Reuters reports that Floyd Landis’s appeal of a doping ban that cost him the 2006 Tour de France title is scheduled to be heard by a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) panel on March 19, the rider’s attorney told Reuters on Saturday.

“We are really looking forward to appealing the (U.S.) decision and optimistic the CAS panel will view favorably for Floyd,” Maurice Suh said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. The New York hearing is the American cyclist’s final attempt to overturn a two-year doping ban. Last year, a U.S. arbitration panel upheld findings by a French laboratory that Landis had used synthetic testosterone in winning the 2006 Tour.

“We will prove, once again, that the French laboratory’s work violated numerous rules and proper procedure, rendering its results meaningless and inaccurate,” Suh said last year in announcing Landis would appeal the U.S. panel’s decision to CAS.

Happy New Year to all of you, whoever you are (let me know with a comment). As I get ready to think about the new year, I noticed that cyclists are already geting a jump on the new year with the annual New Year’s eve mountain bike snow race, where cyclists ride bikes on the ski slopes in the alpine resort of Villars, Switzerland. This year, nearly 100 cyclists rode the 5 km track on snow. Seems a little crazy and over the top to me — what do you think?

Wow! What a difference 750 days or so makes….Looking back just two years ago, we go from total euphoria in watching Lance Armstrong, one of the premier athletes in the world, win his seventh straight Tour de France to the announcement yesterday that the Discover Channel cycling team would disband at yearend.

I am sad and disilllusioned by a sport that I love so much. It is painful to watch some of these athletes tarnish the sport so greatly, that no sponsor will step in and take the reigning tour de France championship team. Cycling is at a new low. Can it recover?

The Summit (CO) Daily New (Devon O’Neil) sums up my feelings on the Tour de Farce:

In parting, just to take stock: We’ve got an entire sport (cycling) teetering on collapse yet again, we’ve got a superstar NFL quarterback charged with killing animals for money, we’ve got an NBA referee facing a game-fixing probe, and the greatest record in sports is about to be broken by a steroids user.

Thank heavens for college softball (I would substitute college football).

HT:  Trust but Verify 

Tour de Farce leader Michael Rasmussen was removed from the race by his team after winning Wednesday’s stage, the biggest blow yet in cycling’s doping-tainted premier event. “Michael Rasmussen has been sent home for violating (the team’s) internal rules,” Rabobank team spokesman Jacob Bergsma told The Associated Press by phone.The expulsion, which Bergsma said was ordered by the Dutch team sponsor, was linked to “incorrect” information that Rasmussen gave to the team’s sports director over his whereabouts last month. Rasmussen missed random drug tests May 8 and June 28. The 33-year-old rider, who won Wednesday’s stage, had looked set to win the race, which ends Sunday in Paris. But Tour officials had questioned why he was allowed to take the start on July 7 in London, England.

“We cannot say that Rasmussen cheated, but his flippancy and his lies on his whereabouts had become unbearable,” Tour director Christian Prudhomme told the AP. The leader of cycling’s governing body applauded the decision. “My immediate reaction is, why didn’t they do this at the end of June, when they had the same information,” Pat McQuaid said. “The team decided to pull him out; that’s their prerogative. I can only applaud that. It’s a zero-tolerance policy, and it’s a lesson for the future.”

With Rasmussen out, Spanish rider Alberto Contador of the Discovery Channel team moved into the race lead. “It’s in no way a celebration on our end. It’s the third piece of bad news,” said Discovery Channel spokesman P.J. Rabice. “It reflects badly on our sport.” After the Tour’s upbeat start in London, when millions of spectators lined the streets, bad news – nearly all of it related to doping – quickly claimed the spotlight.

On Tuesday, star cyclist Alexandre Vinokourov was sent home after testing positive for a banned blood transfusion, and his team pulled out of the race. Wednesday, it happened again when the Cofidis squad confirmed its rider Cristian Moreni of Italy had failed a doping test, prompted the withdrawal of the entire squad. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the 104-year-old Tour ever had lost its leader in such fashion so close to the finish. “In the very old history of the Tour de France, I don’t know, but the recent past – never,” said Tour spokesman Philippe Sudres.

Wow! Does Robbie McEwen have a gear that no one else has? Robbie produced a stunning come-from-the-back-of-the-peleton finish to win yesterday’s first stage of the Tour de France. McEwen once again produced his trademark burst of power to finish a bike length ahead of Norwegian Thor Hushovd at the end of a dramatic 203km of racing from London.

