Jacobs, with a deal shortly after learning of Landis's positive doping test during the Tour.
"That took place in the first conversation between USADA (the US Anti-Doping Agency) and my lawyer," Landis said at a press conference looking ahead to the start of his arbitration hearing on Monday.
"Unless Mr. Landis waives the Confidentiality rule, I can't speak," Tygart said of the claim. "If he does waive the confidentiality rule, I'll be happy to address all of his ridiculous claims." USADA has in the past reduced penalties for those who provide evidence of doping violations by others, but asking for information about specific athletes is not allowed.
Landis, who stands to lose his tour title as well as face a ban, said he had no information that would incriminate Armstrong, the seven-time winner of the Tour de France who has faced numerous unproven doping accusations.
Landis said he didn't expect the subject to arise during his hearing before a three-man panel of the American Arbitration Association, which is expected to last 10 days.
"We would wish the hearing would be about science and about a doping case," he said. Landis and his advisers argue that the French laboratory that found an unusually high level of testosterone in his sample given after the stunning stage 17 triumph that keyed his Tour victory failed to follow proper procedures in handling the samples.
"All I can hope for, really, is that the three arbitrators will listen to the facts in the case," he said.
However, the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) on Friday claimed that allegations of improper procedures had been proven unfounded following an examination of the process followed which resulted in Landis's positive test by three independent experts.
"The three independent experts are in accordance with the results and that the laboratory (Chatenay-Malabry) worked in a very professional way," AFLD president Pierre Bordry said. Bordry said that they had passed on their findings to the USADA.
"Landis refused to provide the USADA with the report from these experts so I've decided to pass it on directly to the USADA," he added.
Landis's lawyers have called on Chatenay-Malabry director Jacques de Ceaurriz and six lab technicals to appear before the hearing.
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Guilty?
May 12, 2007 21:31:44 GMT 8
Post by king on May 12, 2007 21:31:44 GMT 8
i think landis is grasping at straws. he's just trying to lay reasonable doubt so that he'll hopefully get off on a technicality.
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Guilty?
May 23, 2007 10:55:01 GMT 8
Post by allegra on May 23, 2007 10:55:01 GMT 8
Pereiro threatens to leave cycling if asked for DNA 'I am not Urko,' insists Tour runner-up
By Andrew Hood
VeloNews European correspondent This report filed May 18, 2007
The rumors have been floating around for months that "Urko" - one of the infamous codenames found in the Operación Puerto dossier - could belong to Spanish rider Oscar Pereiro.
No one dared touch it except a few anonymous web sites until Il Giornale, an Italian newspaper in Milan, published a story Wednesday without naming sources linking Pereiro to bags of blood with the pseudonym found in lespu raids last May.
An angry Pereiro blasted the allegations Friday and said he would quit cycling if he's forced to provide DNA samples to prove his innocence.
"I have never spoken with Eufemiano Fuentes," Pereiro told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. "It's unfair that cyclists have to prove our innocence. I am ready to do anything, but if I have to use DNA to demonstrate my innocence, I will leave cycling, because it's obvious that cycling like that isn't worth it."
Runner-up in last year's Tour de France, Pereiro could inherit Floyd Landis's crown if the American fails in his bid to clear his name of doping allegations in a disciplinary hearing that started this week in Malibu.
The Puerto investigation continues to haunt cycling after DNA samples linked nine blood bags to 1997 Tour champion Jan Ullrich. Earlier this month, 2006 Giro champion Ivan Basso admitted working with alleged Puerto ringleader Fuentes.
The Puerto file is full of nicknames, some clearly linked to riders. The others that aren't has led to a high-stakes game of deduction among insiders and journalists have begun printing names without substantiation.
"Birillo" turned out to be Basso, "Zapatero" was recently confessed Italian rider Michele Scarponi and "Hijo de Rudicio" was Ullrich. Pereiro says he's not "Urko."
"I'm disgusted at this pathetic journalism that some practice, that they repeat rumors to promote a lie," Pereiro said. "Someone says that Urko is a mythological dog from Galicia, when in reality the name of this animal is written with a ‘c' - Urco. Urko with a ‘k' is a hill in the Basque Country."
UCI president Pat McQuaid told VeloNews he has not seen any evidence linking Pereiro to the Puerto investigation and suggested the Italian media is trumping up charges to support Basso.
"The Italians also reported there are 49 new names in Puerto and that's not true," McQuaid said. "The Italians are doing everything trying to take the heat off Basso and implicate others."
