Wednesday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews announces that it's been made official, Astana's year won't pass by without any grand tours. It has been invited to the Vuelta. In other Astana news, former team member Alexander Vinokourov has been formally stripped of his stage victories from last year's Tour de France.

ESPN reports that Italian scientists are looking into the "technological doping" they insinuate is provided to those who wear the new Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit. The suit has been cleared twice for use by FINA. Maybe the Italians should have to suit's characteristics analyzed by the LNDD.

Apropos yesterday's NYT story on genetics affecting T/E tests, Tom Fine notes sagely:

The Times seems to have skipped half the story - that those with two of these genes are prone to false positives on the T/E test.

That little detail must not be of interest. So it goes.


In another ESPN story reported courtesy of Reuters, the CAS has upheld Danilo DiLuca's three month ban which has already been served. The CAS press release is here.

The Alessandro Petacchi CAS decision for excessive salbutamol use should be announced any day.

CAS also says the Pistorious arbitration hearing is over, now wait for an award. Rivkin won't have much record to go through with that one, since it was a one-day hearing. He still owes us his part of the forthcoming Landis award.

In more WADA news ESPN also says that the anti-doping agency is close to an agreement with Interpol which would allow the international police force to use it's resources to help in the fight to catch dope cheats. According to WADA General Director David Howman,

"We can see now that for little money those who are already carrying out their jobs under national legislation and so forth can gather evidence, share it with sport and make sure that those who are cheating are sanctioned."

But there's more from WADA president John Fahey, who characterizes the fight against doping at this summer's Olympic games as a struggle between the forces of light and darkness:

"There will be more tests this time than ever before and I think I can be very confident as WADA has evolved and got better in its expertise in the past eight years or so there will be a much more effective outcome in dealing with anyone who seeks to cheat"

"In the battle with the scientists, there's little doubt that the scientists who are actually working for the white knights are getting better all the time and countering the scientists who are working with the "other side"

Bicycling Magazine has a blog column by St. David Miller:

I then flew over to Montreal for the WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) Athletes Committee Meeting. This couldn't have come at a worse time considering how I was feeling physically, but I'm very glad I did go as it was productive and a good opportunity to put faces to the names I have corresponded with in the past. It's a very forward thinking and pragmatic organization and without it the future of all sport would be in serious jeopardy. I will save my Idiots Guide to Anti-Doping for another entry, but I will definitely supply one at some point as I think there is a serious lack of understanding regarding the anti-doping movement. It's a confusing world made simple by WADA and complicated by sports governing bodies and national sports agencies. Again, for another time...

We can hardly wait for his "Idiots" guide.

The VeloNews says that French legislators have toughened France's anti-doping laws with fines and jail time for offenders.

Members of Parliament adopted a new law which penalizes the possession and trafficking of doping products in sport with prison sentences and fines. Under the new measures offenders will receive up of five years in jail and a 75,000-euro fine, when it relates to drug trafficking, explained French Minister for Sport Bernard Laporte.

Blogs
Racejunkie wheels her way through this week's cycling buzz, with a special "shout out" to Astana who finally got into a grand tour, Vino? Vino who? While on the subject, just how long will it be before "baby" Contador takes his act elsewhere?

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Tuesday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews posts a short piece on a WADA symposium to be held in Sydney Australia on the "investigatory powers" of the organization:

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President, the Hon. John Fahey, and WADA's Director General David Howman will host a two-day symposium on the investigatory powers of anti-doping organizations this week in Sydney, Australia. The conference follows up on forums previously held in Colorado Springs in 2006 and in London in 2007. Invited participants will review draft information-sharing protocols with a view to finalizing them for the benefit of enhancing strategies to combat doping.

The NY Times gets around to the T/E test and genetics research, and has a quote and picture from the ubiquitous Don Catlin. It's a good overview, even if they waited for a slow news day to run it. (We had it on Mar 21.)


Blogs
Carlton Reid of QuickRelease.tv notes TBV's 1 million hits mark and says that his eyes have been opened to many injustices within the anti-doping hierarchy:

Whatever the rights and wrongs of cyclists who may or may not have doped, the Floyd Landis case opened a lot of people’s eyes - mine included - to the lynch-mob mentality and sometimes shoddy scientific method of the tax-funded anti-doping organizations.

Thanks for the nice obit Carlton! (We're not quite dead.)

Pete Sproul at The B Team tells his Whiskey story, coming in 2nd in the 25 proof Mens' open category. He actually finished third behind The Kid who was really 2nd in the 25 proof, except for the age split.

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Monday Roundup

News
The Hagerstown Morning Herald reports a movie is being made about mountain biking which will use actors and real cyclists. Wonder if they could use a gritty world class cyclist with a little time on his hands who can ride the road or the trails? Said rider is also mentioned briefly in the piece as having lost Cohutta last weekend. The description of the mud at the Pennsylvania race makes the 22mi and hour longer course in Prescott AZ sound much more pleasant.

TAS-CAS sends a press release announcing details for the appeal Oscar Pistorius, who wants to run in the Olympics with carbon fiber legs. We're interested because one of the arbs is David Rivkin, the USADA member of Landis' CAS panel. We don't know who picked him in this case. The hearing is set for 29-Apr; whether this delays or expedites the Landis award is to be seen.

Blogs
Fuzzy John got a two hour "interview" with Landis riding the Cohutta 100:

[W]e rode together for almost two hours. He's a pretty funny guy... here is a little of my interview with Floyd:

FuzzyJohn: What have you been doing lately?

Floyd Landis: hanging out with Lawyers.

FJ: Training through races really doesn't work for me...

FL: Try not training and partying, it doesn't work either.

FJ: What's you favorite part about Mountain bike races.

FL: you can stop at aid stations every 15 miles.

The Bikeworks Crew had quite a ride yesterday with "fun" had by all and memories of a 16 year old Floyd Landis shared by Travis.

Speaking of the Future, Dept.
At the Whiskey on Saturday, the "25 proof" junior was won by 13yr old Ryan Geiger in 2:36:07, ahead of a second place finisher at 4:08. The open men's category was won in 2:35:38, ahead of second place in 2:43. You kind of imagine the grown-up working real hard to stay ahead of that damned kid who was right behind him and wouldn't just go away.

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Sunday Roundup

News
The Daily Courier gives us the back story on yesterday's Whiskey Off Road bike race in Prescott,AZ in which Floyd Landis finished third.

Blogs
OneSpeeder ran the Whiskey yesterday, and thinks teammates Henry and Mortenson must have tactically ganged up on Landis when the three were alone together in the lead group.

