Valverde charged

BMMF: yeah, totally. that's why i still like valverde. he has a certain panache about him, even if he was doping at a time when everyone else was too.

Valverde's an excellent one-day rider and always will be, even without doping. What he is not is a particularly outstanding stage race rider--that's what he needs doping for. It's odd that people often develop ambitions that are so far removed from their actual strengths.

NB I'm talking about strengths compared to the rest of the pro peloton (doped or undoped), of course, not to ordinary riders.

And, lest we forget, other sports have hardly any controls despite a lot of doping going on.