Tuesday Roundup

They look up to Floyd in Lancaster

News
The Yale Daily News Nicholas Thorne asks if any if us would "juice" up if we felt it necessary for success? He worries about the poppy seed bagel he ate before a recent drug test, and in a bit of a snark thinks that this constant need to win at all costs may be why Floyd Landis cheated if indeed he did:

Now take Landis. His is a compelling testament to the power of living in another’s shadow. Faced with hundreds of miles of grueling competition and weighed down by the burden of America’s expectations, ol’ Floyd decided a little testosterone was all he needed to win the Tour de France and step out from Lance Armstrong’s shadow. He was right.

When called on it, Landis just pointed fingers and looked over his shoulder, as if to say, “Who? Me?” The result: No one is yet sure as to what type of indiscretions Landis participated in, and some, if not all, are probably willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Blogs
Potholes and Roadapples got an exclusive interview with Landis, under the title "Floyd Landis Challenges the Emperor."

But no other athlete has so aggressively maintained his innocence. Even if they are innocent, Landis believes other athletes have looked at the cost of defending themselves — Landis expects to spend more than $2 million — and they have accepted the suspension.

Landis faces being stripped of his title and a two-year ban from the sport. The lack of challenge is why the USADA has 158 notches on its gun, Landis believes. “Of course, now, they come into it with this arrogant attitude, like we’re just going to stomp all over this guy, like we do every other time. … Sooner or later, they were going to pick the wrong guy,” he said in an exclusive interview.

“How many can you go through before you find a guy who is just not going to take it.”

Mark was not only impressed with the Dr. Baker's slide show Sunday night at the FFF event in Ephrata,PA, but also with the wonderful people who live there. And even though he is a photographer and took pics of everyone else with Floyd, he discovered that he doesn't have one with Floyd and himself. Doh!

Paul Landis watches his son sign autographs.
More pictures by Mark

Dugard thinks about the case again, and hears "wiki defense" for the first time.

Cheeky Bastard is looking into hip replacement and is starting to think about the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing procedure. In his research he found that Floyd Landis has more in common with Barry Manilow than you might think!

Potholes and Roadapples thinks that AOL Fanhouse was not only way snarky, but also inaccurate. Also

AOL Fanhouse article deconstructed by P and R above.

Matt was very excited to finally get the chance to meet Floyd Landis at the Saturday night casual event in Ephrata,PA. He felt that what you see is what you get with Floyd, and he found that Floyd was gracious and humble. He also got to meet and speak with other people involved with the FFF.

Bicycle News says don't write Floyd Landis off yet, he still has plenty of fight left in him. The link to "more" seems broken however

Durham in Wonderland rips the media for coverage of the Duke Lacrosse case, then misrepresents the Landis defense, seemingly blind to the similarities.

Forums
At DPF, after having conferred with Arnie Baker in Lancaster, Duckstrap is extending some of the observations made by You3 about errors in the CIR execution:

Just to add further fuel to the speculative fire, I will point out that metabolites of cortisol have four acetylation sites, instead of the two found on metabolites of T. The number of carbons in cortisol metabolites is 21 vs. the 19 in T metabolites. If a peak containing primarily cortisol metabolites were a significant contaminant or were misidentified, then because of the highly negative CIR of the acetic anhydride used for derivitization (-53 per p. 351), a cortisol metabolite with a corrected CIR of -24 would have an uncorrected value of -32 in the IRMS, exactly in line with the observed CIR of the mystery "5bA" in the Landis F2 sample, and with the putative "5aA" sample in his F3 sample.

Tom Fine's revisiting possible effects of alcohol on CIR is now available, with additional citation, and some support from Dumas and jr.

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Monday Roundup

News
LancasterOnline reports on last night's fund raiser for Farmersville, PA native Floyd Landis held in Ephrata, PA. It not only notes the humility of Landis, but also the overwhelming support of the hometown crowd:

When the Farmersville native was introduced to the capacity crowd, he received a standing ovation, a roar of applause that lasted more than a minute.
Taken aback by the support, Landis greeted the group.

"That means a lot," he said, while modestly looking down at his shoes.

While Landis' reception Sunday in Ephrata may have been unique,compared with his previous stops in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, Landis said it was just what he expected.

"Going home is always the same," he said. "It hasn't changed since I was born.

In a further update the afternoon edition of LancasterOnline notes that last night's event was unique due the the added elements of offered praise and prayer. It was also reported that according to FFF executive director Michael Henson the amount of money raised for the weekend stood at approximately $18,000.00:

Along with the sold-out event on Sunday, a reception at the same venue on Saturday night drew about 200 people.

The combined events raised about $18,000, Landis' spokesman Michael Henson said this morning.

Landis' Floyd Fairness Fund has raised about $400,000 with the eight previous events. Landis said Sunday that he anticipates having to spend $2 million on his defense.

The Sentinel Online posts a few snippets about Sunday's fundraiser at the Ephrata Performing Arts Center noting that Paul Landis feels Floyd may need a bit of a rest.

WHP CBS 21 has a video report from the Sunday evening event in Lancaster, with a snip of the press conference. It suggests looking for a more detailed page with expanded coverage; there are extended raw clips of the press conference, which seem to pretty much cover all of the substance. For us, the most interesting stuff is in Part 3.

The PhiilyBurbs.com cites the AP and the Intellingencer Journal of Lancaster on last night's FFF hometown fund raiser.

Blogs
Dugard got a call yesterday from someone wanting to know about the Landis Wiki Defense, then he remembered that Floyd was supposed to speak to his track team who need inspiration.

Rant admits that even though an alleged doping infraction is worth more than spit, it would still behoove those in power at the UCI to follow the well considered example set by the PGA.

Potholes and Road Apples remembers the old fable about the Emperor who had no clothes, and notes that Floyd Landis is one of the few who sees that reality. In an update, P&RA gives a listing of some relevant facts gleamed from Floyd's homecoming weekend in Farmersville.

The Fanhouse presents a bit of a snark when he says that "you", meaning us, will have to pay for any possible hope of Landis being recognized as the Tour de France champion.

Pommi notes last nights coverage.

Forums
At DPF, one-mint-julich (OMJ), a skeptic, is thinking that either the F3 fraction is reasonably pure, and a good indicator, or, "people running these tests are either highly incompetent or highly fraudulent", and that if so, it "would be something major, not a simple lab error."

Also, Tom Fine retools his "alcohol may affect the CIR theory", gets some help from Dumas, and disbelief from others. But DPF is having MySql problems again, so we can't get the link to work.