SoCalTrailRiders Forum has some talk about the race, and some pix:

Start of the "50 proof" Whiskey yesterday (Photo: Kanga)

Whiskey 50 proof profile.

Toughnoodles finally got around to reading "Positively False" and even though she felt Landis was guilty when she started the read, after she was done she had changed her mind. She recommends the book.

Rant notes the original "users" of PEDs may be banning them in the future.

Racejunkie marvels at "the angel" Basso and how he seems to have wings that allow him to avoid what so many accused (or not accused) of so much have not. And how about that Liquigas team anyway?

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One Million!?

The accuracy is a little dubious, but the Sitemeter over there on the right went past one million this evening.

It is hard to believe.

I think, all things considered, that we'd all have preferred never to have had to go down this road, but it has been a trip that none of those involved will ever forget.

Everyone here is more or less winding down. There isn't that much news, nor much to say. After all the words, we suspect darned few people have changed their minds about a lot of things since, oh, about mid-August 2006. That's kind of sad, because a lot of information has become available -- but it has mostly been used to reinforce positions that had been pretty well locked in place in an instant.

Our hopes, at this point, are that

• Those with eyes will have learned that the WADA system is not setup to ensure substantive due process.
• Statements by Alphabet-soup organizations will be taken with skepticism similar to that given denials by athletes.
  
• The final award is made by CAS is be well-supported and logically consistent, unlike the AAA result.
• Subsequent events are perceived to be rational and fair.
  

We also hope that Floyd Landis and his family can eventually reach peace.

No one can ever say he gave up. Despite all the pressure, he's held his position of innocence since the beginning. He'll have paid all the penalty possible, and he's going to carry forward with that as baggage no matter what the underlying truth.

One step at a time he's had to make decisions, and we hope he feels that most of them were well-advised, well-considered, and well-chosen. There will always be nay-sayers who will point to any number of steps and say, "he shouldn't have done that", probably starting at becoming a professional bike racer. Where do we go now?

For all the complexity of the pro-cycling environment, it remains an exciting, beautiful, and multi-layered sport. Landis has the gift, and it sad not to see him there on the Brasstown Bald, doing it today.

As for TBV, the natural lifespan of this endeavor is probably coming to an end, at least on the daily basis. We started as a lark, to share things between Mr. and Mrs. TBV. We've been variously thrilled, shocked, and horrified at various times to find that anyone else cared.

Thanks to all who have contributed material, commentary, criticism, and support, especially Paula, who has been doing the heavy lifting on the daily posts for a very long time. Ride your bikes, watch the races, and know that life worth living has complexity and challenges. You don't always win, or figure it out, but you should give it your best shot without regret.

For me most of all, love to Mrs. TBV, who has been behind us all the way, even when it has been personally very difficult. As with many other things, we could never have known going in where it would lead.

TBV

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Saturday Roundup

Events
Prescott, AZ hosted the Whiskey Offroad MTB event today The 50 mile race was won by Jay Henry in 3:21, 10 minutes back in 2nd is Jimi Mortenson, followed 25 seconds later by some dude named Landis from Murrie, California.

Addicted To Bicycles has a summary and some pictures, with Landis only in studio action.

Bike Musings has a picture of the unexpected visitor:

As far as we know, Landis is not a member of the Landis Tri club.

News
The CyclingNews reports on more politics in cycling including: the withdrawal from AIGCP by Liquigas ostensibly premtively due to the signing of Ivan Basso, the call for "democracy" in cycling by Eric Boyer of the CPA, and the tale of two disgraced riders one of whom may be back in the game while the other calling it quits.

If you want to read an entertaining report on the Tour of Georgia check out The Boulder Report where Joe Lindsey gives his assessment of the "winners and losers" there as the race is wrapping up.

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Friday Roundup

News
The VeloNews reports on the signing of suspended Italian Ivan Basso by Liquigas. Basso's OP suspension for "intending" to dope ends on October 24, and his new contract is for two years. Fears are already being expressed in some circles that this will exclude Liquigas from some big cycling events next year.

The CyclingNews weekly letters column has some interesting comments on Greg LeMond and the other usual topics of discussion.

Blogs
Racejunkie notes the addition of the "angelic", or is that teflon coated, Ivan Basso to Liquigas, and ponders the "put on" fight against doping. You don't mean we're going though all of this Hell just for show, who knew?


MTBReview Forums note timing complications and a very controversial DQ of Will Black, the men's single-speed winner at Cohutta, days after the race and 15 minute protest period. This probably has something to do with why the results weren't posted until yesterday.

Will Black has his story and a followup.

The resulting declared winner, DJ, has his own race story, never mentioning WB, and talking about coming in second.

It seems from here to be a travesty, and a reason to have someone who understands the rules capable of enforcing them -- like a sanctioning body, perhaps. Hmmm, this swords cuts both ways. The rules seem to allow what he admits openly having done, getting food support from his wife at aid stations.

Philospher's Playground comes late to the game, and considers the Landis case game theoretically, with some confused facts that make it kind of hard to discuss on his terms.

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Thursday Roundup

Blogs
WADAwatch does a lengthy review of the LNDD, with focus on the Landis case, worth a look. In colors only WW's mother could love, some snips:

One of the great miscarriages of sports–doping 'justice', in our modern era, therefore, is in the USADA Majority's phrases, which treated Landis as an LNDD first offence. The Majority's words, as denuded of force, as agonizingly weak as one could possibly expect, from a body that must stand up for the Decisions it provides, ignored Landaluce. The Landis Panel, it must be admitted, failed to integrate the 19 December 2006 the simple fact of LNDD failures PRIOR to Landis, when it wrote:

“The Panel does, however note that the forensic corrections of the Lab reflect sloppy practice on its part. If such practises continue it may well be that in the future an error like this could result in the dismissal of an AAF finding by the Lab.”
[Majority Decision, para. 290, p. 77.]

...

There could not possibly be any more evidence needed, yet more should come from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, before June, that proves once and for all time, that the current structure and direction of the French Laboratoire nationale du dépistage du dopage should have its WADA accreditation revoked for a two–year period.

Recovox News posts a summary of the events of Cohutta, with yet another shot of Floyd Landis enjoying some solace in the river.

Shawn Adams posts his race story -- fell off the lead group on the 2nd single track climb and never got back.

