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2009-10-16T19:40:00.001-04:00

The end

2009-09-07T17:19:00.004-04:00

This blog is over. I no longer have the time, interest, or motivation to write it. There are no teams left that I want to be a fan of, and I really have no idea which riders are clean and which aren't. More to the point, I no longer care. I am sick of being lied to and there have just been too many final straws. I also found the nasty atmosphere at the Tour this year to be so fetid and rancorous that I didn't even want to watch most stages. To me the sport is irredeemably tainted and there doesn't seem to be anything left to say about it that I haven't already said too many times before. It was probably pointless saying it all the first time and it is definitely pointless to go on saying it again and again. I have also dealt with many negative consequences of writing this blog which, after over 2 years of it, I no longer care to face day after day.

I want to extend my most sincere and heartfelt thanks to all those who provided information, support, and encouragement in one form or another. I wish you all the best and hope that your love of the sport will survive against the odds.

Sunday update

2009-08-09T16:48:00.003-04:00

Another sudden death of a young athlete from a heart attack. Apparently not at all unusual in elite sports such as soccer and, of course, cycling.

Fanini has again stirred the ire of certain Italian cyclists by suggesting links to Ferrari. The source of the original article? The ever-reliable Capodacqua of course. Now lawsuits are threatened, righteous outrage all around. Meanwhile the August issue of Procycling has Ferrari at number 20 in their list of the most powerful people in cycling. Too bad the NAS can't just stake out Ferrari's office and end this charade once and for all. I wonder if Sky will flinch at the unverified mention of Nibali, who they have supposedly been courting?

Also in Procycling, Dick Pound confirms previous speculation by saying that he thinks the UCI decision to sue him was related not just to his comments about doping in cycling, but to his decision to run for head of the CAS. And the UCI claims to be serious about anti-doping?

For some unknown and inexplicable reason Valv.Piti is still racing and won the overall in Spain today. Yet another useless result that makes a laughingstock of cycling. CONI and Torri have done their best, but the infernal delays at UCI headquarters have squandered their efforts so far. What exactly is the UCI waiting for? Do they need someone to remind them how many long years the Puerto debacle has been allowed to drag on? Are they going to sit idly by and let Valverde try to win the Vuelta? Probably.

In the sweepstakes for the slowest ever doping investigation known to man, even the glacial pace of the UCI is better then the Swiss Olympic committee, which is still contemplating Ullrich's case from seemingly centuries ago. If he's lucky, hapless Jan's case may be decided by the time he's ready for the nursing home. The Swiss blame the Spanish for being obstructionist, as usual. Everything is Serrano's fault. Only Torri so far has outwitted the stonewalling Spanish judge in charge of whitewashing Puerto.

Di Luca and his lawyer are blathering loudly on and on, spouting the usual ridiculous claims, all of which by now sound so baldly repetitive that Di Luca ought to be charged royalties by Landis and Hamilton. Dear deluded Danilo, we have heard all these facile lies many times before, and we weren't dumb enough to believe them the first time. If you are going to waste our time with more of the same crap, at least try to be a little creative and come up with a new angle. The age-old "blame the lab" defense is too boring. Why not blame some exotic ingredient in your designer cologne, some unknown contaminant in your expensive champagne, some allergic reaction to your Rolex? Of course, it couldn't possibly be that it has anything at all to do with your lifelong association with Santuccione. No, that is entirely unrelated. Everyone needs a family doctor, after all.

I recently read Allan Peiper's book A Peiper's Tale. While the book's structure is rather disjointed, and there are a few unfortunate sections which veer into a rather troubling degree of doping apologism, this book also includes chapters where the words seem to almost burn off the pages, such is the degree of totally unfiltered and searing honesty about the brutal realities of a sometimes troubled life in the trenches of pro cycling. Peiper's perceptive, self-aware, and tortured description of the emotional and spiritual crisis he faced during his transition into retirement is especially revealing, as he describes how he had long used the physical suffering of cycling to mask his underlying demons, and what happened when he no longer had cycling to rely on: "I had tried, unconsciously, to race out the pain, to suffer it out so I couldn't feel the underlying hurt any more. But after I stopped racing there was no avenue for me; I couldn't avoid it by adding pain anymore, artificial pain, and the whole scary monster of my life, the monster I'd repressed for years, had got me." How many cyclists can relate to this more than they would care to publicly admit? Peiper is currently a DS for Columbia, where his very hard-earned experience is likely a considerable asset to their success. This book is best-suited for open-minded and serious cycling fans who like their behind-the-scenes insights to be gritty, unvarnished, and unapologetically emotional.

I have also recently been reading the new book from Matt Rendell, Olympic Gangster: The Legend of Jose Beyaert. This is an exhaustive and rollicking biography of the French cyclist Beyaert, who won Olympic gold in 1948, and went on to live a life of almost continual reinvention and constant adventure. Beyaert was the sort of pugnacious and fearless rider who was afraid of no one and reveled in the sort of cut-throat machinations that would have terrified meeker riders. In one typical anecdote, Beyaert describes facing Gino Bartali's feared enforcer and domestique Giovanni Corrieri, who was enraged after a race in which Beyaert refused to bow down to Bartali's will: "After the race, I went to the changing room. Corrieri was waiting for me with a knife. He told me, 'Come on then!' Behind me there was a door with an iron bar to lock it. I grabbed the bar...Bang! I struck him once. Bang! Again. He went down. Bartali walked in. He said, 'What's going on?' I said, 'He was waiting for me with a knife.' I turned to Corrieri and said, 'Next time, your wife will have to identify you from your shoes.' He didn't bother me again." Such was the over-sized personality of the untamed Beyaert, who never was shy to face a fight, and whose checkered life story provides a fitting if complex lens through which to reflect on cycling's tumultuous and sometimes cruel history.

Wednesday update

2009-07-22T19:16:00.004-04:00

So Di Luca is finally caught, after doping for likely his entire career. About damn time. He actually publicly stated that notorious doping doctor Carlo Santuccione was his "family doctor" since he was child, so while it is a relief to see him fall at long last, it is also a sad indictment of the total inadequacy of the usual sort of anti-doping testing that it took so many long years to catch him. Like Kohl, who explained that he should have tested positive any number of times long before his CERA positive, I think that Di Luca has long been getting away with it with ease due to the help of Santuccione and his informers, who warned the doctor about upcoming "surprise" tests. The jury is still out on whether the bio-passport will really be able to end the dark days of obvious dopers being able to smugly say they never tested positive. In catching Di Luca, the UCI can now earnestly wave a big fish under our noses as "proof" of their sincerity in the anti-doping fight. With the UCI however, cycling fans have long since learned the hard way to question everything and temper our expectations. Putting your faith in the UCI's veracity is sort of like declaring the Tour to be clean. As much as you might want to believe it, you are just asking to look stupid a few months down the line. The UCI's history is nothing if not one big object lesson on the power of denial and the misuse of official authority. McQuaid will soon be reelected as head of the UCI, without any opposition candidates even running. Verbruggen, who has to be among the worst doping apologist ever, is still in a position of power at the UCI. The UCI is still suing Dick Pound. Is this an organization that you can believe in?

The other point made by this latest positive is that some cyclists are clearly not afraid of getting caught when taking CERA. Why is this? It seems that they must have info that the chances of getting caught are relatively slim. You have to wonder what percentage of CERA users the CERA test actually is able to catch? How many other cyclists have been using CERA and got away with it? There must be quite a few if there are still high-profile, frequently-tested cyclists who are willing to take the risk and face the odds of discovery. For cyclists who have been doping and not getting caught for their entire career, the sense of invincibility must be deeply ingrained, and their attitudes toward the acceptability of doping seem to be lagging behind the growing ability of the bio-passport to catch them. The idea of many long-time dopers in the cycling world seems to be that they are simply not doing anything wrong, and that tacit acceptance of doping is and ought to be the unwritten law of the sport. Riders who have lived this reality for years will have a hard time coming to grips with the idea that the UCI might actually be serious about anti-doping this time...maybe.

In other news, Kohl's manager Matschiner has pointed the finger at a former Gerlosteiner rider who is currently an active rider on another team, and who rode previously at the Tour. Former Gerlosteiner head Holczer has replied angrily that Matschiner ought to just name names if he is going to say things like that. Take a look at the former Gerolsteiner roster.

Problems at Silence-Lotto? How unusual.

Team Sky have applied for a ProTour license. I think the UCI is really asking for trouble if they are planning to increase the number of ProTour teams next year. Meanwhile in Nicholas Roche's latest Tour diary where he details coming in fourth on yesterday's stage, there is a section about the ProTour: "...straight away the team manager was giving out that we only got fourth and we didn't get enough UCI points. He is worried that with the ProTour being cut from 20 to 17 teams next year that we won't have enough points to stay up there, which would mean missing the biggest races." So the ProTour is being cut to 17 teams next years? But new teams are applying? Who is leaving to make room? Are some teams actually going to be kicked out for lack of UCI points?

Jens Voigt's crash yesterday was among the scariest I have ever seen while watching a race, with the sheer force of his impact provoking momentary nausea. While it is a big relief that he is out of danger, I still wonder sometimes about the ethics of being a fan of a sport that can carry such a huge risk for its participants. The stress and media attention of the Tour sometimes seem to magnify the dangers, and I just wish as fans that we weren't contributing to the pressures that might sometimes lead riders to take a bit of extra risk. I guess it is just part of the race that has to be accepted, but I still don't like it. Meanwhile everyone seems to have a theory about what exactly happened. Even the Tour officials weighed in, with Francois Lemarchand saying, "They are using deep-profile carbon wheels and they are just too stiff. You combine that with the stiff carbon frames and it is just too rigid. They can't absorb any shock." Not sure if that theory holds any water, but I doubt Specialized will be interested to consider the idea that their frames might be too stiff. Also I would highly suggest NOT looking at any of the usual places for TdF photos from yesterday's stage, as there are way too many graphic and disturbing pictures of the crash out there. I wonder how the photographers feel about that, being more or less obligated to document such events as they happen, without knowing the medical condition or prognosis of the rider.

As for today's stage, I loved Thor's long solo escapade, which showed that his class as an all-arounder is not to be overlooked in the tendency to classify him as a sprinter. Truly amazing to see him climbing that well and looking fairly comfortable doing it. Cav is young and brash, yet perhaps today was a small lesson that it is not always the best strategy to provoke your opponents with angry words that may inspire them to feats of unexpected brilliance. Many riders feed off of anger and the desire to prove their naysayers wrong, and if you give such riders a good reason to be angry then you are surely not helping your own cause. Cav's outspoken nature is often dismissed as a sort of "boys being boys" thing that is to be more or less expected of high-strung sprinters, yet if you consider that his comments contributed no small part to the Garmin-Columbia feud and now also to antagonism with Hushovd/Cervelo, you have to wonder if at some point the Columbia management will ask him to hold his tongue a little more. Creating enemies in the peloton is not helpful for any team, and Cav seems to be developing a certain talent for it. Meanwhile, LA seems to be taking a suspiciously outsized interest in Cav, which has the usual sort of transfer speculation rumbling around. LA's new team is likely in the process of considering new hires at the Tour, and whenever LA suddenly takes a shine to a rider, it raises the same speculation, such as previously happened with Gerrans.

Other than Thor's exploits, I did not much enjoy the outcome of today's stage. The guys I wanted to do well had some trouble, and the guys I am either indifferent to or actively dislike were flying. That's life as a fan. You get used to it. I have no interest in the Schlecks, as Frank's tendency to blithely send money off to Fuentes is hardly reassuring. Then there is Kloden, who as far as I can tell should not even have been allowed to ride at the Tour due to info from the Freiburg report implicating him in blood doping. Really, why is he still even employed as a professional rider? Yet there he is, having a big impact on the race and perhaps ending up on the podium. It is a sad spectacle that shows why the sport has many miles further to go before the Tour will be a believable race. Then there is Contador whose past is an enigma shrouded by the impenetrable shadows of Puerto and Saiz. Some heavy hitters swear to his current cleanliness, yet he hardly seems forthcoming about his past as a protege of Saiz, unlike his teammate Jesus Hernandez. Next in line we have LA, whose past hardly needs mentioning. Take a read of Le Sale Tour or From Lance to Landis if you need a refresher, which if you read this blog, I bet you don't. These are your top five, a group with plenty of questions and doubts lingering. I don't know for sure whether there is even a single rider in that top five that I can believe in. That's life as a fan. You get used to it. As for Nibali, who knows, but as least he's not entirely keen on Di Luca and sometimes wears a doping-free tatoo, which proves so much.

I am a bit worried about what is going on with the usually amiable Sastre, as his rest day comments seemed rather out of character. There have been rumblings that all is not serene within the Cervelo ranks, and some riders are said to be running for the exits next year. I wonder how much Sastre misses the presence of Sunderland, who was supposed to be his DS and who he knew from his CSC years. It was seemingly an ill omen for Cervelo when Sunderland left suddenly for no clear reason very early last season. I also wonder how different Sastre's Tour might have been if he had not been under pressure to perform at a high level at the Giro. You would think that Cervelo could pick their goals with a little more discretion, especially with the degree of success they have already had, yet they always seem slightly greedy for wins. I wonder how close the link between Sunderland and Sastre really is, and if Sastre might want to eventually follow Sunderland to Sky if Cervelo is not working out for him. Watching the videos at bartape.net, you get a feeling that the directors at Cervelo are sometimes a bit dictatorial and there is a certain regimented feeling about the way things are run. I am not sure how well that meshes with Sastre's ethos, and whether Sastre's decision to join Cervelo was driven more by a need to escape the soured relationship with Riis than by a real desire to become main attraction of Vroomen's team. If Sastre was expecting to have Sunderland as his DS, how does he really feel about having Jean-Paul Van Poppel instead?

Reading Michael Barry's view on the Hincapie polemic is quite depressing, although it must be taken into account that Barry is a close personal friend of Hincapie and is not exactly in a position to be unbiased. If there is really this huge feud between Garmin and Columbia and it is not just being magnified in the media, then I wish that the managers involved would just schedule a meeting, sit down, and hash out a peace deal to put this stupid nastiness behind them. Maybe that is unrealistic, but this ugliness is truly distasteful, and it is bad for the sport, bad for the riders involved, and bad for the fans. I have no interest in being a fan of any team which engages in petty backstabbing, unsportsmanlike conduct, personal grudge-matches, or ego-driven hissy fits. Any team whose managers, owners, or riders like to publicly and loudly act that way can kiss my interest good-bye once and for all. When people talk about wanting a team to cheer for that has some actual ethical backbone, they are not just talking about doping. Everyone involved should really think twice about the bad image they are projecting to the fans and to their sponsors. I am not exactly sure any longer who needs to be apologizing to who, or why, but everyone involved needs to stop being led around by their out-of-control egos and start acting like responsible adults, and that includes Garmin as well as Columbia. It is bad enough that we are subjected to the twisted spectacle of LA and Bruyneel publicly undermining the Tour's yellow jersey in a game of psychological warfare that is both sickening and predictable. We really do not need any more bad behavior in this Tour, especially from teams who are supposed to be better than that.

Sunday update: Regular edition

2009-07-19T21:57:00.002-04:00

Martin Dugard tells a strange tale of a quick trip to France. Don't mess with the ASO?

Emanuele Sella denies that his info was responsible for the latest Italian doping raid. Omerta relapse.

French rumors suggest that Saxo Bank wants to hire Pierrick Fedrigo. Saxo Bank denies.

The British commentators are almost bouncing off the walls with delight over Wiggins. Sort of endearing to see how excited they are to have a British contender. Sky team head honchos must be squirming though...

Vande Velde interview.

I like the big photos at Steephill.tv.

Tommorow is a rest day which sometimes means big announcements are made. Some people think that LA will be announcing something about his new team for next year. Stay tuned.

Lanterne rouge Kenny Van Hummel is gaining quite a following. Today he bravely fought to the finish despite being almost stalked by the broom wagon. Good pics of this at Cor Vos.

Today was finally FINALLY a stage where the attacks really started to make the difference and show us something about the real contenders and their prospects. It was a strange melange of new and old, as the youngsters Contador and A. Schleck put the hurt on the elder statesmen and Saxo Bank blew apart the peloton in the brutal slow torture manner that USPS used to favor. Having guys like Jens and Cancellara driving for all they are worth is a formidable tactic with a serious intimidation factor, but seemed in the end to help Contador as fewer guys were there to try to chase down The Big Attack. This hard early tempo seemed to cause the most trouble for Sastre and Vande Velde (which perhaps was exactly Riis's plan as he surely knows those riders well), but Sastre at least showed his resilience to claw his way back. Evans meanwhile was having a crap day according to his post-stage comments, which is really too bad, as he has never had a chance to show himself properly in this Tour and now it seems too late to turn things around. For the deflated Aussie fans, there are some highlights left to savor, as half-German semi-Aussie Haussler showed with his recent stage win that he is still riding like a man reborn after his torrid spring season. Meanwhile Contador has rightly silenced his detractors and given LA a big old middle finger, which will hopefully mercifully silence the endless gush of stories on the Astana team squabbling. However, if I was Contador I would be very careful to watch my back and not let down my guard, because if there is one thing we know about the LA/Bruyneel axis of power, it is never to show any sign of vulnerability or doubt, because they will exploit any chance to further their own agenda, which seems to be to successfully create a new team for next year separate from the Kazakh-Vino version of Astana.

I loved the moment when Hinault brought out the lumbering Saint Bernard onto the podium. Contador was standing there patting this giant dog in the yellow jersey. Something totally wacky and funny about that, yet very fitting to the weird world of cycling. Of all the strange things you see on cycling podiums, from giant sausages to massive cups of beer to smelly over-sized cheeses to exotic hats, I like the giant canine prize the best. You win a bike race, we'll give you a dog (temporarily). Makes perfect sense. Too bad Contador can't keep that dog as his bodyguard, as he could use one. He is now wearing the yellow bulls-eye and all the other contenders will be aiming their every last bullet right at him. Whether he will still be shooting his signature victory salute in Paris depends on what ammunition his foes have left. I would not underestimate the tenacity of riders like Sastre or Evans, who may not be good enough to win, but have the pride and determination to fight until the bitter end. Wiggins is the true wild card, as no one has a clue what he can really do in the next days, and the Tour may find itself alight with a totally unexpected new storyline as a Brit is poised for that most elusive and hallowed of prizes, a podium spot in Le Tour.

Sunday update: The soap opera edition

2009-07-19T19:36:00.011-04:00

This Tour has more dueling egos, hidden agendas, and melodramatic whining than a Melrose Place season finale. So this is CFA, the soap opera edition....

As my fellow blogger Wannabe Bike Girl so succinctly explains, "The whole point of the Tour de France is to RACE THE GOD DAMN RACE. I don't care what kind of history you have with George, there are no favors in cycling. And as much as I adore George, and as much as I think he has a right to be angry about those five seconds, it's no one's fault but his own and maybe Columbia's." Agreed. But apparently it suits Stapleton to act all high and mighty and entitled and pretend that he has the moral high ground, as he whines and stomps his feet like a baby about not getting what he wants, when he wants it, with a cherry on top. He actually called Doug Ellis to complain! Reminds me of when kids get mad at each other and one yells that they are going to go tattle to their mother. I hope Ellis told him to shove his smugness and spoiled rich kid attitude where the sun don't shine. Oh yeah, and how about Stapleton take note of the fact that his own directors go around calling Garmin losers one day, then the next day they slate Garmin for being unsporting, as if their our name-calling and goading are nothing at all. Who's really being unsporting here? Sending a truckload of trumped-up bad PR spin crashing down on Garmin's head? Is that sporting, Bob, or just your own personal enmity due to your fannish devotion to Hincapie?

I also think that Columbia should be careful with their shoot-from-the-hip tantrums whenever they lose, because if you read the forums it is clear that a lot of cycling fans see right through their self-serving claims and are increasingly disgusted. Winning alone does not make a team popular, and trying to use the media to create smoke-screens to distract people from the real problem (you lost, god forbid!) does not help. What seems to me to be happening is that Stapleton and a few riders such as Cavendish have a personal problem with Garmin and they are sowing the seeds of a team-wide anti-Garmin attitude. Cav's big mouth is well-known, and his poking at Garmin seems to come in part out of his dislike and jealousy of Wiggins. As for Stapleton, I am not sure why he hates Garmin so much, but I know that he and JV have fought sometimes-bitter bidding wars over hiring certain riders in the past, and I also wonder if they may have at times competed with some of the same companies in their sponsorship hunts. Stapleton is supposed to be a great manager, but is it really a good way to manage a team to sow anger, throw tantrums, and foment thoughts of revenge against another team, which wastes energy on feuds and polemics when the Tour is already draining and demanding enough?

Then there is Cav, who is busy slagging off Hushovd with all kinds of nasty comments like "I hope Thor can sleep at night." I guess Cav blames him for the fact that he was relegated, which is a bit dumb since according to chief referee Martin Bruin, the decision to relegate Cav had already been made before the jury even received official notice of the Cervelo team's protest. But really, it must all just be Thor's fault, like Hincapie missing the jersey is all Garmin's fault. Columbia have a talent for placing blame, as long as it is not on their own shoulders. Maybe Stapleton, in all his management expertise, should remind his charges and himself that sometimes the person to blame isn't always someone, anyone, else.

These sort of slimy polemic episodes are also not good for the sport of cycling as a whole, as they make the Tour look more like a sordid soap opera populated by prima donnas and egomaniacs rather than a compelling and inspiring athletic endeavor.....well, who am I kidding, the sport has always had that sordid soap opera aspect (see: Anquetil), but Stapleton is just making it worse. There are lessons to be learned from this distasteful episode, with the primary one being to resist the impulse to lash out in anger in the heat of the moment and create a media firestorm without considering the potentially severe fallout for all involved, including your own team. This is a lesson Cadel Evans could likely give Stapleton a few object lessons on after last year's Youtube moments. It requires a lot of self-discipline and restraint to not lose your cool at the Tour when things go badly wrong at the same time as microphones and cameras are shoved in your face, but hopefully people can try a bit harder to bite their tongue and not start a war of words that comes back to bite them in the ass.

As for Garmin, if they wanted to ride to protect Wiggins and Vande Velde's positions as they saw fit, then why should they have to apologize for that? Why should they care about the placing of another team's rider who happens to be in the breakaway? Why would it be their job to make sure someone on another team gets a yellow jersey?

Friday update

2009-07-17T20:21:00.005-04:00

Nicholas Roche is writing a Tour diary for the Irish Independent. He details an incident last week at the start village where he thought that he had been shot: "Yesterday morning, I was sitting talking to one of the main bosses of Ag2r...when a massive bang -- like a gunshot -- went off. Immediately, I felt a sting behind my left knee. I looked down to see blood pouring from my leg and a massive bruise appearing at the back of my knee around the tendon area. I had been shot!" In a later installment of his diary, he adds, "I also found out that there was a police investigation into the incident that left me with a massive bruise on my leg. The gendarmes confirmed it was an exploding ice compressor. But just to keep the conspiracy theory going, my soigneur told me that as I lay on the ground clutching my leg, he ran around the back of the lorries to find an old guy bent over laughing. When my soigneur confronted him he said 'ah they were only having a bit of fun', which makes me think somebody did do it on purpose." With the incident today in which Dean and Friere were shot with an air-gun, it raises the question of whether the 2 incidents are actually truly unrelated as the gendarmes seem to think, or if there could possibly be a Tour sniper on the loose, a truly horrible potential scenario to contemplate. With the huge stress of the Tour already bearing down on the riders, the last thing they need is to deal with the added fear of such scary incidents. Very sad.

The recent Italian doping raid is a result of information given to authorities by Emanuele Sella. This is the reason that he was given a reduced ban, as his inside info has now led to the potential prosecution of around 30 people involved in doping. The riders reportedly implicated in the case include Davide Rebellin, Matteo Priamo, Andrea Moletta, Marco Ghiselli, David Munoz, Daniele Ricci, Armado Camelo, Amerigo Novembrini, Sasa Gajicic and Francesco Rivera. Three DSs are also involved, including Simone Mori (formerly manager of Amica Chips). Among the many doping products seized were CERA and Viagra (recall that Moletta's father was previously found in a car with large quantities of Viagra). Notable also that pharmaceutical company employees are implicated in this case, and you have to wonder if they were actively marketing their products to dopers or what. The prominent involvement of the Serbian coach and ex-pro Aleksandar Nikacevic in this case also reminds me of the case of the Serbian rider Ivan Stevic, which last I heard had gone to CAS. Not sure what ever happened with that as he was supposed to be banned for life, but yet was racing in Serbia as recently as this June, as a member of the Serbian national team, of which Nikacevic was previously a coach. Another tangled web of deceit, to follow in the dark footsteps of the Oil for Drugs case and Operation Athena, among other Italian cases.

Today also brought news that two more Spaniards (surprise), Serrano and Landaluze, have been caught doping, specifically CERA in recent tests. Great to see more riders caught for CERA, although Serrano was already named as a bio-passport case (very bad news for Fuji-Servetto who are still mired deep in the crap from the Ricco and Piepoli debacle). Even when riders know that a test exists for a certain drug, they still seem to think that they have a reasonable enough chance of getting away with it that it is worth using. It is a gamble that they must win often enough to make the odds attractive. Either that or they are just stupid or desperate. Perhaps some mixture of all of the above. I have often wondered about Euskaltel's status in terms of doping, ever since their former team doctor, Jesus Losa, linked to Duenas and Millar cases, was nailed. Plus Mayo. Over the years, a few too many of their riders seem to have had weird roller coasters of drastically varying form. Then there is also the recent phobia that Samuel Sanchez seems to have developed about riding in France....maybe he is "racist" like Cavendish?

The recent radio ban was amusing if only for the revealing glimpses of Bruyneel and Riis's nutty control freak tendencies, couched in politically correct concerns about rider safety that rang hollow coming from them. It was about power and control, not safety. It almost seemed that they were confronted with a sudden attack of existential panic, a debilitating ennui, an identity crisis (who am I? why the hell am I sitting for hours jammed in this damn car driving like a maniac around France for three weeks?? for what?) at the very idea that for one entire stage they would not have their riders directly under their thumb, that they would be stripped of the hallowed privilege and utter necessity of instructing their child-like charges precisely when to eat, drink, pee, pull, pick their nose, descend, climb, turn, pedal, and don't think a single independent thought. Because, really, riders cannot be relied upon to know when to do these things on their own. They must be controlled and instructed by the all-knowing genius minds in the team car or they will simply self-destruct with mindless vapidity, riding willy-nilly off the road in confusion over not having the ever-present voice of their guru puppet masters whispering shamanic words of wisdom into their ears, brainwashing them into perfect obedience at all times.

