Tour de Farce: Rasmussen Out — What the Heck is Going On? July 25, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Tour De France , add a commentTour 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.
“Let The Drug Free Chess Games Begin” November 30, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Tour De France , add a commentFrom humble beginnings in 1951, the Asian Games have blossomed to become the second largest sporting event in the world, only superseded by the Olympic Summer Games themselves. The 15th Asian Games, held in Doha, Qatar, will host more than 10,500 athletes from 45 countries and regions.
My favorite part? The drug-free environment mandated in the chess matches! Yes, Dick Pound would be proud of this ruthless focus on stopping the doping of chess players!
In its official press release, the organizing committee of Doha 2006 trumpets that chess players, like athletes in any of the other sports at the Asian Games, will be required to undergo doping tests in Doha. “The chess athletes will be treated exactly the same as any other sport,” said Julian Hocken, the manager of the venue where the chess competition will be held.
All the blog readers at Trust But Verify will get a huge kick out of this one…….
Tour de Farce? November 15, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, Tour De France , add a commentONLY IN FRANCE (AP) - The French anti-doping lab that tested American cyclist Floyd Landis’ urine samples told a newspaper it had made an “administrative error” when reporting its findings on his backup “B” sample, the French newspaper Le Monde reported Wednesday. The newspaper cited unnamed sources as saying the Chatenay-Malabry laboratory gave the wrong number in its report about Landis’ second sample. Tests on the rider’s two samples indicated that Landis had elevated levels of testosterone in his system when he won the Tour de France in July.
In a letter sent to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in September, Jacobs said the positive finding on the “B” sample came from a sample number not assigned to Landis.
“It’s incredibly sloppy,” Jacobs said at the time. “It has to make you wonder about the accuracy of the work.” On Sunday, Landis said in a French television interview that the lab made crucial errors in his tests. “Even the best people make mistakes,” he said. “I can’t say that the lab is always a bad lab, but I can say that in this case it made some mistakes I did not take testosterone.”
And predictably, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chief Dick Pound says he has complete confidence in the French laboratory that handled the drug tests on Tour de France champion Floyd Landis despite lapses in security and procedure. The French anti-doping laboratory (LNDD) in Chatenay-Malabry, on the outskirts of Paris, has come under intense scrutiny after its computer system was breached and French daily Le Monde reported that an error was made in the handling of Landis’s samples.
BBC Radio 4: Are There Statistical Weaknesses in Drug Testing? November 8, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , 1 comment so farWhere is the WADA when you need a comment? On November 6, BBC Radio 4 casted doubts on today’s testosterone testing, having investigated statistical weaknesses in the testing regime for drugs in sport. One athlete interviewed for the program who had initially been suspected of taking testosterone was finally cleared last week.
The presenter, Andrew Dilnot said “The cyclist Floyd Landis is also contesting the allegation that he too took testosterone to enhance his apparently winning performance in the Tour de France. “While we (BBC) have no idea of Landis’ guilt or innocence and would not speculate, is there anything in the argument that testosterone can reach suspicious levels for natural reasons? “What we found in our investigations was reason to concern us both about the plight of the innocent and our chances of catching the guilty.”Apparently they sought comment from the WADA about these problems in testing for thier show. The reponse?
“No one is available” said the WADA– can you believe it? Quite amazing after “shoot from the hip” Dick Pound erupted every other day after the Tour de France to blast Landis and Tour organizers.
Stern: Can’t Take Dick Pound Seriously November 7, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, Tour De France , 4commentsFinally, some respected sporting officials are speaking out about the lack of credibility and professionalism of Dick Pound.
A couple of days ago, NBA Commissioner David Stern criticized the World Anti-Doping Agency on Friday, saying “the organization has lost respect in the international community”. Stern jabbed WADA head Dick Pound for his treatment of Floyd Landis, the Tour de France winner who tested positive for testosterone.”(WADA) is actually getting harder to take seriously,” Stern said before the Bucks-Raptors game. “Whenever an organization which purports to be even-handed and fair announces that a `B’ sample isn’t necessary, then they lose an enormous amount of respect.”
It is about time people begin to look at Dick Pound and see what a loose cannon he is, saying stupid stuff from the hip that makes him lose respect in the international community and shows him to be non-credible in his role at WADA.