Thought of the Day

We need people who are bigoted, racist, war mongers, tyrants ... whatever. This forum has demonstrated that when those people are active and vocal, they induce an equal response from those who are against those negative attributes. That way, the otherwise mild mannered good citizens get motivated to say what they feel. Without the provocation of extremists, the true feelings of the populus remains unknown. (link)

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Sunday Roundup

News
AP via PennLive.com of Landis in Lancaster, suggesting the process is taking it's toll mentally as well as financially and physically.

TBV was present in force at both FFF events in Lancaster, and we thought both were more upbeat than presented in the AP story above. The Sunday crowd was rapturous, and Landis seemed quite relaxed in front of the hometown crowd, though a little hesitant to participate in the yes-it-is-Lancaster prayer offered at the end of questions on behalf of the crowd that was invited to stand and join in. Arnie Baker ran through the slides, with a few new ones will discuss when back home with the new set promised on his site for tomorrow. Sunday was sold out/packed with over 300 present. Saturday was lower key with no formal presentations, with about 150 or so present, quite a few of whom were children in awe, a rare sight at previous events. We'll have more tomorrow along with pictures.

These tidbits tonight: Dad Paul Landis taught Floyd to ride backwards sitting on handlebars, and claims it's easy as long as you don't look backwards to look ahead or use the brakes too much. Floyd figured if his dad could do it, he could too. Also, Mr. Landis thinks that Floyd's first bicycle probably wasn't a Huffy BMX, but might have been a 16" wheeled girls bike found on the side of the road.

Mom and Dad, Arlene and Paul.

Paul wears his Phonak podium hat with the bill facing forwards, and he has his reasons.

We also learned places are pronounced Lancuster and Ephruhta, make no mistake about it.

Miami Herald via RedOrbit has toxicologist David Black, author of "Drug Testing in Sports'' saying a one-day testosterone dose isn't silly:

"I have injected myself with testosterone in doing research, and I can tell you from personal experience that within hours, you feel a profound psychological change, a sense of well-being, aggression and energy," Black said.

"You feel strong and powerful. And your endurance is definitely improved. So, it's not peculiar to me that a cyclist would take testosterone after a bad day. What does seem peculiar is that an athlete of that caliber would put himself at such great risk, knowing that they test for testosterone."

A comment is added by a participant at DPF, reading:

Posted by swimyouidiot on 03/25/2007, 22:13
Personal anecdote is not evidence.

Blogs
Pommi notes last night's meet and greet and is waiting for more substantial news from tonight's FFF event.

Rant runs over the science discussion going on at DPF mainly between You3 and Duckstrap.

Forums
The discussion of elution at DPF with you3 and duckstrap continues, making fascinating progress. You3 is making some excellent analysis, highlighting reasons why the computer data files of the IRMS CIR tests are needed, both by rule and to demonstrate whether the tests were done correctely. Analysis of the graphs provided seems to suggest co-elution (contamination) of something other than Testosterone in most of the "fractions" in both the A and B exists, because the graphs look nothing like those of the reference samples, and they should. Further, the presence and amount of the contaminants may account for the skewed negative values that have been turned into positives. One- mint-julich, often a skeptic, is now admitting that looking at the data is essential for learning the truth.

Swimyouidiot (also above) reads the theory and says this analysis will place the burden of proof to USADA to show the conclusions they reached are correct, which can't be shown from what's in the LDP as it stands today.

Dumas from DPF sends us a cleaner PDF of USADA-007 from a hotmail.de account, supporting arguments he made in this thread there. Correspondent Marc, posting there, analyzes the newly legible copy.

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Saturday Roundup

News

CBS 21 in Harrisburg, PA notes that Landis is home for a fund raising weekend.

NBC Sports mentions Landis in a discussion of the "best American athlete", before snarking, and making the case for swimmer Michael Phelps.

Lancaster Online really runs their piece with Arnie Baker -- yesterday must have been a glitch.

Blogs
Potholes and Road Apples finds the Lancaster online article interviewing Arnie Baker that gave us a dead link yesterday. "There are no winners here, there are only losers and worse losers", says Baker.

Tony, fighting Leukemia, has had his hips deteriorate, and is thinking about having the "Landis treatment" instead of a total replacement. Best wishes and good luck from TBV.

Forums

At DPF, Duckstrap sees two dots that might connect -- cortisol metabolites and unidentified peaks that may have skewed the carbon isotope ratio.

A different discussion is looping around the issue of whether Landis' cortisone was detected, or not detected, reported or not reported or what. What seems agreed is that the data shows it was detected in at least some tests, but it seems not to have been explicitly noted for reasons unclear -- perhaps there was an undocumented discretionary choice not to follow up, or there was an undocumented TUE evaluation. Rare participant Dumas is asking some interesting questions and bringing in good new information.

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Friday Roundup

News
Lancaster Online talks with Arnie Baker, before his presentation on Sunday. But the link has gone bad, sigh. Maybe it will come back.

Blogs
Rant appreciates that the loser pays, and the case he sites concerns the Irish Sports Council's compensation of an Irish runner, still he's not sure this exactly relates to the Landis case.

Adamo reports the the Irish Sports Council has agreed to compensate an Irish runner for the money he spent clearing his name of charges that he tested positive for testosterone:

The Irish Sports Council (ISC) has agreed to pay Belfast runner Gareth Turnbull the £100,000 that he spent clearing his name of a doping charge.

The information was included in the ISC's 2006 anti-doping annual report.
The ISC report also said it would "review its rules regarding costs for athletes who successfully resist an assertion of doping".
Turnbull told the BBC that the ISC had informed him that it would pay the costs that he incurred during the case.
"We're happy that we are going to get our costs," added Turnbull, who was cleared of the doping charge in October.
The athlete added that he was "pleased" that the ISC had indicated that it would change its rules so that athletes cleared of doping offences in the future will have their defence costs reimbursed.

The wording in the ISC anti-doping report published on Thursday appears slightly vague but Turnbull's mind has clearly been put at rest after a nightmare saga which started last June when he was informed that he had tested positive for testosterone the previous September.

Hernando Go Lightly thinks that no matter what anyone else thinks, or what history eventually reveals, last year's Stage 17 of the Tour de France saw one of the greatest performances ever ridden when Floyd Landis left the rest of the field in his wake.

Wired Frederick puts in a plug for Saturday night's "Champions Reception" in Ephrata,PA for Floyd Landis. The Saturday night meet and greet was planned quickly after the FFF event in Ephrata sold out in under 72 hours.

Pommi is very impressed by the DPF discussion between Duckstrap and You3 and reprints some of it, noting that it is an important thread.

Recovox News goes into detail about Ivan Basso's TT position tests in the wind tunnel at San Diego Air and Space Technology. The "Praying Landis" ,or high hand position, was teasted but no real advantage was found when Basso tried it.