Meanwhile Cavendish is busy planning his upcoming victory salutes for his next few stage wins, in which he will theatrically sniff his underarm to thank his deodorant sponsor, unclip and grab his right foot to thank his toenail clipper sponsor, stick his finger in his ear to thank his Q-tip sponsor, and frame his crotch (again) to indicate his devotion to his chamois cream. When I saw that picture of him holding his glasses in front of him as he crossed the line, all I could think was that his head had suddenly swelled so big that his glasses were suddenly three sizes too small for his inflated ego. And Aldag is still mouthing off, recently making a hardly-veiled comment aimed at Garmin, "I don’t think you can make friends with the riders and agree to everything. I do believe the best way to have fun on the team is to have success. Not talking yourself into it...saying "oh what a great team of losers!" Nice, Rolf, sure are making lots of friends with that sort of trash talk.

WADA has asked for the length of Hamilton's ban to be reviewed, due to their preference for a life ban. I'd guess the reasoning maybe is to try to prevent Hamilton from working in the sport after his ban expires as a DS or manager. Remember that when he supposedly retired for good, he also stated, "Cycling's not done with me yet." What was that supposed to mean anyway? Sounded ominously like he was already planning some sort of unwelcome eventual comeback. If you don't want to get on WADA's bad side, then it is really very simple, DON'T DOPE!

Poor Boonen, his problems in his personal life are splashed all over the newspapers. No wonder he is having troubles at the Tour. He has bigger problems than finishing a bike race, and it is really sad that his team management cannot see that. It starts to seem that Lefevere is just exploiting him as a sort of human commodity, and cannot see past that to the human being who needs care and guidance to sort out his difficulties.

The blacklist lives.

Saturday update

2009-07-11T21:59:00.006-04:00

According to the Austrian newspaper Kurier, Kohl has given info to the Austrian authorities implicating Michael Boogerd, Thomas Dekker and Pietro Caucchioli in the Humanplasma case. In a true indication of the genius minds at work behind this scandal, the nickname used to identify Rasmussen's bloodbags was simply Chicken.

Chris Anker Sørensen is not enjoying his first Tour, saying that he can hardly get out of bed, feels like an old man, and is just trying to make it to the rest day. Bet he's not the only who feels that way after what has been a very hectic and intense first week of the Tour.

Review of the first week.

Rasmussen complains that a French neo-pro has no business winning the first big Tour mountain stage, as it should be contested by all the best climbers. I think what he's really annoyed about is that it wasn't won by him. Bad enough to be a doper, even worse to be a jerk. How can he sit there and criticize Brice Feillu, who won by going in a long breakaway, just like how Rasmussen used to win stages? And who is to say whether or not Feillu is one of the best climbers at the Tour or not? I doubt anyone knows how good he is yet (including him), as this is his first try.

Tomorrow Andy Schleck will face the Tourmalet, where last year at the Tour he lost big time after bonking. He admits he has bad memories of this climb, but insists that his bad day last year will not happen again. Only time will tell which GC favorites will face the dreaded "jour sans" this year.

Winner of the weird headline award: "Tour shaping up as Star Wars, but which is Darth Vader?"

"Before the stage to Arcalís, many were anticipating an Armstrong attack, perhaps midway up the climb, like he did in the old days. The Texan’s modus operandi was always to attack hard and decisively on the Tour’s first mountain-top finish, then use his team to defend the lead. That he didn’t suggests only one thing. He couldn’t do it."

Bradley Wiggins: "To be honest I think a lot of people think I'm on drugs. I'm sure of it. I know how the sport is. Lots of guys are going to be thinking 'what's Wiggins doing?' That's unfortunate, but I'm not Stefan Schumacher or Bernard Kohl. I've worked hard for this."

Prior to the Tour, when Agritubel's Christophe Laurent found out that he was not selected for his team's tour roster, he suggested that Brice Feillu shouldn't have been picked. Oops.

I guess that Sergio over at Ciclismo 2005 is none too pleased with the Tour so far: "Este año el Tour es un duelo de certificados médicos."

Former CSC rider Jakob Piil says that he is not impressed with Frank Schleck's support of his brother Andy so far in the Tour, and that Frank needs to be less passive and attack more. So easy to say that from the couch, but I guess he has a point as Frank has not been overly visible at the front, and it has been mainly Andy doing the attacking. It will be interesting to see whether later in the Tour Frank will be willing to totally sacrifice his own placing in order to help Andy.

LA has a documentary crew with him at the Tour, which has raised the question of whether he is essentially staging certain scenes to suit the planned storyline of the documentary, or to make himself look better to the documentary's eventual audience. For example, some people think that his whole decision to get Frankie Andreu to interview him was so that he could get a scene of the two of them acting reasonably friendly (a faked "reconciliation" scene) to use in his documentary. The documentary's director, Alex Gibney, admits he doesn't know much about cycling (bad sign!) but has said about Armstrong, "He's a masterful producer-director of his own myth." For more on the documentary, see this LA Times article.

Today Cadel Evans bravely, or stupidly, depending on who you ask, attempted a sort of Landis-esque exploit (hopefully without the extra testosterone) by attacking on the first climb, but his adventure was cut sadly short by his decidedly cranky break-mates plus the inexorable chase of the Astana android army, all hopped up on vats of FRS, no doubt. Cancellara's whining in the break was a bit like a spoilt toddler who doesn't want to share his toys. If I was Evans, I would have reminded him that today's stage was not a time trial so he doesn't get to dictate the result. Since when is Cancellara entitled to the god-given right to get into a successful breakaway with only his preferred fellow competitors whenever the hell he wants? If Cadel (or any rider for that matter) is strong enough to get off the front and stay there, then tough luck to the others. It is a RACE not a damn etiquette contest. Cadel has nothing to lose, so why shouldn't he actually try something? Why this idea is so seemingly foreign to so many riders is a mystery I will never understand. If Cancellara doesn't like it, then he and his freakish quads should just skulk themselves back to the peloton and cry about the terrible injustice on Jen's bony shoulder (ouch). That is, if Jens wouldn't just snarl "Harden the fuck up. Me counter-attack now" and charge like a possessed beserker madly off the front yodeling his war cry, as the rest of the peloton shivered in terror....Er, anyway, Evans has basically been screwed bigtime by the return of the team time trial, and I think he has a right to be pissed about it. The good news is that he's finally really learned to attack. The bad news is that Astana surely won't give him many chances to showcase this newly honed skill. Like a terrier trapped on a short leash, some growling and snapping will likely ensue. I hate to say it, but the Australian media scrum best beware and stand back, as this situation is crappy enough to cause anyone to lose their cool.

I wish that by some magical spell, we could take L.L.Sanchez's excess tactical cleverness (he has plenty extra, don't worry) and transplant it into some other riders who desperately need it. Because there are seemingly some riders who couldn't win out of a 2 man breakaway if the other guy had one broken leg. Seriously, can you teach that? Or is it an in-born gift, a sort of savant talent for reading a race? You better believe that Sanchez didn't need a darn radio to know when to attack or when to start sprinting. It was also a fitting continuation of our brotherly theme from yesterday, as Sanchez always rather movingly dedicates his wins to his late brother who sadly died in a motorbike accident in 2005.

Perhaps tomorrow our fraternal theme will extend, and it will be the turn of Luxembourg's lanky duo to take their places as the headlining brothers of this Tour?

Friday update

2009-07-10T19:41:00.002-04:00

Milram's Johannes Fröhlinger writes a diary for radsport-aktiv.de and talks about his third place today, calling it an "unreal feeling" and saying that it took a big toll on him as he was still having cramps on the massage table. Nice to see a young German rider having a go. Between Martin, Ciolek, and potential up-and-comers like Fröhlinger, it seems that there is hope for German cycling yet. Gerdemann had a tough day though, losing 4:48. Ciolek has had a problematic spring dealing with some health problems, but seems to be coming around now judging by his recent decent tries in the sprints.

Too bad that Sébastien Joly abandoned. It was great to see him back after his illness, and hopefully the reason for his abandon is nothing overly serious. He also had a few interesting comments in a recent interview that show he takes a somewhat different view of his cancer than some.

Science of Sport analyzes today's stage.

Interview with Garmin DS Lionel Marie.

Michael Rogers just does not have much luck sometimes. Although his x-rays showed no broken bones after his crash, his DS Rolf Aldag admitted, "The way he was struggling to get back on his bike...he is normally a really tough guy. To see him like this, then something is wrong."

I would not go so far as to cast the Second Coming as Nazis, but apparently other people would.

Joe Papp is asked for his predictions on the Tdf, and says the most likely event is that some riders will still be using transfusions. Sad but true. If you don't know who Joe Papp is, read this.

Andre Greipel won again at Tour of Austria (where Columbia also holds the GC lead with Albasini). Greipel seems to be trying to keep pace with Cav. Bet he will be looking for a new team next year.

New edition of TdF barometer.

Nice win by Voeckler on stage 5. Important for the French fans to get some joy. Good to see his team get a win, with their upcoming sponsor issues looming. I've always hated the way that Phil and Paul comment on his frequent attacks in various races in such a dismissive and condescending manner ("there goes little Tommy Voeckler attacking again for no conceivable reason"), so it was nice to see them eat some crow. I also have to say that Voeckler always fondly reminds me of a hobbit. In a good way.

Oooh, I do so love me some vintage Jeremy Whittle. The Times has more than a few seriously good cycling writers with Kimmage, Walsh, and Whittle, all hard-core anti-dopers. Must be in bold on top of the blacklist.

New test for Synacthene (ACTH) is in use now. Seems that it would have been better if this test had been kept secret like the CERA test last year during the Tour, if they really wanted to catch people instead of basically warn them to stop taking it.

Challenged by work schedules and cranky DVR software on my computer (technology is overrated, give me back my VCR), my Tour watching has been sadly intermittent the past few days. However, I managed to catch the second half of today's stage and I loved the Contador attack. Defiance in the face of the Second Coming is always a very beautiful thing. Anyone who thinks that they can stop Contador attacking when the road turns steep has not been paying attention. Bruyneel can pontificate and feign authority all he wants, meanwhile Contador will just be detonating the group with that vicious acceleration. If he's eventually ostracized by the Second Coming's mafia and needs support, CdE have said openly that they will help him.

Very happy to see that Garmin had two guys right there at the end. Vande Velde's quiet steadiness is starting to give me a little prickle of pleasant anticipation for the final week, and Wiggins, well, who knew? I thought he was just another time trialist. Shows what I know. I like the way Garmin has been riding the last few days, showing aggression and initiative yesterday and then very disciplined work by the team today in protecting and positioning their leaders near the front of the group for the climb.

I have a weakness for fraternal storylines, and the Feillu clan are both the sort of appealing underdogs that make for great brotherly drama. One is a feisty, fearless sprinter with a great backstory of overcoming a severe leg injury requiring five operations to correct, the other a spindly young neo-pro climber in his first Tour. Together on the tiny Agritubel team, they are thumbing their noses at the might of the big teams with a yellow jersey and now a stage win between them. "It made me cry....I believed in him," said an emotional Romain after Brice's unlikely triumph thrilled the French fans (among others) today. Be still my beating heart. Brice wants to take the polka dot jersey to Paris, and I hope he does. It would (hopefully) provide quite a refreshing contrast to the sleazy polka dot jersey winners of recent years like Kohl or Rasmussen. It is also interesting to consider how some young riders arrive in the pro peloton and just deliver wins right from the start, while others who seem fully capable and talented enough, take years of time to "develop." Are the truly talented riders the ones who can just win from the start? Or is it normal for great riders to take years to mature and grow into their potential?

Tuesday update

2009-07-07T19:50:00.002-04:00

"JerkStrong: How Lance Armstrong is like Sarah Palin." Great to see that some writers have no fear.

After today's TTT, Evans said on his diary, "Still close to guys like Andy Schleck and Carlos, but a long way behind the favourites of Astana. I certainly have my work cut out for me now." His team dealt with crashes and punctures, bad luck, yet Evans seems to be keeping his cool better than last year so far.

B samples of Schumacher and Rebellin are positive, and "lawyers of five athletes had met to discuss strategy in their appeals to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)."

The UCI will not let Rasmussen ride again until he pays his one year's salary fine of 700,000 Euros. He has refused to pay.

Both Boogerd and Dekker will have to answer questions from the Austrian officials investigating the Humanplasma case. They are said to be considered witnesses, not suspects (yet?).

Before the Tour started, Prudhomme called Rabobank boss Harold Knebel about Menchov's possible Humanplasma links. Knebel insists that the team has no indication that Menchov is dirty. Sounds familiar? Deja vu?

One fan's view on today's stage.

I think today's route was stupidly dangerous. What was the point of those tiny roads? Thin down the peloton by breaking people's bones? Mashing the morale of the GC guys who actually have some pure climber-non-TTers on their teams? TTT is hard enough as it is, do they have to make it into a crash-fest? Sometimes race organizers just seem perverse, truly. As for the result, it makes me sick. That is all I can say. Really, I hate seeing unworthy teams getting the glory. Being a cycling fan too often requires tolerating frustration over and over. Let me just say that if it was the Second Coming in yellow, then the Tour would be over for me until someone else took the jersey away. I will not waste my time watching the Versus commentators endlessly drooling and crowing like deranged groupies over a fraud. They may like their ratings, but I despise their totally unbalanced view of the sport.

Monday update

2009-07-06T20:01:00.003-04:00

It seems that the Swiss Olympic Committee may yet be calling Ullrich to account for doping. Better late than never? Or just too late altogether?

Süddeutsche Zeitung has an article on Sinkewitz's info on doping at QuickStep, with specific mention of the roles of team doctor Yvan Van Mol and Manuel Rodriguez Alonso. It seems that Sinkewitz has also implicated Kloden in blood doping at the 2006 Tour, which the Freiburg report already suggested had happened.

Rasmussen is being called as a witness related to the Humanplasma case. The Chicken is said to have a contract ready for signing, but has yet to announce the team, as there seems to be a possible hitch related to this unnamed team's desire to be allowed to race the Tour of Denmark and their fear that hiring Ramsussen will endanger their invitation due to the DCU's hardline against doping.

Somewhat interesting to see the comments of Cadel's wife Chiara Passerini on twitter: "honestly i don't care at all about lance." Also on twitter is Bradley Wiggins' wife and Levi Leipheimer's wife.

According to Cyclismag, it is likely that McQuaid will remain president of the UCI until 2013. Fabulous, more years of Lance pal Verbruggen's puppet running the show, just what cycling needs. One interesting point made in the new book Le Sale Tour is that people who receive letters from the UCI signed by McQuaid often notice that the specific writing style and vocabulary is that of Verbruggen. Who's really running the show?

In recompense for getting kicked off the QuickStep Tour team at the last minute, Allan Davis was given a plane ticket to Australia by Lefevere.

Congratulate VeloNews's Charles Pelkey, as he has officially been banned from The Second Coming's holy Twitter. Join the club. I'm banned too, and consider it a badge of honor.

"One of the keys to being a good bike racer is forgetting a lot of stuff."--Svein Tuft provides wisdom on crashing

Today's stage was a snooze-fest that suddenly exploded into a classic piece of Tour drama, the sort of unpredictable fireworks that keep us watching this race every year. It is fascinating that no matter how well warned all the riders were about the dangers of the crosswinds today, they still couldn't do much of anything about it when the split came. It is way too easy for the DSs and armchair observers (me) to say snarky stuff like 'why weren't they more vigilant?' or 'why didn't they stay on the front?' In reality, 180 riders cannot all be on the front at once, and in a long, hard, hot stage with tricky changing wind directions, it is not easy to predict if or when the split will come. It is a lot harder said than done to avoid getting caught in the second group, and it requires not just strength, but also bike handling ability to keep good position in the peloton, mental discipline to not lose concentration, serious motivation, plus a good helping of luck. So, as much as it really pains me to see Garmin's yellow jersey chances crumbling, and seeing Vande Velde losing time, there is not much else to say about it. Bad stuff happens, and that is bike racing, cruel and unforgiving as always.

After the stage, Columbia DS Aldag said that it was frustrating that no other teams would help with the chase, and that any team that wants to win has to contribute to the work of chasing. Er...hello, Rolf, let me introduce you to something known as reality. No one is going to help you win again for the millionth time this season, and if you think they are, then you are dwelling in fantasy-land. Stapleton also had some snarky criticism of Garmin, saying that they should have supported Farrar by chasing. So why does Stapleton pick on Garmin? Are there not a ton of great sprinters with teams capable of chasing? Why not pick on them? I swear Columbia has it in for Garmin for no good reason. It is like David picking on Goliath (their budgets are hardly comparable). Pick on someone your own size. And why should Garmin chase on the day before the TTT when they need to save their legs for another goal? Columbia has to realize that winning too much and being too dominating (and gloating about it constantly on twitter) has a lot of downsides in the long run. They will not get any cooperation from anyone. They will only get the cold shoulder. Why cooperate when there is never any payoff, just a clear view of Cav's wiggling backside receding far into the distance? If or when Columbia's GC guys (do they really even have any?) need a bit of a hand, will they get it from anyone? Doubtful, unless it involves a fat brown envelope. How can Columbia complain about being frustrated when they win everything all the time? They don't have a clue about frustration. Try being Silence-Lotto who have won like 3 or 4 times all season. Columbia has won more than that in the last 3 days between TdF and Tour of Austria (where they have won all the stages so far, shock). Plus, I find Stapleton's smarmy monologues on "execution" incredibly irritating. It is pretty damn easy to "execute" when you've got enough money to buy all the best new talent coming into the sport. I'd like to see how well Stapleton could execute if he had Garmin's budget to work with. Bet all his supposed genius ability to build team cohesion would suddenly evaporate. Plus, I never can forget Stapleton's attempt to hire Valv.Piti, and his lack of support for release of info from his team's internal testing program. Hey, two can play at this game.

I've gotten the new LA book by Wilcockson from my local library, and will attempt to read and maybe review it. I am not promising anything, as I am afraid I will find it sickening and quit after 5 pages.

In other news, I really need a job where I can take 3 weeks off every July. Ha, fat chance of that.

Sunday update

2009-07-05T16:01:00.005-04:00

Stéphane Mandard interviews Patrice Clerc.

Rich Hincapie (George's brother) blogs from the Tour.

If the UCI ran the world...

Daryl Impey interview.

Riis thinks that one day Cancellara could get a top 5 placing in the Tour, but not this year. This idea seems to be popular these days, with various commentators saying that Cancellara could be a contender for the Tour podium someday soon. Seems that he would have to lose quite a bit of muscle mass, which could have untold impacts on his TT ability. Often it seems that good TT riders get worse when they focus on becoming better climbers. Z sometimes seems to be a case of this? Seems to me it only pays to become a better climber and worse TTer if you can become good enough to either win mountain stages or contend for overall GC. If you are a great TT rider and semi-bad climber, then you work on climbing and become a good but not great TT rider and a decent but not great climber, is this really the best way to make use of your talents? Is it better to focus on the area where you can win? Or is it better to diversify and become a jack of all trades but master of none? Yet, it is hard for a rider to really know what they can do, if they never try something different.

Clement Lhotellerie bites the dust. Another one where the rumors come true. Gives a good impression of the Skil-Shimano team's attitude toward doping. According to info filtering out of that team last year, Lhotellerie was essentially ostracized by the other Skil riders, as they thought his sketchy behavior put all of their jobs at risk. Then his contract was ended suddenly despite (or perhaps due to) his very (overly?) good results. I would suggest that this team's stance on doping is a considerable part of the reason why they are in the Tour this year. If you are the ASO, having recently been burned by Barloworld, and now having to choose between a team like Skil or a team like LPR to be an example of the sort of wild-card team you want in the Tour, which would you pick? Skil may be seen as a fairly weak roster, but isn't a clean roster of whatever strength better than a dirty roster of great but potentially fraudulent and scandalous strength? ASO wanted a wildcard that wouldn't end up embarrassing them with a doping scandal, and Skil seems to fit the bill. All the little desperado teams that like to gamble on hiring questionable riders such as Sella and Ricco may be able to get away with that on the wild west frontier of the Giro, but the Tour requires a higher standard. Isn't it a relief to see that Valverde, Di Luca, Petacchi, and Basso are all blessedly absent from hogging our TV screens this Tour? I'd rather watch a clean but unknown Skil rider giving it a go in a breakaway than watch the Killer tearing legs off. The former is (hopefully) an authentic athletic achievement showing a rider living his perhaps once-in-a-lifetime dream of riding the Tour, while the later is little but the sad ongoing masquerade of a con man.

Poor Allan Davis, sounds a bit rough. He needs that Aussie team to start up sooner rather than later. Or maybe if Cav rejects Sky, then Davis could be his stand-in there. Not great to be a non-Belgian sprinter on a Belgian team that has Boonen.

It seems that if anyone really wants to beat the Columbia sprint juggernaut, that they will need to really think creatively and outside the box. Trying the same old things over and over to try to beat Cav have only a slight chance of working, as it mainly relies on Columbia making a mistake or a twist of fate like a crash, which are fairly rare events. What can be done? Try something different. For one, get riders in the breakaway and then refuse to help chase. Over the length of the Tour, Columbia will probably be sick of chasing alone and eventually the win may go to the breakaway. Any of the second-tier sprinters have a far better chance of winning from a breakaway group than from an ordinary sprint finish. Feillu worked this strategy to utter perfection previously in the Tour and showed that this is a worthwhile if slightly unoriginal strategy. Other ideas are to try to tire or confuse the Columbia leadout guys. For example, Garmin has all these great TT riders. On a day with a flat run-in, they could try some late surprise attacks like Ignatiev did today. Maybe Millar could go once, then if he gets caught, Wiggins could try. Then, if they really want to shock everyone, maybe Z could attack (ha, yeah right). OK, much easier said than done when the speed is so high, for sure, but at least trying something unusual would challenge the Columbia guys to have to think on their feet a bit, and not make it so easy and almost routine for them to just crank out another textbook win. Also, if they are going to just try the traditional route, then Farrar seems to need more guys with him at the end. Today Cav still had 2 guys, when Farrar was already alone. If Cav gets too far ahead of Farrar, it seems unlikely that Farrar has the speed to catch him in a flat-out drag race (it was at least 4 bike lengths difference today). Beating Cav is a tough try, but I just think all the other teams have to try everything and anything to make it happen. It can be done with the right combination of ingenuity, cleverness, surprise, and tenacity. Plus it will be a long and boring set of sprint stages if Cav just cranks out every win day after day. A race where one team wins too many of the stages is not good for the sport or the race either, as so many sponsors rely heavily on the Tour's publicity to get the biggest return on their investment. When too many teams are left out of that publicity bonanza, it fuels bad feelings and desperation among those left out, as the temperature in the pressure cooker rises and no stage win materializes.

I think Lloyd Mondory of Ag2R should be awarded a special jersey for being the best generator of controversy at the Tour (any other jersey would be better than the usual Ag2r one). So far he made some quite inflammatory anti-doping comments prior to the start, then in the TT yesterday he provoked the usually kindly Phil Liggett into almost angry commentary after he was passed by Tony Martin and proceeded to blatantly and distractingly draft off of Martin despite the rules against this in a TT, and then today he was cited as barging around a bit crazily in the sprint run-in, hitting a Skil rider, who then hit Cavendish. After the stage, Cav reportedly was upset with the Skil rider, but Skil said it was all really Mondory's fault (although who really knows in the fog of battle?). At least Mondory is giving us some of the mini-dramas that give colorful life to the Tour's ever-volatile human tableau.

Excellent fifth place today for Japanese rider Yukiya Arashiro, which had Harmon and Kelly amusingly almost sputtering in surprise as they commentated on the sprint. Arashiro also must take the prize for having THE wildest haircut of any Tour rider. Not sure how that fits under a helmet, but I like the semi-metrosexual vibe. Very Japanese fashionista and a breath of fresh air compared to the gel-soaked Euro-redneck mullet favored by some.

Sastre says that he had problems with his helmet yesterday and could not keep the position he wanted on the bike. Let's hope that the Test team wasn't testing a new TT helmet in the Tour of all places?

Quick Step rider Jurgen Van De Walle is the first abandon of the Tour due to injuries. Bad luck. Marzio Bruseghin was also taken to the hospital after the stage for x-rays but right now seems OK to continue.

Eurosport (in French) has a Tour barometer, indicating which riders are going up and which down. Needless to say Koldo Fernandez is heading down after today's bizarro crash. He seemed to go straight ahead when the route turned, and bam, that was it. Never seen a gendarme jump and run so fast to get out of the way.

Garmin and Astana are sharing a hotel tonight. That must be cozy.

Saturday update

2009-07-04T17:00:00.005-04:00

Italian U23 rider Gianandrea Mariola has tested positive for EPO in a test from the baby Giro. Always great to see the U23 riders getting an early start practising their doping skills. Prior to the race start, four other U23 riders were kicked out for strange blood values.

New Kimmage article.

Amusing photo shoot of Columbia riders by TDWSport, which also has good Tour photos after each stage, along with Cor Vos, Bettini, Graham Watson.

New book from Matt Rendell.

ITV podcast is usually a good listen for insider insights during the Tour.

Watched part of the time trial today, but the Versus advertising-to-race ratio is maddening. It is far better to watch one of the ad-free live streams, but many were getting shut down for copyright violation. I guess it is rather too easy for the copyright nazis to track down these free streams when they are listed on assorted cycling sites, but it still stinks when your only option is listening to endless Cialis ads (when the time is right, I am going to throw the tv out the window). Craig Hummer's voice also reminds me of a braying donkey. Great ride by Wiggins. I was a little worried about Zabriskie, who didn't look at all happy waiting to start. Maybe it was just concentration? Hope so. Sounds like Danny Pate was a bit disappointed in his ride, or more likely he just joking on his twitter when he said, "37th! Hmm... Guess I will be working at burger king next year."

In the bad luck and trouble category, Michael Rogers had technical difficulties with his chain and lost 1:13, after also crashing earlier in the week, bruising his hip. In the less than expected category, we have Menchov wilting and Columbia's other GC guy Kim Kirchen losing 1:57. Ouch. Yet somehow it seems only fair that Columbia gets a bit of bad luck for once. Maybe it will make them quit picking on Garmin. Karma? In the mysterious unknown rider category, there are quite a few riders I have never heard of in this year's Tour, which is likely due in part to the inclusion of Skil-Shimano, but also probably because I haven't been paying enough attention. Marcin Sapa? Maxime Bouet? Simon Geschke? I guess I need to do some remedial reading. Then there are those enigmatic riders whose names are certainly very familiar but whose likely performance or lack thereof in the upcoming weeks seems totally unpredictable, such as José Angel Gomez Marchante or Igor Anton for example. They have shown flashes of potential brilliance in the past but then melted silently into invisibility again. Who knows?