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Wednesday Roundup

The Cohutta results are finally available:

Place Bib Name Team Age Time
1 147 Jeff Shalk Trek-VW 0 06:48:12
2 174 Daniel Vallancourt Toshiba/Santo 0 06:50:36
3 130 Evan Plews ScottUSA/CSC 0 06:58:31
4 158 Christian Tanguy American Cycle & Fitne 0 07:02:35
5 1 Chris Eatough Trek / VW 0 07:04:16
6 2 Harlan Price Independant Fabricatio 0 07:20:16
7 5 Gerald PFLUG Speedgoat/SPK/Salsa 0 07:23:30
8 4 Shawn Adams Lake Effect 0 07:23:42
9 9 Michael Simonson Quiring/Bells 0 07:27:12
10 3 josh tostado tostado 0 07:27:57
11 114 Ernesto Marenchin Speedgoat 0 07:33:31
12 68 Andrew Gorski Speedgoat/SPK/Salsa 0 07:38:05
13 24 Garth Prosser Sobe/Cannondale 0 07:38:46
14 64 Greg Gibson MTB Race News.Com 0 07:44:11
15 155 Charlie Storm Inland Construction 0 07:47:11
16 28 Andy APPLEGATE Inferno 0 07:48:57
17 6 Shey Lindner Sobe/Cannondale 0 07:58:00
18 144 Steve Schwarz Titus Cycles National T 0 08:01:01
19 99 Greg Kuhn Team Fraser 0 08:02:06
20 123 Jason Murrell Scotts Bicycle 0 08:03:28
21 153 david Sprinkle SCV 0 08:06:59
22 159 Matt Thourot Bicilibre 0 08:09:41
23 173 Rich O'Neal Mt. Nittany Wheelworks 0 08:17:53
24 72 David Hall Charleston Bicycle Com 0 08:17:55
25 41 Chris Scott 0 0 08:18:04
26 101 Floyd Landis Smith & Nephew 0 08:18:08
27 143 Mike Schultz Dirty Harrys/Highland T 0 08:21:45
28 105 Kyle Lawrence JV Squad 0 08:22:54
29 10 Ross Clark 0 0 08:23:17
30 93 Peter Joski Dedicated Athlete 0 08:28:13
31 39 Tony Brown Yerenoa.com 0 08:29:16
32 36 brian blair The Path Bike Shop 0 08:29:31

Sorry about the formatting, but we're getting lazy.

CyclingNews has a race covering story, perhaps delayed by the results, with another pic of Landis in the river with non-sponsored recovery beverage in hand

The first 35 miles was punctuated by small accelerations off the front from Vaillencourt, Plews and Shalk. Price, Eatough, Landis and Beck were content to stay steady and pull back up as the attackers slowed after their initial bursts.

Beck was the first of the group to go off the back after chain suck ripped his derailleur off. The forest road's constant roller style of terrain coupled with the attacks from the front group minimized the amount of drafting, and forced everyone into a heavy work load. Landis would prove to be the next casualty to the terrain, weather and pace. To the surprise of everyone, he dropped during the first big climb around mile 30.

News
The VeloNews says Jorge Jaksche, whose suspension ends on June 30th, will give himself until July to find a new ride:

Jaksche said: "If I have not found anything by July, I will have to be honest with myself. I can't and have no desire to wait forever.The UCI and race organizers have said they are not against my return but nobody wants someone who has spit in the soup."

The AP reports the other members of the Women's relay team with Jones are considering appealing the decision that would make them return their medals. The USOC is offering to pay for their representation, if they select one of three offered attorneys, one of whom is... Maurice Suh, with no other names mentioned.

What to make of that, do you suppose? He must not have burned bridges with the IOC with the Landis and Gatlin defenses, both of which he has basically completed - they are fully plead and awaiting award. There's still the matter of John Doe (LeGrande?) hanging around. Does USOC think (a) the case can be won, and they should defend the US athletes; (b) the case is a toss-up, and they should defend the US athletes; or (c) the case is a loss, and they want to provide enough defense not to be seen as non-supportive of US athletes? In any event, USOC must believe Suh is now sufficiently familiar with the law and process of athletic appeals to be able to take the case without much costly learning curve -- even at big firm, LA Law rates.

We'll bet two years ago that Suh had not imagined that athletic advocacy would emerge as one of his litigation specialties.


Blogs
Rant writes about WADA's "about face" on the LaTasha Jenkins case, and wonders how/why evidence that has now caused the case to be dropped was not present before the case was first heard, or Jenkins was first accused. Good questions.

Matt Ferrari got a late start at Cohutta, but got psyched at the end:

I had to slog through several miles of pancake flat road into aid station 5 that soaked the motivation out of me. But pulling into aid 5 I spotted Floyd Landis filling up a bottle. Filled with adrenaline at the thought of beating the tour champ I grabbed a quick fill and motored out of the stop. I paid for that move over the next few miles as I worked in and out of debilitating cramps, but managed to keep turning and held my lead against the big man.

One word is that Landis was out for a weekend ride and wasn't trying very hard. Maybe he'll post a story on FloydLandis.com to quell speculation. Hint, hint.

Stanley Olerenshaw doesn't believe any cyclist anymore, blaming in particular Virenque, Pantani, Riis, Hamilton, Landis, and Millar -- and is now carrying particular suspicion of Lance.

RaceJunkie points us to the Iban Mayo blog, announcing a May 21 date for the announcement of the award in his case. More amusing is the poll at the side of the page:

	What's CAS up to?
	Having a beer
	Asking the UCI what to do
	Facebook
	Studying Iban's case
	Sleeping
polls

Poll really at Iban Mayo's English blog - not here!

TBV voted for social networking at Facebook, with the rest of the Olympic clubbers. Most voters are thinking the arbs are at the pub.

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Tuesday Roundup

News
Gwinnett Herald (GA), in a piece titled "Is Professional Cycling Dead", starts discussing Floyd with this howler:

A former teammate of Lance, Landis moved on to team CSC to try his own hand at becoming a tour winner a few years before Lance retired.

Let's count the errors. (1) He went to Phonak, not CSC; (2) he was hired at a Lieutenant, not a team leader with prospects of trying for a win; (3) it was exactly one year before Lance retired.

Anyway, the author is glad to be able to follow the local ToG, and the headline isn't reflected in the body of the piece at all.

[Update: It's fixed now, with the power of Winston Smith-ing. The headline still has nothing to do with the article, though.]

The AP/Phillip Hersh reports that WADA has dropped its appeal of the LaTasha Jenkins case, which she won at the initial hearing with support from Michael Straubel's Valparaiso clinic.

Blogs
Danielle Musto finishes her Cohutta report with what sounds to be a courageous effort, and with a completely messed up knee she was at one point only one hour behind Floyd Landis.