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Thursday Roundup

News
Quickrelease.tv's Carlton Reid cites a Cycling Weekly interview of Pat McQuaid which Reid faults for lack of journalistic balance. Included in the coverage is a youtube interview with McQuaid.

The IMBA (International Mountain Biking Association) releases a short report on last week's National Bike Summit noting that Floyd Landis was a suprise speaker.

Cody Stevenson is keeping a rider diary for the Cyclingnews and notes that in the midst of a busy schedule he managed to get a ride in with Floyd Landis at some point.


Blogs
CrystelZENmud points out that Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis have something else in common besides having been Posties together. Zen also thinks that crusader Dick Pound and the CAS may not necessarily be the right fit.

Rant points to a story stating that WADA has asked for a role in any renewal of the investigation into Operation Puerto. WADA also states that a non analytical violation would also be subject to sanctions which could open a potential Pandora's box of confusion and suspicion. Though there is no real Landis content, this action could be important on many fronts.

Floyd Landis is the Man (FLITM) is announcing the impending return of the Free Floyd as Che T shirts, which had been suspended by Cafepress for licensing concerns.



The Social Commentaries of Johnny Commander has a really long list of people/things he can live without. Spandex bike kits, and anyone who wears one, are on the list and that includes Floyd Landis. Put this one down for 'snark of the day" consideration.

At Opineleiders.nl, a blogger offers, I think, a new explanation for Landis' aggression on S17: He was still drunk. Some snips of the challenging Babelfish Translation:

In games that we have played whereas we were no longer incredible sloshed, but in which the tomcat and the drang not yet had to be struck just as and lie, were we frequently enormous aggressive, [...]

We put therefore for that the blood of Mr Landis also still just as are checked on the blood alcohol level and if that is so high that it explains the raised testosteronspiegel one can explain us also just as how it comes that he underway the impression did not make or stomdronken to be, or stooped under a tomcat to go. [...]

[...] Tevens we have fallen immediate after reaching our destination in sleep with our face in a bord rise (we fell firstly in sleep and afterwards ended up our face in the rijst, thought we, although we have not experienced the incident consciously).

I think that explains it all.



Forums

At DPF, Duckstrap and You3 have tag teamed to come up with a detailed examination of some possible contamination that causes problems with the IRMS/CIR measurements. These are issues that might be resolved by the data files requested in discovery, and by Dr deBoer at the time of the B sample test, way back in August.

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Wednesday Roundup

Blogs
CrystelZENmud's afraid that he bores us with his discussion on chain of custody and WADA regulations as concerns the Landis case, but he is wrong as he makes compelling arguments -- why hasn't someone at LNDD been fired?

EndurancePlanet.com had an audio interview with Howard Jacobs about the upcoming Landis case, and about other high profile doping cases he has tackled. He expresses the opinion that doping has no place in sports, but that athletes accused of doping have few representation options other than himself.

Raleigh Commuters had a sublime ride to work yesterday on a carpet of pink petals, and also mentioned last week's National Bike Summit with surprise speaker Floyd Landis.

Signed Posters tells us that Floyd Landis stood proud Friday evening as he was introduced to those gathered as the "Tour de France Champion". Unfortunately, we are not sure of what Friday or where this happening occurred.

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Tuesday Roundup

News
According to The Sporting News WADA chief Dick Pound is interested in the post of CAS president. He would recuse himself from any cases that he has been involved with under his present position at WADA. ESPN.com also carries the AP story on Pound's interest in the CAS:

Pound, who steps down as WADA chief in November, said Monday he is a candidate to become the president of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the highest tribunal in the sports world.

Pound, a longtime lawyer and senior International Olympic Committee member from Canada, said the CAS position would be a natural fit after seven years as head of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

"It's closer to what I actually do for a living than anything that I've ever done for the IOC," he told The Associated Press. "I'd certainly be willing to do it."

The Herald (UK) has a columnist who knows something of Mr. Pound, and his rhetoric, and doesn't think they line up well with the CAS mission. He also knows what a Witchfinder General is.

The Arizona Republic reports on the Smith and Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing procedure that Floyd Landis experienced in September last year. Good results with few complications are noted and though there is little Landis content, it's still interesting and informative.

Greenville Online says Hincapie is starting his comeback at the Tour of Georgia, won last year by Landis. George broke his wrist at the Tour of California, causing him to scratch his planned European spring classics schedule.

Blogs
Rant notes the Sporting News and ESPN piece above and thinks that perhaps Mr. Pound's tact is slightly lacking.

BikeRide.com wants us to imagine what it would be like if Richard Pound were the arbitrator and the Floyd Landis case came before him. It certainly gives one pause.

Finger Food briefly discusses Floyd Landis' homecoming this weekend for FFF events, and also takes note of some of the difficulties in posting on message boards. You are never quite sure who you are talking to.

Man Beard Blog is convinced that Floyd Landis thinks all he needs is facial hair to be exonerated!

Dugard wants Floyd Landis to give a pep talk to his team, but is saving Floyd for something special.

Team Estrogen talks about the recent Merco Credit Union Cycling Classic Grand Prix in Merced,CA and remembers that in 1995 Floyd Landis raced there. Floyd remembers it as well!

QCTimes.com discusses the irony concerning doping in real life sports heroes, juxtaposed with a fake sports hero being busted for real life doping. It snarks Landis, and is as shocked, shocked about Stallone as if learning Daily Show correspondents don't really go all over the world for their standups.

XN Blog doesn't get doping complaints about cycling, because it's cycling, and who cares -- it's not like it's important, and it never gets resolved anyway. And if he rode 2000 miles, he want some dope too.

Media
Worldcycling.com is offering the extended 12 hour version of last year's Tour de France at 50% off (with a free tee shirt no less). It has the complete 4 hour coverage of controversial Stage 17.

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Monday Roundup

News
Lancaster Online.com writes that since the FFF event Sunday March 25th is sold out, there will be a "chillin' with the champ" reception Saturday March 24 at the Ephrata Performing Arts Center:

The unstructured event was quickly planned late last week when it appeared that tickets to Landis' town hall-style fund-raising event would sell out. The last of those 300 tickets were gone Friday afternoon, less than 72 hours after the event was announced.

"The hometown crowd is definitely turning out for Floyd," said Mike Farrington, a long-time friend and mentor of Landis, and owner of Green Mountain Cyclery bike shop in Ephrata.

Bicycle Retailer reports on last week's Summit in Washington, DC and on the introduction of the house version of the Bicycle Commuter Act (HR1498). It also notes that there was a surprise speaker in attendance who was rather well received:

Other highlights of this year’s Summit included a surprise appearance by Tour de France champion Floyd Landis, who received a standing ovation during the keynote luncheon.

“I know what it’s like to fight for something you believe in,” Landis said. “I appreciate you guys having me here.”