Meanwhile human-rocket Cancellara has apparently fully recovered from whatever was ailing him earlier in the season, and now again has enough blatant superiority to demoralize the rest of the time-trialists who simply don't have a chance. Bert Grabsch, for one, seemed not to bother today, although perhaps it was the climb that put him off, not the inevitability of getting crushed by the Swiss tidal wave. In the narrow escape category, watching Millar's back tire jumping around like a bucking bronco in that bad corner made me feel slightly ill, as it looked like he was only seconds from taking a potentially Tour-ending header straight into the barricades. Worst possible way to leave the Tour is by crashing out on the very first stage. Well...I guess maybe there are worse ways to leave the Tour, like say getting caught with dope in your room or something. Just ask Duenas. In the dangerous dark horse category, watching Kreuzinger's smooth-as-glass pedalling today made me think of a sharp blade through butter.

Yet, the best thing about the Tour is that in the minds of the fans and in the sweep of its history, it is far bigger than any one rider, regardless of how famous they may be either in reality or in their own over-heated imaginations. The world's media may be magnetically attracted to the Second Coming's antagonisms, but the Tour is not really about any of that if you ask me. All the fans are not there just to cheer for their favorite rider, they are there to celebrate the spirit of the race, its history, tradition, human drama, inspiration, and beauty. Even Lance cannot change that.

And lastly, don't be a sheep.

Wednesday update

2009-07-01T18:40:00.005-04:00

I am very pleased to see Dekker getting caught at long last. Finally the rider forever dubbed by the Dutch as The Great Talent is revealed for what he really is, just another doper. I hope that many more of the past samples that contained Dynepo will also be re-tested, as I am sure that there are many other riders who were doing the same as Dekker, including Rasmussen for one. I guess that could count as a second offense and the Chicken could get life. Good riddance. The more and more times we see these rumors of doping being proven true, the harder it becomes to ignore other unproven rumors under the proviso of innocent until proven guilty. Time after time, it seems that those riders who have a cloud of suspicion over them, and who make loud protestations of how unfairly they are being treated, turn out to be guilty. Ricco, Sella, Piepoli, Rebellin, Schumacher, Kohl. It also provides more firepower for those who rightfully object to riders using doping doctors such as Cecchini or Ferrari for "training plans". Dekker's once-close relationship with Cecchini was such that the good doctor claimed he viewed him as a son, and Dekker moved to Italy specifically to live nearby. Shows what a bit a bad fatherly advice will get you. Busted.

This turn of events also casts a dark cloud over Silence-Lotto, for the very fact that they hired Dekker (never mind Kohl) while many other teams refused to hire him based on the evidence they reviewed. Notably, Garmin thoroughly examined Dekker's background and blood profiles and found something that made them refuse to offer him a contract. Lotto surely reviewed much of the same evidence, yet their scrutiny reached a very different conclusion. Why? It seems clear that Garmin's standards are just plain higher and they have a lower tolerance of risk for those riders whose behavior and past falls into that vast gray area of suspicion. Lotto's willingness to overlook whatever it was that made Garmin reject Dekker suggests that they seriously need to reevaluate their hiring criteria. Kohl's comments on this topic were also instructive, as he thought that Silence-Lotto looked at his blood profiles, knew exactly what he was up to, and hired him anyway precisely because his profiles showed that he was skilled at careful blood doping without raising overt suspicion.

The next piece of the puzzle in this case is the Humanplasma scandal which involves a variety of former and current Rabobank riders. Dekker's close friend at Rabobank was Boogerd. Boogerd's retirement and breaking of links to Rabobank, Dekker's now-not-so mysterious fallout with Rabobank, Rabobank's increased fear of doping after the Rasmussen debacle, the first press reports of the Humanplasma case (including Boogerd's name), and Kohl's reported naming of names to AFLD (perhaps including Dekker?), now all seem to possibly be pieces of the same sprawling puzzle, slowly fitting together. Kohl's quite specific information on the transfusion business run out of the Humanplasma lab makes all the flat denials of implicated riders such as Boogerd, Menchov, and Rasmussen seem rather empty. Kohl's case proves that a doping ring was run from that lab and he was hardly the only rider involved. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before more of these riders are caught based on the growing web of evidence arising out of the Austrian crackdown linked to Kohl and his manager, the bio-passport data, and more retro-active testing.

Another issue this case raises is what role physiologists or trainers play in catching doping. In tests with the Dutch national team at various ages, and in other venues, Dekker was constantly heralded as a great talent based on his physiology and natural ability. So was he actually clean at those times, or were the testing values being manipulated by doping that all the power gurus and number crunchers were simply oblivious to? Was he really a great talent, or was he just good at using dope and fooling people? Should a good physiologist be able to tell by power numbers and other data when a rider starts and stops doping, or if he simply has impossibly good numbers? (Seems that Lim's experience with Landis says no?) Consider the fact that Rabobank was so desperate to keep the long-awaited new hope for Dutch cycling success on their team, that when Dekker said he was going to start working with Cecchini, they were actually afraid to tell him flatly that he was forbidden to do so. They wanted to keep him happy so he would stay on their team, such was the overwhelming perception of his vast talent. Yet, since Dekker stopped working with Cecchini, his performances have been intermittent at best, inexplicably terrible at worst (often blamed on his hip problem, which may be real, but is also rather convenient). So far this season, he has been strangely invisible in most races, hardly up to his old standards. Did he go clean? And if he is clean, where is all that great natural talent? Or was it just dope all along and all those drooling physiologists were just duped? LeMond has suggested that data from power output can be a way to detect doping. Yet, with known-doped riders whose power outputs and physiology have no doubt been recorded and studied in great detail, such as Dekker and Landis, it did not seem to have alerted anyone to doping until it was far, far too late...unless perhaps there was marked tendency toward willing suspension of disbelief? Heads in the sand? A refusal to be the one to discredit The Great Dutch Talent? Was Dekker so clever he could fool a raft of coaches, physiologists, and trainers? Or did they just not want to see the evidence right in front of them?

In other news, I was looking at Tour rosters and especially Cervelo's. It got me thinking...is it not a bit strange and even rather sad that the defending Tour de France winner does not even get a whole team devoted to his cause at this year's race? Look at the Cervelo roster and it is one of those lame mish-mash sprinter/GC teams like Lotto used to always be with Evans and McEwen. Half for Hushovd/Haussler and half for Sastre. I am afraid that poor long-suffering Sastre may find his chances of repeating as victor reduced by the lack of enough support riders specifically dedicated to his cause. If Hushovd ends up being in the running for the green jersey, it will even be worse. Cervelo is showing precious little faith in Sastre by hedging their bets in such a manner, especially after all those now-seemingly rather misleading early season claims that the Cervelo team would be built around Sastre. Not so much. If anyone can quietly persevere despite a lack of commitment from his team, it is the implacable and stubborn Sastre, whose amiable exterior masks an iron-willed tenacity, yet it gives me a bad impression of both the Cervelo management and sponsors that they are not willing to commit 100% of their team's resources to supporting the success of a deserving rider who has proven that he is capable of winning the Tour. If Sastre wins again, it will seem to be despite rather than because of his team's roster. Riders such as Haussler and Hushovd have already had their big chances for success this year, and have achieved it, so what would be the harm of Cervelo picking a Tour team where all nine riders were there for one reason only, to win the Tour. It must sting for Sastre to see his unfortunately hostile ouster from Saxo Bank and much heralded move to Cervelo go this way. He has so rarely had the chance to ride for himself on a team dedicated totally to his success. Last year he had to fend off the inter-team squabbling between himself and the Schlecks and the seeming ambivalence of Riis. Before that, he was often called on to ride support for dopers such as Basso, a rider who he apparently is better than when the playing field is rather more level. Now he is again given less than a clear shot at a Tour win and it just seems wrong. Without a single bad day in the mountains like he had at the Giro, and with a bit of luck and form, Sastre could win the Tour. If he does, Cervelo will have some very awkward PR scrambling to do to try to explain their tepid half-baked support of his success. People have heaped criticism on Cervelo's tactical bungling after the Pauwels incident at the Giro, yet it seems to me that this is hardly Cervelo's only glaring mistake this season. If Sastre crumbles at the Tour, I guess they will look smart, but it still would have been an honorable and decent thing to do to grant their greatest champion their full and complete commitment.

In other weirdness, I was on Myspace yesterday and there was this giant ad on the top of the page. A set of eyes peering at me (just like this ad from Youtube). I stared, taken aback. Could it be? No? A certain recognizable visage, with that tinge of arrogance and conceit. Yes, it was LA staring evilly at me from Myspace, part of the giant and loathsome Nike ad campaign. I can't escape it, even when engaged in totally non-cycling related endeavors, he's everywhere! This may be a long July....

Saturday update

2009-06-27T20:16:00.002-04:00

New Kimmage article: "In the shadow of Mount Ventoux"

Good article on LeMond: "Even relentless fighter now sees cycling as a lost cause."

Lance shows his true colors and they are ugly.

British Cycling's Brian Cookson blogs.

New Kohl interview.

New Cancellara interview.

Garmin goes 1-2 at the Canadian TT champs. Nice!

Article on VandeVelde from 5280 Magazine.

Savio denies interest in Sella. Suggestion that he may be courted by Carmiooro A-Style. Ridiculously short ban for his offense.

JV on future of Garmin.

Columbia is already seemingly winning the neo-pro signing battle for next season: Patrick Gretsch, Rasmus Guldhammer (Riis must be gnashing his teeth!), Jan Ghyselinck, and TJ Van Garderen have all reportedly signed on the dotted line for Stapleton. Quite a big chunk of talent there. Question is who is leaving to make room?

Tales of the Tour of Colombia with a Rock Racing mechanic.

Garmin documentary Blood, Sweat, and Gears will be shown on the Sundance Channel on June 29 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. Wish I had that channel.

Interview with Sylvia Schenk on corruption in sport and what can be done about it (if anything).

"...those who say the Tour will never be free of drugs and their ramifications may well have a point."

Commentary on Second Coming from John Wilcockson, Richard Williams, Mike Grisenthwaite, Pierre Ballaster and David Millar.

Brailsford states that no one with a previous doping violation will be hired for the Sky team, and he will only hire British doctors who have never worked in cycling before to be team doctors. Guess that rules out Millar.

Selfishness vs teamwork

2009-06-26T21:14:00.005-04:00

There are a lot of things I like about Garmin, but Julian Dean's bad attitude is not among them. After being offered many opportunities to ride for himself last year, and getting decidedly meager results, he now has been quite fairly asked to serve as a leadout man for Tyler Farrar at the Tour. In response, instead of showing some enthusiasm and dedication, he posts resentfully on his blog, "Unfortunately I'm not going to have the same freedom for myself as I did last year." In an article in the New Zealand Herald, he whines, "I won't have quite the same freedom as last year as my main goal will be the lead-out for Tyler. We are an American-owned team and Tyler is their real star for the future. He is the only rider to have beaten Mark Cavendish this year although it's only been once from 15 sprints against him." Note that he says "their rider" as if he's not even on the same team, and just has to point out the exact number of times that Farrar has lost to Cav. So supportive of his teammate. It is actually as if he thinks he's the better sprinter than Farrar and ought to be allowed to go on riding for himself, when his results simply do not support such a conclusion.

So, as many great riders on various teams find themselves sadly left at home as the Tour rosters are announced, a rider who is actually lucky enough to be going to Tour finds it worthwhile to complain about being asked to do an important job for his team, rather for riding for his own glory. His begrudging attitude is hardly what Garmin needs as they head into the Tour, and I find it a bad sign that one of their most senior and experienced riders (who should know better) goes around publicly making statements that undermine team unity. Let's just hope that this sort of attitude is not widely tolerated at Garmin. It is quite jarring to consider the gaping difference between Dean's attitude and the sort of eager, dedicated teamwork seen previously at the Tour from Columbia or Saxo Bank. People may laugh at Saxo's elaborate team-bonding camps, or make fun of Stapleton's constant plugging of his warm and fuzzy "all-for-one" team theme, but maybe there is some real value to actively fostering a certain team ethos. Seems like Garmin could use some that unity. There is a lot more to team success than just cleanliness, although that is the first hurdle.

I also wonder a bit if there is anyone in charge at Garmin who really calls riders to account when they behave badly, and demands that they toe the line when the s*** is hitting the fan. Anyone actively fostering the importance of teamwork in the way that Riis and Stapleton devote much effort to? After retiring from the team, Magnus Backstedt stated on Cycling.tv that he felt no one was really in charge at Garmin. As the Tour approaches, I hope he is wrong. Perhaps their response to Dean's statements will indicate the state of their leadership, or lack thereof. Let's just hope that Dean's less-than-total support for leading out Farrar will not cost the team a victory they dearly need.

Monday update

2009-06-22T20:29:00.002-04:00

Steegmans has refused to sign Katusha's new contract clause that requires the rider to pay five times their salary if caught doping. (No link to article at CN, because I refuse to link to CN since they have ruined their site.) I agree with his refusal, which may sound odd, but Katusha is an absolutely classic example of a totally hypocritical team where the shady old-school management demand results and place enormous pressure on the riders to deliver, while at the same time pretending to be strictly anti-doping by announcing with much trumped-up PR drama this useless contract clause, which does nothing to actually support riders staying clean, and which likely no rider would ever actually pay anyway. (Just like no one has paid the UCI's anti-doping charter's one year salary penalty.) For evidence of how badly this team is run, just look at the sad situation of Kenny Dehaes who hated it so much he just left the team.

The Katusha management is giving out two totally contradictory messages. One says that the riders must deliver results according to expectation (and salary level) or they are publicly berated and openly threatened with being fired. Basically, win or else. (Colom and Pfannberger show exactly what you get with this backwards dark ages attitude.) At the same time they pretend to be anti-doping by putting forward this supposedly tough contract clause, where all the punishment falls very heavily only on the rider. Because, of course, the dictatorial and iron-fisted demands of the directors and the huge pressure of unrealistic sponsors never has anything at all to do with desperate riders giving in to temptation to dope, right? Please, Katusha, spare us the false proclamations of righteousness and just admit it, your contract clause is nothing but a big fat reminder to your riders that they sure as hell better be smart enough not to get caught while they are churning out all those great results required not to be tossed on the trash heap.

The other aspect of Steegmans' refusal that makes his actions understandable to me is that he has already found himself publicly criticized by his team for his lack of results this season. So you have a rider already very at odds with his team management. (Maybe he won't sign because he actually wants to get fired?) He is likely being paid a fairly hefty salary, which now Katusha may no longer want to keep paying. The team may want an excuse to get rid of him. If he did sign, how easy would it be for them to claim he failed an internal control or had strange blood values? Does the contract clause only apply to positive tests from a regular UCI or national doping test, or could they demand the salary penalty for an internal test or blood profile abnormality? Good excuse to get rid of him, while also theoretically making themselves look good by firing a presumed doper and earning themselves a large sum of money as well. Indeed, there are some who think that this is pretty much what happened to Vladimir Gusev. (Without the specifics of the CAS ruling, which is missing from the CAS website, this is impossible to verify.) Plus, it would hardly be the first time that a team had used doping as a way to get rid of an expensive rider who they no longer wanted on the team. The story has long circulated of a well-known Belgian team boss who told one of his riders in no uncertain terms to go home and "prepare" himself for a certain upcoming race. The rider, not being a fool, knew what that meant and did as he was told. The team boss then promptly sent an anonymous tip to the local police to raid the rider's house, where the police naturally found the rider's dope. End of contract. Perhaps when judging Steegmans, we should remember that anti-doping clauses can be used in rare cases by unscrupulous teams as under-handed ways to get their way in rider disputes. (Rumors also exist that few rides dare to publicly cross the UCI due to the strange tendency for critics to suddenly find UCI testers knocking on their door with an odd frequency.) Of course, some people probably think that Steegmans refused to sign the clause because he is a doper and knows he might get caught, which is also certainly entirely possible. However, be that as it may, I doubt it is that simple, and regardless it does not excuse the blatantly two-faced hypocrisy of Katusha's management, which epitomizes the worst ways in which teams actually foment doping within their ranks while pretending to want to prevent it.

In other news, do you regularly view the videos posted via the Second Coming's twitter? Did you notice that all these videos are posted at Livestrong.COM? This means that every time you go watch that video you are directly contributing to pageviews and ad revenue which is fattening LA's wallet. Livestrong.com is a for-profit website run by Demand Media and features plenty of ads. Livestrong.ORG is a separate site, yet few people seem to realize this. Whenever you see LA riding around in his Livestrong kit, people assume that he is using this to raise awareness for his anti-cancer campaign. Yet Livestrong is also the name of his for-profit website. So that kit is also one big advertisement driving people to Livestrong.com where they are earning revenue for LA. So next time you see the Livestrong logo plastered everywhere, ask yourself, does this really have everything to do with cancer, or is he advertising for his for-profit website and earning ad revenue under the banner of fighting cancer? You might also reconsider the whole point of all those videos. Each time he posts one, the traffic to that page of Livestrong.com must go through the roof. Pageviews equal money. He just refuses to speak to the media, creates his own videos, drives traffic to his site to earn money. But the comeback is all about preventing cancer.

On another topic, Cyclingnews, in all their wisdom, recently managed to enrage almost their entire reading audience by redesigning their site into a sort of clunky, slow clone of Bike Radar. Just read the feedback in their forum, where there is a veritable virtual riot going on, complete with flip-outs by their own staff who are clearly fed up with being subjected to severe reader criticism. Despite the critics, it seems that CN is refusing to alter the redesign for the most part, so here are a few alternative ideas for the fed up (besides the very obvious ones like Velonews and Pez):

Cycling Weekly: British site with news, analysis, and commentary. (They also recently redesigned their site but it is rather less egregious than CN, although a bit buggy at times.)

Cycling Quotient: for complete race results, detailed rider and team info. (According to their twitter, their traffic numbers have already increased a lot since the CN redesign.)

Cycling Fever: great for rider & DS interviews

SBS Cycling Central: Australian TV cycling page with news RSS feed and videos, lots on Aussie riders.

Eurosport Cycling: cycling news with RSS feed

Feltet.dk: Absolutely stellar cycling news site from Denmark with RSS feed. OK, it is in Danish which is a challenge, but for ease of use, utilize the built-in Google auto-translation in Google Reader.

Tuttobiciweb: Italian site with great news feed. Covers all the Italian polemica.

L'Equipe Cycling: Well it is in French but this is essential.

Le Monde: Read any articles their journalist Stéphane Mandard writes on cycling.

I could go on all night as I have way too many such sites listed in my RSS reader. Suffice to say that there are tons of alternative to CN, so no one should feel required to wade through their new design if they don't like it.

Doubt

2009-06-19T21:53:00.002-04:00

I should just stop reading so much. The more you read, the more cynical you become. Like quicksand. The harder you struggle to understand, the less hope you have of ever understanding. Dueling doping experts who can't even seem to agree on fundamental scientific issues. An endless parade of shifty-eyed riders whose denials range from teasingly plausible to absurdly fantastical. Illusory hopes of semi-certainty repeatedly crushed under new cascades of doubt. Rumors piled upon speculation built on a rotting foundation of betrayed trust. Half-formed, flimsy explanations glued together with arrogance and officious self-congratulation. Just trust us? Please. And that goes equally for both sides.

Cycling as a sport may not hold a monopoly on smooth-talking, suspicious enigmas whose prodigious charisma somehow is permitted to obscure their mercenary ways (see tennis), yet we do seem to reign sadly supreme when it comes to the sheer volume of confounding controversy and ambiguity over issues of doping and anti-doping. I need a magic decoder ring, because I possess no ability to make sense of the morass of contradictory rhetoric. Kohl might be right, or he might just be a self-serving liar who is making up a bunch of good stories to make himself feel better. Gripper might be telling the truth, or she might just prefer to be employed rather than unemployed. McQuaid might be right to praise the bio-passport, or he might just be trying to make himself appear so very virtuous in the eyes of the imperial IOC, whose recurring distaste for cycling's filth is well-known. I might be right to think catching 5 minnows in a sea of sharks is hardly worth crowing over, or I might just be another miserable whiner polluting the interwebs with my useless opinion.

Meanwhile a number of notably dark clouds loom on the horizon, perhaps awaiting the media frenzy of the Tour to begin pouring more rain upon any hopes for a semi-syringe-free past or future. Samples from the 2008 Giro are being retro-actively tested after they were seized by Italian police. That could be scary or great or just plain pathetic (I vote pathetic, especially for whatever shreds remain of the CSF Navigare desperadoes). CONI supposedly has other riders in the crosshairs beyond just poor persecuted Valv.Piti (CAS, here we come, again). Next in line may be Amigo de Birillo or Luigi. (Cue image of Bjarne Riis wearing his familiar tormented martyr expression and guzzling hard liquor.) Too bad that Amigo de Birillo is rather closely related to Riis's mother lode, the golden boy also known as Hermano de Amigo de Birillo. Wonder if Golden Boy ever was tempted to donate funds to an unknown, unnamed person for undelivered training plans? IQ, or lack there-of, does tend to run in families, does it not? Oh wait, is Golden Boy a favorite for the Tour? He is? I should quit asking such inconvenient questions. Damn miserable whiner. Then there is Luigi, whose actual identity is a sort of non-mystery mystery. Two illustrious riders are said to vie for the prize of bearing this coveted nickname, with the winner being granted two years to cry in their red wine (Italian or Swiss) and proclaim their innocence against unjust persecution. (Piti has taught them all well.)

In other happy news, results of your standard, run-of-the-mill dope tests from the Giro could arrive at any time, or not, who knows. Judging by the approximate quality of the final podium's doping skills, the doping doctors may just have won this round. Unofficial score: Santuccione/Humanplasma 1 - fans 0. CONI seemed strangely absent from the Giro this year, with a notable lack of any unexpected evening tests, which in the past found several adult riders to actually be toddlers in disguise, at least according to their steroid levels. No wonder they throw so many tantrums when someone eats the last of their muesli. Perhaps Ettore Torri has simply tired of being subjected to the eye-bleeding fashion disasters that Italian riders insist on wearing to doping hearings for some unfathomably Italian reason. "I may be a cheat and a fraud, but the important thing is that I dress well." Priorities are priorities. Because we all know that a stunningly expensive watch and the right sunglasses outweigh any misdeed.

In other news, latest issue of Procycling has an excerpt from Cocky Cav's rather premature life story Boy Racer, in which he relates a horror story about an incompetent ACE tester mangling his arm with a large needle while searching for a vein during the Tour last year. Boy Wonder was so angry and traumatized over the tester's painful flubbing that he refused to be tested by ACE ever again. That's right. No more tests for the remainder of the season. The vaunted ACE, subject of so many column inches of PR hype for the "clean teams", now seems to have left some rather conspicuously gaping holes in their testing procedures and protocols. If riders can just opt out, what is the point anyway? More doubt. Seems ACE's demise was hardly mourned by the Columbia crew, and why should they? If ACE couldn't even find qualified staff to handle their testing, then what does that say about the professionalism of their entire organization? Doubt.

I almost forgot to mention that World War III, the pro-cycling version of mutually assured destruction, is now set to explode sometime in 2010, as Trek (aka LA's puppets) takes on LeMond in a potentially no-holds-barred trial, which could in theory drag a huge amount of very dirty laundry out into the glare of the media spotlight. You think the SCA case brought about some serious revelations, just wait. Some people think this case will be settled long before trial to avoid damaging testimony that could hinder the Second Coming's political aspirations (gag), while others think that Trek and LeMond will fight to the bloody death, side-effects and lawyers' fees be damned. Regardless of who wins any eventual trial, the potential stakes for LA are huge.

Stay tuned for more semi-coherent rambling from the addled post-Twitter-withdrawal version of CFA, who has given up reading Cycling News and just reads Bike Radar instead, since they are the same damn thing anyway.

Days or weeks...

2009-02-28T10:42:00.001-05:00

NYT: Cycling to Use Blood Profiles in Doping Case by Juliet Macur

"Mr. McQuaid would not say how many cases were being prepared or how many athletes were involved, adding that it may be one or three or six riders. He said the doping actions would begin in 'the coming days and weeks.'"

Days or weeks...let's hope he means it this time.

In the meantime...

2009-02-27T09:54:00.001-05:00

http://twitter.com/cyclingfansanon

Tuesday non-update

2009-02-24T21:04:00.005-05:00

I've started to think that there is no point in updating this blog until the UCI announces the results of the bio-passport. So it may be a long wait...next week, next decade, never? Enjoy the season if you can, such as it is.

Comments are closed.

Friday update

2009-02-20T21:17:00.004-05:00

The strange contradictions of having Amgen sponsor a race.

Sam Abt finds better things to write about than pro cycling. I don't blame him.

TDWSport has a sequence of photos showing Armstrong shoving and knocking over a fan (dressed as a yellow devil) who was wearing a cape with the slogan "Live Clean" on it, and who was carrying a pitchfork fashioned of syringes. Read the first comment on this blog entry to get the Yellow Devil's own point of view.

How comforting to know that our current reigning Olympic gold medalist is fully supportive of dopers. First Bettini, now Sanchez....some things never change. Those Olympic rings sure are strangely tarnished.

The yellow chalk is getting a little annoying at the ToC, as riders and spectators might prefer to actually be able to see and breathe in the finishing straight, rather then be choked and squinting through a giant cloud of yellow dust. As Team Type 1 rider Chris Jones said, "You couldn’t see and you couldn’t breathe the last three kilometers. It was like riding in a yellow fog....I heard the guys from the city complaining about the chalk on the road and how it’s going to take a lot of time to clean it all up."

Scott Nydam, in his own words. Lots of crashes at the ToC, it was like attack of the killer rain capes, with Nydam, Freire, and Kirchen all taken out by very unfortunate mishaps involving jackets. There is a truly terrible photo of Nydam's accident at Graham Watson's site. Makes me shudder. Glad to hear he is more or less alright.

ToC blog by CW's Simon Richardson, providing a rather funny alternate viewpoint on the race.

Blog from Jelly Belly's Phil Gaimon, providing a good-humored and welcome dose of refreshing humility and reality on surviving in the back end of the peloton.

Liquigas's Brian Vandborg calls his days in ToC "brutal" and faces asthma problems.

Nice tatoo.

Astana's Chris Horner has been blogging on the ToC for the Oregonian.

Basso surprised everyone by DNSing the ToC time trial due to hitting his knee on his handlebars earlier in the day. Seems that he had some sort of problem with his chain that caused him to unclip suddenly, and his knee was injured enough to make him abandon.

What passes for "journalism" at Gazzetta. If you are going to interview Di Luca, there are real questions to be asked.

Something is truly askew in the universe when even the Village Voice is writing about Armstrong.

"To cover with accuracy and honesty Armstrong’s comeback to professional cycling this year is one of the hardest stories in sport. There are many who simply do not try. Kimmage can never be accused of that."

Daniel Martin interview.

The sad tale of Scarponi.

Dr. Evil, still finding clueless new recruits to his army of darkness.

