Thursday, July 03, 2008

Fallout IV

News
George Vecsey of The New York Tines writes about cycling's "evolution" from dirty to "clean" and partially blames the media for in the past "not wanting to know". He also finds the most rational thing Floyd Landis has said in years is the following quote made to Bonnie Ford after the CAS ruling was announced Monday:

“I hope people who are interested in bicycle racing forget about me by the end of the week and turn on the television and watch the Tour, and give those guys the respect and attention they deserve,”

The CyclingNews says the director of the WADA lab in Cologne heartily decries the results of a recent report which stated that the new EPO test is inaccurate:

(Wilhelm) Schänzer emphatically denied the accuracy of the study, saying that the Danish scientists misrepresented why the samples were being sent to "Laboratory B". In a letter to the editors of the JAP, he explained that the lab was not aware that the results would be published, and was under the impression that the samples did not come from athletes. The results, he said, "were not obtained by means of the accredited method for urine analysis," which means they were not subjected to the normal procedure for anti-doping controls.

And in the morning's update CN says the ASO will show "no mercy" to those who dare to dope in this year's Tour warning teams who bring "doubtful" riders with them. Patric Clerc also addresses ASO's inconsistencies in Tour team selection with Astana being out, and Rabobank in. In other news Hilton McMurdo, who was sanctioned by ASADA for testosterone use, is disappointed with the way his case was handled and has stopped the appeals process due to monetary concerns.

VeloNews reports Christian Prudhomme as saying doping/dopers are "out" and the peloton has developed a "conscience".

The VN Mailbag has a number of letters on the case: Don't all legal procedings cost money?; Alphabets attitude towards athletes is wrong; Landis is an idiot who needs to win clean for any redemption.

Bloomfield Journal Editor
thinks the the Landis case reflects on the believability of the Olympics, which he thinks are slipping into irrelevance because of the many scandals.

Blogs
Rant has passed the incredible milepost of 500 posts, and managed to also write a book while doing so. He writes today of those "chickens" who always come home to roost, and one seemingly unintended, though murky, section of the CAS ruling issued Monday against Floyd Landis which could have far reaching consequences.

The Daily Czabe received an email from listener Phillp Hopkins who says hold off on the Landis bashing until you know of what you speak.

Peloton Jim says cycling is bigger than any one person, even Floyd Landis, and he is moving on with a preview of this year's Tour de France.

SSNN , whose motto is: "Sick of your sports? We make our up," writes about Roger Clemens 15 ESPY "nominations" but says Roger is no shoe in to win. Floyd Landis has been in denial for "like five years now" and he might just stop "whining" if he wins an award.

Ole Eichhorn said, before plugging us,
"In fact in addition to denying his appeal they went out of their way to insult him and his legal team."

Bicycle Victoria Forums are converging around the thought that a bonk is quickly (overnight) recoverable. They also provide this definitive example of an angry post:


Don't call him a troll or he will yell at you in his blog.


8 comments:

Unknown said...

Is Schänzer serious?

Um..so basically, WADA labs only apply their standards some of the time...

Maybe Floyd's case is having a real impact??? Seems like the labs are scrambling a little lately.

DBrower said...

MWB, I wonder if the Danish researchers got charged the full freight on their tests, or some reduced "this isn't a real test" rate.

TBV

Eightzero said...

In a 7/2 article on velonews.com, Prudhomme is quoted as saying they (the ASO) have done everything possible to prevent more dope scandals in le tour this year.

Right. And we can't test every rider after each stage, send those A and B samples to different, *real labs* that do *real testing* to ISL standards because....oh yeah....it costs ASO too much. I forget. Follow the money. And UCI? Nah. Their blood passport thing...well...we asked and they said no. They won't share their toys with us. So we've done "all we can."

"We have the capacities as a major race organizer, but we're not a regulator of the sport and we don't want to be."

Right.

Hip boots and shovels, boys and girls. It's tour time. But my suitcase of courage is running a little low.

Unknown said...

TBV,

I like the way you think!

I keep hoping against hope that one of the CAS arbs goes public that he didn't agree with the decision.

Man, that would be awesome!

Unknown said...

This illustrates just one way in which Floyd is a more charitable and generous human being me, perhaps many of us.

I’d like to respect Floyd’s view and watch the TdF to give the riders their due. The trouble is that I don’t see them standing up for what is right or even standing up for their own interests, other than in the short term to the extreme.

I see this year’s tour riders as part of the problem, but in line well after ASO, LNDD, WADA, USADA, UCI, AAA, and CAS. I’ll give it some thought. Maybe I’ll change my mind? For what little it’s worth.

Unknown said...

Doesn't the NY Times have enough circulation $ to hire Vecsey a fact checker? Astana and ASO had the falling out, not Astana and the cycling federation. If a rider fininshes a day late, he's surely missed the time cut. Putz

Thomas A. Fine said...

mwbyrd_70,

That wouldn't mean anything really. Unless he came forward and said he was bribed and/or coerced. In other words, the only thing left that can save Landis now is a bigger scandal than his own.

Seems unlikely.

tom

C-Fiddy said...

As a huge fan for many years, I have stood by the innocent-until-proven-guilty mantra, and saw Floyd as a victim of "wipe out the American to save our (pride) sport". Proof was weak, as this site pointed out sooooooo many times. Now the CAS decision comes right before the tour and the Olympics, and I realized it has affected me more than I expected. I really can't watch any winning performance in any sport without sarcastically thinking to myself "they MUST have doped! How else could they have done it? Keep testing until you find out how"
I really want to make a t-shirt that says:
F-WADA
F-USADA
F-LNDD
FLOYD WON 06