Racejunkie feels teams will never be held responsible for their part in recent doping scandals. Yes Virginia let's face it, they are happy to leave their riders twisting slowly in the wind.

MTB Race News recycles Gregy's Cohutta reports, absent the slams. In comments, Gregy' says MTB Race news came first, then his blog report with added spice. We stand corrected.

Solo Goat says rumors are floating about Floyd Landis. They say he's on the fitness "down low" until he can race again next year, then watch out. Rumors that Landis stars in the "Tour de French Toast" commercials from IHoP may be exaggerated.

Dave Hall says he pipped Landis and Chris Scott at the line for 24th. He offers this Sun Tzu as his blog motto:

"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."

Steroid Report talks about LaTasha Jenkins.

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Monday Roundup

News
CyclingNews has a brief report of Cohutta, saying Landis fell off a lead group of seven on the second climb.

Blogs
Danielle Musto posts Part 2 in her pain filled story of the grueling Cohutta 100, staring is still not polite though completely understandable.

Biking Zen has his race report, with another view of Danielle's day.

How hard? Bike Man shares this fractured syntax description of a friend beating Landis up a hill, and a picture of the bathing utility of the river:

The big surprise was when Floyd Landis and Daveyboy started a long climb together. That is right the former Tour Day France winner and Daveyboy started a climb together. Any body that knows Daveyboy can perdict what would happen on this climb. Image The Tour Day France winner and you on a climb in your back yard. Every time I have ridden with Daveyboy he would drop dead to stay in front me finishing a climb. No one beats Daveyboy to the top of the Mountain. May be nine out of ten times Floyd would crash Daveyboy, but not today. Today was Daveyboy's day. Daveyboy with high RPM's left Floyd Landis on the climb. During the climb Floyd told Daveyboy to shift down your RPM's are way to high! I can tell you just added more fuel to the fire and Daveyboy's legs just kicked up even faster. Daveyboy finished fourteen minutes ahead of Landis and waited for Floyd to finish. Landis showed character as he finished the race and just wanted to sit in the river and gave Daveyboy a hug and said you are one Hell of rider. Landis said this was the race he had ever competed in and it was hard. I respect this guy for being a humble competitor.

Muddy Floyd becomes Wet Floyd. (photo: Bike Man)

Shawn Adams finished 8th, and says, " It rained for 3hrs of the 7hr race and we finished only 3min slower than last year. "

Gregy Gibson eventually finished 14th, and gives a report at his blog, with a different version at MTB Race News,

The man to beat before the race started was not last years winner and multi world champion Chris Eatough, but Floyd Landis. Everybody started at the front, for a chance to take out '' the man." The race begun on a paved road that went uphill for a mile or so before diving into muddy single track. the early morning rain kept the riders cool and the trail slippery. All the racers jockied for those front positions on the tight trail, but all that work didn't seem to matter as the course turned into 80 miles of climbing on a wide open gravel road. At about mile 30 I passed Floyd, he looked done and was going backwards fast. I don't know what his story was, but the novelty of his presence at the race quickly dissolved.

The man who stole the show for the day was Jeff Shalk riding for Trek VW, almost matching the time set by his teammate Eatough last year on a dyer faster course. Jeff beat the fastest group of guys ever compiled at a 100 mile race.

Lest anyone think everyone was happy to see Landis, Gregy's blog continues:

my opinion on the whole thing is this , HE IS SUSPENDED , HE SHOULDN'T EVEN BE RACING, HE WAS DETERMINED TO BE GUILTY OF USING PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS. HIS SUSPENSION WAS FOR TWO YEARS AND IT HASN'T BEEN TWO YEARS YET.

Cohutta isn't a USACycling race, so this must be a "moral" argument. A comment about this on his blog post is hung in moderation. [Update: comments there point this out, so far without argument.]

Solon Cycling's report says:

I don't care what you think of the 2006 Tour, or Landis, that all gets forgotten when you are in the presence of someone like that. He's got no attitude, no peacocking around, just a guy that showed up to race his bike. Ross even got to trail him for a while on the road climb

...
[A Solon rider] was able to fight back to a top 25 finish...just about 10 minutes behind Floyd who ended up bonking around the 35 mile mark, and if not for another rider friend, would have pulled out of the race.

Highland Training writes:

Jeff Schalk never looked back after sprinting over the first hill of the day and went on to win in an amazing 6:48 time on a wet combination of trails and forest roads. Eatough finished 5th for the day and Tour Legend Floyd Landis finished 1:30 back of the lead.

That's one hour, thirty minutes back. Yow. We haven't heard a story, and maybe we won't if it sounds like excuses. Guess he wasn't the strongest guy, and needs more training and fewer Krispy Kremes. Or more Krispy Cremes that morning, if he bonked at mile 30 as the reports above suggest. Doh!

At rec.bicycles.racing, someone snarked,

His results in the local MTB races demonstrates that he has essentially lost the will to fight anymore.

We don't know about that - he's got enough anger for that to be his sole motivation (like it worked for Lance) - but he needs to take the training more seriously to be competitive. The locked-in-a-room hearing last month couldn't have helped conditioning.

Stephen raced the Cohutta 100 too, despite his better instincts. It took him awhile to get Floyd Landis' autograph, but he eventually managed it despite Floyd's "posse". Stephen took the picture below.

Floyd Landis with "entourage". Must not have been enough nutrition in that Hammer bag.

Bad Idea Racing has a report that approaches poetry.

Part Five
Checkpoint 5.2

I saw a man in a chair at the side of the road, and when I gave him the nod he asked me if I wanted a beer.

"Cold?" I asked.
"Of course" he replied, as if it were a silly question.

I dumped my bike in the ditch and graciously accepted the 16 oz Keystone Light.

At the SORBA Forum thread, Roadhard starts a report sounding like TBV:

I had a good first 100 feet in the 35. The race winner, Janson (age 13) passed me fairly soon on that 3 mile blacktop climb.

Mark D, whose pictures we highlighted yesterday, has his own long report, relating the desire to strangle an eight year old girl. He offers this description:

I finally make it to rest stop 5 and am told theres a 3 mile climb coming up.Theres a racer sitting there leaned up against a tree who looks like a total zombie.The entire time I was at the rest stop his expression never changed.He was just staring into space.
...
I can't believe how long it takes to cover 10 measly miles."Is this f'n rest stop EVER going to get here"?"When will these hills stop?!!!!"Can I make it??!!!!I think it was about this time that I made up my mind that if I ever finished this god forsaken ride that my racing days were over.'I'm finished" I proclaimed to myself.I don't think I have cussed that long or that hard ever.
...
I was almost finished but I wanted off this bike and I wanted off right this minute!!!!!I want my mommy !!!!!!
...
Crossing under that finish line was the greatest feeling in the world and once again reminded me why I do stuff like this.