The Science of Sport blog writers dare to express an opinion on the Kimmage vs His Royal Highness incident, and find themselves besieged by apoplectic commenters. I can sympathize, as I just had to close all comments on my previous Kimmage post, exhausted as I was by the legions of Livestrong fans showering me with their hatred and bile for having expressed my support for Kimmage's anti-doping stance. Really, god forbid that I oppose doping in cycling!? My views on this topic are perfectly summed up by the eloquent letter sent to VeloNews by Charles Howe. Bravo Mr. Howe. And you better believe more than a few people are waiting with great anticipation for Kimmage's next upcoming article, where it seems likely that he will have a lot to say. Keep an eye out at the London Times come Sunday.

Graham Watson is a loyal company man, and it is unheard of for him to criticize anything to do with Astana, so it was with surprise that I read his criticism of the motorcycle crash incident involving none other than Liz Kreutz, official photographer of the Second Coming.

Sean Yates blogging from ToC.

I am trying to go easy on the Versus ToC coverage, because I know that it is not the best idea to bite the hand that feeds you, so to speak, but I can't keep quiet any longer. I HATE CRAIG HUMMER!! Dear god, please spare me one more second of his inanity, his total cluelessness, his intolerable ponderous intonation, his incredibly irritating booming pep-rally tone of voice that sounds like a cross between a loud used car salesman and Zeus pronouncing judgement on the pitiful mortals from the mountaintop of the gods. I can't take it. I just can't. Has anyone ever suggested to him that he just try talking in a normal, calm tone of voice, that he not try to make his every dumb comment sound like a holy oracle gifting his followers with momentous morsels of perfect wisdom on the meaning of life? I think Paul and Phil must just sit there silently moaning and wincing under the Hummer onslaught, wishing they had giant earplugs to drown out the infernal stream of nonsense that pours out of his mouth. And then today...today I wanted to reach into the TV and strangle Mr. Hummer, when he made totally uncalled for and totally uninformed derogatory comments about Svein Tuft. That was too much. And then, you really don't want to get me started on those bizarre segments with the comedian lady....whoever thought up that idea must have been high or something. Has it ever occurred to Versus that cycling fans tune in to see the race? THE RACE! Not stupid segments with comedians, or eons-long gag-worthy worship-fests on His Royal Highness's saintliness, not features on Specialized's latest damn cycling shoes, but THE RACE! Please Versus, more race, no Hummer, and all will be well. (And just thank god for the Tour Tracker, where it is all race all the time, and Frankie commentates without talking down to the fans.)

Great to see Peterson doing so well for Garmin (some confidence he's got, eh? check out his blog), and to see Z back riding well after his injury last season. Of course, I really wanted Z to win the time trial, but he still did a great ride to get second. I just hope that in the final two stages all the teams throw absolutely everything they have at Astana, and don't let them walk off with the victory without a hard fight. Gesink for one needs to try something big on Palomar. Also, I have a question...why exactly did Cavendish point at his crotch when he won the stage into Paso Robles? Is this some sort of new-fangled victory salute specially designed to annoy those of us who already have a serious aversion to the "too-much-information" aspect of the dreaded white cycling shorts? Or what? You've got poor Stapleton doing the interview rounds on Versus trying to talk down the idea that Cavendish is arrogant and full of himself, then Cavendish wins and proceeds to frame his crotch proudly for the world's camera? Someone has suggested that his new nickname should be Isle of Manhood...

In rumor-mill news, it seems that many people think the whole stolen TT bike episode was actually a manufactured publicity stunt organized by Trek to gain media attention for their bikes. If so, it sure as hell worked, considering the insane number of column inches that have been wasted on this story so far.

Pretty strange to see that spat between Cunego and Basso over the idea of transparency. Cunego seems to forget that he rides for Lampre, a team which produces positive tests with such plodding regularity that I bet their press officer must keep a re-usable template for the usual "shocked and surprised" press release always at hand. But Cunego wears a doping-free temporary tatoo, so really, he must be clean and therefore has every right to chastise (ex?)dopers on other teams, even if he conveniently forgets about the dopers right under his nose on his own team.

As for Valverde and Schumacher, their lies are so obvious and pointless, I cannot imagine how they can even delude themselves into thinking that anyone believes them. Torri isn't giving up, and Valverde will hopefully get his due, along with the other Puerto dopers whose cases may come next (the Saxo Bank fans tremble...). It is a very sad commentary on the Spanish justice system that they keep right on blatantly trying to protect Valverde and obstruct justice. Serrano doesn't seem to care that he is making himself a total laughing-stock, and neither does Valv.Piti himself.

Anyone heard from Anne Gripper? Bio-passport? Hello? Anyone out there, or should we just expect to wait until the next Ice Age is over for any sanctions? Has a black hole swallowed the data? A freak storm cut power for the UCI press service? An empty echo chamber replaced the UCI headquarters?

Questions

2009-02-16T10:05:00.003-05:00

For Travis Tygart:

If CONI can pursue a case to ban Valverde over his Puerto involvement, why doesn't USADA pursue cases against Mancebo, Gutierrez, Sevilla, and Hamilton? You can get blood samples of all these riders while they ride in California, and the Puerto bloodbags are seemingly now available for request. Mancebo is making a joke out of the Tour of California, so why don't you stop him? If CONI can do it, why can't you?

For the Saxo Bank team doctor:

Was Cancellara really sick?

For Frank Schleck:

Would you like to invest all your savings in my very profitable Ponzi scheme?

For Mancebo:

What are you on?

Sunday update

2009-02-15T20:57:00.003-05:00

ToC was total mayhem today due to the atrocious weather, and I felt sorry for all the riders suffering in that cold. Big-time chaos on the road, as no one seemed to know the time gaps, or who was in what group, or even the basics of what was happening in the race. Frankie Andreu was attempting to commentate on the Tour Tracker, and was pulling his hair out in total frustration as they had no video, seemingly no accurate race radio much of the time, and were just trying to talk about anything and everything to fill the time. Johan Bruyneel was also losing his temper in the team car, taking the ToC race radio to task, because he had no accurate info on who was in the front chase group and who wasn't. I am not sure that the eventual sketchy reports of who was in that front group of favorites were totally accurate either, so we will have to wait for the official results later to gauge the extent of the carnage.

As for Mancebo, he's not part of the bio-passport, and he's a known Puerto doper, so his "win" means nothing at all to me. Rock can preen and crow all they like, but an empty victory by an unrepentant doper is hardly something to be all joyful about. Sometimes the ends do not justify the means. And the anarchy symbol on the Rock jersey has to be the lamest and most inappropriate appropriation of a supposed counter-culture symbol for commercialized marketing purposes ever. Although I would admit that anarchy is a fairly good description of the state of pro cycling at the moment. With the Italians taking on the prosecution of a Spanish doping scandal, the UCI bio-passport stalled somewhere in mystery-limbo-land (free Anne Gripper!!), Damsgaard-run anti-doping programs at Saxo and Astana on the chopping block of oh-so-convenient expediency, Madame Amaury chasing profits over truth at L'Equipe and ASO, and the Second Coming's groundswell of vituperative nastiness threatening to drown us all in a tidal wave of sewage.....well, you get the idea. And the next person who mentions the damn word "transparency" should be sentenced to 24 hours straight locked in a room with nothing to do but read Basso's twitter. I go to sleep...I get massage...I eat dinner...I go to race...I go to sleep...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....I die of boredom. I tell you, the only twitters actually worth reading are the many Fake Floyds and a certain cycling reporter who shall go unnamed to save him from being ex-communicated by the Second Coming.

Meanwhile, if the latest El Periodico article can be trusted, CONI seems poised to deal the sport a few new crushing body blows. CONI is said to have 42 of the Puerto bloodbags and is working on the DNA matches, testing against samples from the Tour, Giro, and (the Italian fans tremble in horror...) the World Championships as well. The article specifically states that CONI is proceeding with 4 additional cases beyond Valverde, and makes special mention of an unnamed star rider who has worn the yellow jersey. Hmmm, so hard to guess who that might be...really, help me out, it is just too puzzling? OK, OK, so maybe it isn't Frank, lots of guys have worn the yellow jersey over the years, right?

Steroid Nation lays it on the line, talking about the Kimmage vs Armstrong incident: "Pro cycling will never rid itself of doping...while the cycling mafia controls the enterprise (and rooms like this). Cycling fans and various groupies will adorn Armstrong with attention. Pro cycling will ignore doping, to the detriment of the fairness of the sport. Denial is a powerful force. Death and disability from doping is powerful too. Remember, doping kills -- just like cancer."

Poor Garmin, mechanical incidents and problems with the UCI TT bike rules are haunting their time trials lately...with the latest victim being Peterson with a flat at the ToC. Maybe one of these would be worth getting?

Why do I blather on and on, when others manage to say it all in a few concise sentences? Er...don't answer that.

Svein Tuft interview.

Toto, will you be my Valentine?

Friday update

2009-02-13T19:53:00.002-05:00

Phew, things have taken an ugly turn, and the race hasn't even started yet. You wouldn't believe the level of anger in the emails and comments flying around the interwebs these days. Or, actually, you probably would if you've followed cycling for any length of time. There really are people out there who fully believe that if you are anti-Lance, then you are by default also pro-cancer and a Very Bad Person who deserves to be drawn and quartered, slowly. In exchange, I guess this means that I am now allowed to believe that the next person who criticizes me or this blog is pro-doping and sincerely wants every single athlete to be injecting enough EPO every night to turn their blood to sludge. Sorry, but without me getting a lobotomy that non-logic ain't happening. Call me crazy, but I think that many cycling fans are in fact both anti-cancer and anti-doping, and that being one is not mutually exclusive of the other.

This article in El Periodico claims that the CONI anti-doping lab in Rome now has possession of the Puerto bloodbags and is comparing their DNA with CONI samples taken from riders at multiple Italian races including the Giro and the Tour stage to Prato Nevoso. While Spanish judge Antonio Serrano had previously steadfastly refused to release the blood to pretty much anyone including the CAS, it seems that when Serrano went on vacation around Christmas, a substitute judge who received an official legal request for the blood from the Italian officials went ahead and approved sending it. Just like that, Serrano's years of infuriating stonewalling were neatly side-stepped by the substitute judge. If this is really true...wow, Serrano and all the athletes he was protecting surely must be cursing his decision to take that potentially fateful vacation. The real question now is whether CONI will be able to find more DNA matches beyond just Valverde. Valverde's involvement has been widely known for ages, so the bigger blow for the sport will be if other well-known riders are also suddenly exposed as blood dopers. I would bet that there are some nervous riders at the ToC right about now. It is also notable that blood taken from tests at the Giro is also potentially being compared to the Puerto blood, as this may expand the number of riders under threat. You really have to give CONI and Ettore Torri credit for their recent success in banning many dopers in the huge Oil for Drugs case and now taking on Puerto. While questions remain about potential jurisdictional issues in CONI's investigation, there is now at least some shred of hope that CONI's actions may serve to break open the Puerto case's long-shrouded secrets once and for all.

Bonnie Ford parses the nuances of the latest Lance drama, and finds little but confusion.

Paul Kimmage video interview with Canadian Cyclist.

Mark Zeigler provides an in-depth survey of Landis' recent past and provides the first information I have seen anywhere about the payment of the $100,000 fine to USADA.

James Raia headlines his latest blog post "Tour of California torment."

Juliet Macur doesn't back down.

The weather forecasts in California sound dreadful, and I just hope that the riders' safety will be given the first priority.

Thursday update

2009-02-12T23:36:00.003-05:00

Kimmage vs Armstrong. I bet Kimmage was the only guy in that room with the balls to ask that sort of question. Good for him.

Millar on the end of the no-go Catlin program: "Naive."

Lionel Birnie deftly dismantles Armstrong's empty promises of transparency.

Details of the CONI case vs Valverde. Seems like F. Schleck may be next in line to go. Other Saxo riders were also tested at that Tour stage, so more could possibly be under the gun. I am especially interested to see if they match the Luigi blood bag to anyone. Now that would set fire to the sport.

Austin Murphy on the power of confession.

Seems that Beltran's ban may soon be in place after all.

WADA has suddenly dropped their CAS appeal of Sella's short ban, and it is suggested this is due to WADA's gratitude toward CONI for taking on the Operacion Puerto case of Valverde. So Sella gets off easy while Valverde is nailed. Fair?

Doctor Andreas Zoubek sued the Kurier newspaper for writing articles about him allegedly selling doping products, but a judge ruled against him. Zoubek claims to have lost his job and basically had his life ruined. Yeah, getting involved in doping has a tendency to do that...too bad more people don't bother to worry about that before they take the plunge into the dark side. No word on whether Zoubek was actually involved in the Kohl CERA case, as the Kurier had previously suggested. Kohl refused to name his supplier.

The be-all-and-end-all of epic interviews with Allen Lim.

Multi-stage winner Gavazzi in Langkawi has a comeback story of his own. Can't be the greatest situation for a former addict to be riding on Savio's team, can it?

I've heard lately that a recent trend among certain sprinters is to use sublingual isosorbide in the last few kilometers of a race. This drug, known as Carvasin in Italy, is a vasodilator which is currently fully legal to use according to WADA guidelines. It is rumored to be in use in a current race, but hey, if it is legal, who cares, right?

Sometimes I feel sorry for non-cycling reporters who just don't have a clue what they are up against, and who get conned by the smooth scam artists of the sport without even realizing it.

OUCH says that Landis is OK despite a crash in training today that left him ominously absent from the ToC press conference. Hmm, hope he didn't land on the bionic hip. Must come in handy sometimes to have your sponsor be a medical center.

Mr. Adorable almost moos in delight after winning one for the cow team. Maybe he just wanted to set me straight about the whole lactose intolerance issue? Even better, look who's in second.

On the Garmin twitter, Vaughters was fuming over some sort of unnamed problem at the start of the TTT at the Tour of the Med, where they came in second. According to later comments at the Garmin website, it seems that Ryder Hesjedal had a mechanical problem at the start that resulted in him being delayed and actually having to ride the whole TTT by himself behind the other guys. Hesjedal finished at 1:59 down.

I am getting a little worried about the ToC weather. Sounds like it could be a death march of cold rain, even snow and ice. Sounds bad for all involved, and worse for the image of the race.

CONI links Valverde to Puerto

2009-02-11T10:45:00.002-05:00

Gazzetta: Il Coni inchioda Valverde "Quel sangue è suo"

Tuesday update

2009-02-10T21:24:00.002-05:00

Finally, Twitter worth reading: "Antidoping control number million, I just send all on my urine to Colorado Springs where there appears to be a shortage." "Just for full disclosure, I did frame a pair of pants after shitting in them when His Lordstrong gave me 'the look'."

I want the creators of Toto to stage a coup and take control of the UCI. They sure as hell understand the sport better than McQuaid. Just imagine hordes of fanatical fed-up cycling fans storming the ~~Bastille~~ UCI headquarters in Aigle, dragging off the overfed suits, and freeing poor Anne Gripper, who has apparently been tied up and locked in the janitor's closet for the last two months with only salmonella-tainted peanut butter Clif Bars to eat....all to keep her quiet on the bio-passport, of course.

The UCI waves their capricious magic wand and suddenly Agritubel is seemingly condemned to Tour-less infamy without the holy wild-card status. Is it just me, or does this smell fishy? And I am not talking a little sardine, but dead whale-sized fishy. Payback time for the French, so any French team will do as cannon fodder? Or has Agritubel actually done something dark and possibly dirty to deserve their shunning? (There have been some previous vague rumors about Moreau?) The problem with the UCI is that they love to behave in as mysterious a manner as possible, and they never feel any need to explain anything to anybody. God forbid they should actually deign to clarify why they make a certain decision, and not constantly leave everyone in the dark thinking WTF?? No, that would be admitting that other people, like say the fans, actually exist in the world beyond their cushy little insular universe in Switzerland. I get the feeling they are too busy admiring the cut of their new suit in the men's room mirror, or being honored at some trumped-up award reception by the Kaz-swazi-turgistan-ian-ville cycling federation.

Dave Brailsford has a plan for the UK to rule the Tour. He also reminds us of the importance of telling your personal "chimp" to shut up. Er...didn't know I had a chimp? But, why not...SHUT UP.

Probably it is not my place to say this, but I really hope that Cervelo required Hayden Roulston to undergo a serious and thorough cardiac examination before allowing him to join their team. He was previously diagnosed with a heart condition (arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia) serious enough that he was told he had to quit the sport. Now, apparently, he is cured, and maybe he really is fine, but after the recent death of Frederiek Nolf in Qatar, it will be a little nerve-wracking to see Roulston riding at ToC.

"Who protects who?" Hey, don't ask inconvenient questions.

I wonder if any of the Garmin guys could so something on the Genting Highlands climb in Langkawi? Meier? Or on Mount Faron at the Med? Martin? I hope. And you know, I am still a little disgruntled that Mr. Adorable has joined that German milk squad, although I guess cow spots on a jersey are better than fake abs. Hopefully he's not lactose intolerant. Before I lose my miserable whiner cred, I should add that I am not liking Katusha. Something shifty-eyed about that team, reminds me of the Vino squint.

Sunday update

2009-02-08T23:06:00.004-05:00

New CAS hearings upcoming: On Feb. 18th, UCI vs Ariel Maximiliano Richeze & Union Ciclista Argentina. On Feb. 26th, Ivan Stevic vs CONI. Richeze claimed that he tested positive due to contaminated supplements and the Argentine federation let him off. Clearly the UCI disagrees. Stevic claims that he never even knew he was under investigation in the Oil for Drugs case and is appealing his lifetime ban from CONI. I also wonder whether the UCI will appeal for a longer ban in the Leukemans case. And someone really should force the ex-Silence-Lotto doctor supposedly involved in that case to explain exactly what happened. Way too many unanswered questions.

The Guardian publishes a letter from Betsy Andreu refuting allegations made in the previous Lance interview article by Donald McRae. An addendum/correction to the Guardian article now also adds, "We apologise to Betsy Andreu for comments made about her in this interview."

Great article on Svein Tuft by Juliet Macur. Practically makes me swoon to imagine someone like that totally crushing all the mewling doping swine in some big race. Note to cycling journalists everywhere: This is the sort of article we want to read. Tuft is about as totally and fabulously opposite as you can get from the perma-tranquilo, omerta-enforcing, dope-snarfing, car-crashing, excuse-peddling, Rolex-flashing, morally bankrupt liars we are all too often saddled with in this sport, and dear god do I want him to win big. Please.

Hincapie gets a bit mealy-mouthed when faced with the dreaded doping questions: "I don't know if they got caught or not."

Palomar Mountain, the holy grail for many a ToC spectator. You do have to wonder what Landis will try on this climb...

Fanini vs Bettini.

The season has barely started and already we have polémique in France.

More infighting in the Spanish federation. Same as always.

What bike is Petacchi riding these days? Is it really a De Rosa, or one of these?

Video from Cervelo camp. And two more here.

It boggles the mind that people like this are actually paid to cover the Tour de France.

Confusion abounds at the moment on why Triki Beltran has reportedly been able to obtain a UCI license despite testing positive at the Tour. Rule 306 of the UCI Anti-doping rules states: "Subject to the right to appeal provided in chapter XI, the testing, therapeutic use exemptions, and hearing results or other final adjudications of any Signatory to the Code which are consistent with the Code and are within the Signatory's authority, shall be recognized and respected by the UCI and the National Federations." So the question then is why hasn't the UCI respected the findings of the AFLD? Still too caught up in their pathetic pissing match over the ASO vs UCI war of 2008? On the other hand, has the AFLD actually passed their findings to the Spanish federation so that they can proceed with sanctioning their athlete? That is, if the Spanish will bother doing so, which, knowing the Spanish federation's attitude towards doping, is questionable. This stuff gets too confusing. For example, according to USADA's Tygart speaking to VeloNews, the CONI (Italian anti-doping) verdict of a lifetime ban against Ivan Stevic, a Serbian who was riding in Italy, "would be under effect to any and all sport entities who are signatories under WADA code." Thus Stevic "would be prohibited from any competition held under UCI jurisdiction." But now Beltran is reportedly only banned from riding in France under a sanction from the AFLD. Why would a CONI ban result in a prohibition from any UCI competition, but an AFLD ban only get you banned in France? If both CONI and AFLD are following WADA code and are WADA signatories, then why would the UCI treat verdicts from the two differently?

Friday update

2009-02-06T19:47:00.003-05:00

Dark days. It is hard to know what to say. Sudden tragic death at 21 in Qatar. The suicide of a former champion in France. Even if I could find some way to write of the cruelty of fate and the inevitability of pain and loss in this life, it seems words are still inadequate in the face of death's awful finality. Life is fragile, and sometimes we take too much for granted. My thoughts go to the bereaved. I try to ignore the questions that rise in the back of my mind, as they seem wholly inappropriate amid this week's mourning, even if someday perhaps they must be faced.

Piepoli's CONI decision is now posted at the CONI website. He eventually admitted to doping, but flatly refused to name his supplier. Also posted is the decision on Stefano Cavallari (Acqua & Sapone), who tested positive for EPO. He also confessed to doping, but refused to provide any details. Another case on the CONI site is that of Alessandro Orsetti, an amateur cyclist and nurse who stole medications and medical equipment from the hospital where he worked to help supply the Oil for Drugs' doping network. Most chilling is that Orsetti was linked with Alessio Galletti.

For some unknown reason, Joe Papp posts a blood test result from 2006, with a notable hematocrit.

Even the famous Astana glitterati face scary vehicular harassment while training in CA.

"I really like to suffer. It makes me feel like I’m alive."

As always, Fanini has a lot of tough things to say, and it makes me sad that he thinks he may have to close his team because of the frequent retaliation against his outspoken anti-doping remarks.

Versus still clueless: Remember a while ago I posted a rather scathing criticism of a survey that Versus posted on their website that was sickeningly pro-Lance? Well, the other day I actually got an email from Versus saying that since they really appreciated me posting the link to their survey, they now want to send me a free jersey as a thank-you gift. That's right, they are kindly thanking me for angrily denouncing their lame survey! Some people might try READING the blog before they send me nonsensical email. Or maybe they are just among those who think there is simply no such thing as bad publicity?

The Science of Sport comments on the sad death of Frederiek Nolf.

The UK gets a new anti-doping agency, called UK Anti-Doping, with a $10.2 million budget, which constitutes a 60 percent increase on their previous anti-doping budget. Apparently the IOC demanded that this agency be operational before the London Olympics.

There is a big argument going on over the license for the Eneco Tour, with the CAS getting involved in the legal wrangling. I am just scratching my head a little over why anyone cares that much about the Eneco Tour one way or the other.

Three Russian biathletes have tested positive (A sample only so far), although there are contradictory reports about what they took, with some ominous reports claiming that they tested positive for a mysterious new blood doping drug. Supercharged-CERA, version 2.0? Next generation Dyn-EPO? Who knows. But the Russians sure are getting caught a lot these days....which reminds me, what the heck is going on with Gusev?

I think I should just declare a moratorium on complaining about the endless bio-passport waiting game because I am running low on impatient adjectives. Sounds like maybe three cases will go forward, but when is still an open question: "Some of the UCI's experts are perplexed why the cycling body hasn't yet acted on the suspicious cases they have identified." Perplexed is not quite the word I would use, and it is hard for me to trust the UCI to do the right thing given their bad past track record.

Meanwhile Saxo Bank and Astana have dropped quite a bombshell by announcing that they have stopped extra team-based testing by Damsgaard, although he will still be reviewing the results of their standard UCI bio-passport tests. Saxo Bank claims rather disingenuously, "The UCI has set a standard which means that we would simply be doubling up." In other words, they have suddenly decided that the number of tests by the UCI is sufficient enough for them, without any additional tests by Damsgaard's program. But conveniently neither Astana nor Saxo Bank bother to specify exactly how often the UCI bio-passport testing actually occurs for each rider. If we have to guess, the latest UCI testing numbers for 2008 are 8,300 blood samples for 804 riders, which works out to somewhere around 10 tests per rider for the year, or less than one test per month (although targeted riders surely are getting more, and other riders less). In contrast, Garmin's previous ACE program tested their riders on average once every 2 weeks. Garmin is continuing their current anti-doping program, now run by Catlin's ADSI, so clearly not everyone agrees that the UCI testing is enough on its own. What angers me is the way that Saxo Bank tries to spin their backtracking with glib statements about the uselessness of the so-called duplication of testing. They seem to forget that the whole point of Damsgaard's program was that more frequent testing is better at catching and deterring doping. If they want to stop the extra tests, then they should just say so without trying to pretend it will make no difference. It does make a difference. The UCI's bio-passport is still totally unproven, and it seems quite premature to be putting total faith in it.

You have to remember also that Riis started with the Damsgaard program under extreme pressure from all sides after the Birillo debacle, when the team's credibility was in the toilet. It was never something Riis seemed ready to freely choose to do out of moral conviction about the importance of clean cycling for the future viability of the sport. He was doing what he had to do to save his team and keep his sponsors. Now that the Basso crisis is long past, maybe he thinks he can get away with backtracking a bit on the anti-doping front, especially when he desperately needs to cut his budget (thanks to Stein Bagger) and anti-doping is expensive. Between dropping the Damsgaard testing and the team's laughable denials about the recent Schleck/Puerto revelations, Saxo Bank's status in the anti-doping hierarchy is unfortunately headed downhill.

In other news, someone out there must know what has happened with John Devine. He is off the Columbia roster, and so far I have not seen any mention that he has been hired by another team. Anyone know?

More trouble for Damsgaard

2009-02-05T09:36:00.003-05:00

spn.dk: Riis' dopingjæger sendte gamle prøver

Google auto-translation from Danish here.

Friday update

2009-01-30T23:08:00.002-05:00

One mechanic's extremely unflattering point of view on Columbia's management and the state of wrenching in the ProTour peloton.

Spoiled selfish brat. Must be suffering severe anxiety at the thought of his personal gynecologist perhaps being discovered, eh?

New Toto.

Saxo Bank reportedly had Damsgaard analyze the blood profiles of several potential new recruits to their team, and some were summarily rejected for weird blood values. Apparently this extra post-season work by Damsgaard resulted in Riis giving him the now-infamous gift bike as compensation. Oh course, we will never know for sure who these untouchable riders were. I bet they were just hired by another team instead and are riding along happily. Tranquilo. Their secrets are safe with the UCI in charge of the elusive bio-passport....so far.

Ever get the feeling that looking for a shred of unbiased truth in this sport is simply pure folly?

Jaime Lissavetzky makes laughable claims about so-called progress in the anti-doping fight in Spain. Someone ought to remind this amnesiac about Spain's blatant stonewalling of the Puerto case.

A "softer Lance"? Yeah right, tell that to Simeoni or Bassons or Kimmage or Betsy Andreu or David Walsh.

So if Schumacher rejected the testing of his B sample, is that not akin to waving a white flag? I am lost as to why a guy who strongly claims innocence would not want his B sample tested?

