Wednesday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews quotes Robbie McEwen as saying the Swiss have him all wrong, he loves their country, as long as he's winning there he does anyway.

In other CyclingNews as we near the 2008 Tour de France, some riders have still not been paid by the ASO for last year's work. Maybe they should stage a sit down in protest. Elsewhere, Nathan O'Neill is satisfied with the 15 month suspension given him by the CAS which is obviously less than the 24 months given him by ASADA. The Australian anti-doping authorities will now review the case to determine any possible appeal of the decision. In more PED news, Italy's Ruggero Marzoli has been sanctioned by the Italian cycling federation (FCI) for six months for involvement in the Oil for Drugs investigation revolving around Doctor Carlo Santuccione. The FCI ruled that Marzoli is liable for his contact with Dr. Santuccione and is therefore considered guilty of "attempted use of prohibited substances and a sanction is imposed."

VeloNews' mailbag contains a few notes from readers who are just trying to get the Tom Boonen brouhaha straight.

Blogs
Rant borrows from Tom Petty as he points to the agony Floyd Landis has had to endure for the past two years. His headline aptly states "The Waiting is the Hardest Part". Indeed:

Twenty three months, give or take. That’s how long it’s been since the accusations against Floyd Landis first blew up in the media. Twenty three months, and still no final resolution. In just a short while (as I write this), it will be two months since lawyers for Landis and for USADA were supposed to file their final arguments or proposed findings of fact, following the CAS hearings held in New York City during the month of March.

Jon from Trail's Edge Racing Team posts some results from the Lumberjack 100 held this past weekend, apparently without Floyd Landis who was scheduled to participate. Jon notes that as there are no stats kept for "DNS", or "did not start" Landis received a "DNF". Pictures of the event are also included. The official results are now available on the Lumberjack website in a PDF file.

Racejunkie wants "in denial mode, evildoer victim" Tom Boonen to know that we love him because of his "foibles" not despite them, and hey Robbie ever heard of Miss Manners?

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Tuesday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews writes about yesterday's meeting between TdF boss Christian Prudhomme and Quick Step's Patrick Lefevere concerning the very slim possibility that Tom Boonen could, after all, ride the Tour:

"They didn't say yes and they didn't say no," Lefevere reported. "We were well received and had a good discussion. The important thing is that they listed to us. We told them how it works in Flanders. But they had their arguments, too. We have no deadline for a decision."

A later edition of CyclingNews says Robbie McEwen did nothing to endear himself to fans and fellow riders alike at the Tour of Switzerland. Or maybe did something positively un-endearing, calling it "F***g Switzerland". Fabian Cancellara, among others, is not amused. And fellow Aussie Nathan O'Neill has received a 15 month ban for testing positive for Phentermine, an appetite suppressant.

The LA Times reports on the unlikely marketing and sponsorhip partnership between the ASO, owners of the Tour de France, and AEG, who has the Tour of California.

The NY Times tells the story of how all of this blogging, sharing of information, "netwebbing," etc. might have started in the mind of obscure Belgian Paul Otley in 1934. It doesn't have much relevancy to the doping in cycling issue, but we thought it was interesting to read about his conception of "electric telescopes".

CyclingWeekly makes a joke of this years final stage going by Chatenay-Malabry. It did last year too. As well as a certain doping lab, it's the home to the ASO and L'Equipe.

Blogs
The Sports Academic modestly suggests that, since they decide the races anyway, we should cut out the middlemen wearing Lycra and have the lab techs ride the races. In their lab coats.

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Monday Roundup

News
We've had no hints about the cause of Landis' no-show at the Lumberjack 100 over the weekend.

CyclingNews reports that Boonen is now suggesting he was set up somehow, with a story that sounds kind of like a replay of the Jeff Adams (see below) situation. This may be the farce.

The Boulder Report notes the discrepancies between this tale and Boonen's tepid apology of last week.

Blogs
Rant notes that the recently exonerated Jeff Adams won the US Nationals 1500 meter wheelchair race this weekend. A bit further down the regular "rant" is about the recent ridiculousness between the UCI and the ASO/FFC along with a bit about "heroes" with feet of clay.

In a comment there, Jeff Adams (jellotrip) himself, writes about the crocodile tear concern shown by parties about cocaine use:

The issue to me though, is that at no time did they, or anyone from Sport Canada, Athletics Canada, the Government of Canada, or WADA come to me and say: “We think you’re lying, we’re going to prosecute you to the full extent that we can, and you’re going to be suspended for two years, but do you need any help?”.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but if I had been a line worker at the Ford plant, I would have been on paid leave in a councelling and rehab program. As it happens to athletes, they get kicked to the curb, and continue to be kicked until there is nothing left - and that’s certainly not any lesson that I’ve ever learned from sport, and it saddens me to tears that the corporate folks treat their people in a more humane way than the sport bureaucracy treats athletes.

[...]
They have no end of strength to grasp the scepter of authority, but refuse to demonstrate the courage to wear the cloak of responsibility, and that is inexcusable from people who claim to derive their authority because of the need to ensure that sport is fair and clean.

The people who run the Canadian Center for Ethics in Sport, the World Anti-Doping Agency, and those that I’ve met from other anti-doping agencies are among the least ethical people I’ve ever met in my entire life.

(emphasis added)

ZDNet notes the AP is puzzling what to do about blogs that cite its articles, something we do quite often, so we care. Eddie Pells is one of the most informed of the MSM, and his stories on the Landis case are probably the best single source of record to be found in print.

HuffPost/Jeff Cohen tells of the patron saint of bloggers, Izzy Stone.

Forums
The MMBA forum, cited here yesterday, speculates about why Floyd Landis was a "no show" at the Lumberjack 100 Saturday, with one poster passing along the "rumor" that Landis injured his hip at the Mohican 100 .

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Sunday Roundup

Happy Fathers Day!!

News
The CyclingNews reports that Jan Ullrich, who feels sponsors and money are bound to leave the sport for those who want to ride for the love of it, will write a "tell all" book about his involvement with OP. In more news while the Landis case is still pending, the CAS has scheduled two more cycling related hearings:

The CAS announced on Friday that it has scheduled hearings in two further cases involving cyclists, Aketza Peña and Matthias Kessler. Peña's case is scheduled to be heard on July 3. He tested positive for Nandrolene in April 2007 and was suspended until August 9, 2009. Kessler tested positive for testosterone in April 2007, and was suspended for two years by the Swiss Cycling Federation. His hearing is scheduled for July 23.

Blogs
Lindsay posts her harrowing story of traversing flooded out roads and bridge detours to just get to the Lumberjack 100 yesterday, but nothing about Floyd Landis. No 2008 race results are listed at this time on the official site either.

MMBA Forums say Landis was a no-show. So, add "get to the race" before "get bike to the race" and "stay on bike" to the race checklist. Who knew MTB racing was so hard?

Eightzero is just a tad confused about some of the listings in the VeloNews Tour de France guide:

Page 221 lists Riis as the winner of the 1996 TdF, but the 2006 winner is listed as Oscar Pereiro, not Floyd Landis. There is a footnote on the photo on page 226 about Riis. So. why isn't Ullrich (the second place winner in 1996) awarded a second win? Hmmm? Could it be the ASO has decided that...nah...that wouldn't be fair. Wait...what?