McEwen, 35, looked to be out of contention when he had to stop for repairs after a crash as the race approached Canterbury towards the end of the 203km stage from London. With 12 miles to go, McEwen was forced to brake because of riders ahead. He was hit from behind by a cyclist and sent sprawling to the road. “The fall itself was on a small road,” the Australian continued. “They [the other riders] were braking in font of me and almost stopping. I also went hard on my brakes. I had almost stopped but whoever was behind me wasn’t paying attention and just ran straight into the back of me. It flipped me over the handlebars. I tried to keep flipping over to land on my feet or maybe my back but my hand was the first thing to hit the ground and then my knee. Straight off, he feared that he might have to stop. “I initially thought that I had broken my wrist, as I couldn’t move it and it was very sore. I will have to go and get it looked at by the doctor.” Pressing on despite a sore right wrist and cuts on his right knee, McEwen was at the back of the peleton with 7 km to go but was escorted by his Predictor Lotto teammates back up into the leaders group for the final all-out sprint.

Will He Continue?
However the crash has left the 34-year-old Predictor-Lotto star nursing a sore wrist – and with major doubts for the coming days. “When it happens you’re not really thinking too much about it, you get back on your bike you don’t feel anything,” said McEwen, whose team-mates battled to bring him back into the race for the finale. “But now I’m starting to feel the pain, in my hand, my wrist and my knee. “It was a great day for me, but now I’m starting to get a bit worried for the rest of the Tour.”

As the 2007 TdF starts, let’s not forget about our friend, Floyd Landis, who will be here in Chicago at Borders at 830 N Michigan Ave on Tueday evening at 7pm to sign his book. As always, stay up with all the Floyd Landis progress at the Trust But Verify blog — they have the best info anywhere on the matter.

As we get close to the Fourth of July, I begin to get excited for the Tour de France, the toughest three weeks in sport. I love to watch the race highlights each night, as the riders cover more than 3, 550 kilometers. The race runs from Saturday July 7^th to Sunday July 29^th 2007. This is the 94^th running of the Tour de France and the race course will be made up of a prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,550 kilometres, as the riders encounter 11 flat stages, 6 mountain stages,1 medium mountain stage, and 2 individual time-trial stages.

This year, the Tour is mired in doping muck, but race leader Christian Prudhomme is putting down the hammer to ensure this is a clean race this year. He commented to Reuters, “The Tour de France has been wounded by doping scandals and must now work to restore its image. Yes, the Tour has been damaged, but it is strong. What other event could resist what’s happening the way it has?”

Last year, American Floyd Landis tested positive for testosterone on his way to victory and is unlikely to learn the outcome of his doping hearing before this year’s Tour, in which he will not take part, starts from London on July 7. The Tour also suffered another blow last month when Dane Bjarne Riis, the 1996 winner, said he had used banned drugs between 1993 and 1998.

“The Tour must regain its credibility and its dignity,” Prudhomme told Le Monde. “Today, the will (to fight doping) is there because doping is the enemy of the Tour.” Tour organizers have urged teams not to enter any rider involved in the doping investigation in Spain known as Operacion Puerto. Prudhomme said only riders who fully accept the anti-doping rules would be allowed to compete. “We will oppose the presence at the start of the Tour of any rider who will not have signed the International Cycling Union’s anti-doping charter,” he said, adding that race organizers would take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if needed.

I am a big cycling fan and am watching with interest the Floyd Landis doping hearing….For total coverage of the Landis affair, check out the #1 internet source …Trust But Verify

—————————————————————————————–

Here comes Lemond, stage left….I ask myself, what sort of media circus we will see as the USADA brings Greg Lemond up to testify?

1.. Will he testify that he talked to Landis after the announcement last year?
2. What would have been said in THAT conversation?
3. What can Lemond possibly add to the proceedings?
4. Does Greg Lemond believe in his own mind that HE is the only athlete ever to win multiple Tour de France races without doping?

Tomorrow we see as 3-time Tour winner Greg LeMond is expected to    [Read more...]

For you non-cycling fans,  join us as we review the day to day deliberations inthe Floyd Landis “doping” hearing…..catch all the best and timeliest Landis updates at Trust But Verify

Is he guilty and a cheater whose time is up?  Or is he innocent and is being railroaded by an out-of-control authority?  Stay tuned right here….