Funny thing is not 4 hours later I was already thinking about next year.

Of course!


Blue Basin has some photo galleries.


from other blogs...

Bike Radar/ProCycling News blog tries to debunk another explanation for the Landis case -- the "Procycling Cover Curse", which they hope isn't about to bite Cunego, like it seemed to bite Landis, Basso, Ullrich, Evans and Hincapie before.

A Weekly Reader found "Positively False" nothing more than part of a Floyd Landis PR campaign.

UltraRob has a few words about LeMond's appearance in Colorado Springs.

Erik believes in Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis and as a lawyer feels Floyd should be riding today. He wants to see Tyler tear everyone's legs off at the Tour of Georgia, no matter what transpired in the past.

Full Post with Comments...

Sunday Roundup

Blogs
Danielle Musto writes a decidedly succinct Cohutta 100 race report that may just speak for Floyd Landis' experiences there yesterday as well. She says there will be more to come. We await race reports and images.

Endless Cycle has us all back in the square waiting, waiting...

SoloGoat says he passed Landis near the second feed stop, and finished 11th.

Mark Duffus has posted a flickr album:

One of Landis' drop bags, looking minimal. (photo: Duffus)

Wet at the start, and everybody looks cleaner than they do afterwards.
SoloGoat (114), Landis (101), and Harlan Price (2).(Photo: Duffus)

Diary of a Bike Man posts some proof that Floyd Landis survived the Cohutta 100 with promises of more to come, see below.



SORBA Forums have a thread of Cohutta stories. Mark D's post here captions pictures correctly. Xtanker writes:

Highlights of the race:
-The eventual 1st and 2nd place finishers rolled by me like I was standing still.
-Etough came by, I asked if he needed help with anything, like force a guy off the road. He laughed and said "that guy" and pointed behind him.
- Landis rolled by as I cracked my first beer and just said "Did I win". It was pretty funny at the time.
-Sitting in the river when it was over.

Sounds like a wet mud-fest, with complaints about chain suck frequently made.

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Saturday Roundup

Course profile of the Cohutta 100

Early Results from MTBRaceNews, from a tip by 5-iron:

Preliminary Results

Men

1. Jeff Schalk (Trek/VW) 6.48
2. Daniel Balientourd (Toshiba Road Team)
3. Evan Plews (Scott)
4. Christian Tanguy (American Cycle)
5. Chris Eatough (Trek/VW)
6. Harlan Price (Independent Fabrications)
7. Gerald Pflug (Speedgoat)
8. Sean Adams ( Lake Effects)
9. Michael Simonson
10. Josh Tostado (Giant)

Floyd Landis finished outside the top-twenty, MTBracenews reporter Greg Gibson (Union College) finished 14th

We await details, assuming some spectacular mechanical, crash, or explosion.

Earlier...

Floyd Landis is taking part in the Cohutta 100 which started this morning at 7:00AM EDT near the Georgia/Tennessee border. Thus far there is no news available on what is happening, but if any comes our way we'll be sure to pass it along.

Colorado Springs Gazette sings the praises and hosannas of a Greg LeMond appearance for the Air Force Academy Cycling Team.

Blogs
Rant ponders the Di Luca case in which the cyclist was cleared of suspicions he doped by CONI, but who really knows what the "truth" is in this matter?

Rant also notes yesterday's deadline for final submissions in the Landis CAS appeal, and he wishes Floyd good luck in the Cohutta 100! Go get 'em indeed.

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Friday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews' letters column contains a variety of interesting topics for perusal today.

Velonews has an interview with Chris Horner, where he talks about Floyd winning the tour with an inferior team but superior race tactics. No quibbles, "when Floyd won..." (tip from an emailer).

Blogs
WADAwatch got a polite response from CAS about its Amicus brief in the Landis arbitration, being nicely told to take it and jump in a lake. No surprise there.

Bad Idea Racing has taken blog title to heart and decided to race Cohuta on a fixed gear. He also muses:

Hmmmmmm... I see Dejay, Fuzzy, and Floyd Landis all got in after the registration filled up. Ahhhhhhhhhh.... to be one of the bigs. Do you think a limo picks them up at the airport, or are they helicoptered straight to the venue?

Velo Vortmax thinks that USADA's "Project Believe" is something athletes should be very wary of, and they should be very afraid. Now in order to obtain an AAF all the anti-doping agencies will need is an indication that something in a participant's basic blood or urine chemistry has changed:

How many more promising athletic careers will be destroyed? How many more lives? Changes in biological parameters of urine and blood without a locus cannot substitute for a positive test for exogenous performance enhancing substances. Think. A "biological passport" scheme to detect doping in absence of a "positive test" is useless. Longitudinal tests should only be used when a WADA lab result is inconclusive, or in cases where a valid concern exists that the Adverse Analytical Finding was caused by a departure in International Standards by a WADA accredited lab.

Hammonds and Hausmann (french) describe TAS/CAS, and cites Richard McLaren as one of the notable arbitrators. CAS hears about 22 cases a year.

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Thursday Roundup

Cohuta
Some reports from last year's Cohuta 100 make it sound like a good course for Landis this Saturday. CyclingNews described it as 30 miles of single track with 70 miles of fire-road climbing. Namrita wanted bigger gears for flat sections. Brandon Draugelis finished 3rd and wrote a tactical report. Kevin Daum (27th) also chips in with some more report links, including The Results.

News
ESPN posts an AP report on the creation of a USADA program that will establish a longitudinal voluntary study of athletes' blood chemistry in order to determine baseline values for subsequent PED testing. Few details are available at this time, though several athletes who have been asked to participate have talked about the testing regimen. The study seems to be based on cycling's "bio-passport" program, the ubiquitous Don Catlin comments:

Don Catlin, an anti-doping expert and one of the foremost authorities on longitudinal testing, said the theory behind the USADA project is solid, a "much more powerful technique than simply taking one slice in time.

"It's no surprise that good athletes, clean athletes, will jump up and down for this thing," Catlin said. "That's great. It's about time they started doing something. So now, it's 'OK, it's here, it's now.' And I'm sure there are going to be issues about how to get on the program."

There is very little actual information about this program released. Who is paying for it, for one thing. What protections are there for an athlete participating? Apparently results can be used for AAF charges by USADA.