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Saturday Roundup

To our knowledge Floyd Landis should have started the Lumberjack 100 NUE race early this morning in northern Michigan's Manistee National Forest. We'll post any news we hear about it as soon as it comes our way.

News
The Boulder Report reviews some of this week's strangely absurd news in cycling.

The CyclingNews previews the Lumberjack 100 with nary a mention of Floyd Landis, who hasn't exactly performed to his potential in the NUE series thus far this year.

In more CyclingNews the UCI has approved the 15 day "no start rule" as a first step towards the possible sanctioning of any rider whose blood values do not conform to the profile established by the blood passport.

Legal Analogies Dept.
The HuffPost has an article about problems and argments about Patent law that seem to us similar to some things we've seen with doping, the formation of WADA, and the expansive view of what should be regulated, and how punishment should be meted out. Some snips:

So, should the patent system be only about technology -- or about everything?

While it may not be surprising that patent lawyers favor everything, it is remarkable to see an amicus brief of 22 patent law and business professors advocating for everything as well. Indeed, the professors (many of whom practice as well) argue that circumscribing limits to the patent system is futile. Why? Because patent lawyers have managed to evade judicially crafted limits to subject matter through clever draftsmanship and will continue to do so. This remarkable argument -- "let's get rid of limits because lawyers will figure out how to get around them" -- is rarely heard in other contexts. Why should it be so compelling in patent law? Are patent lawyers so extraordinarily innovative that judges should throw up their hands and allow anything novel and non-obvious to be patented?

Should we allow doping because clever dopers will always find their way around any limits we draw? Should we bother with doping hearings, because clever lawyers will always find a way to justify errors in protocol and procedure, so there really is no defense once accused?

The official reason for having a new appellate court hear all patent appeals was to make patent law consistent -- NOT to enhance the patent incentive. Maybe some, including patent lawyers, wanted to do so but that's not what Congress thought it was doing when it created the Federal Circuit in 1980.

Perhaps the Federal Circuit's pro-patent tilt was the inevitable result of staffing a specialized court with patent specialists. As distinguished scholar and jurist Richard Posner puts it, "a specialized court tends to see itself as a booster of its specialty." And if judges can advocate expansion of their specialty, why not professors?

We need the CAS because athletics is an area that is too special for any other dispute resolution forum to handle. That the specialty of athletic law under develops it own arcana and clubbiness is a good thing. We need WADA not just to (fail to) harmonize rules and standards, but to beat the bully pulpit against the evil that is doping, and for the rightness of the holy war against doping.

Without citing any evidence and without acknowledging the costs imposed by the patent system, the professors claim that innovation would suffer if patents on business methods were curtailed.

Genetic Doping! Think of the kids!

The pro-everything professors acknowledge the plethora of bad patents on software and business methods. But they argue that instead of trying to limit what is patentable, we should look to the basic tools of the patent system to eliminate bad patents. In other words, trust us (and our practitioner colleagues).

The IOC/WADA model of testing and ajudication may have had some minor problems over the last quarter century, and there is nothing wrong with the approach. We should trust the people involved that they will get it right sooner or later, because they are the experts.

There appears to be something democratic about patents for everything. Every discipline, field, sector, industry, and niche gets its patents. Doctors, dentists, psychologists, legislators, accountants, athletes, yoga instructors, cooks... Anybody in the real world. You can get them, or not -- it's your choice. But everybody, like it or not, is obliged to search, identify, evaluate, defer to, and negotiate patents -- and to hire the professional help needed to do so cautiously and prudently. Yes, you still might lose in litigation (half the litigants do!) but this is the sport of kings, and it's a privilege to play.

There appears to be something noble in the pursuit of "doping cheats", yet everybody involved in an organized sport is being asked to sign away rights in order to participate, held to strict liability standards regarding substances most have never heard of, forced to accept adjudication in systems intentionally biased against them, against government funded bodies against which an individual has no support.

It's sport, and a privilege to play, so shut up.

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Friday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews covers the UCI's suspension of the FFC with president Pat McQuaid calling the French federation "disloyal" among other things. The FFC's response says it all when it notes the lack of any immediate effect this action has and states, "This penalty will change absolutely nothing in the serious crisis that currently present in international cycling." The sanction actually has bearing only on the next UCI congress from which the FFC will be excluded. And on and on it goes.

In the latest CyclingNews Tom Boonen is finding support from former riders as well as his team, and Patrick Lefevere says that the team sponsors want him in the Tour de France. Rumors of a meeting between Lefevere and Christian Prudhomme persist even though the ASO has made it clear Boonen is not welcome. Stay tuned

CylingNews' letters this week have lots of comment about Tom Boonen's present "troubles" with the following note from Doug Hurst of Springfield, VA getting our particular attention, as well as a hearty "amen":

I'd like to see CN...go back and retrieve some of the very nasty and unforgiving quotes Patrick Lefevere had for Floyd Landis and the Operation Puerto riders. Then compare them to the whiny defense of Tom Boonan, who is under so much pressure and it's not easy being Tom Boonan.

When it starts to rock the financial future of his [Lefevere's] team and all its members, Lefevere seems pretty quick to give the young man a pass.

The VeloNews blurbs an episode of A&E's "Intervention" which will air next week. The show will feature former Postal rider Chad Gerlach who epitomizes the darkest side of an addiction which started with the severe back pain he suffered as a road cyclist. Here's the rather inaccurate but predictably sensational preview provided by A&E:

A&E’s episode listing describes Gerlach’s troubled path: “After a troubled childhood that sent him to juvenile hall for felony arson, Chad's father introduced him to cycling at age 15. Chad went pro and cycled on the same team as Lance Armstrong. But after getting kicked off the team for ‘personality conflicts,’ Chad was crushed and turned to drugs. Now homeless, Chad spends his days panhandling, smoking crack and drinking. His family's many efforts to get him off the streets have failed. Their last hope is an intervention.”

Blogs
Racejunkie writes the "it covers everyone busted from Landis on dream rider apology"

39X23 breaks the "news" that Landis has signed a long term management contract, and offers photographic evidence. He may be making something up.

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Thursday Roundup

News
VeloNews reports the UCI has suspended the French Federation (FFC) in irk over sanctioning of the Tour. We imagine those at the FFC offices are trying to stifle a sniff. Or not.

Once again, the UCI is not taking actual action against riders or teams. Should it do so, it seems likely everyone would abandon the UCI ship.

ESPN posts an AP piece on "gene doping" and WADA's ongoing attempts to stay ahead of the game on the detection front:

WADA vice president Arne Ljungqvist said scientists working on gene therapy are being approached by sports figures interested in performance enhancement.

"We need to make sure that athletes know the dangers associated with these technologies and, for those who may choose to ignore them and cheat, that they will be caught," Ljungqvist said.

The CyclingNews reports that even though it now appears unlikely that Tom Boonen would go to the CAS to try and force the the ASO to include him in this year's Tour de France, Quick Step manager Patrick Lefevere has not completely taken that option off the table. In more news Alessandro Petacchi may take his case for a slight reduction in his suspension, which the UCI opposes, to the European Court of Human Rights, and there is more detail from the gene doping symposium:

One example of gene doping possibly already being carried out in pro cycling are hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) stabilizers. HIF activates the gene producing natural Erythropoietin (EPO) during hypoxic conditions - when the blood is low of oxygen. "Once the body has reached normal oxygen levels again, HIF is decomposed. But HIF stabilizers make the factor continue its job: stimulate the production of natural EPO even when there is no need for it anymore," explained Patrick Diel, gene doping expert at the Centre for Preventive Doping Research in Cologne, Germany, to tour.ard.de.