"Liggett is confident the new Armstrong will appeal to French fans, who have treated him with some disdain because of a lack of understanding." Good luck with that idea. A lack of understanding? Really? Could have fooled me. I always thought the French fans understood Armstrong perfectly well, and were simply informed enough to have a reasonable opinion. I am dreading Liggett's slobbering commentary this season. There is only one rider he wants to talk about.

Hopefully you will understand if I do not post as often these days. I find that I do not have much motivation because everything seems in doubt. Is Damsgaard for real, or just hiding Saxo Bank's reality behind fancy charts and graphs? Is the bio-passport of any use to remove dopers from actual races before they compete doped, or is it only a vague utopian panacea that has accomplished nothing at all except creating some flashy PR for the UCI fat cats? Why is Astarloa kicked out of Milram, then allowed to ride for Knauf? Why is Dekker kicked out of Rabobank, then allowed to ride for Silence-Lotto? Is there any real difference between David Millar and Ivan Basso? How can I stand watching Armstrong, Basso, and Landis ride merrily around California? Is there even a point to trying to figure any of this out, when many (most?) cycling fans do not care one way or the other, and some even publicly pine for the good old days of the entertaining, attacking dopers like Pantani. More syringes, more entertainment. Screw ethics. Ethics are for wimps. We just want to be entertained.

And a thought for today:

"Most of American life consists of driving somewhere and then returning home, wondering why the hell you went." --John Updike

How independent is Damsgaard?

2009-01-25T11:36:00.002-05:00

Big questions are being raised in the Danish press about Rasmus Damsgaard and whether his new company, Radar, which provides anti-doping testing programs to teams such as Saxo Bank and Astana, can be relied upon to be unbiased, ethical, and trustworthy despite being paid directly by the teams. Previously Damsgaard was employed by Bispebjerg Hospital and was paid a salary by the hospital, and was never paid directly by the teams, which gave a greater sense of his independence from possible team influence. Now Damsgaard has gone out on his own by forming his separate personal anti-doping business, and he is paid directly by the teams. Berlingske Tidende has strongly criticized the credibility of Damsgaard's new business model, derisively calling his for-profit anti-doping programs "a fig leaf." They have also indignantly reported that Saxo Bank directly gave Damsgaard a team bike as a gift, and Damsgaard unfortunately accepted it, which they see as a breach of ethical integrity. Meanwhile Bispebjerg Hospital's head Bo Belhage has said that the hospital withdrew from its role in Damsgaard's anti-doping programs due in part to concern over recent issues involving Armstrong's return and Frank Schleck's Puerto links. Belhage questions Damsgaard's credibility, and has claimed that Armstrong is not being tested as part of Astana's Damsgaard-run anti-doping program, but rather is only being tested by Catlin. For further details, see the full translations of Berlingske Tidende articles available at Podium Cafe.

Saturday update

2009-01-24T22:13:00.007-05:00

Must-read new article with Damsgaard as co-author: Strategies to combat doping in cycling. Via Science of Sport.

Interesting interview with Aldo Sassi: "The main solution to the doping problem is the mentality within the team. If the rider is in a team where the management is against [doping] then the athletes will be much less prone to indulge. However, if the management is only interested in winning, no matter what the means, then the problem will remain." While this view may seem rather self-evident, the more prominent people that say this and keep on saying it over and over, the better, because there are still sadly way too many teams who do not care one bit about taking active steps to promote an anti-doping culture within their ranks.

Bill Strickland riffs on the peanut butter Clif Bar recall, with funny results.

This is news?

Good news. Dr. Carlo Santuccione is now on trial in Rome for his role as architect of the huge Oil for Drugs doping network. Eighteen other people are also on trial in this case, including fellow doctor Simone Giustarini, and all are charged with violating anti-doping laws. Let's just hope that the outcome of the trial will not follow the Operacion Puerto trend.

Most ridiculous headline of the week.

DZ interviews are never boring. Keep an eye out for Sport Depends, coming to a store near you.

Floyd speaks. You know, when he claims that "I'm not out to prove anything to anybody," I just find it very hard to believe him. He has always seemed to me to have that stubborn edge to his personality, where he wants to emphatically prove his doubters wrong.

USA Track and Field takes hard aim at the dark side of the supplement industry: "Performance-enhancing drugs are threatening to choke the life out of the sport....and in many ways, the supplement industry has been assisting in braiding the noose." Never heard any cycling bigwigs say that, have we?

New legal challenge to whereabouts rules. Sounds scary if they win...

In an important ruling, CAS denies Rasmussen's appeal and confirms his two year ban. This is another example of the growing and encouraging trend of non-analytic positives resulting in lengthy bans, despite no actual positive test. Even those riders who used to happily spout the pathetic "never tested positive" mantra endlessly must now fully realize that the lack of a positive test is no protection from a ban and no proof of any degree of cleanliness. Consider the recent non-analytical positive cases of Rasmussen, Kayle Leogrande, Australian track cyclist Andrew Wyper, fellow Australian Mark Roland, Danilo DiLuca, Ivan Stevic, and many other Oil for Drugs cases. It is also an encouraging precedent that CAS has dismissed appeals of several of these bans.

New Toto: "Does everyone love cancer?"

Sergio at Ciclismo 2005 is not pleased with the myopic Lance-mania of the TDU, and complains that the Astana jersey just makes him think of Kessler, Vinokourov, Kashechkin, Gusev, and Mazzoleni. About the 2009 season, he laments, "Bienvenidos a un año de pesadilla." A nightmare year...

Not all Aussie journalists like pro cycling: "A drug festival on wheels..."

Lionel Birnie speaks his mind on the Second Coming's TDU opening chapter.

You really have to wonder what exactly is going on at AFLD with the slow prosecution of the Schumacher case. What the heck are they waiting for? Don't they realize the importance of this case and how their delay is making them look terribly unprofessional? Lefevere sounds enraged with the situation, and attacks Bordry angrily. I hate to say it, but I have started to be a little scared that Schumacher's test results may not be clear-cut enough to be ironclad or legally defensible as a definite positive, and maybe AFLD knows it and is delaying to avoid the big possible embarrassment of having their test result overturned somehow. Just imagine if Schumacher is cleared, and Lefevere is forced to honor his contract. That is a horrifying prospect which makes me curious whether there is anyone out there with enough inside info to get Schumacher convicted for a non-analytic positive, and who would actually be willing to come forward to testify. Do you think he and Kohl might have talked about it together in their room? Could Kohl rat on Schumacher and make all of Lefevere's problems disappear?

Been watching a bit of the TDU when I can, although I have to sort of squint and hit the mute button rather often to avoid the constant threat of all-Lance-all-the-time nausea syndrome. Since it is mainly a sprinters' race, I was hoping to see Garmin's Aussie sprinter Sutton win something, but no dice for that idea. And, miserable whiner that I am (according to a recent disgruntled emailer), you knew this was coming, so: I really do hate Quick Step with a passion and thus am not exactly cheering over the race's overall outcome. And I guess I really should just not mention that whole Allan Davis and Operacion Puerto thing.

Wednesday update

2009-01-21T18:49:00.002-05:00

Graeme Brown weighs in on the TDU: "Astana aren't in Adelaide to lick stamps."

Things you won't read about on Twitter: Ronny Scholz says that Armstrong was booed at the TDU presentation. Guess all the reports of a total lovefest between Armstrong and the Australian fans may not be the whole story.

Sastre admits that he and the Schlecks are not best pals.

Blindness.

In a new book, Museeuw describes how easy it was for him to buy EPO.

Bettini has photos from the Tour de San Luis, showing off the new season's kits.

Three part interview with Vaughters (scroll down). Interesting comments about Danielson in there.

In the category of cycling on TV, A&E is said to be planning a follow-up series of shows on Chad Gerlach, who previously was featured on Intervention, and is making a comeback to cycling with Amore & Vita/McDonalds this season.

Joe Parkin: "I definitely learned how to work the guys that were doped to my advantage as much as possible."

Acqua & Sapone rider Stefano Cavallari gets 2 years for EPO. Meanwhile, CONI recommends 4 years for CSF's Matteo Priamo, and Sella's 1 year ban is being appealed to CAS as too short. Interesting to consider the discrepancy in punishment between Priamo and Sella. Who deserves a longer ban, the user or the supplier?

The CAS website states that "The CAS has also recently reactivated a case concerning the cyclist Alexandr Vinokourov. The UCI filed an appeal with the CAS in early 2008 requesting that the one-year ban imposed on Vinokourov by the Kazakstan Cycling Federation be increased to two years following a positive test for a homologous blood transfusion during the 2007 Tour de France. However, as Vinokourov had announced his intention to retire from the sport of cycling, the procedure was suspended. Shortly before Christmas, the UCI, having learned of the athlete’s intention to compete again, requested that the proceedings be resumed." CAS also has ruled on the Caruso and O'Neill cases, while the Rasmussen case has strangely still not been decided after a very long and unexplained delay.

Are cracks appearing in the UCI's pro-Armstrong stance?

Werner Franke says that internal controls are a big joke.

Rasmus Guldhammer was invited to join the Saxo Bank training camp as a young guest rider, and made his mark by taking third place in their informal climbing TT, beaten only by Frank Schleck and Chris Anker Sorenson.

Bonnie Ford on the Second Coming. Goes way too easy on the dark side, if you ask me. And why is Doug Ellis actually going out of his way to try to become friends with Armstrong? That is a bit scary.

Just about every cycling forum in the known universe has a thread about how ugly the Columbia kit is, and rumor has it that the jersey design was created by none other than Stapleton himself. Is that even possible?? If so, that is right up there in his list of dumb decisions, right along with his previous inexplicable attempt to hire Valv.Piti.

The revolving door in Spain keeps on turning. How much longer is this pathetic charade going to be allowed to drag on? By now, any semblance of justice is long past gone.

The long wait for the UCI to announce the bio-passport results seems destined to go on and on, with no explanation forthcoming. I can't help but wonder why, and the main possible reason that comes to mind is that the UCI is too scared of the collateral damage and has basically chickened out of naming the names. Maybe they think if they wait long enough, we'll all just forget about it. If they didn't dare to re-test the samples from the Giro for CERA, why would they want to publicly announce the potentially damaging bio-passport results? After all, who would want to cast the dark shadow of reality over the saintly glow of the cherished Second Coming? Or maybe the experts just can't make any sense whatsoever out of certain riders' blood value graphs that have bigger peaks and valleys than the Himalayas.

Tuesday update

2009-01-13T18:23:00.002-05:00

Transparency, at USA Cycling? Is this supposed to be a sick joke? Please, please stop insulting our intelligence. USA Cycling's idea of transparency is about as backwards as Armstrong's. (Er, has anyone seen Catlin lately?) Just read this, and then tell me if USA Cycling will ever actually be interested in real transparency. The answer is no, regardless of what useless PR pablum pours forth from Steve Johnson's mouth.

New Toto: Katie Couric interviews Piepoli.

Rabobank clamps down, and the riders are restless. They should all send a thank you note to Michael "Don't forget the GPS" Rasmussen for their newly restrictive working conditions.

My feelings exactly.

An example of why Chipotle has to be among the cooler cycling sponsors ever.

"You don't want to be the guy who beats the guy who beats cancer. That would be awkward."

Versus schedule is updated.

The next CERA?

It seems something odd is going on in the Annalisa Cucinotta case.

Video from Australian championships here. Sort of unexpected results, but that's cycling for you, always unpredictable.

Just be glad that you don't have to race in brutal 105 degree temperatures. Whoever decided that the Tour Down Under ought to be a big deal forgot to check the weather.

Friday update

2009-01-09T22:33:00.003-05:00

The Guardian posts a grudging clarification to the disputed Lance interview story. I'd guess that the lawyers have been busy.

Training in Hawaii is all the rage these days.

Hincapie tests out a jersey in the new mind-bendingly hideous ~~Saunier-Duval~~ Columbia design. Is this jersey some sort of devilish stratagem to force us to think constantly of Ricco and Piepoli's eternal perfidy every time we see a Columbia rider? Can I just say to whoever idiotically agreed to this vile jersey: I HATE IT!! I mean, what are those things, painted-on ab muscles? A faux six-pack for the muscularly challenged cyclist? An attempt to imitate Skeletor? Does Scott have so much influence that they can push a Saunier-Duval version 2.0 jersey on Columbia, a team which ought to know better? And on the topic of Scott, I hate that the bike is called The Addict. Really, in the sport of cycling, that is not funny. I guess we should look forward to their upcoming new models, The Junkie, The Mainliner, and The Dope Fiend. Forget painting a Cobra on the frame, why not just put a nice big syringe right on there.

Mask-gate fallout continues.

Is it just me, or does Cedric Vasseur's latest call to action take some inspiration from the Wobblies? Quite a grand and sweeping pronouncement. Too bad the CPA is apparently permanently cowed into submission by the hard-handed control of the UCI.

Rejoice, for thee are not alone in anti-twitter cycle-fandom.

Fuji-Servetto jersey. And Bettini says no way to taking on any role with this team.

Elephant in the room....

Piepoli actually attempts the patented "I only did it once so you should feel very sorry for poor despairing me" defense, and miserably fails to stir even a wisp of sympathy. You could diagram this oft-used, deluded excuse like the predictable plot of a bad melodramatic and formulaic novel: The hero acts heroic. The hero faces terrible temptation. The hero tragically falls from grace. The hero nobly faces his failure and is redeemed. The only problem is that all of this only happens inside the twisted mind of the so-called hero. He wants to pretend he is sorry that he doped, when really he only regrets that he was caught. The part of this charade that I find inexplicable is that so many fans fall for this faux-remorse head over heels. Look at the cooing hordes of Basso devotees, France's hypocritical undying affection for Virenque, the legions who proudly announce their favorite rider is a doper and then shrug.

Doping in soccer? Never!

An actual anti-doping comment at Pez! About as rare as a woolly mammoth.

AS drags the Cofidis scandal back into the spotlight, with special mention of Stilnox and Viagra.

Another day, another unwelcome planned comeback. CAS seems to be stalling.

The sad sagas of the Puerto refugees never end.

Upon his signing, new Saxo Bank rider Jakob Fuglsang was expressly forbidden by squeaky clean Bjarne Riis from continuing his previous friendly habit of training with his dirty dope-tainted neighbor Michael Rasmussen. However, according to Rasmussen (a truly credible source who would never lie!), Fuglsang has not heeded the quarantine decree. If this is true, poor Fuglsang could now be facing the infamous and dreaded Wrath of Bjarne. Beware the lightning bolts from on high.

John Devine has seemingly disappeared from the Columbia roster. Wonder if he will surface on another team?

Tuesday update

2009-01-06T21:02:00.002-05:00

Survivor: Toto edition.

Bordry interview.

Beware the propaganda machine. And beware another liar in US politics, as if we don't have enough already.

Check out the sponsor list at OUCH. How appropriate, partly sponsored by a law firm.

Usually I like Kimmage articles, but this one strikes a bad note.

And you think USA Cycling has problems...

Is Rui Costa CdE's new budding star? I might actually be interested if I had any clue whether he is clean.

A strange social visit...Basso and Fanini??

Old school cycling used in advertising.

Cadel Evans supports the Amy Gillett Foundation.

Craigslist rant: "I give bikers a bad name."

Sam Abt has trouble figuring out who is left to cheer for.

A look at some possible upcoming events in the world of cycling in 2009. Funny.

Fuji-Servetto has enlisted the Mapei Center to run an anti-doping program for the team. A good step, I guess, although the saying "too little, too late" comes to mind. Meanwhile Prudhomme passes judgement on Gianetti, never a good sign.

The sort of press cycling gets lately. Very sad.

HGH test update.

Video interview on Darren Lapthorne's return to cycling after suffering a family tragedy.

Sounds like Milram is just one positive test away from losing their sponsor. Let's hope it doesn't happen.

"Le cyclisme est moribond..."

Gérard Bulens wonders about the bio-passport. He's not the only one.

Update on Priamo case. Is it just me, or do his excuses sound terribly familiar? Terminal denial gets old.

Sinkewitz claims that young riders can learn from him. Hmmm...

For some reason, every time Basso opens his mouth all I can hear is blah, blah, blah. Must be because I don't believe a word he has to say.

A new French book on doping: L'épreuve du dopage: Sociologie du cyclisme professionnel

A few 2009 jerseys

2009-01-04T18:46:00.004-05:00

Had a request for an overview of the new jerseys, so these are a few that I could find so far. Add a comment if you find others. There seems to be a bit of a trend for yellow and black, and that Columbia one is dire! Perhaps it is not the official new jersey, just an intermediate one, like they had last year? I guess we will have to wait for the first races to see for sure.

OUCH

Columbia

ISD

Katyusha

Silence-Lotto

Vacansoleil

Cervelo

Agritubel

Friday update

2009-01-02T18:40:00.004-05:00

L'Equipe expands slightly on previous reports that the doctor in charge of the bio-passport testing for pro-continental teams has left. I can't help but wonder if this might have anything to do with the apparent delay in announcing any sanctions to result from the bio-passport last season. You really have to wonder why the promised November announcements never materialized.

Pro and con on blood doping. Strange to think that there are actually people who go around supporting blood doping...other than Ferrari or Fuentes, that is.

You can see partial photos of the new Cervelo jersey here (scroll down), along with the full roster.

Why exactly is Michael Rogers training in a plain all-black kit? Not exactly a smart move. And what would Stapleton have to say about it? Men in black and all that...

Will Fuji-Servetto be invited to any of the big tours this season? The long shadows of Piepoli and Ricco linger, nevermind the presence of Gianetti, who is no doubt still shocked that anyone was doping on his team.

Fraud in the registration of Portuguese teams. I guess that Rock Racing is hardly the only team with problems meeting the average age rules.

The Australian championship races are coming up soon. Not exactly sure of the start list, but I would like to see Adam Hansen beat Michael Rogers in the TT.

I really can't figure out what to think about articles like this. You have to admit that it gets pretty confusing, wading through all the talk of "credibility" coming from ex-dopers.

Baden Cooke says he may sue Michael Ball.

Italy considers hiring a new central anti-doping prosecutor to handle all doping cases. This could help to improve the current fragmented system where many different prosecutors handle various doping cases, and there is a lack of communication and coordination between prosecutors. Meanwhile Italian prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello wonders why Italian soccer players have refused to cooperate with an investigation into the prevalence of Lou Gehrig's disease among their colleagues. Not hard to guess why. Omerta above all.

Has ASO decided to capitulate in the anti-doping fight? Consider their actions lately. Patrice Clerc fired. Sudden truce with the UCI. The UCI given back control of the Tour's anti-doping. AFLD and Bordry left out in the cold. L'Equipe's investigative reporting on doping nixed. Meanwhile, the UCI comes out publicly against retro-active testing, LA announces he will ride the Tour, and the bio-passport seems stalled. All of these things put together hardly seem unconnected. Actually, it looks like one big fat whitewash. Doping? What doping? Perhaps most troubling is that Verbruggen's name is still whispered behind the scenes. An emailer sent in this translation of the recent article from Les Dessous du Sport:

"There are new guidelines within the Amaury group and within L'Equipe in particular: from now on, the journalists are not supposed to talk too much about doping. They must be content with the bare minimum, which is only to transmit the official announcements from the federations or anti-doping agencies without digging further.

The time where L'Equipe could take on the untouchable Lance Armstrong, like they did on August 23, 2005 when they announced on the front page of the paper that he doped in the 2005 Tour, is gone. Marie-Odile Amaury, who owns L'Equipe and the Tour, has opted for a political union with the UCI, the same organization who considered Patrice Clerc (the former president of the ASO who was fired) the devil incarnate. It is impossible to have new disagreements with Lance Armstrong, one of the best friends of Hein Verbruggen, who happens to still manage the UCI behind the scenes. When Lance Armstrong announced his return to the next Tour de France, the journalists from L'Equipe didn't even risk any talk of the "hidden side" of the cancer miracle. Nothing was even mentioned about the famous "scoop" of 2005 which was devastating for Armstrong.

This new policy is creating a lot of disagreements within the company of L'Equipe where the people who are opposing this new vision are becoming more and more isolated within the company. Let's be reminded that only one journalist out of 290 at L'Equipe will be occupied with doping affairs.

Michel Moulin, just before launching his new sports magazine "Le 10 Sport" also announced he didn't want to talk about doping because he doesn't want to break the dreams of the public. Obviously, L'Equipe looked down on this same editorial path which they have now taken as their own. Good news for the cheaters and a catastrophe for the public."

Meanwhile, sources in the Belgian media suggest that L'Equipe's new policy "is the result of an agreement with Lance Armstrong."

Tuesday update

2008-12-30T19:53:00.004-05:00

Not good news for the bio-passport. Anyone want to bet if the bio-passport results from last season will even be announced before the start of the new year? Long wait, let's hope it is worth it. Perhaps we should try to guess the odds of which team will have the most collateral damage from the eventual announcement.

Potential Giro polemics start early. Italy vs USA?

A splendid idea to make LA shudder.

Will Damien Ressiot find himself joining the ranks of the unemployed? Somehow I rather doubt it.

Jonathan Page somehow missed a recent doping test, and the American cross world is flipping out. Page's wife has her say about it. One thing I do not understand about this case is where the hell was Page's chaperone? I want to hear the chaperone's side of the story.

Myerson vs Baker, one side of the story. Lots of fighting going on in American cross these days. Let's just hope none of it is roid rage.

Baden Cooke is actually riding for Vacansoleil not Rock. More and more you get the feeling that considerable portions of the team roster previously released by the Rock Racing press machine were nothing but figments of Ball's overactive imagination.

Guess what, widespread doping does not exactly help a sport to thrive and grow. Tell that to the geniuses who still let Operacion Puerto fester to this day.

The riders who have signed for Team H20-Teltech may have a big problem, as the UCI has again denied the new team a license.

Dead at 19

2008-12-29T19:39:00.002-05:00

USA Today: Russian probe: Rangers prospect used performance enhancers

Fox Sports: Young star's death still haunts KHL

Friday update

2008-12-26T22:10:00.004-05:00

Ex-Silence-Lotto rider and best friend to Popo, Volodymyr Bileka has tested positive for EPO. Who knows why it took until now for this news to see the light of day, considering that he tested positive back in April. (Remember, don't expect much of anything in pro cycling to make sense.) New pro-speak translation guide: I quit for "personal reasons" = I tested positive but am too much of a lame wimp to just admit it. Meanwhile, read between the lines a little in this case, and Popo's performance (or lack thereof) at the Tour suddenly looks rather different, doesn't it? And for Silence-Lotto, this is another strike against a team already under suspicion for the Leukemans case, where the team doctor was directly involved. Consider also that Silence-Lotto hired Dekker, when many other teams scrutinized his every detail and declined to give him a contract, and Rabobank (not exactly a strict anti-doping team) flatly refused to keep him. Meanwhile Marc Sergeant says he sees nothing at all wrong with Dekker. But of course not!

Piepoli admits...calls it "a mistake." Yes, premeditated doping that involves jamming a syringe into yourself, just a wee little unintentional mistake. Try again, petit Leo the Liar, your useless excuses are about as fantastical as your entirely fraudulent palmares.

Dueñas admits, after previously denying. How original. Now I wonder what Dr. Losa says to that?

Interesting summary of the Stein Bagger case.

Michael Rogers better be careful what he says or he may find himself subject to the patented "Simeoni treatment" by HRH at the Tour Down Under.

Christophe Bassons interview.

Tuesday update

2008-12-23T21:29:00.004-05:00

El Mundo is running a series of articles on cycling history.

Fork failure is not good.

The Chicken squawks again. His CAS verdict is overdue.

Armstrong will be a father again in June.

The CONI report on the Sella case says that Priamo's info and guidance on the use of CERA came from his trainer. No name is given. I want to know who this trainer is. If Sella got a year off his ban, he should have at least named this guy.

Riis badmouths Sastre. No class.

In Portugal, a study of the causes of sudden death in athletes.

Interview with Cristian Fanini: "I don’t like when I have to face the people who speak badly of us because we talk about what is happening with drugs in cycling." Join the club.

Youtube: The Doping Institution

Ryder Hesjedal video blog from Hawaii.

Dave Shields talks about the difficulties he ran into with his book about Saul Raisin. Really too bad, as it is a good book.

UCI propaganda on the fight against doping.

Philip Diegnan interview. Some interesting observations on the semi-old school training methods advocated by Ag2r.

More misplaced hatred for Garmin. He ought to save some of his vitriol for Basso, Di Luca, Petacchi, and all the other post-ban dopers.

Russian track athletes targeted and caught (via DNA) for switching urine samples had initially raised IAAF suspicion by being too compliant with surprise tests. They never were no-shows for unannounced OOC testing and never had their whereabouts wrong. This lack of avoidance of testing actually made the IAAF very suspicious of them, and they were right. The athletes had no need to avoid testing since they were submitting other people's clean urine to the testers. Interesting to consider if such DNA tests to verify the rightful owners of urine samples might be used in other sports as well.

Eugenio Capodacqua is not happy with Armstrong.

Sansone considers a comeback

2008-12-23T16:52:00.003-05:00

According to Gazzetta, Bartoli is considering planning a Second Coming of his own. Bartoli was among Dr. Fuentes' best customers. On Fuentes' customer listing, he was listed in third position under the name of his dog Sansone, below only Basso and Ullrich.

This El Pais article which includes details of Sansone's dealings with Fuentes was published May 24, 2007:

The ex-cyclists who aided dope doctor

By C. Arribas and J.A. Hernandez

Eufemiano Fuentes, busted a year ago, used network of contacts to supply riders during races

A year ago today the cycling fans picked up their morning papers to read the dramatic news of a police bust against a suspected doping ring in Madrid. Among the five men arrested were then director of the Liberty Seguros team, Manolo Saiz, and the personal doctor to several top cyclists, Eufemiano Fuentes . Saiz was apparently caught in the act of paying the medic 60,000 Euros for services rendered.

A year after the initial May 23 Operation Puerto raid, with a number of leading names from the international peloton now either suspended by their teams and under investigation for their alleged involvement in Fuentes' doping ring, new details of the Spanish medic's modus operandi are still coming to light.

Fuentes' operational base was the Madrid apartment where the Civil Guard uncovered refrigerated blood bags, besides doping substances and files on his clients, but the Canary Islander also used an international network of contacts to assist riders competing in the sport's three great annual competitions: the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. According to the Civil Guard's probe, Fuentes had a list of "friends" who helped him transport his business and liaise with cyclists as the cycling roadshow moved around Europe.

Among these contacts two prominent ex-cyclists feature: a French rider implicated in his day in the so-called Festina Case which rocked the Tour of 1998; the other is said to be an Italian, the "number three" in Fuentes' filing system - Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso occupying the first two positions - under the codename Sansone.