Blogs
FloydLandis.com announces the Lancaster events.

Potholes and Roadapples has more about the second event in Ephrata on Mar 24th.

FocusedTrainers, in a post from we don't know when, tells the story of the SJ FFF event, from the eyes of the volunteer muscle, Gabe Rindaldi.

Rant looks at how hard it is to prove a negative, but worth the effort.

Lee Unwin Endurance Cyclist and Coach has just learned that he will be training with Floyd Landis, through Saris, later this year. He promises more details will follow.

Steve Madden's Bicycling Audio Blog from Paris-Nice gives descriptive life to this year's final stage, and laments the absence of Floyd Landis.

Dev-O thinks that he can explain Floyd Landis' positive test result from Stage 17 of last year's Tour de France, and his advice would be to never drink from a bottle of anything handed to you by a fan.

Walesdrgn reports on running into someone who's said to be Landis' Trainer in Boulder, en-route to see lawyers. Could be Allen Lim who is based in Colorado.

CyclesDoro ran the letter from Chris Fortune of Saris a while back, and has collected some interesting comments reflecting a decent mix of opinion.

Bike Racing Culture gives a lengthly and detailed explanation of the UCI vs ASO brouhaha giving suggested solutions to the varied problems, and then talks about Floyd Landis and differing rules of adjudication.

Forums
uk.rec.cycling has a tread on Developments in the Landis Case. It covers a lot of familiar ground in only a few (20 or so) posts, so may be worth a glance to see what the current UK sentiment, which may be shifting.

rec.bicycles.racing bemoans not holding the Lancaster events at a brewery. Some details from the DC Bicycle Coalition appearance:

He was extremely well-received. And he spoke highly of the great roads he grew up on, saying that felt extremely lucky to be able to grow up in an environment without TV and video games, getting instead to explore the world outside for fun.

At NWA Cycling, Jackelope gave us a plug.

Finally, at DPF, You3 is finally getting some informed conversation in his thread on Ion Discrimination. This looks like it will continue to be interesting science.

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Sunday Roundup

Blogs
Neil@Road happily admits to being the world's biggest "poser". He was photographed at Floyd Landis' Power Camp in January in his "Road" kit and the pic was published in the latest issue of "Triathlete".

Road Cycling feels that Floyd Landis may be a bit overexposed at present with his FFF appearances and subsequent press coverage, and gives us today's first "snark of the day" candidate.


Thought for the Day

"We pass the word around; we ponder how the case is put by different people, we read the poetry; we meditate over the literature; we play the music; we change our minds; we reach an understanding. Society evolves this way, not by shouting each other down, but by the unique capacity of unique, individual human beings to comprehend each other." -lewis thomas-

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Sun sell out prompts new event on Sat 24

All 300 tickets for the Sunday FFF Town Hall in Ephrata are gone, and an additional event will be held on Saturday. It's a less formal "Champion's Reception", with no slide show. Sounds like snacks, autographs, and chillin'.

Mike Farrington says,

[D]ue to the total sell out of the Sunday event, in two days no less, we are adding a reception to be held Saturday evening March 24th. Details to follow, tickets will be $25 and will include wine and cheese, lite fare, sodas, etc. An autograph session with Floyd, and just a great chance to unwind and hang with The Champ! The evening will start at 8pm, and is to be held at The Ephrata Performing Arts Center. It should prove to be a wonderful evening. Tickets go on sale Monday at 10am. Call Green MTN to reserve your tickets. 717-859-2422

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Saturday Roundup

News
The Marion Daily Republican reports that Rob Landes is riding across the country on a BMC bike in honor of his mother who has MS. He feels that since his family originally comes from Pennsylvania he might be related to another more famous cycling "Landis" with a slightly different spelling but with the same dogged determination and spirit.

Blogs
Mental Doughnuts had dinner with Floyd Landis last Saturday night, and enjoyed the opportunity to just chill with the Tour de France champion.

Iowa Bike Coalition tells us that Chris Fortune introduced Floyd Landis to the National Bike Summit where he spoke briefly and then took some questions:

We had a surprise visitor for lunch. Chris Fortune from Saris Bicycle Group presented about bicycle advocacy. At the conclusion of his presentation, he talked about how good it was to work with Floyd Landis (the 2006 Tour de France). Chris said that they were lucky to have Floyd attend. Then he said we are lucky because Floyd is here right now. And out walks Floyd from behind the stage.

Floyd got up on stage and said hi and talked about how happy he is with the work that we are doing. He even opened up the floor for questions. Very nice guy and enjoyed being at the Summit. What a thrill.

Little Ryan Cade Hutton knows that the Phonak jersey Daddy had signed by Floyd Landis will fit, someday!

Rant looks at the chemistry of the Landis case and discusses whether a real positive was actually found and under WADA's own rules if the positive for the A sample should have been thrown out in the first place:

The most interesting part is that WADA protocols require confirmation testing in triplicate. On close inspection of the A sample documentation, one can see that this didn’t happen. This is yet another reason the A sample test cannot be considered a positive test.

Shelby has come up with some new adages that she feels will make our day, one of them might make "snark of the day".

CapitalistImperialistPig writes mainly of Lance Armstrong after seeing him on Colbert, and reading "Lance Armstrong's War" and comes to the conclusion that Armstrong might have doped because he rode with known cheaters like Floyd Landis. Put this one down for a "snark of the day" nomination as well.

le grimpeur gives some interesting suggestions to amateur riders about climbs they might want to attempt in France, and provides a very fond memory with one route for not only myself but also I suspect for Floyd Landis:

You might have seen Lance talking to me on that last climb. He's telling me what to do - for him, sitting on my wheel, it's obviously not as hard, so I just have to listen to him because some guys can attack and some can't. He was telling me to keep the pace steady and maintain the pace you can go at. Then he would tell me 'this guys dropped' or 'that guys dropped'. Finally at the top of the final col, as we went under the KOM, Lance said to me, 'Do you want to win the stage?' and then he said, 'If you want to win the stage, go now. Just go on the downhill and they probably won't chase you, they have no reason to chase you', but Ullrich and Kloden were having none of it and brought me back. Then at the end I tried again with a kilometer and a half to go, but they got me again so I just kept going as hard as I could to keep Kloden close. I figured Lance would sprint and I didn't know it was going to be that close. That was something to see! Lance won three stages in a row and they were all different. But he was generous enough to offer me the opportunity to win the stage;

Carlton Reid thinks that it may be just the right time to stir up interest in his Floyd Landis petition again. Velogal chimes in and says "let's double the signatures!"

Valkyrie gives us a bit more than she gave us the other day on the National Bike Summit at which Floyd Landis was a speaker. But, still no details on his speech!

