Sunday Roundup

Another day of waiting begins. It's now Day 4 in the Landis "decision watch".

News
The Worcester Telegram writes about Karen Potter a massage therapist/mountain biker who rode the SM100 recently and had the chance to meet Floyd Landis while there.

The Charlotte Observer posts yet another column on the problems of cheating in sports and mentions Floyd Landis in passing.


Blogs
Basic B is is torn by the complexities of the case but is happy that the Landis hearings will finally yield a result. He also thinks the case has been further complicated by the "stupid maneuverings" of Landis' team, invoking The Call.

CyclingFans.com takes a jaundiced view of the French Government's involvement in anti-doping in cycling. He also thinks the biggest disappointment of the Hearing (after The Call), was the lost opportunity to have LNDD Director Jacques De Ceaurriz take the stand.


Jenni recounts the CyclingNews story about the now banned "praying mantis" TT style tried by Levi Leipheimer and used legally by Floyd Landis in 2006.

Forums
From Sonoma Hills on the Daily Peloton Forums comes this:

[T]he [...] "he's guilty" scientists (and wanna-be scientists) would respond that 1) yes the lab work was sloppy, 2) the sloppy lab work did generate some useful data, 3) nobody maliciously changed or dishonestly cherry-picked the "remaining data" from the sloppy lab work and 4) that what information can be gleaned from the remaining data all says "doping".

By "remaining data", I mean the work-product from LNDD that was left after LNDD (with WADA or USADA approval, I think) discarded the raw data that was available. (I'm leaving out the bit where LNDD repeated test steps, without recording their work, until they got the results they were looking for as falling under "sloppy".)

By "maliciously changed or dishonestly cherry-picked", I'm referring to a sentiment that the numbers can, like those who produced them, be trusted to be exactly what they are presented to be.

Thought for the Day

Waiting for the fish to bite, or waiting for wind to fly a kite. Or waiting around for Friday night, or waiting perhaps for their Uncle Jake, or a pot to boil, or a better break, or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants, or a wig with curls, or another chance. Everyone is just waiting.

Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss)