Sunday, August 31, 2008

Irregular Report 15

Congratulations to Dave Zabriskie and Tyler Hamilton for winning the USPro time trial and road race respectively. Both championships are are rewards for hard work in the face of additional challenges. Well done.

Here and There

The VeloNews says reports state Manuel Beltran's "B" sample from the Tour de France also tested positive for EPO.

The CyclingNews reports that the Vuelta is the first race to use the UCI's "bio-passport" and that all riders were tested prior to the beginning of this year's third Grand Tour. Testing for the "new" EPO CERA will also apparently be done.

Rant posts part one of a two part interview with Mike Straubel of the Sports Law Clinic at Valparaiso University. In this installment they discuss the stunning CAS decision that came down against Floyd Landis earlier this year:

DR: When I first read the Landis decision, I thought, “Boy, this is a really strongly worded opinion.” It really seems like [the CAS panel are] taking Landis’ legal team to task.

MS: They certainly believed all of USADA’s/WADA’s experts and none of Landis’ experts. And it sounds as if not only the legal strategy and the way in which Landis’ lawyers made their arguments, but the way in which the experts … were aggressive [in their testimony and statements for Landis] backfired, too. I think there was one section of the opinion where the panel took the experts to task for being a little too partisan and a bit too much advocates rather than experts.

Straubel is a professor whose law clinic successfully defended LaTasha Jenkins. He concludes that the award given in the Landis case is legally consistent with the presumptions built into the WADA system, and carefully avoids saying whether he considers it to be absolutely or morally correct. He's concerned that, basically, an athlete has no way of making a defense on the merits of a test that has been declared to be positive.

Look also for Part II, forthcoming.

Racejunkie discusses the usual cornucopia of topics including the "fabulous" Vuelta which started yesterday.

Healthy Living manages somehow to cite Floyd Landis in a discussion of menopausal hormone testing. Don't think that Floyd has ever been tested for his FSH levels.

The Spoof
, in a noble attempt at humor, drags the Cowardly Lion into the doping mix and predictably invokes the name of Floyd Landis.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

How awesome, TYLER wins the USPRO today. This is Tyler's chance to stick it back to USACycling and the UCI for the way he was treated.

I for one am glad he won and hope he gets a fair chance to race in the USA jersey next year.

He served his time and now gets his chance to get some good publicity.

I wonder how quiet USA Cycling will be about the new US champion?

whareagle said...

They'll be even more quiet if he did what I wanted him to do -- take the podium, roll up his sleeve, and apply a tourniquet while pumping his arm, as if to dare them to draw blood again.

Still, he's nobler than that. He won on talent, determination, and skill, so he earned it. USAC better be good to him. Otherwise it might be a lean year next year.

nahual said...

With the shoddy work done at LNDD I wouldn't have been surprised if they had found Floyd pregnat!

nahual said...

OOPS, ALI, do you have an N?

I'm a consonant short of being pregnant.

Time for monday's 22 mile ride........

Ali said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFLu6bu7LEk&feature=related

What the hell, just spreading some culture.

Russ said...

Ali et al,

Here is a nice youtube video called South America by bicycle, with music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E4whjHHMxo&NR=1

I ran across it after looking at one about Ian Hibell - Crossing the Darien Gap -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ylhWPCekdM

He died today in Greece, hit by a car racing another car. It was hit an run but someone turned in the license plate resulting in an arrest.

Russ

Ali said...

Russ,

Amazing scenary of South America in the first clip, looks like a blast - no comment on the amateur dramatics, though :-)

Sorry to hear about that tragic accident. I think the video may have been better titled "Crossing the Darien Gap Carrying a Bicycle" rather than "Crossing the Darien Gap by Bicycle". Just a thought.

Russ said...

Ali,
I have two sons in that age bracket and so I guess I found the antics a bit more entertaining because of it, at least to watch it a second time with my wife (in contrast to you and kid rock!).

If you put Ian Hibell in google, you can find more pictures and writings, even shows up in wikipedia! Quite interesting adventures, if you can take the time. The is a short writeup at cyclingnews.com, look for his name in one of yesterdays items. They also have a nice gallery.

Russ

Ali said...

Russ,

I'm afraid I'm now bored with Kid Rock. It was a brief but intense musical relationship. Unfortunately, I can't find any common ground to build a relationship. Some of his stuff has emotional depth, but the musical depth isn't there to keep me interested.

AC-DC ? Where art thou ?

Ali said...

I take it all back. I've just had an epiphany ... Kid Rock is a motherf**king genius. It's not just about the emotion or the music, it's about the message ! The holistic approach to music.

Ali