Oh, and look out for slippery conditions on I-81! TBV will attest to the treachery of that road, having done a 360 ending up in the median on an icy Easter weekend in 1977, in my case near Great Bend PA, and lucky enough to drive away. There were reasons for moving to California.

Forums
At DPF, You3 starts a new thread about some unintended ion leakage in the GC/MS, suggesting improper operation. This looks like an important technical thread about a new topic.

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Friday Roundup

Blogs
Interbike Times was checking out the submitted attendance list for the National Bike Summit earlier this week and saw this spare listing: "FL". So, there was no real surprise when Floyd Landis took the podium to speak to the Summit on Wednesday.Unfortunately no details yet on the subject of Landis' speech.

John From Philadelphia Bicycle News heard Floyd Landis speak at the National Bike Summit Wednesday and also saw Floyd making the rounds on Capitol Hill on Thursday where he visited members of Congress.






Luna Cycles enjoyed Carlton Reid's Johnny Cochran allusion yesterday, oh and he hates to say it but he told you so!

The Historian feels that visualization is a valuable tool, still he can't picture himself as Floyd Landis wearing yellow.

Spinopsys' Twitter read rant yesterday suggesting Landis had an invisible friend, which is not to imply that Floyd had an imaginary friend, like say, a vanishing twin.

DrunkenFist.com took inspiration from the wee story yesterday and thinks that IF true the whole situation is complete insanity.

Forums
DPF is having connectivity problems for a number of clients. The apologies we didn't think likely have been given, to our surprise and appreciation.

Snark O' the Day:

My only comment on the Floyd saga is this: the lad picked the wrong sport to be innocent in.

(link)

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Thursday Roundup

News
BikeBiz joins the chorus of those who wonder exactly whose "wee" was tested and found positive during last summer's Tour de France:

Tour de France for Dummies co-author Sammaryee Lewis said: "If the piss don't fit, you got to acquit."

Drip by drip, leak by leak, day by day, the case for an early acquittal of Floyd Landis grows and grows. Landis is scheduled to appear before a hearing panel on May 14th, a hearing he has asked to be held in public

Glenview Announcements.com reports on last Friday's Floyd Landis fund raiser held at Jan Marion's framing shop which raised an estimated $15,000.00. A private dinner held in Skokie,Il on Saturday night raised another $10,000.00. Marion ,who is an avid amateur cyclist, holds some reservations about Landis' innocence , but feels that the least Floyd deserves is a fair hearing.


Blogs
Things I think About/James Dixson thinks that the mainstream media is finally getting it when to comes to the Landis case, and give a TbV plug. James has been on the case for a long time -- our first link to him was on Sep 20.

Shevdog is very excited at the mere prospect of meeting Floyd Landis in the "hometown" version of the FFF roadshow, and I must admit I echo those sentiments myself.

Rant had speculated earlier this week that Operation Puerto wasn't dead yet, and it looks like he was right. He also wonders if not Floyd, WHO might have tested positive at last year's Tour de France? Who indeed:

Interestingly, when Pat McQuaid made his initial statement about a “worst-case scenario” he probably didn’t think about another worst-case scenario: That someone may have tested positive, but that the wrong person may have been accused of the infraction.

Potholes and Road Apples says the 300 seats for The Homecoming in Ephrata are nearly sold out.

Pommi is intrigued by yesterday evening's rant. He wonders if any of the top three finishers from stage 19 could account for the test results obtained that were supposedly Landis' stage 17 positive sample? One of his greatest concerns revolves around the topic of rider anonymity in the testing process, and if it was that easy for the lab to distinguish any individual rider?

Dread Pirate just now discovered the FFF web site and even though he thinks it's one sided he is interested in Dr. Baker's slide show. Better late than never!

The Valkyrie doesn't supply any details, but apparently Floyd stopped by for lunch yesterday while he was visiting Capitol Hill.

Neurotic seems to be going through an Emo phase, is sorry for what he did to Chloe (because all her friends are teasing her now), and trying to deal with his feelings... that Floyd Landis is gay.

GamJams likens another "never mind" but-too-late incident to Floyd Landis.

Kuja's Samizdat thinks the sample numbers remind him of "Young Landis", but the illustration is slightly wrong, corrected below.

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Apologies unlikely, but happen sometimes dept

A while back on DPF, there was a caustic thread in which LA Times reporter Michael Hiltzik was accused of using a shill account in the discussion to support his opinion, followed by more personal attacks.

It turns out that one of the identities whom Hiltzik was accussed of adopting emailed TBV today about something else. When asked, he expressed shock and dismay about the brouhaha that had developed about his post. He forwards a message where one of the accusers demanded that he admit he was Hiltzik. He isn't, lives somewhere else entirely, and said so.

I doubt Hiltzik is getting any apologies from his rabid accusers.

[update: apologies were made in the right places on 15-Mar]

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Wednesday Roundup

News
The Gazette's Malcom Aboud thinks fans and press alike are hypocrites when it comes to skewering doping athletes in the media. Floyd Landis is a bad guy who gets lambasted and Lance Armstrong is a hero who no one touches because he fought cancer.

Lancaster Online talks about the FFF Homecoming on the 25th; rerun at Potholes and Roadapples below.

Blogs
Steroid Nation gets a slide from Arnie showing the "typo" sample number was a jar for another rider, tested at the same time as Landis' stage-17 test. That means there's a genuine possibility of physical confusion of sample jars. The tell-tale document is from the AFLD, not from USADA.

Rant picks up on SN's story, and notes the implications -- maybe someone else was on testosterone after all, and the whistleblower docs are right about how sloppy LNDD has been.

Potholes and Roadapples notes that, put simply, Floyd is going home:

The program in Ephrata, like other FFF events, will feature a presentation of Landis’ legal defense by Dr. Arnie Baker, a longtime Landis friend.
“Arnie wants to present to Floyd’s family in particular,” Henson said this morning. “He wants to show Floyd’s family the facts and show that ‘Hey, your son is a good guy,’ ” said Henson.
“Not that they doubt it, but Arnie just wants to show them the facts.

Hernando go lightly was recently questioned by cycling newbies about Floyd Landis' innocence, and frankly he doesn't care anymore because the sport of cycling is just too hard.

The RoadBike.com notes that power meters are indisputably here to stay, and that they will revolutionize cycling.

Dugard notes that the retirement of cyclist Jan Ullrich seems to oddly coincide with the retirement of UCLA Olympic Lab director Don H. Catlin
He wonders that with the dismissal of OP if only Ullrich could have held on a little longer would he have been exonerated? He also puts forth the theory that Catlin retired because he feared repercussions from the scheduled May USADA hearing for Floyd Landis. We're not sure about that -- UCLA is probably going to come out looking better than a lot of the other players.