In Tuesday’s deliberations on the Floyd Landis case, a number of potential witnesses names’ were released (more than 40 in total-mostly technical witnesses about lab procedures and analysis procedures), including Eddy Merckx, Allan Lim (a Landis coach), Greg LeMond and John Eustice (retired cyclist). Lemond will be the most interesting and potentially provide the most fireworks, IMHO. You will remember that LeMond has been openly skeptical about Lance Armstrong’s statements that he was able to win seven straight Tours without doping. LeMond also is believed to have spoken with Landis by phone in the days after his positive tests became public. In addtion, the USDA will likely call up retired cyclist, Joe Papp, who is expected to testify how he benefited from testosterone usage during his racing career.

HOW DOES IT ALL WORK IN THE HEARING AT PEPPERDINE?

The San Jose Mercury News states that the hearing is set up with a three-member arbitration panel that will conduct the hearing under the commercial rules of the American Arbitration Association.  The arbitrators are Richard McLaren, a Montreal lawyer appointed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency; Bay Area lawyer Christopher L. Campbell, who was picked by Floyd Landis’ attorneys, and Patrice Brunet, a Canadian lawyer chosen by McLaren and Campbell as a neutral arbitrator. The format loosely follows U.S. court procedures. Both sides will make opening arguments and then present evidence and expert witnesses. All witnesses must answer questions from arbitrators and the other party.   The panel is expected to rule in June. Many expect the ruling to be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, whose decisions are binding.

Another day — another suspension of some guys whose cycling teams less than 10 days ago denied reports in the Italian press that the team had sidelined it key riders. Is there something I don’t know?

Have the team’s managers been worn down by the authorities’ juggernaut or do they really know something about Operacion Puerto that nobody is talking about?

In a press release today, their Tinkoff Credit Systems team announced that Tyler Hamilton and Jörg Jaksche will not race the 2007 Giro d’Italia and have been suspended indefinitely “until the competent authorities … have finally sorted out all the implication of the riders in Operación Puerto“. Team management said the decision was aimed “at relieving pressure created around the Giro … and on the team itself” after statements made by other squads that decided to deny Giro starts to riders thought to have been implicated in the Spanish blood-doping inquiry. In addition, German sprinter Danilo Hondo has also been suspended, although Tinkoff vows to “fully support” the fight against doping pressed by UCI president Pat McQuaid and race organizers.

This was a HUGE u-turn for Tinkoff, which on April 30 denied reports in the Italian press that the team had sidelined Hamilton and Jaksche, when the GM told Velo News “For me, Tyler and Jörg can start the Giro. Stories that they are suspended are not true.” “Tinkoff has a list of 12 riders that can go to the Giro. Tyler is on that list and we expect him to race.”

Hamilton also held out great hope, saying “Everything is for the Giro. I want to be on the podium in Milan,” at the Tour de Georgia.

What is happening here…Is the dam about to break? What do you think?

I am a big cycling fan and another hero of mine has fallen. After watching Ivan Basso for so many years and seeing Discovery Channel hire him, I thought for sure he was clean and honest. I thought that Discovery Channel would have grilled him and done every test in the book before hiring him so I thought that was a good indicator of truth and honesty. But no.

Giro d’Italia champion Ivan Basso said on Tuesday he had never used illegal substances or blood transfusions but was guilty of attempts at doping. “It is only attempted doping. my career I have never used doping substances or transfusions,” Basso told reporters at a packed news conference in Milan. On Tuesday, he declined to give details of what attempted doping meant. Italian media said his blood had been discovered in bags during the Spanish investigation.  Basso emphatically denied that his 2006 Giro victory was fuelled by illegal methods and said he was keen to return to a sport which has been badly tarnished by a number of doping allegations in recent years.

Another hero falls to zero.      Please Floyd….please be telling the truth about your innocence.  Thank God there is one hero who held the truth above all else and did what he said he would do.

AP — Yikes! Say it ain’t so Floyd.

Floyd Landis said he’s lost almost $10 million in potential earnings and might need to declare bankruptcy since being accused of using drugs to help win the Tour de France last year.  He faces a two-year racing ban and would be the first cyclist in the Tour’s 104-year history to lose his title for doping after testing positive for inappropriate levels of testosterone. [Read more...]