The CyclingNews reports that despite having served a suspension for testosterone use, New Zealand cyclist Jeremy Yates will not be allowed to participate in the Olympics this summer"

"I love representing my country and ultimately I paid the highest price (two-year) possible for an athlete who is dedicated to his sport," Yates told Radio Sport. "I have served my ban and I – and my family – suffered because of that. I feel I have already paid the price."

Blogs
Dave Hall will not be intimidated by Floyd Landis' presence at the Cohutta 100 on Saturday, he just wants to beat his time from last year. Good luck to everyone who is entered.

Racejunkie notes some inconsistencies in the handling of Italian cases, and generally continues to make like Lewis Black.

As for Liquigas, which tossed Di Luca aside like an empty Budweiser can at a teen-jock beerfest at the first sign of trouble? Natch, blaming everyone but themselves for the loss of someone so clearly unfairly persecuted. Um, such sincerity still won't buy out his contract from LPR, boys! Still, depending on how embarrassed the narcs are, they can always appeal to CAS, which, given the lightning speed at which the we love Iban Mayo and Floyd "Either Way, I'm Hosed" Landis proceedings are going, ought to settle the issue just in time for Di Luca to ride off into semicomfortable retirement in his dapper late middle age.

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Wednesday Roundup

Quote of the Day, pragmatic guidance dept:

Beer: Forest Service does not want to see cans or bottles of beer in plain view.

Cohutta Race information, emphasis added.
(Be sure to bring your brown paper bags.)

News
The VeloNews flashes that Danilo DiLuca has been cleared of doping charges by The Italian Olympic Committee’s court of last resort:

Earlier this month, the court delayed its decision to allow three scientists to further evaluate the sample. On Wednesday, the court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prove a violation.

The charge against Di Luca represented something of a departure from traditional laboratory analysis, in that the rider was charged on the basis of abnormal readings rather than on the presence of a banned substance or its metabolites.

The World Anti-Doping Agency and the UCI have the option of appealing the decision to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Monterey Herald talks about the history of the Sea Otter, referring to Landis as a Tour de France winner who competed there. (Landis' 2003 appearance there wasn't exactly a happy one.)

CounterPunch says ASO's treatment of Astana is a collective punishment that is mis-aimed:

The ASO's use of collective punishment will soon erode the trust between teammates as pressures to snitch on teammates suspected of doping will increase. Collective punishment not only punishes innocent team members who have done nothing wrong, but it rots the team camaraderie needed for bicycle teams to compete.

This new level of collective punishment moves the responsibility for individual doping from the individuals to team names. The consequences of individual doping are now apparently to be shared by all -- even to be shared by those who weren't even on the team when violations occurred. Imagine if the baseball commissioner decided that he was cracking down on steroids by declaring that any team on which José Canseco played would be banned from league play for a year. Or imagine the commissioner declaring that the Yankees were banned from league play for a year because Roger Clemens' prominence in the Mitchell Report.

Blogs
Mark D previews this Saturday's NUE Cohutta 100 in which Floyd Landis will take part.

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Tuesday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews says German prosecutor Fred Apostel is certain Jan Ullrich doped no matter what the terms of Ullrich's deal said, or didn't say. In addition to claiming Ullrich doped the prosecutor also conceded that Jan had probably paid enough for his "crime". The statements, as can be imagined, went down very badly with Ullrich's attorney, and it seems the powers that be are not done with Ullrich yet.

The VeloNews mailbag is full of Greg LeMond related comments, both pro and con.

Blogs
Sara Best has decided to pack it in and get on with her busy life, sounds like a wonderful idea. Good luck Sara, and thanks for all the commentary as well as the safe harbor.

Rant is catching up on a bit of cycling news after working hard to get Dope ready for publication, despite rumors to the contrary he has not fallen off the face of the earth.

Bikesnob bemoans Hincapies' yearly dubious equipment choice, and explains race tactics for the rest of us as recalibrating expectations. This is like "bogey golf", where you are trying to make bogey on every hole, hoping for a 90 on a par-72 course.

Fatty puts into perspective why cycling is just cycling, and not the end all be all. Good luck Susan!

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Monday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews says that Jan Ullrich has accepted a "deal" with German prosecutors in which he pays a hefty fine under his fraud case, but by doing so he admits no guilt in the matter. In other "dopingnews" a Spanish judge refuses to turn over one bag of blood, crucial to the investigation of Operation Puerto, to the CAS:

According to the Reuters news agency, the CAS had requested the bag of blood in order to have a DNA comparison made. It is in connection with the appeal by the UCI and the World Anti-Doping Agency of the Spanish Cycling Federation's claims that Alejandro Valverde was not connected to Operación Puerto. The Spanish cyclist has denied any involvement in the doping scandal.

Blogs
HarrisonK is refining his TT position and reviews what he considers the two dominant styles cyclists use to ride TTs.

Pommi describes what sounds like quite a ride yesterday with someone who likes to go fast.

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Sunday Roundup

CyclingNews live coverage of Paris-Roubaix. Boonen wins a sprint in the stadium, tweaking Cancellara and Ballan; Maaskant of Slipstream 3'39" behind, then O'Grady at 3'56". Hincapie continued to be cursed, finishing ninth at 5'12", having a broken wheel just as the ultimately winning break of eight split the pack.

TBV, Pommi and some friends are out for a little ride, so don't expect much here today.

Monetize This gives us a plug, shamelessly trolling for link love-- but it is funny.

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Saturday Roundup

News
The Boulder Report makes a clarification or two and revisits the past with an apology to Greg LeMond fans.

The CyclingNews says the UCI is questioning the commitment of the peloton to a "clean sport".

The VeloNews writes Rock Racing has filed a lawsuit against the Tour of Georgia in an attempt to force its organizers to allow RR to race in the event.

VeloNews also reports a 1 million euro fine has been placed on Jan Ullrich for defrauding the public:

Prosecutors accused the 1997 Tour de France winner of taking performance-enhancing drugs, leading under German law to fraud charges against the 34-year-old on the basis he deceived the public, sponsors and his team.

Blogs
Science Fiction Twin will be incommunicado until 4/21 and will miss TBV among other cycling news outlets.

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Friday Roundup

Blogs
WADAwatch wonders if recent comments by ex-WADA presidential candidates indicates the need for an investigation by WADA into some form of dementia caused by association with the agency

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Thursday Roundup

Quote of the Day

(out of context, dept.)

Some part of me thinks, "Surely the people in charge are smarter than that." Then I remember that great line about the Nixon administration, and people in power in general, from All the President's Men: "The truth is these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand."

link

News
The Highland Community News posts a sports article in which a spectator at the Redlands Bicycle Classic proclaims her faith in Floyd Landis' innocence. It also says Landis is from Menifee, CA, which might be a helpful spell-check correction from Murrieta. Or not.

