Thursday Roundup

News

Ullrich cleared in Spain; ESPN's Kreider thinks it's good news for Landis.

If the result serves anyone, it may just be Landis, if for no other reason than that the Ullrich case makes it abundantly clear, once again, just how slippery the truth can be.

Tour Route unveiled -- CyclingNews, VeloNews/AFP, IHT/AP, Grauniad: 3547k, 11 flat, 2 ITT, 6 mountain, 3 mountain top finishes. AP:

In the presentation, the traditional eight-minute film ends with Landis on the winner's podium, with the screen then switching to become a cracked mirror.

Guardian:

Unfortunately, the issue today is not where the Tour goes, but rather the direction in which it and the sport it represents are headed.

The rhetoric from Prudhomme and Clerc has not moderated.

Reuters quotes Oscar and Prudhomme as more ambivalently waiting an outcome that is not under their control.

Pez passes on quote from Axel Merckx:

Floyd is a friend. If he has said to me that he is innocent, I believe him. Firstly because I have seen nothing and then because I don’t know why he would lie to me.

Same Pez article has outgoing TdF head Leblanc telling L'Equipe he is concerned

for the sport he loves becoming ‘dehumanised’ with the ProTour encouraging teams to become too big. This expansion of the teams to meet the ProTour demands is, according to Leblanc ruining the sport. “The big teams are becoming these big machines…one can not speak truly of the team spirit. There are riders in the same team who never meet each other.”

McEwen scoffs at the "shorten the tour to reduce doping" suggestion.

Hall of Fame Magazine considers Landis:

It's doubtful that we will ever know if Landis knowingly and willingly used synthetic testosterone to gain an unfair advantage. Even the most astute follower of the case may only reach a judgment call at best. . . .

In a brilliant tactical move, Floyd Landis has placed his entire defense of the charges online (www.floydlandis.com). It is perhaps, the single greatest case of Cyber Ethics put forth in our post-electronic society...

Quite honestly, the way immediate and mass opinion railed against Landis, we don't deserve the truth in this case.

Bradley Wiggens probably won't be sending Landis a Christmas card, based on comments reported in BikeBiz.

Snark 'o the Day
Tufts college paper with a top-ten list of cheaters. Landis at #2.[courtesy emailer Gene]

Forums
Anyone wanting to contribute to the DPF cursed by popularity fund can send donations via paypal here, according to this post.

Blogs
Rant returns with a chew on the unveiling: "Surreal"

PJ wonders about the geography depicted in the 2007 Tour logo, and also says the riders will make the race.

Podium Cafe calls the broken glass video classless, also considers contractual issues and DNA samples, finding the UCI position wanting. Comments agree with Landis that UCI should go away.

Smithers says Landis's chances in 2007 tour are less than excellent:

I can tell you for sure who is not going to win: Floyd Landis. Even if, by some miracle, he skates by being sanctioned and is allowed to race in 2007, Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) is never going to invite what ever team Landis finds himself on to race the 2007 event. That’s just the reality of it. ASO is still mortified that their race was tainted in 2006 and they have proven time and again that they can hold a grudge.

Quincy discusses Wikipedia Defense, misses the LandisCase wiki.

Mention of the Saris/Wisconsin fundraiser points to pictures here. Still has crutches in some of these shots. The Floyd Watch continues.

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