HIF stabilizers would be easier to use than artificial EPO injections, as they come as a pill. "With this pill, hematocrit increases - without the use of artificial EPO. As the EPO is produced naturally, it cannot be detected using the current tests," he continued, adding that a 'treatment' would be dangerous. "Clinical studies carried out last year had to be abandoned prematurely, as the patients showed unacceptable side-effects. Still, other pharmaceutical companies are working on similar concepts. Now that the drug has already been tested on humans, we don't know if it is already circulating in the sports world."

The Boulder Report, inspired by Tom Boonen's surprisingly adequate apology, writes a few unlikely apologies of its own.

Bicycle.NET, to which we have linked frequently, has resolved some hacker problems and wants the world to know that it now has a clean bill of health. So here's some link love and check out "how not to ride a corner"

Press Releases
Don Catlin's new gig comes into focus with a release by Anti-Doping Sciences Institute, Inc. ("ADSI") and the Agency for Sports Ethics, LLC ("ASE"), which are now promising to work together. Catlin is the Chief Science officer of ADSI, whose CEO is coiincidentally named Oliver Catlin. ASE owns ACE, which is running the profile programs for Slipstream, Highroad, and the BMC cycling team.


NUE news
The Lumberjack 100, in Michigan's Manistee National Forest, will be run this coming weekend. As far as we know Floyd Landis is still planning to take part. Here's hoping his luck is better than it was at the Mohican100.

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Tuesday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews says Tom Boonen is in hot water due to the confirmation of a positive test for cocaine, but that he may avoid a racing ban if the UCI stay out of it. Boonen will be meeting with is team today. More news is sure to follow-- expect Levefre, the Quickstep DS who blew lots of indignant smoke about Landis, to be mightily tap-dancing to protect his star during a sponsorship search.

VeloNews reports that despite the rumors floating about after Alberto Contador stole the Giro, Astana still insists the ASO will not relent and invite them to the TdF.

Fox Sports posted a piece last week on the biggest train wrecks in sports, and Floyd Landis was NOT on the list. Can decide if this is progress or not, but thank goodness for good ole Tonya Harding.

ESPN/AP say Justin Gatlin's last LAST ditch effort is trying to sue his way into the US Olympics time trials in three weeks. His Florida suit filed yesterday is based on the Americans with Disabilities Act,claiming his 2001 positive test resulted from his use of required ADD medication. Gatlin has a new attorney, Joe Zarzaur, meaning Suh is out of it. Even if Gatlin wins this suit, and places at the Olympic Trials, we don't see how he'll be accepted at The Games with the CAS ruling in place. The IATF, IOC and CAS in Beijing are unlikely to accept the jurisdiction of the US Court having already made their arbitration ruling. It looks like a hurdle into a dead end to us.

Blogs
Chris @Podium Cafe updates "Boonen Gate" with this apt little comment:

To Boonen: you expect people to read through the headlines and understand the nuance? Get real. Take the example of Floyd Landis: he has an argument that procedural errors were made in his testosterone positive, but Casual fans and potential sponsors didn't wade through the details. His cycling epitaph reads "Cyclist... Winner... Drugs" and so will yours.

Racejunkie feels baby Contador may be getting some kind of a break, while Tom Boonen may be skating on thin ice. But, there is no doubt about how Paul Sherwin and Phil Liggett feel about Floyd "free me already" Landis, and they said so during VS's Dauphine coverage on Sunday:

Phil and Paul Are Gods: y'know, I almost felt sorry for 2006 Tour de France second banana/maillot jaune anyway Oscar Pereiro yesterday, as the perfect team of Liggett and Sherwen said straight out they'd never seen him as the winner of that Tour and never will, because he took it on one escape where he wasn't even a marked man, then, mercifully switching the focus from the really pretty decent Pereiro's shortcomings and on to Floyd Landis' total hosing, expressed annoyance with ASO's handing off the jersey without a definitive ruling and that's it's flat disastrous for both the rider and the sport to have no resolution damn near two years on. Right on Phil & Paul--suck up the embarrassment of the complete farce that's been this process, CAS, and free Floyd already!

WADAwatch doesn't see why France is getting WADA support.

In Comments here, JRButcher trainspots lots of cars in the ongoing wreck that was the 2006 Tour.

Comments at Rant chew the Boonen bone. Some point out the irk Specialized must now feel having ponied up big money to hype Tom at The Tour; others point out that now ASO has a no-win, because they are going to be cruxified whether Tom is dis-invited, or allowed to come.

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Monday Roundup

News
The NY Times says that the relatively low incidence of steroid positives presented to Congress by baseball in March may have been inaccurate. It seems, um, that they didn't do any testing for most of the year. Doh!

Marketwatch tells us that the VS network has signed a "risky" $27.5 million, five-year rights agreement with ASO for Tour coverage. This probably gets them the world feed, on top of which they need to pay for their own caravan including Paul and Phil (and Bobke and Trautwig etc.) and their own promotion and marketing. While risky, it is also considered cheap, and related to the loss of Lance star-power, and scandal, including the Landis case.

CyclingNews passes on more scuttlebut about Tom Boonen, cocaine, and an out of competition test. This after December rumours of Boonen being Vanoppen's supplier of the same. We wonder if this news will make Levefre "want to vomit" the way he claimed to feel after word of Landis' tests started to leak, and if Boonen will be finding himself unemployed for "ethics" reasons. Perhaps things are different when it is your superstar who is being gored?

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Sunday Roundup

News
The VeloNews' letters column posts some thought provoking notes about the relative lack of safety facing cyclists on the road.

Sportingo expresses its opinion that a drug free Olympics during the "year of the Rat", and in this time of the quest for the "Uber" performance, is not likely. It cites Floyd Landis, among others, as examples of US "drug cheats" who are "bad examples" for youth, and take away from those who would compete cleanly. Sigh...

Blogs
Racejunkie thinks Pat McQuaid should stop squawking about the ASO and the FCC running the Tour de France considering the UCI's recent "history" with the race.

kompi provides trailers and stills from "Bigger, Stronger, Faster".

Dan is on a bike ride from St. Augustine FL to San Diego, and just experienced a stage 16 bonk followed by a good day. He thinks Landis was framed.

Media
ESPN's Olympic sports index links to a number of articles and remembrances for "Wide World of Sports' " and Olympics broadcaster Jim McKay who died yesterday. Though not directly related to cycling or the topics covered here, if you liked sports growing up at a certain time in the United States McKay's voice and presence was sports coverage. The exposure given to many athletic genres, so called "niche" sporting events, would likely not have been possible without ABC and McKay. Who else would have brought us figure eight racing from Islip Long Island, or ice barrel jumping from Quebec and done it with dignity and respect for the competitors?

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Saturday Roundup

News
St Louis Today asks some interesting questions about whether LCL Banque (Credit Lyonnais) is getting what it wants out of its sponsorship of the Tour, with the defending champ not being present this year.