On July 12, 2004, the Tour was enjoying a rest day in Limoges with the rigors of the Pyrenean stages to come. Fuentes called his client cyclists, one by one, to a flat he told them he had been "lent by a friend" in the city. There, the riders received transfusions of their own blood, extracted before the Tour and stored in the apartment weeks before the appointed day.

One cyclist noticed a trophy cabinet in the flat, containing, among other items, the points cup from the 2000 Vuelta a Burgos. The Civil Guard looked into the annals of that race, and found the corresponding name of French rider Pascal Hervé, a Festina rider in the glory days of Richard Virenque and himself suspended for using EPO in the 2001 Giro. Hervé now lives in Limoges.

In Italy, prosecutors are investigating possible links between Fuentes and an Italian doctor, Luigi Cecchini. A key to the establishment of this connection is uncovering the rider codenamed Sansone in Fuentes' paperwork. The Civil Guard does not yet wish to reveal the identity of this ex-rider, but based on his competition/doping schedule from the 2002 and 2003 seasons, they suggest he was one of the best one-day "classic" race cyclists in the world before retiring in 2004. According to the 2002 planner, the cyclist spent 10 January days with Fuentes in the Canary Islands, undergoing a course of EPO and anabolic steroids before joining the Fassa Bortolo team.

Among the entries for 2003 in Fuentes' detailed file is a trip to the rider's home in Italy on the eve of the Milan-San Remo race. About the cyclist, a neighbor of Cecchini, Fuentes notes: "17/03/03: he paid for all the medication (1,153) and gave me 1,500 for José Luis [Merino Batres, ex-director of blood transfusions in the Madrid region] and 6,000 for me, as a down payment on the sum agreed. In total, he is going to transfer me 8,653 euros."

See also this previous Gazzetta article.

Friday update

2008-12-19T17:36:00.004-05:00

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.

Wednesday update

2008-12-17T19:56:00.002-05:00

For years, Bjarne Riis blatantly doped and cheated. He was the one stealing the victories and their financial rewards from clean riders. Now, in a strange twist of fate, he in turn has been cheated financially by another con-artist who thought little of doping. IT-Factory's ex-CEO Stein Bagger's tawdry past as a dope-selling body builder has now been revealed in the Danish media. (You can't make this stuff up!) I can't help but wonder how it feels for Riis to have to swallow some of his own bitter medicine. Not too much fun to deal with morally bankrupt cheaters, is it Bjarne? Karma is a bitch sometimes.

Will German TV have to show the Tour after all? It seems that Armstrong will be the crux of the matter: "The only thing I can recommend is either Mr. Armstrong will not participate in this race, or he is ready to open all the probes again [in relation to past samples] for the new system of doping investigation or examination." Er, yeah right...good luck with that.

Confusing cases in Portugal.

Two riders over 50% and kicked out of the Vuelta a Costa Rica.

NBC (Universal Sports probably) might be getting rights to Giro coverage in the US. Meanwhile Versus will be showing parts of the Tour Down Under. So basically, the only way we get to have even semi-decent cycling coverage of non-TDF events in the US is if we can bear to watch the Second Coming.

Graham Watson suggests that Armstrong may not be wearing the Astana kit: "Lance wants to wear a separate outfit if the UCI allows this - until now, only national or world champions can wear different colours to the rest of the team, as well as the race-leaders and jersey winners in a stage-race. I am guessing the team has two sets of clothing ready - one like the 2008 Astana colours, but with Lance in a separate, 'Livestrong' outfit; the other - if the UCI does not allow the 'Livestrong' distinction - being less Astana and more American, and with Lance wearing the same as everyone else." The UCI perhaps bending the rules for Lance again? How predictable.

Monday update

2008-12-15T22:46:00.005-05:00

The DCU's Jesper Worre thinks Riis should have fired Frank Schleck, and wonders why he is treated differently than Basso. The answer to that question is patently obvious, and his name is Andy.

Interesting interview with Christophe Laurent.

Help. More Twitter from DZ.

Comprehensive list of doping cases in cycling in 2008. Long enough for you?

Pass the Pepto-bismol.

Roger Legeay on the end of Credit Agricole.

Does anyone get the feeling that this year's Giro is going to be a total nutty circus?

Cozy Beehive raises safety concerns: "I feel we're losing logic and sight of reality by going to extreme lengths to lighten every single thing out there while ignoring structural stability."

CaliRado Cyclist reads between the headlines.

An interesting proposal on how to save American cycling.

Can someone please just tell me once and for all, what is the proper way to spell this team's name in English?

If there is any possible reason that I might actually want to watch the Giro this year, despite the presence of many of those riders who I really can't stand, this is it.

A sadly common health problem of cyclists, iliac endofibrosis, strikes again.

On the CERA front, I've heard that the Italian NAS police were well aware of possible use in the peloton as early as 2005. Not that it matters, seeing as McQuaid is too terrified of retro-active testing to do anything about it.

IT Factory's ex-head Bagger has quite a story to tell.... and it seems that the sponsorship arrangement between Saxo Bank and IT Factory involved IT Factory paying off Saxo Bank to be allowed to take over half the title sponsorship. Details are explained at CSC Forums, and they do not cast Saxo Bank itself in a particularly good light. Riis meanwhile has begun laying off parts of his administrative staff in an attempt to cut costs and stay afloat.

Several emailers tell me that Rock Racing is over and done with. Rock themselves deny it.

Blake Caldwell interview.

So what ever happened to the bio-passport results, which were supposed to be announced in November?

Versus is clueless

2008-12-13T22:05:00.004-05:00

Versus is running a survey about their Tour de France coverage. Below is one of the actual questions with the possible answers listed below. Note that you cannot choose none of the above, nor can you skip the question. And to think this is the asinine channel that I am forced to rely on for my cycling coverage. Just read the idiotic multiples choice answers for these survey questions, and you will soon come to realize that Versus has no understanding of the sport of cycling. Not a clue. Not the faintest grasp. Pathetic.

(Click on the image to enlarge.)

Wednesday update

2008-12-10T20:59:00.004-05:00

Update on Humanplasma case.

What a joke. More lies.

On it goes.

Musical chairs, again. No answers, just platitudes. Where is Edward Pickering when you need him?

This tells you something rather sickening.

In the dictionary, under the term TRAIN WRECK.

New Toto.

NYT on Catlin.

Some cycling books get accolades from the Telegraph.

And a gift idea for the cycling fan:

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead

Because it is best to be prepared in case you find yourself face to face with this at a race next season:

Saturday update

2008-12-06T19:12:00.006-05:00

Astana DS Sean Yates has been updating his blog from the Astana camp. Some interesting tidbits about how he was ousted from the team car during the Giro and was not happy about it, and also of note: "Later this afternoon we have a presentation by Doctor Damsgaard, he is in charge of our internal anti-doping system, he also works with CSC. This system has worked well for us and once again proves we are doing everything we can to keep our house in order." There often seems to be precious little hard evidence about Damsgaard's actual degree of involvement with Astana (except Gusev I suppose), so perhaps this is a good sign?

Cyclingnews really confuses me. One day articles showing pity for Saiz and diaries giving Basso space to practice his sickening St. Ivan the Redeemed persona, then the next day editorials by David Walsh and belated scolding of the UCI for propagating myths about CERA's supposedly recent arrival. Disorienting.

Racejunkie's annual awards: "The Why, Why, Why Award of 2008: Lance. You are degrading the perfect and beautiful Giro by acting like you've ever given a toss about it 'til you got a little scared that a surprisingly resistant baby legend-ascendant Contador might take you out at the Tour, and insulting all of us by proclaiming your sudden selfless happiness to domestique for any first-year neo-pro who earns it...."

Landis and USADA apparently have settled. No word yet on the terms. The big question seems to be whether the $100,000 fine still has to be paid or not.

In the category of what the hell?!

Thank god for Sam Abt: "What's the verdict? Did Madiot call for revolt, a veritable Bastille Day in the streets at the next Tour de France? Should Armstrong be worried? All answers, please, to www.whyshouldicare.iht.com."

And the quote of the month, or maybe the decade, goes to none other than the esteemed Paul Kimmage, who, when asked by Cycling Weekly to respond to Armstrong's antagonism toward him, stated, "I regard it as a huge compliment that he thinks so lowly of me." Yes, indeed, for any journalist who is truly interested in the truth, earning Armstrong's enmity is a badge of honor.

OK, OK, I give in to the tsunami of Twitter insanity. Don't blame me if we all soon curl up and die of way-too-much-information syndrome.

Fat chance.

Talk about rolling in vast sums of money: "Brailsford will have a staggering £27 million at his disposal for the 2012 campaign."

Arthur Linton is at long last officially exonerated of supposed doping use. His has long been a confused story.

For those commenters asking questions about my previous mention of the Acqua e Sapone rider who had a few nasty words for the Garmin guys, read this.

Dr. Evil continues his ridiculous crusade to attempt to discredit each and every anti-doping method known to mankind. He is so obvious, it is almost funny. You can tell he really misses his place of avowed prominence in the cycling world, his chance to openly play god, to be the all-powerful TDF kingmaker. Seven times ought to be enough for anyone, but not for him and his ever-greedy ego....you have to wonder if he will have an eighth, after all?

The question: "What for you is doping?" Jan has to really think about it.

Not a good idea to cross the ASO.

The missing scam-artist CEO of IT Factory, Stein Bagger, who mysteriously disappeared in Dubai last week, has reportedly been arrested on an Interpol warrant in Los Angeles, California. He is accused of stealing millions of Euros from his company, nevermind leaving Riis's team in the lurch without their co-sponsor.

Thursday update

2008-12-04T23:12:00.003-05:00

Brilliant interview by Cycling Weekly's Edward Pickering. All those cowardly softball interviewers who just can't bear to ask dopers about their doping ought to take note of how a real interview is done. Someone should give Pickering an award.

I have heard these rumors about Valv.Piti being protected by some Opus Dei big-wigs before, but it all seems very far-fetched. Via Ciclismo 2005.

More evidence against Zoubek. And meanwhile Matschiner and Kohl have suddenly parted ways. What timing. The real question is why did Kohl choose such a person as his manager in the first place? Do we really believe that Kohl's first time for doping was before the Tour?

One way to stay warm while cycling in cold weather.

Bradley Wiggins's book makes it onto the London Times list for best sports book of the year.

A true tale of thanksgiving.

Belgium is put on the naughty list by WADA. Not enough anti-doping in Belgium? What a shock. Lefevere no doubt prefers it that way.

le grimpeur on the politics of bicycles. Fascinating as always.

Toto meditates on IT Factory's demise.

Gerolsteiner's mysterious disappearing rider signs for Gianni Savio. A match made in heaven?

Great Dick Pound interview: "The statement 'I have never tested positive' doesn’t mean a thing. It’s more the case that it makes an athlete looks suspicious if he or she keeps repeating that claim incessantly."

Riis will never learn.

Bengt Saltin is the real deal when it comes to serious anti-doping activism, and I just hope that WADA will take his criticisms seriously.

Interesting review of Bouygues Télécom's lineup for next year. You have to give some credit to a French team that hires a recovered narcoleptic and a Japanese youngster, and also boasts the intriguing ingenue Pierre Rolland.

And in other news, this is an official CFA announcement, which may lead to my permanent shunning by the digitally-obsessed: I HATE TWITTER!!

And a thought for today:

"The only kinds of fights worth fighting are those you're going to lose, because somebody has to fight them and lose and lose and lose until someday, somebody who believes as you do wins." --I.F. Stone

Leogrande photos

2008-12-04T11:50:00.003-05:00

Universal Sports has published an article on the Leogrande case that includes the incriminating photos of Leogrande showing off his dope to the camera.

Sunday update

2008-11-30T19:54:00.002-05:00

A nasty combination. Acqua e Sapone, the team which likes to curse the Garmin riders as they pass by, and a team which has had three riders given bans for their involvement in the Oil for Drugs case. Bettini, who refused to sign the anti-doping pledge, and openly threatened Sinkewitz for breaking omerta. And the sorry remnants of dope-soaked Saunier-Duval, which never showed any interest in facing up to their problems. Instead they ran away, pretended to be shocked, and now they have changed their name, as if a new name can somehow hide what lies beneath. A dirty team by any other name, and with any other owner, smells just as rotten.

Are we meant to feign surprise at this entirely predictable development? Wouldn't want to get those all-important baseline measurements too early, after all.

Only in Boulder.

So Australian riders are just naturally clean? Really?

Friday update

2008-11-28T18:55:00.003-05:00

Kohl has refused to name the doctor who gave him CERA: "He gave it to me at my insistence. He has nothing to do with sport or doping. If I would give his name, his existence would be destroyed." Er, what? How does a doctor who hands out CERA to an elite cyclist have nothing to do with doping? Seems to me he or she has everything to do with it. And did Kohl hold a gun to the poor doctor's head? Could the doctor not just simply say no, when asked for the CERA? If the doctor chose to give it to him, then the doctor should pay the consequence. Any doctor who helps dope athletes gets what they deserve. So much for "first, do no harm." Some people even think the doctor in question could be Schumacher's mother (who has a certain history), although this is only speculation and seemingly reflects in part the extreme disgust for everything related to the truly sleazy Schumacher at the moment. Consider also that Kurier seemed to earlier suggest that Kohl's doctor might be Zoubek. Someone should ask Matschiner. I like the bit about how half the peloton is supposedly on CERA...way to help your cause there, Bernhard. Trying out the pathetic old "everyone is doing it so you can't blame me" excuse? Good luck with that. I am sure that will make you ever so popular among your ex-teammates.

Update on the status of WADA's version of the athlete passport. Amazingly, it seems that the UCI might actually beat WADA to the first punch in terms of using the passport to sanction an athlete. Speaking of which, does anyone know if the UCI is still suing Dick Pound?

Frank Schleck is just relieved that is not a dope-sniffing dog which is attacking his teammate. As if Schleck's rotten excuses don't smell bad enough. And it is so nice to see that Riis makes a point to teach his team non-violence.

The more things change the more they stay exactly the same. And it says something truly disgusting about the sport that someone like Gianetti can get sponsors when Roger Legeay cannot.

Another strange and original way of getting injured in the off-season.

Weren't the new positives from the bio-passport supposed to be announced in November? Two days left...or should we assume that we just have to be patient a few more ~~decades~~ months?

Tuesday upate

2008-11-25T19:31:00.002-05:00

The ruling (PDF) from the Austrian authorities on Kohl's case reveals that he has refused to name the doctor who supplied his CERA (although this is a little confusing as Kohl himself claims he did name names). He also previously refused to assist in the German authorities' on-going investigation into doping on T-Mobile. And now the whiner actually complains that his ban is too long. Please, Bernhard, shut up and go away, for good. See also coverage from Kurier, from Der Standard, and from Kleine Zeitung. Meanwhile Jaksche says that he has sympathy for Kohl, pointing out that Kohl realizes that if he really names names and breaks omerta, he will never find a team willing to take him on again. On this topic, Jaksche knows what he is talking about.

USA Cycling has quite a talent for behaving stupidly. Par for the course.

This WADA press release includes a section on Operacion Puerto, as well as discussion of new partnership between WADA and Interpol.

Recent article from Sam Abt. And another.

I thought Fabio Duarte tested positive for testosterone? So why would these teams be interested in signing him anyway?

Jacques Rogge believes in retro-active testing: "About 980 blood samples will be tested for erythropoietin [Cera], the new EPO test, but also insulin." Tell that to McQuaid. Rogge also stated that "Drug-free sport in general is utopia." Yes, but that doesn't stop the fight.

Torri is on the case of Matteo Priamo, said to be Sella's source for CERA. So far Priamo has claimed doping substances found in a search of his house belonged to his mother. Well, at least he didn't claim that the dope was for his dog.

Speculation is floating around about why exactly Rock Racing has signed too many riders for a continental team, with the current rumor tending towards the idea that the team will be split in half into two teams, one in Europe and one in the US. Not sure if this is possible within the rules, but time will tell.

I think I might have posted this article before, but someone sent me the link recently...and it certainly is instructive. Note the date of the article.

Sunday update

2008-11-23T15:36:00.002-05:00

Forget doping, is psychiatry performance-enhancing? The British track stars resoundingly say yes.

Talk about the wheels of justice turning ever so slowly....

Truth is stranger than fiction I tell you! Zomegnan must have overdosed on Rogaine or something. He invites teams like CSF, and can't get the CERA tests done, then wants us to believe he is tough on doping. Sorry, but trying to figure out which of these double-talkers is actually really against doping, and which is just trying to obtain some good PR with lots of anti-doping platitudes and hand-waving gets tiring. Multiple personalities?

"Armstrong denied that any part of his comeback, including building the U-23 team, was designed to 'screw over Jonathan Vaughters or Garmin or whoever. Absolutely not true.'" And do you really think he would admit it, if there was an element of truth?

WADA study on whether Viagra should be banned.

Brad McGee cannot be pleased to read this.

What is the world coming to?

Guile and guilt

2008-11-22T17:39:00.001-05:00

"You think you can win the Vuelta on chocolate and bread? They call me a bad apple, but the tree is rotten from well below."--Jesus Manzano

"I have never given Moisés Dueñas any banned substances. It's true, I have worked and still work with Dueñas, but only on nutrition, diet and training issues. And yes, I received money from him; I don't know how much, but there are invoices for everything." --Jesús Losa, former Euskaltel team doctor, who was Millar's source for EPO

"I did what I had to do to be better in my job. The logic behind it is that you adjust your performance level to that of the others because everyone is doing it." --Jorg Jaksche

"I have a clear conscience and the latest events and reports haven't changed that a bit. In my whole career I have never lied or used anyone and I can't admit to a mistake when there is no mistake." --Jan Ullrich

"We have to persuade parents that cycling is not dangerous so that children return to the sport." --Spain's secretary of state for sports, Jaime Lissavetzky

"When I started racing, if a cyclist won he was a champion. Now, when a cyclist wins he's a suspect. People look at you differently and start to think you've been doping." --Oscar Freire

""From the UCI's point of view, we prefer to look forward rather than look backward. To randomly say 'OK, let's take all the samples from 2007 from the Tour de France and put them all through testing processes' - it's futile, it's expensive and it's not going to serve the purpose in the anti-doping fight of today." --Pat McQuaid

"What happened at the Giro d'Italia? What happened at the Spanish Vuelta? What happened at the world championships? The only (positive) tests were in France. Is it that riders are only positive in France? I'd like to know. Not only did we find (CERA) but they all admitted to taking it." --AFLD president Pierre Bordry

"We are squeezed like lemons for results."--Phillipe Gaumont

"The evolution of the Tour de France is mirrored in other professional sports: performers in a glass bubble, content in a jurisdiction that exists above and beyond ordinary society and its laws. Within this world, the dominant feeling is entitlement. On the roadside, we watch the stars pass by and know not how to feel. We grew to love the Tour de France because in the inhumanity of the challenge, man's humanity vividly expressed itself. The vacant expressions, the haggard appearances and the undying determination spoke of nobility. The irony in the turnaround of the past decade has been unmistakable. The route has been shortened, the road surface smoothed, and, happily, the challenge can no longer be described as inhuman. Sadly, the inhumanity is now expressed a different way."--David Walsh

"Who are the real victims? Those who stuck to a system that rewarded being doped, or those who were alienated because they were clean? I'm the victim here."--Christophe Bassons

"When everybody's doing it, doping isn't cheating. It's only cheating when you test positive."--Richard Virenque

"Corticoids are pretty banal. I don't really think of them as doping products."--Laurent Brochard

"They treat us like dogs. They are hypocrites. I have had enough. If they were less interested in money, we wouldn't be here. They should have some real values, and some ethics for life."--Luc Leblanc on the UCI

"I spoke about the problem of doping and I expected someone else to break the silence, but it never happened. The evening of my decision to leave, Marc Madiot asked me not to speak about doping. We argued and that night I cracked. I felt alone, very alone, in trying to break the silence. There are two problems in cycling: the first is doping, the second is the silence. If one does not deal with the second, one cannot sort out the first."--Christophe Bassons

"Maybe he should hire an exorcist."--Dick Pound on Hamilton's phantom twin

"I was lying - that's obvious. It's tough that more or less everybody knows you're lying, but then again, I believe that most people don't care. Do they need to hear the truth? They know that I did what I did because of the times - and that's it."--Bjarne Riis

"If Verbruggen is upset about what I've said, then that's his problem. He's blaming those who observe that there's a deep, deep problem and accusing them of being anti-cycling. It's not anti-cycling, it's anti-doping."--Dick Pound

"In the peloton, nobody talks about it. People just talk about cars and stuff. It's anything to avoid talking about it."--Charley Wegelius

"I wasn't in Italy. That's the story of one man who thinks he saw me. But there's not the slightest proof."--Michael Rasmussen

"I think I underestimated how much resistance to change there is in the sport and the depth and the history of the problems."--Bob Stapleton

Friday update

2008-11-21T21:47:00.003-05:00

Interesting interview with Miguel Poblet.

The age-old initiation rite of a drinking contest even takes place among cycling teams.

The UCI is to offer a new course for directors, and the "major theme...will be the monitoring of riders, in particular with regards to the fight against doping." As if the UCI cares much about that, seeing as they won't even retest the Giro samples for CERA.

Little wonder there is precious little investigative sports journalism...

People have been emailing me about the whole Pevenage to Rock thing, but I don't have much to say about it. We all know by now that Ball's one predictable and boring schtick is to get publicity any way he can. I don't think he cares who Pevenage is, and I doubt he really knows the real ugly details. All he cares about is that it gets him headlines, and it does, doesn't it? I really can't be bothered caring about this team anymore one way or another, sort of like how I feel about LPR, Knauf, Lampre, CSF....and plenty of others. It doesn't matter even if they win races, it means nothing to me. Might as well not exist.

If doping-DS Alvaro Pino gets invited to the Tour, I will puke. Then again, most every DS at the Tour is a former doper, so perhaps it makes no difference.

Jaksche is becoming a lawyer. No doubt he will have some pointed suggestions regarding the treatment of crown witnesses.

Sergio at Ciclismo 2005 has a few choice comments on the new Amica Chips-Knauf team.

The budget committee of the German parliament has spared the BDR (German cycling federation) and awarded them enough funds to keep the federation running. Some political factions had wanted to strip their funding in anger over doping issues.

Guardian article fallout

2008-11-21T10:19:00.003-05:00

The recent Guardian article and interview by Donald McRae have provoked angry responses from a range of readers and others.

Mike Celizic of NBC Sports lashes out in an opinion piece, stating that Armstrong is an "overexposed narcissist," among other critical comments.

The NY Daily News says, "It's weird that Armstrong is so nervous about the French now. Maybe it's because he's spent so much energy smearing them to avoid explaining the banned drugs in his urine."

Meanwhile, it seems that the Guardian article may perhaps result in legal action, as the press release below suggests:

"Nov. 19, 2008 -- Lance Armstrong has recently been the beneficiary of articles by journalists who have refused to seek comment from any of Mr. Armstrongs’ detractors or take a close look at existing evidence, all the while advancing Mr. Armstrong’s denial of the previous use of performance enhancing drugs. A recent article by Donald McRae, for the Guardian newspaper, alleged that Betsy Andreu lied in testifying that she witnessed Lance Armstrong informing doctors of his prior use of performance enhancing drugs. The admission came at a time when cycling was no longer a priority for Mr. Armstrong, and was concentrating on his recovery from cancer. In response to a subpoena by a Texas Arbitration Panel in the matter of Lance Armstrong, et al. v. SCA Promotions, Mrs. Andreu responded that she would not willingly comply with the Texas subpoena. The subpoena, however, was confirmed, by a Michigan Court in an ex parte proceeding which did not involve Mrs. Andreu. Mrs. Andreu was compelled to answer the subpoena under penalty of contempt of court. In compliance with the subpoena, Mrs. Andreu truthfully answered specific questions regarding statements made by Mr. Armstrong on October 27, 1996 in Indiana University Hospital. That particular conversation had been previously reported by David Walsh in a book entitled L.A. Confidential: The Secrets of Lance Armstrong. Mrs. Andreu was not the source of the information reported in the Walsh book, indicating that someone else also had knowledge of this conversation. Frankie and Betsy Andreu remain steadfast in the truthfulness of the testimony. Mrs. Andreu stands nothing to gain by her testimony, and in the 12 years since Mr. Armstrong made his statements, neither Frankie or Betsy Andreu have ever sought to profit from their information. It is a sad fact that many elite athletes have, and continue, to seek unfair advantages by using performance enhancing drugs, and publicly deny the use of such drugs. Mrs. Andreu is presently reviewing her legal options against the reporter, editor, publisher and newspaper for the libelous statements contained in the article, and violation of the British Code of Practice."

Tuesday update

2008-11-18T21:12:00.002-05:00

Dr. Fuentes' wife Cristina Perez does not do her husband any favors with this interview. Notable also that when asked if she ever doped during her athletic career, her answer is the classic non-denial denial, "I completed all my controls and they were all negative." Hmm, yes, so hard to just say NO.

Guardian article getting a bit of buzz. And the transcript of the interview it is based on. Had to smile at his pointed comment that "I will not read a blog by a nameless person." No, of course not. Really, who in their right mind would?? Not me.

An interview with Patrik Sinkewitz which I think makes some very important points: "I'm much more reasonable now, have a much better sense of perspective. For nearly 20 years, all I lived for was riding my bike, and I didn't really know what real life looked like. I've learnt over the past year about the humdrum problems that people encounter in everyday life. As a cyclist, you often don't have a clue about that....I also have a sense of perspective now: I'd earned pretty good money as a cyclist, and I was hardly living on the street. I realize that money's less important than having goals, relationships and feeling good about who you are and what you do." Nice to see him say that. I often wonder how much doping springs from the sort of obsessive one-dimensional tunnel-vision of the dedicated athlete whose entire life is consumed by their sport, and who lacks any sense of the bigger picture and the realities and possibilities of the wider world. Often surrounded by an atmosphere that focuses totally on the necessity of winning at all costs, there is no perspective, no sense that losing is hardly the end of the world. It is too bad that it took a doping positive for Sinkewitz to realize this.

New Toto.

Science of Sport examines the doping dilemma and has a few criticisms for WADA: "WADA does, incidentally, do its own evaluation of the labs, but the results are never published, and no 'data-sharing' policy exists. The organization is set up very much like the classic 'business', where a select few make all the decisions, control all the funding and pull all the strings, as they see fit. What this does (apologies for the management speak) is reduce the rest of the world (all 99.999%) to onlookers, rather than fostering what has been called a 'knowledge economy', where everyone shares in data and expertise is maximized." I certainly agree that it is a big problem that WADA keeps the quality testing of their labs totally secret. If they have nothing to hide, why not release the results? Maybe because it would possibly show that all WADA-accredited labs are not equal, and some of the labs cannot do certain tests correctly...like say the Ghent lab apparently didn't do Mayo's EPO test correctly, if you believe LNDD, that is.