The CyclingNews letters column covers the UCI v. ASO and lots about the Trek vs LeMond war. Too bad no one talks about cycling anymore.

Not to be outdone, Velonews' mailbag is likewise replete with comment on the Trek/LeMond story.

Blogs
Fatty posts over at Bike Radar and in a letter to Greg LeMond and Trek, he splits up the assets of the "marriage". But why should LeMond get to hammer Floyd Landis at will? This clause may need some tinkering.

Rant gives some more perspective on the Trek/LeMond break up, and notes that it's all about appearances and perceptions in business no matter which side of this issue opinions fall on.

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Wednesday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews reviews the LeMond/Trek lawsuits revealed yesterday with some historical perspective. Speculation abounds that LeMond's response to Trek's assertions is expected today.

The Boulder Report writes about the acrimonious, and unsurprising, lawsuits filed by Greg LeMond and Trek. Joe Lindsey notes that it involves much more than just the bottom line, it's intensely personal:

With this story's convoluted tangle of business interests, money and personal feelings, it may take months or even years to sort out the specifics. In the meantime, it will continue to be an open wound on the sport and the bike business. Whichever party you feel is in the right, (Trek president John) Burke was dead-on when he said "Today is a sad day for American cycling."

Lindsey pointedly notes that Trek's sales chart LeMond bikes offered in support of their position stops at 1999, which makes it kinda hard to see what the trend has been lately.

In more of The Boulder Report Joe Lindsey continues his posts about the Greg LeMond/Trek story, and admits his bias to liking LeMond, even though Joe doubted many of LeMond's claims of doping cyclists early on.

ESPN posts an AP report in which new WADA president John Fahey cautions those who would cheat the HGH tests not to even try it:

"I suppose my greatest fear is that cheats get away with it," Fahey said. "What I want is an effective system that will find the cheats."

Blogs
The Radfords reminisce about a July which now seems long long ago, and then snark about Floyd Landis' current state of employment.

Tyler Ford considers "Positively False" one of his top ten cycling reads.

Steroid Report/Gary Gaffney adopts LeMond's posture on the law suits, that it is all about covering up Lance's (alleged) doping. Comments run the other way.

Bike Radar does the same, cited by Gaffney.

The Chutry Experient saw "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" and found it interesting on many levels. He notes the sympathetic interview contained in the movie with Floyd Landis.

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Tuesday Roundup

Bikepocalypse Now!

- Stephen Colbert, possibly

News
Velonews (pointer from Fritz) says Trek is (counter-)suing Greg LeMond to terminate their business relationship, this a few weeks after LeMond sued Trek, again. The lovefest is clearly over. VN does a good job pointing to the primary documents:

• [trekbikes.com] Trek Declaratory Judgment filing — April 8, 2008 (PDF)
  (Contains inflammatory comments by others about LeMond reflecting loss of brand value, and appends the'95 Trek/Lemond Agreement)
• [trekbikes.com] Greg LeMond December 8, 2004 Complaint (PDF)
  
• [trekbikes.com] Greg LeMond March 20, 2008 Complaint (PDF)
  

The last is interesting, in a train-wreck kind of way. In paragraph 49 on page 10, it begins allegations about Lance Armstrong, which continue through paragraph 88 on page 18; Para 141 on p 29 begins charges about Armstrong being a Trek shareholder of improper influence against LeMond; Landis reference in para 148.)

As discovery request 18 on page 12 of an appendix, it asks for,

All documents relating to professional cyclists' actual or alleged use of performance enhancing drugs, including Trek's communications relating to the same, doping allegations relating to Armstrong or any other professional cyclist, and Dr. Ferrari.

This is the meltdown. The closeouts on LeMond brand bikes will be starting soon.

The Trek media page has more,

• Press Release - Trek to Immediately Sever Relationship with Greg LeMond - April 8, 2008 (PDF)
• Presentation by John Burke to Trek Employees/Media About the Announcement - April 8, 2008 (PDF)
• Summary of Trek Relationship with Greg LeMond, 1995-2008 — April 8, 2008 (PDF)

Local coverage in the Milwaukee Journal.

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AP/Yahoo reports some results in "Oil for Drugs" cases: Mazzoleni, 2 years; Quagliarello life ban on second offense. Mazzoleni was 3rd in last year's Giro.

Blogs
Racejunkie is going to be computer-free for a few days and wants us to ponder a number of things in her absence among them the guilt, or innocence, of Floyd Landis. Haven't we pondered that enough already?

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Monday Roundup

Blogs
Rant writes about the Tammy Thomas case and how the perjury conviction there might effect other doping cases in the future.

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Sunday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews reports this morning that a deal in the Jan Ullrich investigation from September 2006 may have been struck and that materials seized from his Swiss home will likely be turned over to German authorities later this week.

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Saturday Roundup

Note the candle harpoon.

News
This'll be the last we go into Tammy Thomas case and conviction. SF Chronicle (who broke the BALCO story) Story I says Bonds should be worried; Story II/Knapp says not. Also at Bloomberg, AFP, and Reuters.

Virginia Gazette thinks the Landis case has been a wild ride, more interesting than the Tour de France has been.

Blogs
Racejunkie riffs on Members of the Court.

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Members of the Court

In a comment, Bill Hue wrote (with a a little copy editing):

In the last sentence from the Cyclingnews.com article, we read,

Pound, Briner and Werner will remain members of the court

This apparently confirms what a number of journalists suspected but could not write with absolute certainty because confirmation was always witheld ........... Dick Pound IS a member of the CAS Court and has been for some time, including the time during which he was Chair of WADA.

Richard Young is also a member of that court (confirmed at his web site). CAS is hopelessly compromised.

That is sad but after all, there are only a few individuals who know the true joy of sport, its unique aspects and the application of sporting "fact" to skewed "principals" of legal due process as they choose to define it (because it is so unique and not understandable to non-sportsmen).

Their world is quite small. We have to accept their draftsmanship of rules, with their prosecution of cases they feel constitute a violation of rules they created and their judging of their own draftsmanship,decision to prosecute and application of "law" they created to cases they deem a violation of those "laws".

Now we understand that they also and finally review their decisions as appellate judges of their own draftsmanship, prosecution, and application of their law to cases they prosecute as violations of that law.

It is small wonder that Richard Young is so adamant about the "guilt" of athletes he prosecutes to the point where he virtually testifies himself. He wrote the law. He knows the standards he wrote. He knows HIS laws and standards were violated.