I wonder about the executives of LCL Banque and the chairman, board members and shareholders of its parent company, Crédit Agricole. How do they feel about spending 2 million euros to sponsor a symbol of excellence for which the defending champion and the No. 1 cyclist in the world is not allowed to contend?

The CyclingNews says that the UCI's blood passport program is establishing new rules, one of which is the "15 day no start rule" established for the first suspect blood value found from a rider. The UCI is confident that even though it is now doing fewer controls it has enough data on each rider to "draw conclusions". It is also targeting cyclists whose values were deemed suspicious. Unfortunately for the UCI its relevancy is seemingly reduced daily by the ASO's emerging stranglehold on the Grand Tours. See Rant below for more on targeted testing.

AP/McCall reports something we wouldn't have thought possible. It seems Ozzy Osbourne has won a libel suit. How is it possible to libel Ozzy Osbourne, we wondered? Of course: it was in the UK, which has rather different standards for libel than the US.

Blogs
Rant discusses Christian Prudhomme's favorable attitude about so called "targeted testing" for PEDs, and gives several good rationals that would suggest this to be an unintelligent solution to the dilemma of doping in cycling:

Targeted testing is not fine if it’s the whole program. Why? Well for a few reasons. One, the only people you’ll catch are the ones you’re testing. Pretty obvious, eh?

Two, if you’re trying to strike fear into the hearts of riders, and to make them believe that they will eventually get caught, then this undercuts the credibility of that implied threat. Not much in the way of deterrence. “Yeah, right they’re gonna catch me,” I can hear some determined doper say, “they’re too distracted going after the big names to even be looking in my direction.” In effect, making targeted testing the whole game gives a large number of potential cheaters a twisted incentive to cheat. Just don’t dope so much that you draw attention to yourself, and you’ll be fine.

Now, with targeted testing, if you’ve got solid evidence (like a snitch you can believe in) go for it. But a real potential exists for riders/athletes being targeted for other reasons. Do something to piss off the powers that be, and you could find yourself on the wrong end of a doping test — for, like, ever.

Pink Bike Site posts the improbable picture below showing Floyd Landis signing a LeMond, surely this is one of the signs of the Apocalypse.

Landis Marks Territory (photo by Dave Miskieiwcz)

Sun Dappled Forest put us on their blogroll, labeled "Landis Apologists". Uh, thanks, we guess.


Better Late than Never
Hall of Fame has an article that looks old that we don't remember seeing before, titled, "The Strange and Curious Case of Floyd Landis", which rings mostly true.

Look in the eyes of the accused and decide for yourself. Or better yet, don't decide. Go do what Floyd Landis wants to do more than anything, even more than proving his innocence. He wants to wake up in the morning, hop on a two-wheeled toy, roll down his driveway, wave at his neighbors headed off to work, and feel the warm sun on the side of his face as he thanks his creator. He'll appreciate more than we know, his legs that go up and down smoothly as he faces an uncertain path, knowing some things he can control and others he is controlled by. More than anything, Floyd Landis just wants to be left alone to ride his bike.

But I suppose that's a lot to ask.

All four articles there by Scott Tinley, a two-time World Triathlon Champion, are insightful and recommended.

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Less testing for the Tour?

We call the attention of our friends in the media at a point of inanity that has come out of the ASO, AFLD, and FFC regarding testing at this year's Tour, and encourage some pointed followup. We touched on this the other day, but no one has picked up on it, so we'll raise it again.

There's been talk of less testing that is more targeted in the name of "efficiency".

We don't disagree with targeted testing, but think less testing is not an answer. We think there should be more testing with more randoms, so that every rider in the race is likely to have been tested twice during the tour. That translates to 10 instead of 3 tests (winner, yellow, random) on each stage. Go ahead and add up to two "targeted" tests and you get 12 instead of 3 per stage. At $500 a test, that's a whopping $4,500 a stage - about $100,000 for the whole tour - additional expense for increased coverage.

We learned that it's about $500 a test from the flap in 2007 about testing at the Tour of California, when Amgen was irked to find out that there wasn't EPO testing being done.

They are cutting back test quantities to save a trivial amount money ("efficiency"). The result will be trying to nail high-profile riders, while letting low-profile teammates cruise on anything under the radar. That says a lot about credibility to us.

If you get on the shit list, you'll get the hell tested out of you, and if you are not, go ahead and load up because you are unlikely to get called to the pee trailer. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Nobody has asked any questions about this.

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Friday Roundup

Press Releases
TAS-CAS has announced the Gatlin decision, and told him in no uncertain terms to take a hike. Full award not given, only a summary. We see now a convincing example that the strategy of a non-cheating athlete shutting up, cooperating, and trying to work within the system does not provide any improvement on the result.

OK, not totally screwed, "each party shall bear its own costs."

News
AP/Eddie Pells' report on the Gatlin ruling is the best of the bunch, with reaction quotes from all the expected parties, and reasoned insight. Suh doesn't rule out other action, but it's hard to imagine anything working; Gatlin is pleased not to have been given a life ban, and everybody else is happy he's out of this year's Olympics saying how well the system works and how fair the result has turned out to be.

Landis won't take comfort in the start of Gatlins ban being moved back, making it a longer ban than before the appeal.

AmLaw also covers, indicating Suh had a con-call for reporters. We didn't know.

Pass the Popcorn's Mike Gunn posts a a good, long interview with "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" director/creator Chris Bell after the movie's limited release. In the piece Bell gives some thoughts on Floyd Landis, who in this interview seems to feel doped his way to a Tour de France win:

"Then there’s an interesting case with Floyd Landis, a guy who made a triumphant comeback, and then we find out he used drugs and it’s so disappointing, especially to the kids. I think that’s a big problem with all this. Kids look up to sports heroes and we put them on pedestals and we say, “That guy’s a winner and he’ll do anything to win.” And then when you have to break the news to your kids that the guy was using steroids; what do you tell your kids?

This is different than an earlier interview. And later,

Stan Lee created these super heroes and he says that people need these super heroes because they need somebody to look up to: somebody to admire. And I think in a way, it’s funny—because Floyd Landis grew up in a Mennonite family, and Mennonites are much like Amish, and they don’t have any heroes. When I asked Floyd who his hero was growing up he said, “Nobody—the mountain. The mountain I had to climb was the thing I had to fight. I was never into that, or aspired to be like anybody; I just aspired to be the best bike rider I could be.” And I thought that was interesting. And he said, “You know, my daughter is growing up and I don’t want her to have these heroes; I don’t let her have these magazines and all these different things—posters on the wall of people—because I don’t think that that’s right.”

It is playing near TBV, so we'll try to go see and make our own review this weekend.


The CyclingNews notes the ASO's burgeoning monopoly of premiere European cycling events with its acquisition of 49% of the Vuelta. In other news Michael Rasmussen finally got face to face with former employer Rabobank in court yesterday.

