Friday update
What exactly did Sinkewitz say about Kloden? Don't bother asking Kloden for comment, he probably has a message on his voice mail that just endlessly blares, "Never tested positive. Never tested positive..."
Interview with Bordry. He does not trust team-organized anti-doping programs like Garmin and Columbia have.
Too arrogant to even bother trying to hide his rather revealing disgust for anti-doping, Armstrong has been publicly railing against his assorted dope tests lately on Twitter. Yes, really, how dare the UCI have the nerve to send a tester to collect blood and urine from his Royal Highness. He seems to think he ought to be exempt from such lowly indignities. How soon before he starts complaining about his precious human rights being violated? So much for transparency, not that I ever believed any of that garbage he spewed at that press conference. Then there is also the Marca article that claims he failed to show for a dope test arranged by Catlin during the Astana training camp, and that the results of the (currently non-existent) Catlin program will not be put online after all.
Gene doping. Depressing.
New Toto.
Museeuw verdict. Seems a bit pointless to give a suspended prison sentence. What is the use? Seems like in most of these European doping court cases, they usually get off very lightly. Has Spain even ever prosecuted anyone with their much-vaunted new anti-doping law?
Svein Tuft interview.
I don't understand what is going on with the Schumacher case. Why hasn't the German federation held an official hearing and given him a ban? Does he not have a German license? Meanwhile he and his lawyer continue acting delusional, as usual.
Pretty dumb for Katyusha to alienate a guy who loves cycling with a passion and has rather deep pockets. Interesting comments about the doping culture in amateur Italian teams.
Rumors are flying about Landis at the moment. Some people are saying that he may have spilled the beans on some version of The Truth to one of his rich benefactors, supposedly giving some sort of confession to one-time doping after his bonk. Time will tell if there is any truth to this. Meanwhile his OUCH teammate Tim Johnson suggests that Landis is in good shape as he prepares for his comeback, saying that Landis "crushed us at training camp a few weeks ago in Asheville." As far as I can tell, OUCH is not part of any bio-passport program, which raises a whole other set of questions.
It is strange to read the comments on Frank Schleck over at CSC-Saxo Bank forums. Seems that people like to forget that Schleck paid Fuentes approximately 7,000 Euros in March 2006. He then went on to win the 2006 Amstel Gold in April and the L'Alpe d'Huez stage at the 2006 Tour. Interesting timing. Must have been those training plans that he never received.
20 comments:
I`ve seen Landis out on some of our local rides. Decent fella, goin well and just being friendly but focused.Armstrong deal bugs me,Landis` comeback is more palatable. I wish him well.
Lets leave LA out. No comments required. I am sick of seing and hearing about this additional problem for our sport. Every mag seems to have his face on the front cover, together with endless, meaningless words about him. I say enough is enough. The much vaunted Catlin programme has not even started by all accounts, so nothing changes. Words and more words do nothing to change the situation.
CFA -You are a gifted blogger and this has been a favorite read of mine for a long time. It would be very interesting if you could look at the bright side of life, and specifically the sport of cycling, just once and throw in a few articles, news, or personal opinion about the bright side of cycling. Unless you really have a dislike for the sport -then continue...
Hang onto that Toto cartoon. It will be applicable to more than just Rock Racing by the time Philly Week rolls around (if that race even happens).
Times are going to get tough and even pro cycling is going to feel the pinch.
I just read a few pages of Lance's Twitter entries (first time I ever read Twitter..pretty lame concept). Is it me, or does Lance sound like the lonliest guy around? Yes, he has a lot going on with dinners and workouts and sunsets, but who wastes his time entering these things constantly into sms? I have a friend who is twice divorced who does the same thing on Facebook. Why does he need the external validation constantly? Pretty lonely it appears. Knowing that people adore you but that they adore you for 7 victories that you cheated to get, must create a huge gulf between him and any person he really would like to have a connection with. Waiting to see a new version of The Telltale Heart this racing season. Looks pretty old and lame trying to ride with Astana.
Floyd Landis, decent fella?????
Are you on crack or something?? And you wish this guy well??? Yes, you must be on crack.
There is no such entity as a decent cheater, liar, phoney, charade, scammer, thief, etc...
I agree with the old and lame description. He referenced Dana Torres when he announced his comeback. Dana Torres is a great example of a mom not leaving her passions behind once she has kids. What's Lance? - showing that a partyboy can still ride a bike? Not getting it. The 3 covers of US Cycle Sport make no sense either. Like the Edgar Allen Poe reference!
I too read Twitter for the first time today. Here's what I saw:
Dring back from the shop after riding 4 hours. I hear the drug testers are waiting at the house. #11 1:30 PM Dec 18th from TwitterBerry
Really? He hears about his drug tests in advance? How much time elapses between the call ("Eagle Eye to Cancer: vampires on the prowl! Vampires on the prowl!") and Lance pulling into the driveway? Anyone else think this sounds off?
