Friday Roundup

News
LAT's Michael Hiltzik writes that the Landis team has requested a delay in the AFLD hearing set for Feb 8. This request parallels one made by WADA:

The request parallels one made by the World Anti-Doping Agency, or WADA, which supervises the enforcement of sports doping regulations worldwide, but can not force a sovereign government to play by its rules. WADA President Richard W. Pound said this week that his agency had asked the French in December to suspend their proceedings. He said "they seem ready to do that, although without renouncing their judicial rights."
But the Landis defense said it does not expect the French agency, known by its initials AFLD, to announce a decision until the day of the scheduled hearing, Feb. 8. At that time, AFLD could open the hearing as a formality but move to postpone further action. Landis does not plan to attend.

VeloNews writes that Pereiro is still waiting for an apology, as well as the Tour de France title.


PE.Com publishes promised in depth article about Landis and his struggle to regain his reputation and the time it takes trying to prove his innocence. Included are two rather pixilated video clips from this week's Power Camp in Temcula,CA.

PhilyBurbs.com asks the musical question,"Where have you gone Floyd Landis?" (check Nessy Burger)


Blogs
EcoNutJob thinks that after careful study the Landis' positive test results just don't add up:

I do not believe that there is adequate evidence to show that he was doping. In fact, I think there is almost no evidence. Obviously, I said from the beginning that I didn't want to believe he doped. But also, I'm a scientist, and do chemical analyses very similar to the doping tests for a living. I've ran thousands of samples using isotope ratio mass spectrometry. I talked to one of the top microbial biochemists in the country who said he didn't believe that Floyd's tests demonstrated that he doped. Finally, I can't trust a lab who can't follow the simple rules of proper doping disclosure to do the analyses correct.

Neil@Road describes "Schanigans" with Landis. Haaaaaar me matey! The moral of this story: don't torque off the local Sherrif!


Neil@Road then tells us a little about being part of the Landis Power Camp this week, and describes the new CycleOps wireless Power Tap.


Dugard is delighted by the albeit slim prospect that Landis could come out on top in the AFLD hearing, which could screw up WADA's case against him.


Rant thinks that Oscar needs to stop whinning and count his blessing because, "it could be worse", he could be Floyd Landis.

Eric attempts to speak for/as Floyd, but he may actually be auditioning for the "Snark of the Day"

Cycling Training Tips lists the top 5 excuses certain cyclists use to proclaim their innocence from doping accusations, another possible contender for "snark of the day" honors.

Misc
TbV correspondent Marc has sent this along to us from LeMonde, perhaps the Pereiro story is not quite over with yet:

In the Spanish press, Oscar Pereiro had explained that he suffered from excercised-induced asthma, and that the UCI gave him a TUE several years ago to take Ventoline, which contains salbutamol.

Several specialists have expressed doubts regarding the diagnosis of so-called exercise-induced asthma. As early as 1999, Prof. Keun Youl Kim, secretary of the medical committee of the Asian Olympic Council, and president of its sub-commission on TUEs, had revealed in a report sent to the International Olympic Committee that "doctors for some athletes' teams are strongly suspected of making intentionally erroneous diagnoses of exercise-induced asthma in order to be able to justify officially prescribing salbutamol, when their real objective is the improvement of the athletes' physical performance during sporting events."

For Robert Gautheir, wo has carried out research on exercise-induced asthma and has conducted numerous tests on cyclists, TUE [note: spelled AUT in French] stands for "Authorization Useful for Trickery." The former president of the Sports Medicine Center of Lyon estimates that "a single puff of salbutamol, through its blood-vessel-dilating action, can improve oxygen consumption by 0.3 liters, and can therefore improve power by around 20 watts." "For a rider weighing 80 kg along with his bicycle, on a climb of 8% at a speed of 20 km/hr, that would represent a gain of 1 km/hr or 3 minutes on a climb of 20 km," Gauthier estimated.

Thought of the Day

Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I   
drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass  
and think about the workers in the brewery and all
of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this 
beer, they might be out of work and their dreams  
would be shattered. Then I say to myself, 'It is  
better that I drink this beer and let their dreams
come true than to be selfish and worry about my   
liver.

-jh-