Thursday Roundup

QoD

I don't really buy into the idea that things happen for a reason, but I do accept whatever I'm given in life and try to make the best of it. I don't sit around feeling sorry for myself. That's not my personality.

-Floyd, in Bicycling interview.

It really was the beer, more Fine research.
Accept it, article by Simon Brooke, active in USENET debate.
Floyd and Jan lose UCI Rankings, says CyclingPost. What rule?
Phonak, Astana can ride out the season, says UCI.
I don't need to be right, says supportive blogger.
Another petition pointer, from a supportive blogger.
Make it go away, wants blogger, links Bicycling interview below.

Different Testosterones, described on sci.chem

Floyd Interview in Bicycling. Looks like one from the PR round a few weeks ago. What is online is only an excerpt, with the full one saved for the Sept 1 magazine run. If some miscreant posts it online somewhere, I don't know if I'll post a pointer. When I see it, I'll probably just paraphrase anything interesting.

Mr. Mailman had left my copy for when I got home. Now I've got it before me.

It's more relaxed sounding than the TV appearances of the same period, more like what I've come to expect from him. He goes into some whining about the confidentiality problems, and how everything blindsided him. The experience gives him pause to question whether the system really works the way it should. He thinks when he gets prepared, he should be able to fight. (I guess he doesn't yet know how stacked it is against him.) He agrees it'll be a great comeback story to have overcome the allegations. Hadn't done much riding after the Tour. Expects to do the hip surgery within 8 weeks of the end of the tour. (That might make it tough to do his own tests for a defense.)

He credits the win at Morzine more to the weakness and confusion of the field than his own strength. He says his own output was less than previous (good) days. He used his power meter to monitor what he was doing, and has great confidence in it and knowledge of what he can do to prevent blowing up.

Two companion articles take the sides of guilty or not. The innocent article has a bunch of the stuff you'd have expected to see in the tour wrapup before hell broke loose-- the hip announcement brought him a lot of information from specialists who may help. He stuck with Phonak in '05 expecting a quid-pro-quo of support with the hip. Wants to believe and will until the fork is stuck in it for good. Essentially, it ignores the test result facts completely.

The guilty article pulls out the facts-- 11:1 measured T/E, 4:1 rule limit, 1:1 normal; "Silver bullet" CIR test showed Landis over a 3 part per million limit, but no reported value (we've heard it was 3.99, but not authoritatively). Phonak has a history of doping. Sample tampering is unlikely. The simple explanation is that he's a doper. Then complains about why Cycling is being picked on compared to other sports when it is actually doing something.

No enlightenment there. If you're reading this, you are already probably better informed.

[ updated 22:13 ]