Friday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews notes that the French Sports Secretary is now proclaiming his interest in mediating the ASO/UCI dustup, with promises to protect French riders IF the UCI follows through on threatened sanctions against them. Meanwhile Pat McQuaid says that the riders are "victims" in the war between the UCI and ASO. McQuaid was in Spain to discuss the reopening of OP and these are his first public comments since the beginning of Paris-Nice:

McQuaid, who prior to Paris-Nice had sent letters and made statements threatening riders with fines and suspensions if they participated in the event outside the UCI's rules backed off from that firm stance a bit this week. "I said what I had to say. The race is taking place outside of the rules of the UCI," he said. "When it finishes we will sit down and look at all the circumstances and consider the data that we have. The riders have asked for a meeting. They are victims and have been forced to take a stand, they are employees of teams that cannot be denied participation because it is their livelihood. The UCI will take this into account in determining sanctions."

The VeloNews reports Pat McQuaid as saying he has Alberto Contador's back should Contador decide to take legal action over his team's exclusion from this year's Tour de France:

"If Contador decides to take legal action in Spain or internationally myself and the UCI will give evidence in his favor and I will be a witness," McQuaid told the daily El Mundo.

"I know Contador and the people around him and I know that he is a clean and honest rider," added McQuaid of the rider who has had to fend off questions regarding his alleged links to Spanish blood-doping probe Operation Puerto.

The VeloNews also reports that former poster child for UCI/ASO dysfunction Unibet is back with a new name, Cycle Collstrop.

ESPN writes Australia's anti-doping agency feels perfectly within its rights to be secretly checking athletes private medical records for evidence of PED use:

John Mendoza, former ASADA boss and now a professor of health science at the University of the Sunshine Coast, said he is concerned the investigation may be too invasive.

"It's certainly a bold move and I am not aware of any other jurisdiction in the world that's taken this move," Mendoza told ABC. "It's potentially a dangerous move because it's casting a question mark against all athletes."

AskMen.com posts the top ten "steroid excuses", Floyd Landis' comes in at number eight. Just two more scandals and he'll drop out of sight.

Blogs
Racejunkie spends a lot of time this morning discussing the ins and outs of various Italian doping scandals, with Patrik Sinkewitz thrown in for good measure.

Dugard responds to criticism of his grenade of yesterday in his blog, and yes,

It was to be a story about me, not Floyd,

We are reminded:

Quasi at the Quackadero

If that doesn't play, try THIS. It's been said of Disney's Beauty and the Beast that we've all known a Gaston. It's also true we've all known an Anita.