Bolder on Boulder thinks that it's the Tour de France PR machine may be the reason behind the extreme length of time the Landis case has taken to be heard.

Rant talks earlier today about shopping, stories that is. He is concerned about confidential sources who shop their stories to the media. Their agendas may not be what they seem:

Someone from an anti-doping agency calling up to tell you the dirt on Floyd Landis is one thing — especially if that source wishes to remain anonymous. Someone calling up to tell you of some shenanigans going on in the anti-doping agency is another.

In the first instance, you need to be leery of whether the source is just trying to spin the story in such a way that it makes the anti-doping agency look good. Remember that USADA receives the majority of their funding from Congress. And WADA receives some funding from the US Congress, too. Both agencies have a vested interest in Congress and the public perceiving them as being on top of the doping problem and catching those dirty athletes who are destroying “pure” sporting competition.

Now, if a source calls up and tells you of various shenanigans going on with an agency, you still have to be leery of the story. One thing you need to figure out before publishing their allegations is whether they have a personal axe to grind. Imagine an employee who was just fired, or whose job was in peril, going to the press with stories of rampant wrong-doing. The stories might be true. But they might also be false, and the person telling them might be out for revenge.

Quickrelease.tv tells us that a movie parody about the sport of cycling is in the works. It cites The Hollywood Reporter as its source, a subscription is needed to access THR:

The maker of two movies spoofing God is to turn his production company’s attention on the world of pro cycling.
And there’s plenty to laugh about. Could there be cameo roles for WADA’s Dick Pound (the man not the place) and the UCI’s Pat McQuaid?

Of course, Floyd Landis vs USADA is no laughing matter but it’s hard to think how a spoof movie about the Tour de France could avoid the subject of doping, replete as it is with testosterone patches and peeing into bottles.

Think I’m kidding about the Hollywood treatment? Not so. The movie rights to Tour de Frank have been optioned by Universal Pictures, reveals The Hollywood Reporter.
The movie will be produced by Tom Shadyac, director of God spoofs Bruce Almighty of 2003 and Evan Almighty of 2007.

The mind boggles with casting ideas!

CityBikesMike had a Floyd sighting in Maryland, probably related to Bicycle Coalition work in DC this week.

Doucheblog notes that you can count on some things like Mario Lemieux , and then there's Operation Puerto that only managed to make the anti doping agencies look stupid. He says Floyd is having something at the end of the month that he might attend but we are confused about what that might be!

The CaliRado Cyclist attended last weekend's Colorado FFF stop and it caused him to reminisce about last summer's Tour de France and how it was overwhelming on so many fronts:

Anyone who closely watched the 2006 Tour de France is sure to have an accompanying tale of excitement, depression and elation during the race. These feelings were followed quickly by the crushing news of a possible doping violation which, unfortunately, has seemed to overshadow the value of the earlier experience for many fans. But it doesn't have to be that way and I can attest to the benefit of reflecting on the race as we experienced it, cleanly - not through the dope-colored glasses many of us have been chosen to wear of late. We all navigated the crazy road of Floyd’s Tour victory in our own personal fashion but the curious element of my experience during the 2006 Tour de France was the fact that it coincided with a cross-country move as well.

He was also very impressed with the FFF presentation by Dr. Baker and by Landis himself.

FatCyclist says its not dopers killing cycling, it's WADA and the UCI's fundamental approach.

VeloGal thumps for the Tour of Innocence, and is dying for the rest of the 60 or so arguments. More amusing, she catches Landis' close personal friend Tom Boonen in a gaffe at Paris-Nice:

Alexandr Kolobnev of CSC staying away for over 200km to take the long downhill finish. Even with the little kick at the end, his legs held out. I guess Kolobnev was away for so long that Tom Boonen forgot all about him, because ten or so seconds later, Boonen sprinted across the line with this arms up in victory. Do riders feel like a fool when they do that? Jeeze, they all have the radios in their ears, so how could he not know about the breakaway and that Kolobnev hadn’t been caught? Kinda funny... Maybe Tom was listening to his MP3 player instead...

Let's see, Boonen, Quick Step, Lefevere on the radio. Yeah. Using the iPod instead of the radio makes sense.

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The Homecoming, March 25th

Floyd Landis will make his anticipated, long delayed public return to the homeland the weekend of March 24th, with an FFF Town Hall meeting on Sunday the 25th in Ephrata, PA.

WGAL gets the scoop.
If there's one FFF event not to miss, this will be it. The venue only seats 300, so you'll want to get registered early. No bikereg for this, you need to go through Mike Farrington at Green Mountain Cyclery.

There may be other events over the weekend. If anyone has the gumption, the photo-op I'd like would be in front of the Landis family house, and permit a dissolve with this Norman Rockwell painting (apologies to James L Brooks):

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Tuesday Roundup

News
AFP via Yahoo reports Catlin is retiring, apparently from day-to-day at the UCLA lab. He''s apparently going to continue research. Pointer courtesy Twoggle at DPF, who wonders if this makes Catlin more available for Landis to talk with and have testify. If he's doing research, maybe not -- he'd still be employed by the UCLA lab.

Washington Post has their own story on Catlin. It says he's leaving the UCLA lab to work for a new Anti-Doping Research Institute in LA, which wouldn't seem to be a WADA accredited lab. There's also mention a another US Olympic testing laboratory at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City under Dennis Crouch, which is news to us.

MSNBC updates a "Tour of Innocence" story from the ToC.

KTVU ran a pre-town hall interview with Landis on 2/21, which we just came upon. The sympathetic interviewer was reasonably briefed.

Bicycling's Boulder Report covers the Denver Town Hall, fairly covering the strengths and weaknesses. He thinks it's good PR, but wonders if it and the non-public information will be convincing in arbitration -- a wonderment TBV shares. Also raised is the possibility of Dr. Cedric Shackleton of Children’s Hospital, Oakland CA testifying about the CIR for USADA. Shackleton might not be a WADA lab employee, and more able to speak than those who are, and may be a lead for enterprising reporters to contact.

ESPN.com writer Bonnie DeSimone talks about the kind-of closing of Puerto as leaving pretty much everybody unsatisfied. If nothing else, we're flattered to be called "very smart", even though we naively see fluffy bunnies instead of apocalyptic horses in the ink blots.

Blogs
The New Buckit writes that Landis is out to clear his name, and what Buckit hopes most of all is that Floyd gets a fair shake. Included is a u tube video of Landis' ride on stage 17 of last year's TdF.

PJ laments the start of this year's cycling season as being in practically the same state of flux as it was at the conclusion of last year's. He continues to wonder why some riders are on teams and are participating, while other's lives are in shambles.

