All

Yikes... everyone likes a french line joke every once and a while but Richie has to know he can't make that joke anymore....

Savage

When young Richie started to look like Mark McGwire from his home run years I new there was a problem.

He did not own up, he has plead ignorance.

Where did Graves own up? It's not on Pinkbike as far as i can see...

i know what you are talking about getting that boost of caughting guys in front , i've done that and yes, it motivates you, but i don't think that's at that level. And that for me is just is stand out performance that is easier to talk about, he was Dominant those 2 series, and then signs with Redbull that is a company who doesn't want PR disaster with Dopping and his results all of a sudden fall massively. Even at the time this was my opinion, and i read and spoke with people with the same, with what happened...

That's a whole lot of words to say "no big deal". Can't Ritchie and/or his attorney defend himself? Having an industry associated professional do so unsolicited on his behalf sounds, well, ridiculous.

i do think that before Red Bull he was with a lot more stuff, that overtake on Damien Otton (who was2 in that stage) that he passed like otton was stopped isn't normal, and it was the last season where he dominated. we have seen more than one guy dominate, like Maes, but not that much of a margin and Sam Hill was ill in the first 2 rounds, so if doing top 15 in all the races and sitting top 6 is doing poorly...

Interesting from the EWS 2018 rule book: "With the interest of keeping enduro mountain biking clean and to avoid the spirit and reputation of enduro mountain bike racing from being brought into disrepute, any cyclist, regardless of cycling discipline, who has previously been found guilty by any court or regulatory body of any use of or involvement with banned, performance enhancing drugs will not be entitled to compete or take part in any Enduro World Series event." However, the next paragraph has an option to appeal in exceptional circumstances and the EWS board can grant an exception. So there was...

So the lifetime ban rule...that got scrapped pretty quick didn’t it. Though it was part of the 2018 rules, Richie got caught in 2018, so there’s an argument that the rule book from the time should apply

Thanks to this thread, we are reminded that this story broke out November of last year. Going back to racing less than a year after the ruling got public, in addition to the absence of a sincere mea culpa in his statement, is a very bad PR move. It only stokes the anger and hate of mtb fans even further. I'm sure it will only get worse if he podiums or wins an EWS. In my humble opinion, Richie should have skipped this season instead.

It seems impossible not to question Rude's 2015 and 2016 overall wins. #tainted

He should be forever known in the history of enduro racing as been a drugs cheat. Doped up the eyeballs and when he got caught he weaselled his way out of it. If I was one of his fellow pros I would be disgusted seeing him back.

There’s always blood transfusions Richie........

it is obvious that PR people do not respect fans with statements such as: I accidentally slept the wrong water. An identical PR stunt, as with Gwin that his mechanic accidentally used a three-year old crank. Such statements are offensive!!

Short answer: Not likely. There is a lot at play here, but one thing thing that is for certain is China is a manufacturing powerhouse. They aren't going to be shuttering these facilities anytime soon, tariffs or no tariffs. To add, the likelihood of a trade deal in the next 12 months is still pretty high, and thereafter we may or may not have a new president that completely undoes all this. My guess is it'll be a blip on the radar, with maybe some movement to Taiwan or similar. Overall however, we the bike riders will likely pay a...

[i]The hardest thing that I've had to deal with in my career is harsh judgment from the fans. Might surprise you but it's true. It straight up sucks when people talk bad about you, especially since they rarely understand the reality of certain situations. You guys see a very narrow view sometimes of whatever the media chooses to represent, that's why I've always kind of made an effort to step in and make things clear. Sometimes for better, and sometimes maybe for worse. I'm pretty confident that if any of you were to go out to coffee with John and...