In Later CyclingNews it is reported that all 20 teams participating in the Tour de France have signed anti-doping contracts with the ASO, this time without the recommendation of Eric Boyer:

In order to protect the image of the race, organizer ASO included a set of rules to follow in the case of an emerging doping affair. "If a rider tests positive during the Tour, or if a positive test prior to the Tour is made public during the event, and if there is a verified complicity of the team staff, the team will be asked to leave the Tour and to pay a fine of 100,000 Euro. To me, that is completely legitimate," said (the AIGCP's Eric) Boyer. "In the event of a positive doping case where the rider acted on his own, there will be no fine and the team will be allowed to stay. If there is a legal dispute, the Chambre arbitrale du Sport (the Arbitration Chamber of France's National Olympic Committee - ed.] will rule on the case within 24 hours. Its decision will be binding for both the organizer and the team."

Because of the long time span between the analysis of an 'A' and 'B' sample, the anti-doping clauses will take effect immediately after a positive 'A' test. "For the sake of precaution and to protect the image of the race, it has been agreed that the testing of the 'B' sample will not be waited for," Boyer explained.

The "formal" elimination of the "A" and "B" sample protocols by the ASO must be viewed as a severe blow to the rights of the riders, which have been almost beyond tenuous. Obviously protecting the "image of the race" is all that is important, nothing more.

The Boulder Report can't help but find glaring similarities between Dean Wormer and Pat McQuaid whose "generosity" towards riders going to the Tour de France this year has about as much impact as his threatened sanctions against those who went to Paris-Nice. Joe Lindsey also comments on the new "dopers suck" blog posted here.

China Daily is catching up with "the dope on cycling" in which Floyd Landis is singularly "revilified".

Reason argues that "brain doping" on campus is OK.

It's time for such authority figures to admit that performance-enhancing drugs are already part of everyday life for a great many rational, healthy adults and that their use can no longer be dismissed under the title of "abuse" or "cheating."

Time for a cup of coffee.


Blogs
StLouis Today Jog Blog headlines the Gatlin award as, "Track tries to clean house before company comes this summer", making it clear it is about the Olympic image, not the specifics of the case. It also talks about Michael Johnson, and finishes with this:

Why is Floyd Landis still waiting for the CAS decision in his case? It’s been almost two years since he originally was charged with doping after winning the 2006 Tour de France. By the time they rule, his two years will be up. What if the CAS overturns the original ruling? What good will it do Landis then?

Lobo's Rants gives a positive review, and thinks the interviews are terrific.

What I thought was going to be a ‘just say no’ diatribe turned out to be so more more. Well done.

Mary B Side ties things to Sex and the City:

The point is, through the seasons of sports and Sex/City, we've seen even the most successful and likeable guys go down.

• Bill Belichick, you huggable hoodie bear, you. Spying is cheating.

• Manu Ginobili, we loved watching you light up the Lakers, but flopping is dirty basketball.

• Michael Waltrip, you kinda look like a comic book hero in that blue super suit, but rocket fuel in the gas tank is cheating.

• Ben Johnson, you reminded us that even Canadians cheat.

• Floyd Landis, are you really still denying it?

They all cheat. Carrie once wondered what would constitute cheating in "a gravity-free world of anything goes?" [...] So in solidarity with the ever-stoic Samantha, I wonder if instead of wasting all this time condemning cheating, "maybe it's time we all got in line with the reality of the situation."

The line forms here. Single file, my friends. Even good guys cheat.

Whatever that means.

KWall was at Dana Point, seems to be unappreciative of Rock Racing's aesthetics, but passes on a Landis pic.

Marc Off the Back was also there, and thought Landis seemed a little buzzed while rapping on the PA.


Bicycling Betty found Arnie Baker to be a funny guy at a coaching clinic, but doesn't pass on any of the jokes -- rats.

Bikesnob NYC must be reading our comment sections. His recent glossary contains this definition:

Training With Power: Riding with your head up your ass. [e.g., Wearing a Bluetooth headset during a romantic dinner.]

Thanks for the reminder, BSNYC!

While TBV just set a 20 minute personal record for average watts of POWER on his lunch ride, and has a mountain to climb for two days, there is first, the matter of a dinner with Mrs. TBV this evening without the cell phone.

Have a nice weekend.

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TBV Triathalon: Diablo Registration Open

The next milepost towards the TBV Triathalon* has been reached with opening of on-line registration for the Diablo Challenge. One reason to register early is to get placed in an appropriate start wave based on guesstimated finishing time.

To get a good guesstimate, use this Lim calculator and plug in your values, 10.8 miles, and 3270 feet and you'll be pretty close. If you don't have power numbers, use the scale on the right to ballpark your power/weight, and multiply by your weight in KG. If you're an active but sub-Cat 5 like TBV right now, you'll be somewhere between 2.5 and 3 w/kg.

If you're a true couch potato, figure 1.8 to 2.0 W/KG and pack snacks for breaks at South Gate, Junction, and Juniper, because it'll take you a while and you might as well enjoy the day on the mountain.

If you're a 150 lb rider with a 16 lb bike, you need to pull 343 watts to tie the current 45 minute record, and 400 to crush it down to 40 minutes flat. On the Joux-Plane at the end of Stage 17, Landis did 373 watts for 7.3 miles on the 8.5% grade.

We're registered now. If you think you might come, please let us know.

---

*triathalon, tri-ath-A-lon, n., an unsanctioned semi-sporting event of three disciplines selected by the organizer, with at least one involving real sweat, and another requiring consumption of tasty food and beverage in a social setting. Term originated by Elden Nelson, The Fat Cyclist.

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Thursday Roundup

News
Jaffe Legal News reports Richard Young has been made co-chair of HRO's litigation practice department, trumpeting a well known case:

Richard Young, managing partner of the firm's Colorado Springs office and world-renowned sports lawyer and arbitrator, is perhaps best known for his success representing the United States Anti-Doping Agency in a trial of doping charges brought against Floyd Landis following positive test results for the presence of synthetic testosterone at the 2006 Tour de France. Mr. Young was the principal draftsman of the World Anti-Doping Code, which has been adopted by the entire Olympic Movement and the governments of more than 150 countries

ESPN has an AP piece in which Pat McQuaid of the UCI declares no sanctions will be placed upon any Olympics bound cyclists who take part in this year's Tour de France, which is being contested outside of the auspices of the UCI:

"No matter how grave the situation might be or how disloyal we feel the French federation has been to the UCI, I don't see the Olympic Games being touched," McQuaid said.

"Nothing is beyond repair," said McQuaid, who will not take part in the board's discussion or decision. "But what we cannot have is one set of rules for France and one set for the rest of the world."

The VeloNews posts an extensive interview with Pat McQuaid concerning the never ending war of words with the ASO. McQuaid claims that the ASO/FFC did not need to take charge of the Tour de France based on fears of repeating last year's fiasco as the peloton is the "cleanest that there is". McQuaid then comments on the suit against Dick Pound which seems to be at the center of the widening rift between the UCI and WADA:

Dick Pound has been making wild statements over the past couple of years about the UCI … So if we allow that to go unchecked and remain [on the record] then what could happen in six months or a year or two, a cyclist could end up positive in a race, he could be sanctioned, he could then go to a civil court and use those statements of Dick Pound’s against the UCI to have the judge agree with him that the UCI didn’t take enough measures against doping, and therefore clear him on that, or he could have a case against the UCI on that basis.

That’s one aspect of it, so we have to protect out liability against that and that’s why we have opened up a case against Dick Pound. We didn’t go anywhere near WADA. It’s nothing to do with them because he’s now out of WADA. The second aspect of it was to protect the UCI against him making further statements. He now does these speeches in universities and other places for quite a sizeable sum of money. What we don’t want is him continuing within those areas to publicly berate the UCI …. That’s why that process started against Pound.