Landis is pathological.
Tony Zackery, Next time a winner of the TDF is regularly at your local group rides, try to act as judgmental and skeptical as you sound here. My characterizations are based on very recent FIRST HAND experiences. And yes I love "the crack"
Why do you guys follow cycling at all?? If you think Lance and Landis our , liar, phoney, charade, scammer, thief, etc...Find a new sport!! I'm happy to see them race. A lot of people stop watching Tour because Lance stop racing..So with this said, lance racing help our sport.I still don't know why they even test Lance he's never going to get got because there to much money behind him. With landis UCI screw up his tests. If it was a real court system he would have been let off.
You are going to have to flesh out your latest Landis rumor better than that! Total hearsay. Usually you allude to knowing something but don't publish it. How solid is it?
And while you are there, get the scoop on the court settlement, did he have them in a corner, does he have to pay any fees?
Lots of incorrect comments here.
"Next time a winner of the TDF is regularly at your local group rides"
Landis did not win the Tour de France
"With landis UCI screw up his tests. If it was a real court system he would have been let off."
The UCI had nothing to do with Landis' test. AAA and CAS are real courts used daily to solve disputes much larger the the Landis scam. Read the CAS report and you will not be so quick to believe the fable that Landis and his team have invented
It's fairly common in European law for prison terms under a year to be served as "suspended sentences." We can debate whether a year is sufficient for doping possession, natch. But Museeuw isn't necessarily getting special treatment by having his sentence "suspended."
Thanks for the readings, as always.
Do you think it's more simple than that...that we simply like the likeable pros and the we chalk up our dislike to the drugs thing? We all like indurain, and although I feel like a tool for saying it he's also "never tested positive," in his own words. I like rolf sorensen because no one ever looked as classy on a bike in my eyes, even fondriest, but rolf was connected to cecchini (sp?). No one likes riis, but maybe it's because we all feel he robbed big mig of his 6th? And I never dug museeuw or bettini, and can use fact and suspicion, respectively, to justify my dislike. We all like vandevelde it seems, but he rode for postal. And some hate armstrong and justify it with suspicion, some love him and justify it with "he just worked harder and wanted it more." I remember pascal richard talking openly about how fast growth hormone made him, but I liked him cuz he denied lance a classic victory. I liked rebellin cuz he was the "choir boy" and pissed off feretti because he wouldn't dope, but then his name popped up in those giro raids and guess what, I still root for tintin. So maybe it's all shades of grey?
The Schumacher case is bizarre. In the latest article I've seen, he claims that he will ride in 2009 and that he still has a license. Say who-wha?
Schumacher reportedly has a hearing in early January in France with the AFLD. He and his lawyer are claiming that the AFLD testing was illegal and whathaveyou, as is reported here. The German Federation says that they will act on the case depending on the outcome of the AFLD hearings.
When compared with the Riccò and Kohl cases, the actions of the German Federation look very strange. Schumacher's determination to challenge the tests and claim innocence à la Landis, makes for a different scenario. In both the Riccò and Kohl cases, the riders confessed, then, the national federations suspended them. Voilà, end of story.
The Schumacher case looks likely to drag on for eternity, and I think the German Federation is letting the AFLD do the heavy lifting of defending their testing and establishing Schumacher's guilt. Once the AFLD wins the case, the German Federation will act. This is a reasonable approach, I suppose, but it does seem odd that they haven't held as much as a hearing and that Schumacher is trotting about the press declaring that he still has a license and will ride next season.
It's because of the great numbers of doping apologists that doping has became so ingrained in sports today...it's truly a shame...
Dopers are cheats who move in a very undesirable environment. They steal not only the glory but the money from honest riders and cheat the fans. Most do not even have the courage to own up to their cheating when caught.
No wonder many of us have no time for their pathetic excuses, which treat us as if we have no mental or observational capacity. Sorry for those who believe in them, you are still being cheated. Your trust is the reason they continue to deny.
11:51 puts it well
With regard to Armstrong's twitter about testers. I thought his point was that the UCI, which is forever moaning about how it has limited resources, sent a tester all the way from Germany to Austin. That's not a good use of resource, that's a fricking jolly for the tester. If they've got any hope of catching people, flying someone half the way round the world for a "surprise" test isn't it.
As for Bordry, it's all very well him commenting about internal programmes and demanding big assurances from them. Yet AFLD is state-funded and generously so. Public money keeps him in work and ensures that he can take his own sweet time about his work. Privately-funded projects don't get a state guarantee to keep them afloat.
Added to which, one has to ask questions of an organisation which during its existence has had watch over various sporting stars in its national sides who are surrounded by more than a soupcon of suspicion about doping.
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