Rant writes about Operation Puerto, and thinks that it may not be dead yet:

The story is not yet over. Spanish authorities have the option to appeal Judge Serrano’s ruling, and may well do so. The judge, himself, noted that the evidence suggests that doping did occur with the assistance of Dr. Fuentes and others, and the UCI is trying to get their hands on the evidence in order to pursue anti-doping cases against all the riders implicated. If the UCI gets full access to the evidence collected by the Spanish Civil Guard during their investigations, they may well press ahead with anti-doping cases against those who have been implicated so far.

This would highlight the differences between law and doping enforcement -- under a de-jure legal system, there's no case, but the changed burdens and presumptions of the WADA/CAS system may support findings of non-analytic positives anyway. Sort of like the difference between the OJ Simpson murder trial and the civil wrongful death lawsuit.


Heavy is the Head longs for the old days when he would line up his mountain bike at the beginning of a race and face the likes of mountain bike champion Floyd Landis, who would go out and cream the field.

Cycling Through Crime feels the recent UCI anti doping measures are good public relations against the bad press gotten by cycling through recent drug scandals such as the Landis affair from the Tour de France last summer.

In Chicago, Landis demonstrated his sense of propriety
by adjusting the authorship of this fan's book.

Forums
At DPF, Klass Faber, author of a letter at chemometry drops in on a discussion about measurement error, which continues inconclusively. It appears that parties with completely differing conclusiong both argue that Faber supports their position!

For related but also tangential discussion, Faber adds at the end of his post:

Now the difficulty of the current discussion is, that we are talking about (1) a specific measurement (IRMS) and (2) a specific athlete (Floyd Landis). What would really help here is that the labs that are involved would provide details about (1) the raw data they obtained from the instrument and (2) the actual calculations they performed on these data. Rule #1 in scientific research is that the results be reproducible by someone else (another researcher). As far as I can see, they are not at the moment.

Our understanding is that Landis has been asking for the data files in question, including the calibration runs, since deBoer was present at the B sample test in August, reiterated in discovery request in October, and granted by the Arbitrators in a preliminary motion in January.

But USADA has still not produced them.

Also, You3 and Duckstrap continue their consideration of the TE measurement discrepancies.


Thought for the Day

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." -Friedrich Nietzsche-

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Monday Roundup

News
The Denver Post's Steve Lipsher covered last night's well attended FFF event in Westminster, CO noting that Landis bristled at the suggestion that he may be exonerated by virtue of a technicality:

Although Team Landis is pointing out numerous flaws in the way test samples were handled, Landis bristles at the notion he may get off on a technicality.

"To me, the test is a series of technicalities. That's what it is. It's a highly technical test, and if you don't do it right, you don't get the right answer," Landis said.

The Boulder Daily Camera also covered the FFF fund raiser in Westminster where Dr Baker's presentation seemed to have been appreciated. It was also noted that the event was held on the first day Paris Nice which was without Landis there to defend his title:

The season started Sunday, and Landis doesn't plan to be part of any of it. He said, even if he's cleared, he hasn't trained enough. That doesn't mean he is resting.

"Sometimes you're dealt a bad hand," he said. "But I came to play, and I'm not leaving."

The piece also contains an MP3 download of the Q&A press conference held prior to the slide presentation, as well as a link to allow a direct ipod download of the article itself.


Blogs
Rant revisits one of the more popular theories -- the "patch" for recovery, and finds it lacking scientific credibility. He also suggests its wide circulation in the early days hints at assassination by whispers to the press. This is apparently being repeated by "sources" even as we speak.

Triple Crankset read the Denver Post piece with interest, and likes that Floyd Landis, a.k.a. Bad Boy Floyd, wants to keep things noble by helping to change the system that he is fighting so hard to amend. Triple Crankset has been busy today, and here he talks about healing, his impressions of Floyd upon meeting him, seeing Dr. Baker's slide presentation, and just some generally great words to live by.

Brookhenry went to the fund raiser held in the Denver area yesterday, but didn't stick around for pictures and autographs afterwards because she thought it would be a shame to miss a beautiful day and a chance to ride.

Best Runner Ever had lots to complain about yesterday, but getting to shake hands with Floyd Landis was not one of them.

Potholes and Roadapples revisits Landis' last season.


Thought for the Day

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." -Winston Churchill-

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Sunday Roundup

News
The Chicago Tribune's (registration may be required) Phillip Hersh found Landis to be slightly irritable with reporters prior to yesterday's town meeting in Chicago, but also found him very relaxed in front of a supportive audience at the event itself. Hersh decided that spandex suits Landis better than a jacket and tie, but when it came to the actual presentation by Dr Baker, he was impressed:

The Landis team members say they can't get the evidence they need and had to agree not to post any new defense materials during the discovery process. Whatever the final outcome, they feel the system is stacked against athletes charged with doping.

"We're hopeful," Landis said. "If the system doesn't work and the hearing is not fair, at least everyone got to hear the whole story."

The Olympian makes the above story available without the need for registration.


The Chicago Sun Times' Carol Slezak seems to find her views changing slightly at Friday's art auction fund raising event in Chicago -- punctuationg the story several times with , "what if he's innocent?", as if that were a new possibility previously unconsidered. Not yet convinced, she quotes a member of the audience who may reflect her own undertainty:

As Landis' fans -- or were they cycling fans? -- waited to meet him, you asked a couple of them whether they thought he was innocent. Their view: Probably not, but you never know. He says he's innocent, doesn't he? Either way, he seems like such a nice guy. And he is a great cyclist. In other words, they didn't seem to care much one way or the other. And maybe that's what sports fans have been driven to when it comes to the topic of performance-enhancing drugs: shrugging acceptance.

Blogs
Foul Balls high-five's Steroid Nation's extensive coverage of yesterday's FFF event in Chicago and thinks that Landis may actually be innocent.

LeftoverDome forgets what Floyd Landis has been accused of, but knows that he is still railing against whatever it is nonetheless.

Joeschmo's Gears and Grounds notes the passing of the Operation Puerto investigation and feels that the "hysteria" created by OP last summer somehow led to Floyd Landis' current troubles.

Zbicyclist had a minor brush with fame yesterday at the FFF event in Chicago.

Steroid Nation posts video of the FFF town hall in Chicago at YouTube, in edible 10 minute chunks with listing of the contents of each so you can pick which ones to view. It you want a summary, there's a pointer to Rant's piece of yesterday. For fun, count the spoken-words-per-minute difference between Landis and Robbie Ventura.


FasterJim posts before and after pictures of himself with Floyd Landis. One from August at the Vision Quest event held there, and one from Friday night's art auction event.

Floyd seemed much more outgoing than he was in August. Maybe he's gotten used to talking to lots of people he doesn't really know that well and with his admitted discomfort with asking people for money, maybe he's trying to go the extra mile.

