Wednesday Roundup

News
The SunHerald hypes a Martin Dugard piece in Orangecoast.com that purportedly reveals his true opinions on Floyd Landis' guilt or innocence. Here's the link to the (whole?) story:

...In "Doubting Floyd," Dugard, who has covered the Tour de France since 1999, reveals his startling conclusions about the man who rode headlong into the center of the world doping controversy during the 2006 Tour with "the most daring and astonishing ride anyone could remember ... Just two days after being crowned champion, the Tour de France announced it no longer considered him the winner. The urine samples taken just after his ride into Morzine had tested positive. Rather than return to America as a hero -- like Lance -- Floyd did the perp walk on Leno and Larry King ... Floyd became a punch line."

It's a weird piece, where he says Floyd told him that "Lance doped", and concluding that he thinks Floyd did "it", without being clear what "it" is in question. We can probably assume he won't be getting a Christmas card from the Landis family this year.

The CyclingNews cops its now standard attitude towards Floyd Landis as it too cites yesterday's CAS announcement of next week's six day appeal hearing in New York City.

In later CyclingNews Christian Prudhomme reacts to an open letter to the ASO from Germany which states the obvious, cycling is in great danger..

The VeloNews says that the CAS hearings for Italian riders Danilo DiLuca and Alessandro Petacchi have been set. DiLuca's hearing will take place March 20, and Petacchi's on April 2.

In more VeloNews Patrik Sinkewitz is quoted as saying he did NOT pass "concrete" evidence on to officials about former T-Mobile teammates.

SI.com posts a story on steroids in America and wonders who the real dopes are, and how many are out there:

We are a nation looking for enhancement, a way to age gracefully, perform better and longer, and, at the outer edge, vanquish what was once considered that alltime undefeated opponent known as aging. We do that by Botoxing our wrinkles, lifting our faces, reconstructing our noses, despidering our veins, tucking our tummies, augmenting our breasts and taking a little pill to make sure we're ready when, you know, the right time presents itself. We also do it by injecting human growth hormone (HGH) and testosterone, America's new golden pharmaceutical couple

The NY Times reports links between a doctor in California who wrote illegal prescriptions, and several major league baseball players for whom he is alleged to have prescribed PEDs.

Passing
The founder of Trek Bicycles, Richard Burke, died Monday from complications of heart surgery in December. Good obits in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and the AP. TBV still rides his 1983 and '99 road bikes, and the '86 MTB. Mrs. TBV has an '84 road bike and an '85 MTB, all Treks made in Waterloo.

Blogs
Rant takes note of Floyd Landis' closed door last ditch CAS appeal next week, and he speculates that no matter what the outcome the damage done to Landis' career and reputation can likely never be repaired.

The picture painted by the first round of hearings was decidedly unpleasant. One thing became clear, once the case was turned over by USADA to their outside counsel, the focus was no longer on a search for the truth. It was on winning and losing, and doing whatever it takes to win. Fairness was not a part of the equation, at least not for Richard Young and company. Legal maneuvering was. And, to give the devil his due, Young and his associates in certain instances out-maneuvered Landis’ lawyers.

Je writes that though he has little sympathy for Floyd Landis, he hopes that Landis wins his CAS appeal next week so that the testing standards within WADA labs can be amended.

Max reveals optimistic sentiments about the forthcoming appeal hearing. We won't be placing any bets. As before, we're hoping for a reasoned and convincing decision either way, which we did not get the first time around.

Velo Vortmax writes "Doubting Dugard", disputing almost everything Martin Dugard has to say about Floyd Landis in his "expose" from OrangeCoast Magazine. This is a good response that will probably go unnoticed in the forthcoming hysteria about the Lance claim.