CN's letters column this week contains loads of comment on many cycling topics, with an interesting one concerning last week's letter about Lance Armstrong's "positives". There are also many notes on recent tragic "road rage" incidents involving cyclists.

The NY Times reports Big Brown is "virtually" free of PEDs and ready to contest the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. The colt was last injected in April, and has not received any Winstrol since the 15th of that month. Gary Wadler is quoted:

Gary Wadler, a New York University medical professor and anti-doping expert, said that if you took Rick Dutrow’s claims at face value, that Big Brown has not received steroids since mid-April, then it would be fair to argue that a victory in the Belmont Stakes, at least, could be considered steroid-free. "The impact on the race, if any, would be minimal,” Wadler said in reference to the April steroid injection.

AP/Yahoo reports that a convicted steroid dealer who spoke to the NFL and his girlfriend wer found shot dead in his Texas home. There has been speculation it was a murder/suicide, or a random encounter, or an example of omerta in action.


Blogs
Racejunkie serves up some leftover comments on Giro happenings, and then provides a few appropriate "jobs wanted classifieds" we might see in a different world. Here's one from someone we'll all recognize that has the ring of truth to it:

--Tour de France winner goddammit, still gamely training on mountain bike, won't cop to crime I didn't commit. Vindication and honorary B.S. in Crap Monkey Labwork Studies anticipated late June 2009. Much stronger than last lame squad would suggest.

The Competitive Cyclist digs into "Dopers Suck" posturing, wondering why Millar gets the love. We're absolutely crushed not to have made CC's blog roll. (Pointer by CalfeeGirl)

Information-Cul-de-Sac/LunarPoodle/Eight-Zero deconstructs the USA Cycling license terms in a way racers and would-be's may find illuminating.

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Wednesday Roundup

News
The VeloNews posts its story about UCI threats against any team or rider participating in this year's FFC sanctioned Tour de France. AFLD president Pierre Bordry makes some comments that imply WADA may be undercutting the UCI:

AFLD president Pierre Bordry said that the blood passport scheme which was introduced last autumn would not be used during the Tour because the UCI were refusing to pass on elements to organisers of races outside their calenda

But he said: "I have the direct support of the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) president."

There's also talk of less testing that is more targeted in the name of "efficiency".

We don't disagree with targeted testing, but think less testing is not an answer. We think there should be more testing with more randoms, so that every rider in the race is likely to have been tested twice during the tour. That translates to 10 instead of 3 tests (winner, yellow, random) on each stage. Go ahead and add up to two "targeted" tests and you get 12 instead of 3 per stage. At $500 a test, that's a whopping $4,500 a stage - about $100,000 for the whole tour - additional expense for increased coverage.

They are cutting back to save a trivial amount money ("efficiency"). That says a lot about credibility to us.

If you get on the shit list, you'll get the hell tested out of you, and if you are not, go ahead and load up because you are unlikely to get called to the pee trailer. Dumb.

The Boulder Report follows up on yesterday's suggestion by Joe Lindsey that Astana make its anti-doping program transparent to the ASO/FFC in order to gain an invite to the TdF (which the ASO reiterated today will NOT happen regardless of any action taken by the team, see the VeloNews piece above):

In an e-mail correspondence with Philippe Maertens, press officer for Astana, I asked if Astana would consider releasing results to the ASO as a means of proving bona fides on the sporting ethics front and, possibly, a way into the Tour. Maertens' answer was, effectively, "No," but he added that the UCI already has the information from Damsgaard's testing (I learned subsequently from another source that WADA does as well). "He has carte blanche," said Maertens of Damsgaard's program. "If there would have been 'problems,' the UCI would have sanctioned and the race organizers would know soon," he said. As well, when dealing with medical privacy issues and the ASO, Maertens seemed wary of releasing information to Tour authorities given the ties between Tour organizers and a certain French sports daily. "Give (results) to ASO and the next day you can read medical files of people in l'Equipe," he wrote

The Age (AU) runs a piece by Micahel Johnson, the 400M running legend who crushed everyone of his generation. He's returning his 200 Olympic relay medal because he feels the three other runners who have admitted PED use leave it sullied.

Blogs
Rant is uncomfortable with the FFC contract and "rules" that riders will be subject to as they participate in this year's Tour de France. He also wonders how the UCI can be cut out of the loop if the ASO/FFC has access to WADA files. Good question. Too bad they all can't just get along for the good of the sport, but apparently that's asking too much.

FuzzyJohn caught up to the Landis group before Floyd crashed out, and finished 2nd in the Single Speed category at the Mohican.

SoulSideDown gives a second hand report, along with a link to the official results of the Mohican 100 which we hadn't seen before. Landis, from Murriera (sic) CA, is DNF on page 4.

The Bleacher Report tries to compare PacMan Jones and Michael Vick to Armstrong and Landis, suggesting a racial double standard is in play. Comments call him out on the obvious facts that the former two were busted and nailed by law enforcement, and the latter were not.

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Tuesday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews says that all of the teams participating in the Tour de France this year have already signed an anti-doping "contract" with the ASO. Since the race is not being sanctioned by the UCI, the ASO, in conjunction with the FFC, will establish its own rules and regulations for the event. Huge fines will allegedly be imposed on any rider caught doping. The implications of these actions is inescapable, and with no strong union to protect them the riders' rights may be in even more peril than they have been in the past. A news conference spelling out further details is expected today.

CN also says the UCI deplores the ASO's decision to sanction under the FFC.

BikeBiz makes the UCI's deploration the lead point.

The IHT says the Tour is going to have more surprise tests, and will use WADA's computer data. We're not sure about how that last part is going to work without the UCI playing ball.

The Boulder Report's Joe Lindsey doesn't call it a challenge to Astana, but he does have an interesting "suggestion" to the team that he feels might get it into this year's Tour de France.

KPLC TV News in Louisiana posts a report about local cyclists who cleaned up the route ridden with them by Floyd Landis in March. Now the roads are a littered mess again and they are hoping their anti-trash message is taken more seriously.

Bicycle Retailer informs us the Minnesota suit by LeMond against will not be consolidated into the Wisconson suit by Trek against LeMond, per the Minnesota Judge. Unless the Wisconsin Judge agrees to consolidate that case into the one in Minnesota, the litigation expenses for both parties just escalated. Take a whiff -- that is the smell of the earth being scorched.

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Monday Roundup

At Dana Point yesterday, 5th place finisher Jared Shier got a picture with Landis, who must have gotten back from Ohio without a flight cancellation and further fiasco.

Press Releases
TAS-CAS has issued a release not yet on their site saying that D'Arcy is being bounced back to the Australian Olympic Committee, and won't be decided by the CAS Panel.

News
The NY Times prints what lots of people must be thinking about the track and field records broken this past weekend: are they legit or dope assisted? It's the ugly little thought that will unfortunately creep into many minds about standout performances in track, as well as cycling, (and swimming?) for a long time to come.

Blogs
Brad Wilhelm (3rd overall) writes his report of the happenings at Saturday's Mohican 100. Sounds like a very hard day was had by many, but Brad came out happy.