Gem-osophy has a post from waay back on July 29th talking about Landis' and the family back in Farmersville, with some good pix.

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Saturday Roundup

News
The Boston Globe provides an AP analysis of yesterday's UCI "100% Against Doping" program unveling, and takes note of the fact that no one from any of the three major tours was present at the announcement.

NY Times is reporting the FDA is adding a new, major warning to EPO packaging on heart attack risk for users. They are way behind the doping witch doctors, who learned that the hard way a long time ago.

Eurosport is saying the Spanish Judge is shutting down the Puerto case for lack of a crime at the time the case was started. Under current law, there probably would be a case, it seems.

VeloNews announces a regime change, at VeloNews.

Blogs
Rant went to the FFF events in Chicago, and files a report with pictures. Well attended, and seemingly lucrative.

BikingBis tells about the 2007 Group Health Seattle International Bicycle Expo where former professional rider Frankie Andreu spoke today.To this day Andreu still reserves judgment on the Landis case:

Andreu noted that Landis and his defense team have pointed to "a lot of inaccuracies" at the French lab that analyzed the urine samples that led to the doping accusations. But, "we've only heard from one side," he said. He wants to wait to hear from the other side -- the anti-doping agency and its witnesses -- before he decides about the case.

The Rock of Agius says he got drunk with Floyd Landis, but he seems to be employing a bit of hyperbole. Be warned included in the post is one of the snarkier utube versions of "Bikin' Dirty".

Suitcase of Courage notes the beginning of Paris Nice, without its defending champion.

Vagabond Shark is excited to learn that nanotechnology was used in last year's Tour de France winning BMC bike.

Historian on Two Wheels believes, citing other negative tests and no point to one-time use; training data that showed similar rides; his own example of doing what others said couldn't be done.

Thought for the Day

The president [George Bush] said [Ollie] North and his family have suffered enough and that the decision showed that the system works. But he would not comment on North's getting off on a technicality.

Prosecutors decided yesterday to drop the case against North, saying they would not be able to prove that North's trial was not influenced by testimony he gave to Congress under a grant of immunity.

(It's hard to prove a negative.)

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Friday Roundup

News
From TbV correspondent Marc comes this summary of the UCI's new Anti Doping Program:

The 100 % Against Doping initiative represents a quantum leap forward for the cycling world in its efforts to fight doping.

Our objective is clear: to give cycling the best antidoping programme in the world.

"Only clean riders should win; those who cheat should be caught; those considering trying to cheat should be discouraged. Together we can eliminate doping from our sport says " Pat McQuaid, President of the International Cycling Union

The new UCI ProTour anti-doping programme represents a strong commitment of resources and effort from all those involved in the UCI ProTour. UCI ProTeams, UCI Professional

Continental Teams, riders and organisers, are all saying NO to doping by working together to implement a series of unprecedented measures.

This programme contains numerous new measures, which will complement the UCI’s existing anti-doping activities. Each one covers 100 % of riders.

The main features of the programme will be implemented as early as the start of the 2007 season.

Programme summary

Unannounced out-of-competition tests for 100 % of riders
100 % of riders will be subject to unannounced out-of-competition tests.
Out-of-competition tests will be targeted to eliminate cheats.
Riders not subject to such tests in their own countries will be particularly targeted.

Blood tests for 100 % of riders
100 % of riders will be subject to blood tests before the Major Tours.
100 % of teams will undergo pre-race blood tests at least four times per year.
Blood tests will be targeted to eliminate cheats.
Unannounced (no-notice) tests will be organised during training sessions.

Creation of an individual profile for 100 % of riders
A haematological profile (blood) will be created for 100 % of riders.
A steroid profile (urine) will be created for selected riders.
An international database will be set up, in cooperation with the World Anti-Doping Agency and national anti-doping agencies.

Development of new tests in cooperation with 100 % of riders
100 % of riders will take part in an anti-doping research programme.
Each year, the most relevant research will be selected for rider’s participation.

Agreement to provide DNA by 100 % of riders
100 % of riders will commit to provide a sample of their DNA if necessary, in the respect of laws and ethical rules.
Samples will be used for identification purposes in the event of the discovery of suspect matter (organic matter or doping substances).
Clean riders will then be able to demonstrate their commitment against doping.

The same code of conduct for 100 % of teams
100 % of riders will commit to a standard code of conduct.
100 % of riders will be subject to the code.

Creation of an Advisory Board
This programme is in addition to the UCI’s extensive existing anti-doping measures:
Riders
Teams
UCI anti-doping authorities
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
International Olympic Committee (IOC)
Scientific community
Political world
Media


Existing UCI anti-doping measures
This programme is in addition to the UCI’s extensive existing anti-doping measures:

In-competition and out-of-competition anti-doping tests.

In-competition blood tests.

Medical monitoring (periodic tests, rider’s medical file and health booklet).

Sanctions in compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code.

The UCI’s anti-doping rules are constantly being revised as new measures are introduced.

The UCI’s anti-doping rules are available in full at www.uci.ch (Parts 13 and 14).



BikeBiz summarizes the salient points of the new UCI anti doping program with some commentary, plus what effect it might have on the Landis case and vice versa.

The TimesOnline gives a very brief synopsis of the new UCI anti doping program scheduled to be detailed sometime today:

The International Cycling Union will announce a series of tough drugs-testing measures today in an effort to repair the tarnished image of the sport.

The new programme, called “100 per cent Against Doping”, follows on the heels of the Spanish inquiry into blood doping known as Operation Puerto and the positive test at the Tour de France last year by Floyd Landis, the winner.

The IHT prints a bit more about the announcement which should occur soon.

The Guardian, in a piece largely about David Millar's views of the Tour, presents what may be the European view when it comes to the Landis case -- that most people expect him to lose.

Blogs
Sportspad thinks the UCI has developed this "purge" with its new testing program in order to avoid another "blotch" on the Tour de France such as the one which occurred last year. This post may just be the "snark of the day".

Rant waits for more details on the UCI's new anti doping program, but feels that the public trust it is meant to restore has been damaged greatly by "the powers that be" themselves.

The First 100 MIles Sara Best mentions a mysterious and supposedly amusing "mission" this weekend that involves Floyd Landis.

Lij doesn't understand how people can claim to love the Tour de France, but dislike the country itself. It's a contradictory opinion as the race is a celebration of the land in which it is run.


Thought for the Day

[S]pare me any more whining about somebody getting off on a technicality. You live by technicalities, whether it’s conflicting deadlines for counting votes or arbitrary cut-off dates for claims of actual innocence. And worse, you do it in the name of efficiency. [. . .] You guys just want to make the trains run on time.

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