Poor Contador, glimpsing Bruyneel's true colors must make him shudder. Bruyneel actually has the gall to publicly diss Alberto's big Grand Tour wins as too boring and not controversial enough to get his blood flowing. Pretty twisted that Bruyneel can only really enjoy wins where there is plenty of drama, hostility, anger, and battles with journalists and public opinion. You have to wonder about the psychology of that. Bruyneel also seemingly doesn't care that he is doing a good job of alienating Contador, who would seem to be his meal-ticket for the future, long after Lance is consigned to the retirement home. All this pablum about how Astana will support whoever is the strongest rider...what a load of baloney. Bruyneel is already salivating over Lance's return, and when he is the head DS in the car, who do you really think will get the support?

New Garmin rider Christian Meier reports on his first day at the team camp.

Sunday update

2008-11-16T19:50:00.003-05:00

The new Knauf team has some interesting names on the roster. Igor Astarloa for one. Playing musical chairs with the suspected dopers is always a nice solution for the problem. Too sketchy for Milram, but not for Knauf. Not surprising considering who is in charge of the team...Martinelli (formerly with Mercatone Uno, Saeco, Lampre). Perhaps the announcement of the bio-passport results will shed some light on Astarloa's case.

Austrian newspaper Kurier has pointed the finger at a pediatrician named Andreas Zoubek, claiming that he has sold EPO to athletes through a fitness center in Vienna and online. Evidence against him is reported to include signed witness statements and recordings. The doctor, reportedly an avid and strangely talented triathlete himself, has denied the charges, saying that the claims against him are a case of revenge. Among those Zoubek is accused of helping to dope is Michael Weiss, a former mountain biker who recently switched to triathlon. Weiss beat champion triathlete Chris McCormack in a recent race by 10 minutes, a shocking margin which focused heavy suspicion on his performance. Zoubek responds that his protege Weiss is simply an extraordinary talent. In a follow-up article, Kurier also suggests a link between Zoubek and Stefan Matschiner, who is the manager of confessed CERA-user Bernhard Kohl. Matschiner is also said to be close with Walter Meyer, the infamous Austrian ex-Olympic cross-country skiing coach. Zoubek's hospital has suspended him from caring for patients as inquiries continue. This is hardly the first time that doping in Austria has been in the news, with the unresolved Humanplamsa blood doping case previously raising plenty of questions about the seeming laxity of Austrian anti-doping efforts.

Pevenage says Ullrich visited Fuentes in Madrid, but only for the usual "training plans." Not sure the point of this article, nothing we didn't already know.

Daniel Martin interview.

Roger Legeay and Scott Sunderland are both said to be taking positions with the forthcoming new British cycling team.

New Garmin rider Cameron Meyer has injured his shoulder in a crash while racing on the track in Australia.

Carlos Sastre talks about his reasons for still riding the Vuelta after a tough Tour campaign.

Andy Schleck won the recent Amstel Curacao race. Pictures at TDWSport.

Brad Huff has been cleaning up in China.

The next threat: Gene doping

2008-11-16T10:18:00.002-05:00

Telegraph: Drug cheats may benefit from animal test

"Evidence that sport is closing in on the science came two years ago when German police discovered an email sent by Thomas Springstein, the disgraced former coach of sprinter Katrin Krabbe, complaining about how difficult it was to get hold of Repoxygen, a sophisticated agent for delivering EPO by means of gene transfer....

Cyclists are also beating at the door. A French gene expert, Professor Philippe Moullier, had his eyes opened when a couple of former Tour de France cyclists paid a visit to his laboratory in Nantes, where he is experimenting on EPO genes in monkeys as a treatment for anaemia. The pair were working for an anti-doping organisation – or at least that is what they told Moullier – and said they wanted to learn about his research.

"The thing that really surprised me was that when I told them it was just the start of the technology, they told me that the riders would not care," says Moullier. "They would go for it if they had a chance to be undetectable. They said there were kids in the Tour de France who would do anything just to have the most advanced technology. It's a concern because there are still severe adverse side-effects."

Via Science of Sport.

Ghosts of scandals past

2008-11-15T13:17:00.003-05:00

Popo reunites with the Evil Empire, and you can just imagine Bruyneel gleefully licking his lips. The whole Second Coming begins to remind me of a bad zombie movie....you can't get rid of them, they just come back to life time and again, climbing out of their coffins at sunset. Return of the living dead? Or maybe we need some garlic, crosses, and stakes through the heart? Of course, I am sure that it is of no consequence to anyone that Popo's name was among the notations found on the back of a business card along with Vino and others in Fuentes' wallet, and that he conveniently claims not to know the name of one of his own dogs (poor thing).

Meanwhile another recent Astana adoptee should not go unnoticed. Jesus Hernandez is a long-time Contador friend and former Liberty Seguros teammate who was implicated in Puerto, and will likely equal or supplant Noval as Contador's closest confidante on the team next season. The hiring of Hernandez seems almost a direct compensation offered to Contador in exchange for tolerating the Second Coming's chaos in the midst of his planned return to the Tour in 2009. On Hernandez, Contador said, "I was together with him, not only at Liberty Seguros, but also almost all the seasons before that. Without a doubt he is a good signing for me. He is in good form and a man I can really trust." A man he can trust. This suggests clearly Contador's concern about who among his domestiques will be staunchly loyal to him, and who will fall back into their old ingrained loyalty to Armstrong (Noval?).

From another perspective, it is strangely telling that Contador thinks he can trust Hernandez. According to El Pais (Dec 13, 2006), when called to testify in a Spanish court over Operacion Puerto, Hernandez stated that he was regularly given "heating pads" to wear by his team, pads were used after hard stages supposedly to avoid cramps. These "heating pads" were in fact testosterone patches, although Hernandez denied knowing this and claimed that he had no idea at all they were performance-enhancing. No idea! He just did what he was told apparently, regardless of what it was. (Conveniently this is exactly the sort of utterly obedient, mule-like, unquestioning attitude that Bruyneel most dearly appreciates in a domestique.) Hernandez also admitted that on Liberty Seguros nothing happened without the direct knowledge of director Manolo Saiz (a renowned control freak). Yet Contador's testimony on this same topic was quite the opposite, as he claimed that he had never been given the so-called heating pads to wear, nor administered any other kind of doping substance. Contador stated, "The team doctors only gave me vitamin supplements in pill form, such as Pharmaton Complex or Vitamin C - I bought these pills myself at the pharmacy."

So Hernandez admits he was doped at Liberty Seguros (albeit supposedly without his knowledge or consent) under the close eye of Saiz, while Contador claims he was never ever doped at Liberty Seguros in any way. Ah, what fascinating contradictions. Who do you believe? Who had the most to lose of these two? Interesting that Hernandez's admission and denting of the holy omerta didn't seem to bother Contador, and they are, by all appearances, still good friends. Could it be because Hernandez knows too much, and Contador wants to keep him happy and quiet, loyal and well-employed even now that the initial scandalous revelations of Puerto are past and seemingly also forgotten? After all, Lance wants Popo back, Bruyneel wants Demol back, why shouldn't Contador want Hernandez back? The ancient legions reforming for another crusade. Best to keep all the potential secrets safely inside the family. Keep your potential enemies closer even than your friends. Or perhaps they simply get along well. Surviving together in the hard-knock school of Saiz, they have a shared past that seemingly surpasses all else, and you better believe that there will be no further mention of "heating pads" anytime soon. Bruyneel, not coincidentally also well-schooled in the dark traditions of Saiz, won't be shy to pointedly remind Hernandez which side his bread is buttered on. Saiz who? What heating pads? Revisionist history, as usual.

Speaking of revisionist history, someone seems to have developed a sudden and acute case of early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Actually, with the prevalence of severe memory problems among cycling's ragged royalty, it seems this may be another one of those contagious cycling diseases, along with selective deafness and blindness. Simeoni is hardly a saint, but at least he had the basic modicum of decency to admit he doped and to regret it. Others would far prefer to maintain the empty charade of "never tested positive" at all costs and for the rest of their days, damn the consequences. Why is it that so many people severely underestimate the intelligence of cycling fans? Fans do not exactly appreciate this attitude. Do they really think us also blind and deaf, never mind dumb as posts? Self-delusion is one thing, but to also fully expect the rest of the sane world to willingly buy into their own delusions? Ridiculous. At least Toto finds this PR war a worthy joke.

Moving on to other news, Rock Racing is a strange conundrum. They like to talk big about racing in Europe, even suggest that they might be invited to the Giro, yet then they inexplicably stay as a continental-level team. Why? Money problems, maybe? Or could it have anything to do with the fact that pro-continental teams are supposed to take part in the bio-passport to gain wild-card status? This is both expensive and, well, a bit nerve-wracking when you have a few experienced ex-dopers on the team. Meanwhile they seem to be courting some big problems with the average age rule. Botero says enough, and leaves. Ball's big European plans seem lost in translation, as the economic collapse likely makes $300 jeans rather less than appealing.

Human growth hormone abuse has lately come under scrutiny at a national conference. Note Catlin on the list of presenters. Among the topics under discussion was the new urine test for hGH under development.

Debate over the legal rules for the presentation of lab evidence in court cases could have implications for doping arbitration cases.

Sella gets off far too easily with a one year ban. You have to wonder what exactly he could possibly have told CONI that was so very valuable to be judged worthy of cutting a whole year off his ban? It makes no sense to me. Such blatant cheating requires serious punishment, and one year seems hardly a slap on the wrist. Truly inadequate for his sins. Yet I suppose CONI may yet use his testimony to bring down a much bigger fish, perhaps a dealer or big-wig doctor. His supposed supplier, teammate Matteo Priamo, has seemingly yet to face any sanction for his part in the doping. Italian justice is usually painfully slow, so check back in five years.

CONI plows onward with Oil for Drugs.

Daniel Holloway marvels at his first experience in a European Six Day race.

Interesting discussion between Contador and Sanchez.

Cyclingnews tries to balance out their sins and omissions by hiring Walsh to write an editorial. Like sticking a tiny band-aid on a gaping wound. Then they promptly turn around and publish a nausea-inducing diary by Basso. Nothing like happily handing a doper a ready-made audience for his fantastical faux-pious tales of reincarnation. Undeserved redemption served on a silver platter, courtesy of Cyclingnews. St. Basso hits another home run for the saintly dopers. Who knew blood doping could make you so popular? The strange side effects of dope never cease.

More evidence of the uselessness of consultants. Nothing much we didn't know already, but at least the UCI can claim to have done something.

Roulston gets ambitious. Whatever happened to his heart-problem?

Despite his detractors, Jeremy Whittle makes the shortlist for the 2008 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, for his book Bad Blood: The Secret Life of the Tour de France. If Whittle should win, he will follow in the footsteps of Paul Kimmage, who won this award in 1990 for Rough Ride.

Funny how when the hallowed bottom line is in question, ethical concerns tend to fade from view. This is business after all and the American way. Love it or hate it, it seems we all must accept it, or else get sued.

Supposedly the UCI will announce any sanctionable results from the bio-passport later this month. I will believe it when I see it. I hope the cases do hold up in court...because the apologists are still waiting eagerly in the wings for their chance to pounce.

Columbia's Michael Barry writes a moving ode to his young teammate Craig Lewis, who survived among the worst in-race crashes I have ever heard about, and has returned to the top level of cycling against heavy odds. Lewis may not be particularly well-known among European fans, yet he is held in very high regard by those who follow the young American talents of the sport. Lewis spent a long time riding for Vaughters at Slipstream, yet jumped ship for Columbia when his mentor and Greenville training partner Hincapie went to Columbia. Too bad, as Garmin sure could use his climbing abilities.

There are several riders I really like who have joined Cervelo for next season, so I really hope that things will work out for this team. Yet between the precipitous departure of Sunderland and this curious interview with Gerard Vroomen, I have to say that I don't get a very good vibe about this team in terms of their organizational basis and management structure. I hope that I am wrong, and all goes well for them. Hushovd and Sastre deserve a decent team, and a decent team requires far more than just a nice bike to ride.

"Anger and resentment are the engines of Lance Armstrong." Too true. The harder you fight, the more he thrives. Unnatural.

Spiegel provides a transcript of Ullrich's catalog of denials in court.

More infighting at the Spanish cycling federation. You begin to see the state of things in Spanish cycling....knives out on all sides.

New organization promoting drug-free cycling.

This photo has been getting a lot of attention, and for good reason. Classic. See also these great photos from the Tour. The one of Pereiro's crash especially makes me shudder.

Niels Albert claims that you can't win the Tour without doping, an opinion that is still fairly common, unfortunately.

The NYT notices ACE's disappearance, and says that Damsgaard and Catlin are among those in the running for the replacement program.

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, too busy paying the bills.

Saturday update

2008-11-08T18:55:00.002-05:00

The IOC wants the UK to make doping a criminal offense before the London Olympics.

Doping at the Vuelta a Uruguay.

Garmin's Timmy Duggan updates his blog: "Even with some hard rides I am recovering well and I feel like I am really recovered from my head injury." Good news.

This has just not been Boonen's week. First headlines about his positive hair test for cocaine, now he has crashed his car again. The good news is that he was not hurt, but you have to start to wonder whether he might be in need of an intervention.

Russian runner Julia Smirnova has been given a 2 year ban by the IAAF. This in itself is hardly news, considering that 16 assorted Russian athletes have tested positive lately. What is noteworthy and horrifying is that Smirnova tested positive for strychnine. A sort of retro-doping strategy? Can't get away with good-old EPO? No problem, try a bit of rat poison instead. Strychnine has a long and sordid history as a stimulant in endurance sports, and that certainly includes cycling. Just don't take too much or you will end up dying horribly of severe convulsions. Or you might be like Keith Richards and just end up comatose.

Very nice to see someone talking sense about the Second Coming. And kudos to VeloNews for printing this and perhaps risking the infamous blacklist...interesting that they list the author just generically as VeloNews.com.

IOC president Jacques Rogge has said that seven more positive doping tests are coming up from the Olympics. Let's just hope that there are no cyclists.

Sometimes cyclo-cross sponsors must just curse the mud. Not much advertising going on in that mud.

Remember how in the documentary Overcoming Bjarne Riis made a big deal out of teaching Ivan Basso how to swim and then tossing him off a cliff into the ocean? Well, all that preparation might just come in rather handy for Ivan considering the next Giro starts in Venice. Don't crash and end up in the stinking canal....I wonder if they will have rescue boats waiting to pull any unfortunate cyclists out of the deep? Makes me think of the movie Casino Royale, plenty of drowning in Venice canals going on in that movie. And poor St. Ivan may just need a Quantum of Solace considering that after all this time he is going to be stuck right back where he started, trying to beat his old nemesis Lance yet again. Sounds like a bad sequel if there ever was one...

The Science of Sport blog considers the end of ACE.

Interesting to note Valv.Piti's choice of mountain bike. Pic found here.

Andy Schleck interview (French). Don't worry, Google Translate is your friend.

Svein Tuft interview: "I have a crazy, obsessed side but it's important to be balanced enough in life to switch it on and off. You have to plan for those special moments which don't come along all the time. Doing a 40 plus km time trial, when I'm riding on the threshold and the only thing holding me back is my mind, I ask myself, 'How much are you willing to give?'"

Irish rider Philip Deignan talks about his new Cervelo team and his tough season this year.

Don Catlin interview. Quite a few non-answers in there. Raises more questions than it settles.

After his strangely quick exit from Cervelo Test Team, it seems that former CSC DS Scott Sunderland will be working for the new British road team, said to planned for 2010.

Swedish researchers have developed a promising new test for EPO.

I have been remiss not to mention the new book A Dog in a Hat by Joe Parkin. I have not read it yet, but all reviews seem glowing.

Ivan Stevic claims that he had no idea he was under investigation by CONI and is going directly to CAS. Novel excuse, I suppose, although hard to believe. Keep in mind that the Oil for Drugs investigation involved huge amounts of intercepted telephone calls and video surveillance by the NAS. It was a serious criminal investigation of a large-scale doping network. The actual police raids were carried out only after specific targets were determined based directly on the phone and video evidence. For CONI to be provoked to slap Stevic with as harsh a penalty as a life ban suggests that they had some pretty serious evidence beyond just the dope in the frig. And Ettore Torri lately has a rather high win rate at CAS. Just ask Di Luca or Petacchi about that. Stevic might be claiming lack of due process, which in theory might work to some degree (if true), yet would it stand up to possible recorded phone calls of him chatting with Santuccione? Thanks to Neal Rogers for following up on this story and linking back here. But to be fair, I should point out that I was not exactly the first to report this story, as it was previously mentioned in the Italian media and on CSC forums.

A recent emailer asked me what evidence exists that Fuentes worked with soccer players. As far as I know, the best information about this was in a Le Monde article published Dec. 8th, 2006 titled "Le Real Madrid et le Barça liés au docteur Fuentes" and written by Stéphane Mandard. This article detailed Fuentes' written doping plans for both Real Madrid and Barca (FC Barcelona) players, and the coded notations for various doping products in these documents matched the notation used in the similar doping plans found for cyclists who were members of Saiz's Liberty Seguros team. (Probably similar to this.) The soccer doping plans included notations for EPO, blood transfusions, IGF, and other anabolic steroids. FC Valencia and Betis Seville were also implicated. While Fuentes was not officially working for any of these teams at the time of the Puerto raids, Barca officials had tried twice previously to hire him as their team doctor in 1996 and 2002. Despite this, after the article was published Barcelona team officials filed a lawsuit against Le Monde, and won damages. You will have to excuse me for finding the verdict of this lawsuit laughable. Fuentes himself also stated in a separate interview with Le Monde that he worked with soccer players in the Spanish first and second division leagues, although he refused to say which teams due to death threats:

"Q. Have you worked with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona?

A: I can't answer. I was threatened with death. I was told that if I said certain things, me or my family could have serious problems. I was threatened three times. And they will not threaten me a fourth time."

And we wonder why Operacion Puerto is permanently stalled in the Spanish courts, and why the death toll in soccer becomes more and more alarming.

Thanks go to all my recent emailers. Please excuse me if I have not yet replied to you, but it grows more and more difficult for me to keep up as the volume of email grows. I do read and appreciate all the messages.

Wednesday update

2008-11-05T21:45:00.003-05:00

The slavish devotion with which the world's media bows before the Second Coming makes me ill. There is really no possible way I could care less about what Chris Carmichael has to say about Lance Armstrong. How it is that Carmichael is somehow sanitized enough for Armstrong to publicly associate with, yet Ferrari is not? According to plenty of evidence, both of these guys have actively taken part in doping riders. Carmichael is even worse in my eyes because according to Strock and Kaiter (among others) he doped young riders without their consent. At least Ferrari's clients seem to know what exactly all those syringes are for, and after all, Ferrari is not exactly shy about his specific expertise.

Don't tell Pat McQuaid, but samples from the Tour of Portugal are being retroactively tested for CERA. Hmm, this could be interesting as some of the riders in that race practically had DOPER stamped in red ink on their foreheads, considering the way they rode like motorbikes. More Portuguese cycling info at VeloLuso or Sempre Na Roda.

New Toto.

Sam Abt on Franck Bouyer.

Best comprehensive list of dopers in cycling that I have seen lately is at Cycling4Fans.de. Also more under their Doping section.

It is always interesting how totally differently various cycling fans can view the same topic.

WADA contemplates the little blue pill.

And speaking of Viagra, Moletta's case has been archived.

It seems Boonen's excuse about something being slipped into his drink on one occasion does not exactly hold up. And never mind all that crashing and banging you hear, that is just Lefevere smashing things in frustration as Cavendish's meteoric rise and Boonen's fall coincide, and QuickStep's fortunes teeter on the brink.

Cycling radio show in the US, rather a nice rarity, although I have yet to find time to listen.

Ivano Fanini met with CONI's Ettore Torri to discuss his recent statements in the media about various doping-related topics. Capodacqua has the story. One of Fanini's claims has been that certain riders (ie. men in black) have been going to St. Moritz to use the services of Ferrari, and the specific names mentioned are "Bertolini, the nephew of Moser, Gasparotto, and Bertagnolli."

More on ACE

2008-11-04T21:13:00.001-05:00

ESPN: After two years, ACE going out of business immediately by Bonnie Ford

Saturday update

2008-11-01T11:24:00.002-04:00

Dopage, a short video.

Another unnamed former T-Mobile rider has come forward as a witness, and has given a statement detailing doping at T-Mobile in 2003 and 2004, including the distribution of EPO by team doctors. Coming after Sinkewitz's revelations about blood transfusions, this is not particularly surprising, although it is still quite a rare event when any rider comes forward as a witness on their own. Whoever it is (no I do not want to guess), I applaud their willingness to speak to the prosecutors.

Good news for Saul Raisin, as it seems that his previously stolen Look has been recovered more or less intact. In other Raisin news, he is running the NYC Marathon tomorrow (Sunday Nov. 2), which you can watch online starting at 9am. Another familiar name taking part in the NYC Marathon will be Stephen Roche, who is running as part of a fund-raising effort for leukemia research in conjunction with the Geoff Thomas Foundation.

Another bad scare for European soccer, with Real Madrid midfielder Ruben De La Red collapsing during a game on Thursday. De La Red regained consciousness after being stretchered off the field, and was later released from the hospital, said to be suffering only from low blood pressure which caused him to faint. However, De La Red is now planning to have further cardiac testing. The number of elite soccer players who have died from heart attacks or other types of heart problems during games is rather high. It seems to be quite politically incorrect to suggest that all these deaths ought to be investigated, and no one seems particularly eager to examine whether it is possible that doping might play a part in some percentage of these deaths. Cycling fans have seen this all before, with the list of cyclists dying of heart attacks also being far too long to ignore.

The sponsor search undertaken by Mauro Gianetti to replace Saunier-Duval/Scott is still underway, with meetings in Mexico City with a Mexican multinational company. Meanwhile the team has financial problems as Saunier-Duval has supposedly not paid for their remaining shares of the team's expenses, leading to the possibility of rider salaries being paid out of the team's bank guarantee. The new version of Saunier-Duval (if indeed a sponsor materializes) will be led by Alvaro Crespi, with Matxin as director. If the new sponsor comes through soon enough, rider rumored to possibly join include Rebellin and Vigano. Naturally, there is no word on whether the new team will have an anti-doping program.

Interview with Astana DS Ekimov, who comments on the likely result of Lance's return: "Many of the new guys will be shocked at the beginning the way Lance will take command. But I will share with them my experience of working with Lance and calm them down, telling them that it will elevate the position of the team and themselves."

Some bloggers are far more creative than I will ever be...from here.

I am trying to just accept that McQuaid is continually going to say dumb things, but I still find it hard to take. Another recent example.

What is there to say, when this passes for journalism. Not one question on the giant elephant in the room. Perhaps we all ought to just tip-toe politely around, avoiding any and all chance of encountering a possibly ugly truth. Congratulations, indeed.

You have to wonder if there might be a cyclist among the mysterious suspect samples from the Olympics...

New book, which realizes that the anti-dopers are sometimes the ones needing some ethics as well.

CONI's website includes a veritable treasure trove of doping information, including the judgments of all the Oil for Drugs cases. It is quite astonishing to consider that so far no less than 73 people have been officially disciplined by CONI in the Oil for Drugs scandal. Among the cases that had previously escaped my notice is that of Serbian rider Ivan Stevic. Stevic (28), who has in recent years ridden for American team Toyota-United, was on September 17, 2008 found guilty by CONI of three violations including use or attempted use of a prohibited substance, possession of prohibited substances, and illegal trafficking of prohibited substances. He has been given a life ban. According to the CONI documents, during 2004, while riding as an amateur in Italy, Stevic was involved in distributing and selling large quantities of doping products he received from Dr. Carlo Santuccione, the head of the vast Oil for Drugs doping network. A raid of Stevic's house on May 26, 2004 also found several prohibited doping products in his kitchen refrigerator including corticosteroids and human growth hormone. Stevic subsequently refused to give any information to the Italian authorities, and did not show up to his two scheduled hearings with CONI on March 18, 2008 and May 30, 2008. To avoid another fit of disillusionment, it is perhaps best not to dwell too long on the assorted races that Stevic won between 2004 and the time of his eventual ban in September of this year. The very slow march of Italian justice sometimes has a high price, even as we must still acknowledge CONI's determined and persistent efforts to ban numerous athletes over the Oil for Drugs scandal. Now we can only hope that Ricco's recent revelations, which proved that doping maestro Santuccione was still very much in business, will force CONI to take harsher measures against the doctor whose nefarious actions have enabled many a rider to dope and win.

Thursday update

2008-10-30T19:19:00.005-04:00

Bonnie Ford quizzes Lance with some pointed and persistent questions.

le grimpeur reflects on the realities of doping and human nature.

Dick Pound interview: "I don’t know how good your Shakespeare is, but methinks the laddie doth protest too much." Leave it to Pound to call Armstrong a laddie.

In unfortunate news, ACE is going out of business. The exact cause is a bit vague, but sources suggest that ACE may have run into some financial difficulties. This is a tough development for Garmin, Columbia, and BMC. Damsgaard seems to have more work than he can handle already, so he is likely not an option. But according to those in the know, Columbia and Garmin are working together on developing a new system to replace ACE. Perhaps the new approach will be even better than ACE, which seemed to have a few challenges at times on the personnel and managerial side, with Paul Scott's departure creating some unhelpful waves. It should be noted that ACE was trying something fairly new and uncharted on the anti-doping front, and it can't have been easy for them to figure out a sustainable pricing model and management plan for such a venture. Hopefully the practical lessons learned from ACE's initial experiences will help to pave the way for even more effective team-based anti-doping programs in the future. (Thanks to emailers for info.)

Tuesday update

2008-10-28T19:00:00.003-04:00

You think I'm tough on the dopers, just take a look at what a very angry Sergio at Ciclismo 2005 has to say about Birillo's return: "a pathological liar...the worst of cycling."

Basso gives his usual faux-humble "I'm just a simple family man"-type answers in yet another annoying interview focusing on his supposed redemption, this time with El Pais. Yes, just a normal simple family man with all those blood bags stashed in the freezer "just in case." Tell us another tale please, Ivan, you are getting to be such a truly accomplished fabulist these days. You ought to write a book and call it "A Guide for Saintly Dopers" or "We might as well make our ex-fans puke." All proceeds to charity of course. I'd suggest the Humane Society.

Aldo Sassi seems convinced of Basso's change of heart, sort of: "We are deeply convinced that Ivan, besides his results, will not disappoint us. Time will give us an answer (maybe)." Maybe?? You can register to view Birillo's test results online. Somehow I really can't bring myself to care if Basso is clean now. It is too late for that.

Interview with Christophe Laurent on why he left Garmin for Agritubel. Just goes to show that it is hardly only Americans who have a hard time adjusting to another culture.

