Thursday Roundup
News
ESPN/Bonnie D(eSimone) Ford says the decision is likely "before the end of September", according to a memo by Brunet that fell into her hands yesterday. Their last meeting with Botre is set for Sep 12, which might start the 10 day clock, giving us Sep 22 or Sep 26 as likely dates. It appears TBV's rationalization for bad performance on the Oct 7 Diablo Challenge is set.
CyclingNews previews the Shenandoah Mountain 100, and introduces us to contenders and favorites that aren't named Landis. Foremost is Chris Eatough ('e tough?), who has already clinched the National Ultra-Endurance title, along with Harlan Price, Gerry Pflug.
(We won't be providing the detail we did with Leadville, sorry.)
Elsewhere, The CyclingNews, with no direct Landis content, notes that Alejandro Valverde has been banned from the Worlds and that in addition the UCI is starting proceedings against him for his alleged involvement in OP. In other UCI news the rift between the UCI and WADA grows wider with WADA choosing not to participate in The Worlds this year because it was not officially invited to do so by the UCI. Pat McQuaid commented:
"It is not just because of the relationship with UCI, but also for financial reasons as well," he said, shortly after the finish of the Tour of Ireland in Dublin. "I don't know exactly what the reason is. But I don't think it will have any effect on the world championships. We have a steering committee which is working: we have a system in place with that steering committee to do a major number of out of competition controls by the UCI and with the national anti-doping agencies prior to the world championships."He said that a major measure taken prior to the Tour de France would once again be used for the Worlds. "We have written to all the federations that will be taking part in the world championships, telling them that we want every rider who will be taking part in the championships to sign a pledge, similar to the one before the Tour. It will actually have to be slightly different for the Under 23 riders and the women, but it will be similar to the one we did for the ProTour teams before the Tour de France.
The VeloNews also covers the turf war between WADA and The UCI.
The Boulder Reports says that for the last Goddamn time the answer should be NO to legalized use of PEDs -- and we agree with the reasoning.
The Onion reports on the finish of the non-dopers at the Tour de France, which happened today, taking two months.
Blogs
Rant thinks the cases of Rasmussen and Valverde are revealing some political machinations that are not flattering. We are shocked, shocked to hear there might be more to anti-doping enforcement than the pursuit of fair play.
Paisley had a strange dream the other night about Floyd Landis appearing in his underwear in a gourmet grocery store. Floyd argued briefly about the propriety of his dress and then left. Floyd shopping for groceries? Now that's strange.
James Kirby discusses doping in cycling and the dubious relationship between cycling and impotence. Viagra may actually be of benefit in high altitude racing because it dialates blod vessels. So it may need to become a banned substance. Maybe all of the "Male Performance Enhancement" spam is about cycling?
Shawn Adams Coaching was injured recently in a MB race and broke his shoulder. He will have to miss racing against Floyd Landis this weekend at the SM100, but will be rested for his cyclo-cross Nationals.
Chipotle-Titus MTB team blog runs down their Leadville, with two top-10 finishers in Mike Hogan and Thomas Dooley. Lots of pix.
In the gutter tries to compare his looks to a very old picture of Landis
CrystalZenMud steps back and looks at some politics in cycling anti-doping efforts.
PJ wonders if the arbs in the Landis case have entered the witness protection program. Let me just say that if PJ had ever run into Campbell, he'd know how unlikely it is for one arbiter to hide, anywhere, from anything.
Diablo Scott has a blog devoted to his obsession with Climbing Mt. Diablo. What kind of nut would do a single topic cycling blog? Crazy. He does offer these informative graphics (click for bigger):
The Diablo Challenge is run on the Green/Blue route.
Sierra Rd was the gut-buster on early stages in the 2006 and 2007 Tours of California. This compares it to the second half of the Diablo climb.
6 comments:
Re: Valverde. I suppose that I should leave some room for error in interpreting, but it appears that UCI has adopted the Dick Pound "non-analytical" positive and taken it to another level. They are barring him from the World Championship and telling his federation to initiate disciplinary proceedings. I don't read that as meaning that they are pressing for an investigation, but are pushing for a prosecution based on something they find in six thousand pages that indicates that he "may" have been invovled in OP.
It appears that UCI is prepared to punch a rider's ticket and put him on the sidewalk based un admittedly slim suspicion. In doing this they are shooting themselves in the foot. Who is going to sponsor a team when its lead rider, or the entire team, may be tossed out of a race based on allegations without response from the target. Rant's information on Rasmussen, while not dispositive, is instructive.
I suspect that UCU us actubg ub oanic mode and may be blaming WADA for failing to catch dopers in out of competition testing. It is taking "control" of the situation but has no scientific basis on which to act, so it resorts to reliance on innuendo, allegations, and initials. I can understand why Armstrong, et.al., were not willing to draw a major potential sponsor into this mess.
Pete Crosby
Ooops. Begining of last paragraph should read: I suspect that UCI is acting in panic mode and...
Failed to proof read all of it. My opologies
Pete Crosby
Well said Pete. Add into the mix that the UCI hasn't/won't release Mayo's results confuses the situation even more.
I read somewhere today that the TdGeorgia brought in over $28 million to the state. If the TdMissouri can take off, that gives the states 3 major races. Maybe the states are the new Europe. What professional would want to race in Europe now? Especially that it's becoming he said/she said whether or not one doped (or didn't).
I'm going nuts here trying to figure out what the UCI/ASO/WADA are trying to accomplish with their squabbles. Do they realize how much they are hurting their own sport?
Neither UCI, ASO, nor WADA understand the concept of win/win. ASO feels the only way it can win is if UCI loses. And vice versa. WADA feels it can only win by making sure some athlete, somewhere, loses.
On a lighter note, anyone care to pitch in to help TBV et. al. write the headline to post when the arbs release their "ruling?"
"Floyd Finally Found Faultless Fourteeen Friggin' months L8R."
"Floyd Rules. Arbs Not So Much; misspell LNDD."
"Arbs to CAS: Round Up The Usual Suspects."
"Floyd Exonerated. Pound Found Frothing At Mouth; Vets say 'Poor Dick Will Have To Be Put Down.'"
And so it goes.
The UCI comments vis-a-vis Valverde remind me of the Salem Witch Trials. I'll bet that they probably have a supply of stakes and kindling stashed away somewhere.
IN the new, carbon sensitive world burning at the stake is our of favor, besides it doesn't have the appearance of the suspect being able to prove they did not dope.
I think that they are more likely to go with the water test. If the rider doesn't drown then he didn't dope. But with the use of EPO to boost hemotocrit, they will have to hold them under longer to have a valid test.
Pete Crosby
Post a Comment