As judge, he would know much more about the subject matter than pesky things like presentation of evidence and cross examination and credibility of witnesses and impartial evaluation of science.

How in the world can this system be accepted by ANYONE as fair and impartial???? The facts that an athlete "wins" on occasion cannot negate the appearance of and actual conflict of interest inherent in this bizarre adjudicative system

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Friday Roundup

News
SJ Mercury News reports Tammy Thomas was convicted of perjury for denying taking steroid in the BALCO case.

The CyclingNews quietly notes Dick Pound's failure to attain the presidency of the CAS.

In more CyclingNews it appears that Astana is not unwelcome everywhere, it has a race to compete in in July in Austria. It has been invited to the Österreich Rundfahrt and the director of the race acknowledges that the team has done all it can to ameliorate past sins by cleaning up its and cycling's image. Since March Madness has spilled into April perhaps the analogy for Astana of getting an invite to the NIT, rather than the "big dance", is apt.

ESPN posts a Reuters story on the Greek weightlifting team and PED use, apparently cycling isn't the only sport with "problems".

The AFP reports Parric Clerc's response to accusations by Pat McQuaid that the ASO is attempting to usurp the UCIs position as the world cycling federation:

McQuaid recently suggested that Tour bosses had threatened riders with not being invited to the July race if they did not race Paris-Nice, which Clerc denied.


"ASO is not using the Tour de France as an instrument of blackmail to the riders, managers or sponsors," he added. "The Tour is the number one cycling event in the world and has always promoted strong values of equality and friendship.

In the meantime the CPA may have to sue the FFC for answers about why 2007 Tour de France riders have not been paid in full. And so it goes.

Blogs
Velo Vortmax read the recently published study by Dr. Jenny Jakobsson Schultz on genetic variants and their effects on t/e ratios and is appalled at WADA's stubbornness to accept that the standard ratio of 4:1 indicating use of exogenous testosterone may be faulty. But, Vv feels WADA's intractability on that issue is only one of many problems which usurp its credibility:

No matter. WADA world can't even agree among the laboratories as to what criteria constitutes a positive IRMS result. The WADA Technical Documents are vague. Testosterone metabolites measured are selected at random. Uncertainty in measurement(s) are ignored. Laboratory personnel are unqualified in testing sequences, inexperienced, prone to make errors. But WADA will never invest the money needed to correct these problems. Why? Because WADA would rather budget to pay for prosecutions against athletes who appeal their bad lab results. WADA would rather defend idiots like Dick Pound from lawsuits. WADA would rather waste time with nonsense than to invest in hard science.

The Steroid Report is also highly critical of WADA's current testing practices and its apparent inability to adjust its thinking in line with new scientific implications:

The unreliability of the testosterone:epitestosterone ratio test (T:E ratio) and WADA’s insistence on its infallibility only further undermines the credibility of WADA

NewmaForma has faced some incredibly awful injuries, one of which mirrors Floyd Landis' hip fracture.

Carlton Reid over at Quickrelease.tv wonders what poor Dick Pound will do now?

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Thursday Roundup

News
WADAwatch scoops us (and steals our format, which we don't mind):

Several journals have reported that Dick Pound has lost the CAS presidency, which may negate the rest of this column.

Pound loses bid to become CAS president (Globe and Mail)

Auletta beats Pound to CAS role (BBC - who wins BEST HEADLINE PUN(S))

Mino Auletta elected president of Court of Arbitration for Sport (IHT)

Having served its purpose, we now expect the UCI to withdraw its suit against Mr. Pound before it gets really expensive (hiring actual litigators) and truly embarrasing (having testimony). Which reminds us to wonder, did paperwork ever get filed, or did the UCI only make an announcement of intent to do so?

ESPN says WADA is upping the ante, it will perform out of competition HGH tests leading up to the Olympics this summer. The announcement was made by WADA's David Howman partly to deter athletes from making the choice to use HGH. The piece also reveals a bit more about the manufacture of the test, it is believed that it is being produced in Germany after a deal with an American company fell through, and about how the test performs:

The window for detecting HGH use has been limited to a period of 48 to 72 hours, giving athletes a chance to avoid detection by stopping in time for any traces to clear their system. Howman said the test has been "enhanced" but declined to elaborate.


Howman said the HGH test has been validated both on a scientific level and on a legal basis to ensure it stands up against any court challenge

The CyclingNews notes the CAS decision in the Alessandro Petacchi case, heard yesterday, will likely be announced next month, and Frank Vandenbrouke appears to be in trouble, again.

In an earlier edition of the CylingNews the ASO/UCI/French cycling federation battle rages on with Paris-Roubaix at the center of some discussion now.

CyclingNews' letter column has a few interesting comments on the war between Pat McQuaid and the ASO and Rock Racing's troubled season gets a few choice words from readers as well.

The VeloNews has done it again, it "fooled" quite a few readers with its April Fool's Day nonsense, and it has the letters to prove it.

An emailer points us to The Economist, which has a review of the Genetic T/E report, with this illustration:


It concludes with a suggestion that athletes carry a genetic profile with them to Beijing in case they are accused of a T/E violation. We think the Economist doesn't understand how WADA adjudication works, or they are joking.

Blogs
Racejunkie appreciates the SciAm article on doping, which is about game theory, not testing science. As an attorney, RJ doesn't understand IRMS separation fractions, but she does understand the workings of greed, er, "maximized outcomes." We look forward to her sprightly examination of the Nash Equilibrium as applied to the peloton.

Rant has been doing some thinking about a couple of items from yesterday one of which is the credibility of the newly designed WADA HGH test kits to be used at the Olympics this summer, and another is the controversial essay by former Olympian Alexi Grewal. There are interesting comments there as well.

Millard Baker read yesterday's Grewal essay, and Rant, as well and he thinks the concept of putting athletes who use PEDs in jail, merely for PED use, indicates our world has gone just a little mad:

Really? Which criminals are in prison for less severe crimes than doping in a professional sporting event? Maybe so-called criminals who use steroids for non-medical purposes but do not compete in competitive sports? Has our world gone a little crazy regarding steroids and doping such that we have inflated the seriousness of doping over REAL crimes against person and property?

Finally, commenter Anthony thinks we'll be amused by this Coors Light team picture, with teammates Greg LeMond and Alexi Grewal, possibly from 1989:

Captions in picture as provided to TBV.

Michael Zanoli appears to have died in 1993 age 35 of a heart attack, according to the SF Chronicle. We make no representations about the "EPO" in the picture annotation.

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