The story broke just as Pereiro's Caisse d'Epargne team has been fending off other allegations linking riders Alejandro Valverde and Ruben Plaza to the Puerto scandal. The team removed Plaza and Constantino Zaballa from its Giro lineup because of doubts over alleged links to the Puerto case.
"All these rumors are being reported in the media, but there is no proof," Caisse d'Epargne sport director José Luis Jaimerena told VeloNews. "If there is some proof, we would take action. Valverde is not linked to Puerto and now all this about Pereiro. They are just rumors. We don't know if there's something behind all this or not."
Earlier this week, team manager José Miguel Echavarri huddled with Caisse d'Epargne representatives to assure its title sponsor that the team is not implicated.
On Thursday, the team released a statement defending Valverde and Plaza, and said that all the team's riders would give DNA samples if authorities demanded them.
Pereiro angrily rejected those calls Friday and said he's ready to skip this year's Tour de France.
"I don't know what's happening, but I have to say in the last Tour, I was the smartest one. I went away in a breakaway and I gained back a half hour," he said. "If they don't want me to race in the Tour, they should clearly tell me. Cycling doesn't end with the Tour de France. If they don't let me start, that's no big deal, I will stay here and race the Vuelta a España."
Pereiro is scheduled to race the Volta a Cataluyna on Monday.
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Guilty?
May 23, 2007 11:41:17 GMT 8
Post by maxbuwaya on May 23, 2007 11:41:17 GMT 8
dope sucks\\
look what happen to prominent people like Amay Bisaya and Dinky Doo.
Such a waste.
tsktsktsk
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Guilty?
May 23, 2007 12:02:21 GMT 8
Post by Ben Dover on May 23, 2007 12:02:21 GMT 8
hmm...if there's really no way of stopping this, my solution to this issue is for the international cycling body to create separate categories for naturaly aspirated and turbo boosted cyclist to level the playing field.
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Guilty?
May 23, 2007 15:05:03 GMT 8
Post by allegra on May 23, 2007 15:05:03 GMT 8
Guys , the aricle I posted ids a little old Read whats happening at the Landis trials, exciting! hehe Pumapapel pa si Lemond I dont know aboput Lemond He was supportive of Lance nuon , but when Lance was gonna get more TdF wins than him , bigla sya nag insist Lance is doping. Shades of inggit?
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Post by wcoastbo on May 24, 2007 3:44:45 GMT 8
I like Lemond, but why is he always getting into other people's business? The more he opens his mouth, the less respect I have for him. I'm not sure what Lemond's motives are, but everytime there's an American rider being accused of doping, he seems to be in the middle of the mess. First Lance now Landis. Did Lemond get himself involved in Hamilton's scandal? I don't recall. Shame about Basso, he's such a talented rider. If Elisa Basso can enhance herself, why can't her brother do the same? ;D Double standard for athlete's? This is bike related, right? She has a yellow band.
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Guilty?
May 24, 2007 23:35:28 GMT 8
Post by king on May 24, 2007 23:35:28 GMT 8
www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/may07/may24news2'Zabel and Aldag confess EPO usage By Susan Westemeyer in Bonn A tearful Erik Zabel appeared at the T-Mobile press conference Thursday along with former teammate Rolf Aldag to confess to using the banned blood booster EPO while riding for the Team Telekom in the 1990s. Current T-Mobile Team Manager Bob Stapleton praised the two for coming forward, saying that Aldag would continue to work for the team, and promised "further significant changes in our program this year and next year." (Read Cyclingnews' earlier article on the scheduled press conference.) Zabel was a surprise guest at the press conference in Bonn, Germany. Visibly moved and fighting back tears -- sometimes unsuccessfully -- he admitted to having used EPO during the first week of the Tour de France 1996. The side-effects were so great, however, that he stopped with it. He admitted that he did not know how his current team Milram would accept his confession, and it not clear what is his present status with the team. He was unable to control his voice or hold back his tears when he spoke of his son Rick. "My son rides, too, and I don't want him to go through what I went through," said the four-time winner of Milano-Sanremo. "It doesn't make any difference whether it happened one time or over two years, the point is that it was forbidden to dope, and I doped. I doped, I lied and I apologize for that." Aldag confessed to a longer history of doping. He started with EPO before the 1995 Tour de France, and he said that continued with it. In 1997, he hit a hematocrit of 50 percent, and started wondering whether it was worth it. His highest blood value was 53 percent. Finally in 1999, at the age of 30, he decided to stop using the products. Stapleton said that a major reason he decided to keep Aldag on was the team. "I have spoken to our athletes, asked how they feel about things and about the team management. Many of them said that Rolf Aldag was the reason they are here. That is very important. They resoundingly said that he should stay and that he has their full and complete support." '
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