Another race report from Gorman's Garage is here. He has a few words on the damage done by horses to wet trails, venting about the "horses yes, bikes no" crowd. We'll say no more to avoid baiting the Vandemonster.

Steevo recounts his Mohican 100 experiences and says Landis was in the "pain box" when he passed him.

Feel It's race report from the Mohican says that Floyd Landis "landed on his hip in the first few miles and suddenly disappeared", first we've heard of that one, hope whichever hip it was held up OK.

Rant covers several subjects today including; Floyd Landis' horrible luck this weekend in Ohio, the unexpected Contador victory in the Giro, the responsibilities of those who are expressing opinions to get their facts straight before they spew, and old friend Juliet Macur of the NY Times who leaves out important parts of the story about doping and the upcoming Olympics.

94.5 Kfm Sport gets Alberto Contador mixed up with Oscar Pereiro.

Racejunkie presents the vaunted "The 2008 Racejunkie Giro D'Italia Awards".


Joe Biker posts more about his weekend at the Mohican 100 which included a friendly brew and chat with Floyd Landis. Neither had much luck on Saturday, but the beer was great on Friday night:

I stole a Magic Hat out of Nate’s cooler, cracked it open on the work stand and handed it to him. Floyd hung out for a good twenty minutes, just like one of the boys, shooting’ the shit as my dad would say. He looked fit. His quads weren’t sneaking out the bottom of his Floyd Landis Foundation shorts like some of the other big hammed pros in town. But, good riders come in all shapes and sizes. Floyd was pretty solid looking. I’d guess he weighed 150ish; all muscle, except for his trademark old-man-isque chin. Like a lot of pros, his stomach kind of stuck out, not a beer belly, just a well developed core. Just like I thought he did with Phonak, under a bike helmet, framed between the straps, his bulging chin and facial features make him look a little grandpa-ish.

Duckman describes his Mohican as, "A Disaster in Four Acts". And he finished (in 12:something).

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Sunday Roundup

Floyd Landis at the start of yesterday's Mohican 100. Floyd was riding a borrowed bike after his was lost on the way to the event. He crashed out after 10 miles with bruised ribs and a damaged helmet. (Photos: Molyet / News Journal) Others: here, here, here (it's a Gary Fisher), here, here, and here.

Full Gallery here.

The crash damage must have been immense. This guy lost the whole right side of his front fork!









News
The Mansfield News Journal provides a nice report about Saturday's Mohican 100 which Jeff Shalk won. The piece includes some rider comment about Landis, who crashed out and did not finish yesterday's race:

He hasn't been a factor yet, but if he regains his fitness he could be," (NUE competitor Chris) Eatough said. "Different people have different views (on the doping allegations). It's an unknown situation. That's up for the courts to figure out."


"Some people are going to hold it against him," 2006 NUE series champion Harlan Price said. "They are going to see him as being a doper." The 32-year-old Price said he looks forward to competing against one of the nation's elite riders. Landis got his start in mountain biking before making the move to road racing. "It's exciting to have him here," Price said. "We all want to race against the best and the competition is a lot stiffer this year. When you look at the top 15 riders, anyone can pull out a stellar race.

The CyclingNews reports the FFC is confirmed as the sanctioning body for the Tour de France this year:

Therefore, the fight between ASO and the FFC on one side, the UCI on the other will continue in the next few weeks, FFC president Jean Pitallier reckoned. "I heard a new disciplinary procedure is going on against me by the UCI, but they have already cut my head and I have only one, so what else can they do?"

On Friday, both ASO and the UCI were received separately by the board of the FFC to explain their respective views on the same matter: the refusal by ASO to be imposed by the UCI that the 18 Pro Tour teams have to ride the Tour de France. Unanimously, the board voted in support of Pitallier.

Blogs
Ben Kraushaar is looking forward to next weekend's Teva Mountain Games and provides a pic from last year's event showing Floyd Landis being "dominated" in the feedzone.

Pommi's back from China and riding again trying to get in shape for the challenge at Mt. Diablo. He hasn't yet decided whether he will ride to the summit in the October event. We think he is sandbagging. He got a new Madone and lost weight-- He'll be there.

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Saturday Roundup

Floyd Landis started the Mohican 100 at 7AM this morning...

The good news is that Landis will have no trouble making his flight from Ohio to appear at the Dana Point race tomorrow. The bad news is that his race bike fell off someone else's car bringing it up on the way, and now a lucky soul has a high grade souvenir (if it isn't bent up too much). He started the Mohican on a borrowed bike, and managed to crash 10 miles in. This left him with a smashed helmet (there's a safety tip there, kids), bruised ribs, and an early departure for the airport.

Team Dicky took 2nd, single speed, and doesn't seem to have seen Landis. Given the general confusion, and Floyd's early exit, not surprising. No other results yet.

News
The Mount Vernon News previews this morning's Mohican 100.

The Ashland Times Gazette also previews the race. Check out the prize money to be given-- these guys do it for the love of it, pure and simple.

The Morning Call gives "Bigger, Faster, Stronger" a positive review.

Mieappolis Star Tribune/Imsande isn't happy with the Pistorius decision, and think it bodes on the upcoming Landis award. If only.

Blogs
WADAwatch has dire warnings for any cyclists who participate in the ASO/FFC controlled Tour de France this year. Just look at how Floyd Landis was treated in their process:

In the Decision that emerged from this extraordinary second French case against Landis, no judges are named, no expert's testimony appears to have been cross–examined, and the sum total of damning evidence that is contained in that record, was that the Agency published its 'Decision' (Derision?), miraculously on the same calendar day as it received the bulk of Landis' Attorneys' legal filings.


Unclear as these legally damning items were, even more so is the questionable legitimacy of the legal regulation under which Landis was prosecuted in France. The one clear part of this ultralight decision, is that it states categorically that France holds jurisdiction over this man as an 'unlicensed cyclist'.


But, you, as a peer of Floyd, know that he has always held a license from USACycling. He has been a 'licensed American pro cyclist' every year his foot touched a pedal in the Tour. How then, can the French Agence française du lutte du dopage, or AFLD, prosecute him as unlicensed? How could any French Appellate Court, whether administrative or otherwise, not overturn such a blatantly unreal reality?

Ww then takes us into the LNDD time tunnel to things which should be remembered and noted. "Riders on the Storm" indeed.

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Friday Roundup

Landis and Joe Biker at the site of tomorrow's Mohican 100

Blogs
Joe Biker sends a picture from his phone, above. Landis looks to be in decent shape. Joe earlier gave us his training tips for the Mohican on the wise use of a ball-peen hammer.

Racejunkie comments on the latest happenings at the Giro, and also finds the time to wonder if Iban Mayo, and Floyd Landis will be old, gray, and rocker-bound by the time they hear their CAS results.

Rant notes the brisk business that the CAS seems to be doing of late what with the D'Arcy, Gatlin, and Landis cases, among others, making news. Speaking of the Landis case decision announcement, it may have been set back to late June or even later. Rant also comments on a Post article about cycling with everyone's "favorite" reformed cyclist David Millar once again speaking for the sport. But, when the riders themselves are thrown under the bus Rant wonders where the sponsors, who demand their monies worth with good results, are?