UCI Calendar 2009. Note that dates for new Russian race called Tour of Sochi are yet to be decided.

Fan site about Jani Brajkovic has translated articles from Slovenian news sources. Also see Brajkovic's blog.

Summary of testing statistics for the bio-passport.

Victoria Pendleton interview: "I am a self-critical perfectionist."

$17,500 Colnago bike with Ferrari bloodlines.

A new edition of Toto gets to the heart of what some people think the Second Coming is really all about...

Capodacqua warns about the potential dangers of new bio-similar versions of EPO produced in countries without adequate quality control and having unknown side effects. Dopers beware. Previous reports have indicated the difficulties these variant forms of EPO present for the anti-dopers. CERA may now be detectable, but there are many other forms of EPO that are still hard for the standard EPO test to reliably detect. As Damsgaard has explained, "The problem is that nowadays a large number of illegal laboratories in, for example, China, Russia and India produce a wide range of different 'unknown' EPO types...at least 20 different kinds of EPO are circulating on the black market, which WADA may not be in possession of."

While Kohl and Schumacher have gotten most of the big publicity, it seems that the possible warning signs for Gerolsteiner began earlier in the season with the mysterious and unresolved cases of Francesco De Bonis and Andrea Moletta. No one seems to know what exactly really happened with either of these riders, who now seem stuck in a sort of indeterminate purgatory. Perhaps eventually the bio-passport will reveal something definite about these cases one way or another. It seems that Holczer himself has precious little to say about these cases.

Bonnie Ford likens the on-again/off-again relationship between Armstrong and the Tour to a certain Ang Lee-directed film: "In trying to envision the way Armstrong's charge up Comeback Mountain could shake out, the central line from a doomed love story keeps coming to mind: It could be awfully darn hard for these cowboys to quit each other."

Strange that Scott Sunderland's employment by Cervelo Test Team ended almost before it began. I do wonder how Sastre and also Hushovd feel about this turn of events?

Friday update

2008-10-24T18:58:00.006-04:00

Marcos Maynar, team doctor of doped Portuguese team LA-MSS, is not taking the doping accusations against him quietly. He has written quite a scathing letter summarizing how he has been terribly wronged and attacking the Portuguese officials. Yes, really, how dare they suggest that something might be amiss in a team when blood transfusion equipment and blood bags were found in searches. Somehow I think the sympathy in this case should be reserved for Bruno Neves' grieving family, not for Maynar, whose past is murky at best. (Thanks to emailer for info.)

McQuaid's recent unbelievable comments expressing his idiotic opposition to retro-active testing showed once and for all that he is not fully committed to ending doping in cycling. Retro-active testing is supported fully by WADA and has long been a tool for deterrence, especially for things like human growth hormone. Taking McQuaid's comments at face value, they seem to indicate that he would be perfectly happy to have allowed Kohl, Piepoli, and Schumacher to get away with their blatant doping, which is rather mind-bending if you think about it. Reassuring, isn't it, to know we have this guy in charge of the sport. Also fascinating how McQuaid actually publicly questioned the state of the samples after time had passed. Was it not only recently that the AFLD offered to test Armstrong's old samples? How convenient for Armstrong that he now gets McQuaid on his side questioning the validity of testing older samples....as if there was any doubt McQuaid is in Armstrong's pocket. Must be crowded in there.

It is especially galling that the Giro samples will not be retested, considering that Ricco (among others) was almost certainly on CERA. The idea of the Giro podium winners' samples being retested for CERA must just be too scary for the UCI to tolerate. I do wonder why? They have the bio-passport numbers to know who is supsicious and they can't bear to let the testing go ahead. What does that tell you? And I would really like to see Bruseghin's results for a CERA test. The UCI clearly prefers to try to save a bit of cycling's image, rather than do the big painful purge once and for all. Half-measures will never work and destroy the UCI's credibility in the process. Plus, remember that the father of Gerolsteiner rider Andrea Moletta was found in a car with a syringe hidden in a toothpaste package. What do you think was in that syringe? CERA? Heading for Gerolsteiner? And yet no re-testing of the Giro samples will be done. This is nothing less than ignoring the truth and purposefully looking the other way.

Another lie that the UCI has lately been selling is the idea that CERA is a new drug that has only just recently been used by doping cyclists. Not true at all. CERA was among the many drugs seized in the Operacion Puerto raids back in 2006! Do you think that Fuentes just happened to have some CERA sitting around? Does the UCI think we are dumb? Apparently.

Maybe we should just remember the backwards attitude of Verbruggen, who happily stated in 2000 that "To use a (compulsory) blood and urine test for a cycle race such as the Tour de France would be too complicated, too hard, and too expensive." Oh, really? Try telling that to the AFLD, who showed that blanket testing can and does work very well to subsequently target and catch dopers. It requires only the will to do it, which the UCI has simply never CHOSEN to have. The AFLD does have the will, and I can only hope that they will remain in sole control of the Tour dope testing forever.

While the UCI's refusal to hand over their bio-passport data to the AFLD before the Tour this year was blamed on the ASO/UCI feud, I wonder if a big part of the UCI's refusal was because they knew perfectly well that there was potentially incriminating information among the blood profiles. If the AFLD saw that the UCI had taken no action against riders with highly suspicious profiles who were on the Tour rosters, the AFLD would have thrown a very loud fit. The UCI's "patient" approach would almost surely have left Bordry outraged (as he often is when it comes to the UCI). After all, Kohl has fully admitted to starting to take CERA directly after the Dauphine. Yet in the time in between the Dauphine and the Tour, no one either at Gerolsteiner or at the UCI apparently noticed that his blood profile must have been changing in bad ways. Yet as soon as AFLD tested him, they could see it and knew to target test him. Selective blindness...it must be a very contagious disease among certain people in the cycling world.

Did you know that among the items found in Puerto mastermind Eufemiano Fuentes' possession at the time of his initial arrest was a business card for Mario Zorzoli, the chief UCI medical officer? Now, why exactly would the head of a large and sophisticated doping network need to keep Zorzoli's contact information, including phone and fax numbers, right at hand? For more on this, see the ever-enlightening Ciclismo 2005.

Austria has a doping problem, and not just Kohl either. Recall that the investigation of the Vienna-based Humanplamsa blood doping scandal has never gone anywhere (how lucky for Rabobank). Plus Austria had two of their young riders excluded from the Worlds in 2006.

Sometimes you just have to laugh at the stuff that certain reporters will print without asking a single tough or challenging question.

Oops. Let's hope Valv.Piti is not expecting a raise anytime soon. Can't imagine that funding a sketchy cycling team will be too high on the priority list when it comes time to account for the lost millions...oh wait, who am I kidding, the government will just bail them out with the taxpayers' money. Too bad no one ever bails me out if I overdraw my account.

Interview with Vaughters. Explains the ProTour decision.

Interview with Creed. Hilarious poke at Carmichael in there.

More on Lampre

2008-10-21T12:53:00.003-04:00

As a commenter correctly pointed out, Lampre actually has had three riders test positive this year so far, not two as I said yesterday. These are the three riders:

Patxi Vila, positive for testosterone, March 2008

Paolo Bossoni, positive for EPO, June 2008

Christian Murro, positive for furosemide, January 2008

According to the ProTour teams' ethical rules, when any team has two riders test positive in a 12 month time period, the team must stop racing for 8 days. This should have happened when Lampre learned of the second positive test. Did they follow the rules? Of course not. Plus, the ethical rules state that when three riders from one team test positive in a 24 month time period, the entire team must stop racing for 4 weeks. This means that as soon as Lampre heard the news of the third positive test (Bossoni’s positive was announced July 31, 2008), they should have stopped all racing for the next four weeks. This would have included races such as Tour of Germany among others. Again, Lampre kept on racing.

Also consider that Lampre has taken no action as a result of these positives despite the clear indication that they have a severe problem and need to get an anti-doping program in place right away. Instead, they have done nothing, and meanwhile the cycling media seems to have completely ignored the blatant signs that Lampre is a filthy team. I have never seen one article written about this. When their riders win big events, the reality of the team environment that they are part of ought to be worth at least a mention.

We all know that if three riders tested positive from teams like CSC, Garmin, Columbia, or Astana it would be cause for huge and terrible consequence (ie. no Tour invitation) and endless column inches of hysterical headlines. Yet when it happens with Lampre, no one notices or cares, and Lampre’s winners like Ballan and Cunego are actually lauded as classy champions! Why are the standards and expectations for teams so different? We should hold Lampre to such a lower standard than teams like CSC or Columbia? They are all ProTour teams and they are subject to the same exact rules, yet the media and fans clearly do not hold them to the same standards and it is disgraceful. Even worse is that the other ProTour teams do not protest or even seem to notice that their own ethical rules are being totally violated with impunity. It makes a complete mockery of the ProTour when the rules are ignored, and all the teams involved wink and nod and do nothing when they see the rules blatantly broken. And to think that this is the group that Garmin has purposefully chosen to join for next year.

Consider also that Lampre is not alone in breaking the rules, as Scott-American Beef also had three riders positive (Piepoli, Ricco, Mayo) and did not stop racing after learning of the third positive. Liquigas also broke the rules by hiring Basso without waiting the full four years. (On the other hand, Gerolsteiner did follow the rules by pulling out of Lombardia.) Clearly, the ethical rules of the ProTour teams which were meant to fight doping are a total joke to most teams and not worth the paper they are written on. It is also pathetic that the teams themselves take no responsibility and do not enforce the rules among themselves, and that seemingly none of the teams protest when another team breaks the rules. It is a broken system and yet another bad example of how corrupt and badly managed the world of pro cycling continues to be. Both the fans and the cycling media ought to make a point to notice and publicize such things, because our apathy and silence only makes it all too easy for this downhill spiral to go on totally unheeded.

(Thanks and acknowledgement go to the poster known as KD Teammate at CSC forums for compiling a great source of info related to this topic.)

New Abt article

2008-10-20T21:50:00.002-04:00

IHT: Don't confuse the Tour de France with the Comédie Française by Sam Abt

"Armstrong, who enjoys mind games the way most people enjoy a morning cup of coffee, has announced that he will race in selected countries next year to improve knowledge about cancer, which struck him in 1996.

It's a commendable goal and he will pursue it in backward countries like Australia (the Tour Down Under), the United States (the Tour of California), Italy (the Giro d'Italia) and possibly France (the Tour).

Why he is not racing instead in the Tour of Burkina Faso or the Tour of the Philippines, where his crusade might find more unturned ground, is a puzzle....

For Prudhomme, the easy part will be announcing that the Tour will begin in Monaco and finish in Paris three weeks later. The hard part will be making this sordid situation palatable.

That, as they say, is show business."

Disillusionment

2008-10-20T19:07:00.005-04:00

My motivation to work on this blog is nonexistent at the moment. Schleck, Ricco, Kohl, Piepoli, Sella, Schumacher, plus all the others. It is a lot to take, even for me. I am glad they are getting caught, but it doesn’t take away the betrayal. Stabbing the knife in again and again. How many times are we supposed to take this? Add in the unwelcome returns of Basso and Armstrong, and it just gets worse. I have no interest in watching the Giro next year, as it will be little more than a dopers’ parade (as usual). Zomegnan can’t be bothered to re-test the Giro samples for CERA. That tells you everything you need to know right there. Plus you can’t forget that Valv.Piti , who should be serving his two-year ban, has "won" the top spot in the UCI ProTour standings this year (a worthless competition, but symbolic), and the vast majority of the Puerto deniers go right on riding, thumbing their noses at us all.

Meanwhile, Lampre, a team with no anti-doping program that has had no less than ~~two~~ three riders test positive just this season alone, has recently had their riders win both the World Championships and Lombardia. And when Lampre riders go on winning, the very worst part is that no one says a word. Not a single question raised. Not the tiniest whimper of outrage. Imagine the giant avalanche of outrage if ~~two~~ three riders tested positive on some other team such as CSC, Columbia, or Garmin. There would be angry screaming headlines everywhere. These teams would be widely denounced as totally discredited, their DSs attacked as frauds, their very existence in severe jeopardy. If one of their remaining riders then went on to win something as big as the World Championships, the victory would be seen as suspect, at the very least. Yet when these exact same events happen with Lampre, it is as if no one has even noticed or cared. A dumb kind of apathy, or even an active choice of ignorance. Well, at least Ballan seems modest, and Cunego actually wears a temporary tattoo that says he is doping-free. So who cares about the rest? No one, apparently. Have these riders been tested for CERA? What about for DynEPO or autologous transfusion? No? Ah, well, who cares. Really, why should we expect anything better? Ivano Fanini warned us all that the World Championships would likely be won by a doper. Not hard to guess that when the Italians and Spaniards were the favorites. Too bad that no one ever listens to one so conveniently dismissed as a fool on the hill, yelling unheeded warnings helplessly into the wind. It is easy to be blind when no one wants to see. And people go around with a straight face calling Cunego’s recent big win classy. Maybe so, but how exactly would they know that?

Meanwhile Bernhard Kohl actually had the gall to publicly state that injecting CERA into his own stomach was "no big deal." Really, Bernie? No big deal. And we are actually supposed to somehow be grateful to this little man for having the shred of decency to give a (strictly limited) confession? I suppose that only shows us how ridiculously low our standards for judging the dopers have sunk. Add them all together and you still wouldn’t have enough moral fiber to fill a thimble. Kohl stood there on the final podium in his red polka dots rejoicing for God’s sake. Smiling and waving, happy, as if it was real. No conscience. He had no difficulty living a total lie, turning himself into a fraud. No big deal. Forget death before dishonor, these guys are queuing up eagerly to make sure they hurry up and dishonor themselves thoroughly at a young age. Precocious dopers. What a sport.

Holczer goes on braying about how he knew nothing, a frantic back-peddling so pathetic that it has provoked both Sinkewitz and Jaksche to publicly lash out against him. I hate to repeat myself, because I think the same of Holczer as I do of Gianetti: Willful ignorance is not an excuse. And anyone dumb enough not to see that Shumacher was doping during the Tour has no business being involved in the sport every again. Holczer had a big mouth and he liked to talk, talk, talk about anti-doping, but it was nothing but an empty useless facade. He should have saved his breath and actually done something concrete like, say, get an anti-doping program. What a concept. And how is it exactly that the blood values of Schumacher and Kohl were strange enough that they clearly tipped off the AFLD that something was very wrong, yet the Gerolsteiner team doctors were meanwhile totally clueless? Easy to miss a little wacky blood values…especially when you really aren’t looking too hard to find them. Or choose to ignore them. We had no idea, I swear!! But I’m sure that experienced scam-artist Shumacher had a good excuse ready as always...he’s got that whole diarrhea story very well-rehearsed by now. He would make a good used-car salesman. And Kohl a good chimney sweep, now that he has no other choice. Kohl, who actually sat there and talked at his confession about how much he loves cycling. A twisted and sick form of love, you must admit. He loves cycling, so he does his very best to help destroy it, like an obsessive love triangle ending in nasty bloodshed. Love and destroy. Dope and win. Confess and cry your crocodile tears. It all gets us nowhere.

The UCI sits there telling us that we must be patient. All these long, long years after Festina. And we should still be patient. Why? The time for patience is long since past. If the UCI has their way it will probably be another decade of slow-motion disasters. We are more than justified to be impatient and disillusioned. Just stop for a minute and think about Kohl purposefully sticking a syringe full of CERA into himself and then celebrating happily on the Tour podium, a successful doper, so very proud of himself. And then tell me, why are we still fans of this ugly spectacle?

Tuesday update

2008-10-14T19:09:00.003-04:00

Luca Ascani's appeal to the CAS is scheduled for Oct. 30th, while Michael Rasmussen's is scheduled for Nov. 14th.

Clément Lhotellerie signs for Vacansoleil. Notable that he had a contract through 2009 with Skil-Shimano, and despite his good results this season, they were willing to let him go. Make of it what you will, considering the rumors about him.

How very convenient for Basso that he is free to use the money he earned by doping in order to pay his fine for doping. Something about this punishment is totally nonsensical.

This article by Rasmus Damsgaard is from back in July, but worth reading.

Mancebo to Rock Racing...it will be like one big happy Puerto reunion.

Good article on Daniel Martin.

Article on stagiares including Christian Meier.

More info on what Ricco told CONI: "Ricco was first brought into contact with Santuccione by former team director Daniele Tortoli....Ricco met with Santuccione on June 8 and the doctor advised him to take CERA the day before the Tour, saying it could not be traced in anti-doping tests and the effects would kick in a week later, according to the documents....Ricco also told the court that his teammate Leonardo Piepoli used CERA, although Piepoli later denied it in testimony to CONI." Tortoli was DS of Grassi-Pantani, an amateur team which previously included Ricco. That's right, the guy in charge of the youngsters was the one introducing Ricco to Santuccione. Nice, eh? Santuccione is already banned for life by CONI for Oil for Drugs, yet clearly he has no difficulties at all continuing to practice his dark craft. Who else has Santuccione been helping out lately? At this point he is a habitual offender, and it is just too bad that the Italian justice system has yet to find any real way to stop him. Santuccione's flagrant involvement in this case also adds further evidence to Di Luca's filthiness...as if we didn't know that well enough already.

Anne Gripper interview. I try to be patient, but when the UCI seems to sitting on blood results that strongly suggest EPO use, then my patience starts to go out the window right quick. Who wants to bet on whether the UCI had strong suspicions about Schumacher or Ricco before the Tour? Which would be exactly like what happened previously with Rasmussen. Twice in a row...does the UCI really even want to tell us the truth or are they more interested in trying to protect cycling's image?

Garmin stagiare Christian Meier weighs in on Z's recent skinsuit escapades.

I had to link to this blog post just based on the notably unusual title...possibly semi-NSFW.

Why are there so many former soccer players dying of ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease)? Could it possibly have something to do with doping?

A secret weapon to fight global warming?

Great video on Dave Wiens.

Good photo site.

Stefano Cavallari of Acqua & Sapone tests positive. Acqua & Sapone dirty?! Shocker!!

Bernhard Kohl positive

2008-10-13T16:59:00.002-04:00

L'Equipe: Kohl a triché lui aussi

Sunday update

2008-10-12T19:27:00.004-04:00

Kimmage interviews Wiggins. Bit worrying to hear about Wiggins' past drinking problems. Let's hope that is now behind him. Seems a little odd that Kimmage doesn't ask Wiggins about his well-know strong anti-doping views.

An incendiary interview given by passionate anti-doper Ivano Fanini to Italian journalist Paolo Ziliani in La Stampa is continuing to make waves. The translated interview as well as some additional info from Ziliani's blog, and a follow-up interview with Amore & Vita-McDonalds DS Piero Gavazzi is here. Read it and weep. Plus Capodacqua weighs in on the whole controversy here. Fanini is making some very tough accusations, and yet sadly it all rings very true. In cycling, the unvarnished truth is often beastly. Consider also Gavazzi's blunt take on Armstrong: "...he is the classic example of a rider who demonstrates what needs to be done today to win an important race: hide yourself away for six months to be the strongest of all on the day, or month, that counts. A season that lasts in total 3 weeks."

David Walsh on the CERA re-testing: "If the 2008 Tour was an improvement, then what we have been watching for the past 20 years has been mind-bogglingly dirty." True.

Ashenden on the Second Coming: "People are dazzled by the star factor and they are not pausing to really reflect on what this is all about and whether or not it would be good for the sport."

By the time the UCI finally gets around to actively using the bio-passport system to no-start or sanction riders, it will probably be 2050. In this interview with Anne Gripper, she keeps just keeps saying it is not ready yet. And why is the exact list of teams taking part in the bio-passport program kept confidential? Of all people, the fans need and deserve to know that info, yet apparently the UCI sees fit only to release the list to specific race organizers who ask them for it.

Peddlers lead peloton: "Did you fall for it again? Bet you did. Head over heels, too. The Tour de France and its boosters said the event was on top of the drug problem. Cycling was meant to have never been so uncontaminated. Vigilant anti-dope squads had cleaned the caper up. New tests, fresh tactics. Well, you would have felt duped this week."

Germany's Focus says that Freiburg's Chief Prosecutor Christopher Franke is considering the evidence from the investigation into the Freiburg clinic and the actions of T-Mobile team doctors Schmid and Heinrich, and may decide to file charges against former T-Mobile staff including Walter Godefroot, Rudy Pevenage, Mario Kummer and Olaf Ludwig. It seems that the doctors went through rather a large quantity of EPO.

Guess who is getting mentioned in the premier gossip-of-the-stars column, the NY Post's Page Six?

Spiegel takes a scathing look at Sinkewitz's continuing struggle to try to find a team that will hire him. The article pointedly highlights the hypocrisy of all the suddenly moralistic DS's who refuse to return Sinkewitz's calls, yet all doped just like him during their own careers. Clearly breaking omerta is not exactly a popular move. After all, Basso had no problem getting a job, did he? Now watch carefully as Schumacher will probably permanently clam up and deny everything. The German dopers have learned a pointed lesson from Sinkewitz (and Jaksche), and it is to defend omerta at all costs if you ever want a decent chance to ride again.

Turned on the Versus coverage of Paris-Tours a bit belatedly today, and what did I see but Z attacking (twice!) while wearing a skinsuit. What the heck? A bit twilight-zoney maybe, but great to see him taking the initiative. Z attacking in a flat classic is not exactly something you see every day, to put it politely. And why he was wearing a skinsuit in a road race...well, who knows, but it certainly seems like exactly the sort of semi-wacky thing to do that perfectly suits him. Maybe he was just trying to get in the right frame of mind to repeat his feat from the 2004 Vuelta when he rode away solo and painfully won the stage time-trial-style. Or maybe his suitcase just got lost? Made for an entertaining race anyway, and it was nice to see Garmin jerseys plastered all over the TV coverage. I wonder if next season we just might see Dean leading out Farrar to a big win?

Friday update

2008-10-10T20:58:00.003-04:00

It seems that Tyler Hamilton is none too popular in New Zealand. Velonews' forumites also find his recent mafia comments worth fighting bitterly over.

New test for autologous transfusions. This could be important for the future of cycling. If the test really works and is widely used, watch for some riders to suddenly and mysteriously become slower than molasses....that is, until they find a new-fangled undetectable variant of EPO to use instead, which probably won't take long.

Time Magazine lets their readers submit questions to HRH.

O'Grady wants another cobble for the mantle: "If I can get one more Roubaix rock, I'll die happy."

Transfer summary.

The UCI possesses a singular talent for destroying their own credibility at every turn.

One incoherent doping apologist plus one bad translation leads to totally nonsensical blathering at Pez, where the editor is apparently on a permanent vacation. Not exactly surprising from a site that still supports Carmichael.

Cycling is awash with people who refuse to realize when they have long since overstayed their welcome. Is it too much to ask that they just go away and at least leave us in peace as we struggle to clean up the huge mess they have left in their wake?

One team photo better forgotten in a hurry. Just try to count the dopers...

JV and CVV interview (part one & part two): "We were a step and a half away in the month of May from not being called Garmin/Chipotle, but actually being called Team ING."

According to AS, the Vuelta is testing for CERA.

Tyler Farrar wins a kermesse...note the doper in second place.

Danish TV made a documentary on Team Designa Køkken. While I can't understand a word of it, the behind-the-scenes footage is still interesting.

The fight is on for the presidency of the Spanish cycling federation. Not that it really matter who wins, since the real person in charge of Spanish cycling at the moment is the Puerto judge, Antonio Serrano, and he gets to do whatever the hell he wants.

Garmin is now a ProTour team. Not sure why exactly anyone wants to be part of the ProTour, but I suppose they must have their reasons, with the Dauphine being one perhaps. I find it hard to believe that any of their riders will actually be looking forward to having to ride such true smoking turds of the cycling calendar as the Tour of Poland. That blighted race ought to have died a merciful death years ago.

Funny picture from Cozy Beehive.

Er, isn't today Friday? The day that the sky was supposed to fall and half the top 15 of the Tour GC was supposedly going to be announced as testing positive? Guess LNDD's direct hotline to L'Equipe must be broken.

Wednesday update

2008-10-08T19:56:00.003-04:00

Armstrong is above the rules, as usual. The UCI is spineless, as usual.

The culture of deceit starts at the top. The UCI, who refused to share their bio-passport data with the AFLD prior to the Tour, now are falsely claiming that they collaborated with AFLD, and are ridiculously trying to take some credit for catching the CERA cheaters. Note that at the Giro, where many were surely on CERA, the UCI was rather useless at catching them.

Bio-passports don't seem to work very well despite all the hype. Schumacher was supposedly tested nine times for the bio-passport. Some good it did. What is the point of bio-passports if they don't catch blood doping? So maybe it doesn't matter if Armstrong hasn't been in the testing pool for six months. Not like the UCI would catch him regardless. And what is the point of having a no-start rule based on the bio-passport if it is never used? I say put the AFLD in charge of fighting doping in cycling. They sure do a far better job than the UCI. Between the new blood test for CERA and their plan to test for autologous transfusions, they are doing more in one month than the UCI has done in years.

The Luxembourg officials are not satisfied with Schleck's story-telling. Who would be? He should have stuck with the vitamin excuse. I was just buying vitamins, really! More believable than training plans from Fuentes, who is a doping doctor not a trainer. Schleck claims that he has handed over his bank statements to prove he only made a single payment to Fuentes. This is a meaningless claim, as surely there are plenty of other (and far smarter) ways to pay a doping doctor than straight out of your own account. How about the Saiz method? And they ought to check Giovanni Lombardi's account too. Plus they should take Schleck up on his offer to give DNA. Make him actually do it. That was the real test that forced Basso to give in.

Rumors about the real causes of Sastre's fall-out with Riis are gaining traction with Schleck's gradual downfall. Riis chose the Schlecks over Sastre. Some people see that as a choice of dirty over clean, and think Sastre was fed up that Riis would make such a backwards choice. Yet others think Sastre is just as dirty as the Schlecks. The real question that lingers is whether Andy has followed too closely in his brother's footsteps. His previous Giro podium was surely astonishing. Was it clean or was his doping merely below the radar? The recent CERA debacle shows how easily blood doping can go on undetected. I guess it depends if we think Damsgaard is really up to the task of catching sophisticated blood doping. This is his recent response to the CSC rumors: "In case a rider had taken CERA that is normally detected in a blood test, we have the ability to detect it in our EPO urine test. This is something I can say with a very high degree of certainty. To back up the credibility, I have now ordered the company who store the blood tests of the CSC-Saxo Bank riders to freeze the blood from earlier tests, and get it analyzed for CERA at the Lausanne lab." He sounds pretty confident.

Jaksche says that Holczer is a hypocrite. Yes, pretty much everyone involved in cycling can look in the mirror and say the same, one way or another.

Interesting info coming out of Italy, from Paolo Ziliani.

Crazy quote of the day: "There's probably only five blokes out of 200 doing it..." --Baden Cooke, who apparently doesn't know how to count