News
BoxOffice gives "Bigger, Stronger, Faster", a documentary on steroid use with an interview of Landis, a mostly positive review. The review finds the conclusion weak, it thinks the film provides a nuanced look at the complexity of the subject, and avoids easy answers.

Forums
Steelers Fever Forum contains at least one fan who thinks Floyd Landis did not cheat at the 2006 TdF.

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Thursday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews says this morning that Igor Astorloa did not drop out of the Giro from an intestinal disorder as was reported, but left due to "significant problems with his blood values". This was not deemed a positive control, but is now in the hands of his team management nonetheless.

The VeloNews also posts a bit about the Igor Astorloa story adding nothing new of note.

CyclingNews' weekly collection of reader letters is up with the usual mix of topics A-Z. Most interesting may be the note about Lance Armstrong's two positive drug tests, being the '99 cortisone cream with controversial TUE incident, and the problematic non-control EPO testing by LNDD.

In CyclingNews of the MTB variety, CN wonders if Floyd Landis has gained back any of his racing form since being unable to keep up with the leaders at the Cohutta 100 earlier this spring. We'll know on Saturday.

The Washington Post has an article on cycling, largely centered on St. David Millar of Slipstream. Landis gets mentioned, but not Millar's ownership interest in his team. (tip from a reader)

Reuters reports Trevor Graham was convicted on one count of perjury, and no verdict on two others.

The Capistrano Dispatch causes some confusion with its announcement that Floyd Landis will be an announcer for the Grand Prix crits at Dana Point at 7AM on Sunday June 1. Hard to imagine how even Floyd Landis can be there after just getting done with the Mohican 100, unless of course he can catch the red eye back from Ohio:

Neighborhood celebrations are just one aspect of the Grand Prix, a criterium cycling race in its second year that consists of a 0.8-mile L-shaped course that goes through major streets and residential areas and draws pro teams and racers nationwide, including Olympians, world champs and California’s top masters teams. This year’s Grand Prix was even chosen as the official State Masters Criterium Championship, and Tour de France competitor Floyd Landis is expected to be an announcer.

Press Releases
TAS-CAS announced the Gatlin hearing is over, and a decision (without reasons) will be made on June 6th. If it's in his favor, it gives him time for the US Olympic Trials that start on June 27. If he loses, then the timing doesn't matter, so an expedited announcement like this doesn't hurt. One of the arbiters is the now familiar Richard McLaren.

Blogs
Tyler Sweeting had a good time meeting the "controversial" Floyd Landis at last year's Univest Grand Prix, and he displays his souvenirs from the event creatively.

WADAwatch points us to a post on Slowtwitch about protecting athletes from tainted supplements, itself based on a comment from Whareagle, who frequents here as well. This is an example of the echo chamber in action, "Testing 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3"

ArchPundit gives a plug for plugging away. Thanks!

Tech Tip O' the Day

From RoadBikeRider:

Monday's uphill time trial was about as difficult as any Giro stage ever (blizzards excepted). Many riders hated it and complained bitterly, saying it was too hard after 2 consecutive mountaintop finishes. The course began with a 7.6-km paved section with pitches of 14%, and then it got really steep (up to 24%) on the 5.3-km dirt road to the line. Giro leader Contador didn't see the climb until early on the day of the stage. He drove in a team car to the end of the pavement, then rode to the top. "I'm glad I did because it made me realize I needed a bigger [cog]," he said. He switched to a 34x30 low gear instead of the planned 34x28 and said afterward, "I think it helped me keep the pink jersey because my back wheel was slipping on the steepest parts of the climb."

TBV will save this and pull it out anytime someone laughs at his long cage derailleur and mountain cluster.

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Wednesday Roundup

News
ESPN reports on the CAS/D'Arcy decision which TBV discussed here last night. What with one thing and another the CAS sure has it's hands full lately, at least it would this seem to clearly be a case of the "criminal charge of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm" which obviously violates the ethics clause for Aussie swimmers, there doesn't seem to be a bungled lab test in sight.

The CyclingNews says that Bjorn Leukemans is off the Flemish state doping list which means he can race, but he is still not out of the proverbial woods yet.

The Boulder Report's Joe Lindsey is very suspicious of some of the performances at this year's Giro, and doesn't mind spelling out not only his concerns abut them, but also his disdain for the Giro itself:

RCS director Angelo Zomegnan sniffed in response that if riders didn't like it perhaps they could choose to race elsewhere. It was the kind of arrogance that can come only from a guy who knows the riders really don't have a choice, or at least won't organize themselves long enough to actually make their voices heard and force authorities to offer one to them. It was the kind of statement that only a person in total power would dare to make, presenting the illusion of a choice that doesn't exist to cover his own failings. In it is the implicit message: "I don't care how you survive the spectacle, just make sure it is a spectacle. Draw the crowds."

[...]

What do I want to see?

I want to see race organizers who don't imperiously flex their muscle to keep the rank-and-file riders in line. I want a riders' union that's not a puppet of the UCI, that actually represents riders' interests. I want to see riders not succumbing to the "So and so was a shitty rider and had to dope just to keep up" routine - just because that's true doesn't mean he's lying about the sport's problems. It's not like the stuff is hard to get.

I want to see results from the UCI - if there are 23 riders whose results need more scrutiny, what's the timeline for that? How do we ensure that these guys aren't allowed to continue racing and maybe cheating while we form a sub-committee to investigate...what to order for lunch?

I want to see results from the teams and independent agencies doing testing. I want to know more about USADA's new "Un-Dirty Dozen" program - like how the 12 athletes were selected and why only 12?

I'm going to start asking these questions and requesting - politely, but firmly - that they be answered.

Good luck on that last part.


New York Magazine interviews Christopher Bell, director of the documentary film, "Bigger, Stronger, Faster", which has an interview with Landis:

And then there’s Floyd Landis.
Floyd sleeps in an altitude chamber. There are four different ways you can increase your red-blood-cell count: You can sleep in an altitude chamber; you can train at altitude; you can inject EPO, a hormone that makes your blood produce more blood cells; or you can blood dope, which is just reinjecting your own blood a day before the race. The two latter ways are cheating; the two former ways are totally allowed. You ask, what’s the difference? They’ll say, “Well, one actually increases it a lot more than the other one.” Which is just another way of saying: “An altitude chamber doesn’t work as well as the drugs or the blood doping.”

What do you think of his story?
I don’t know whether to believe him or not. I wasn’t there when everything went down, but I did see the lab results, and they were very shady. The way they went about the testing was a mess.

This is the first public mention we've seen of Landis seriously using an altitude chamber. Could that have affected the hematocrits during the Tour? It he'd been doing EPO or blood doping, would he have also been using an altitude tent?


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Joe Biker is going to ride the Mohican, but he's going for TV time, not the win. We hope he has friends bringing video cameras, because the network coverage may be light. The horns on the helmet may scare people into giving him room, for fear of an altercation. He has a good earlier post telling you about the kinds of guys who run these events:

[T]here’s only one other thing that can give you 100% confidence for the last 2 1/2 hours of the Mohican 100. Get out a ball peen hammer and whack your quads ten times each and go out for a two and a half hour ride.

Peloton Jim is still waiting patiently in the square, waiting for the CAS decision in the Landis case while others sneak off to watch the Giro. How 'bout that Contador and Astana?

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