Trek Founder Passes Away at 73 March 14, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Tour De France, Breaking News, Cycling , add a commentThe sport of cycling has lost a true pioneer. Richard Burke, a founder of the Trek Bicycle Corporation, which capitalized on the luster of Lance Armstrong’s victories in the Tour de France to reshape the way top-of-the-line bikes are manufactured, died Monday in Milwaukee at 73.
It was on a $6,500 carbon-fiber Model 5500 bike built by Trek that Mr. Armstrong won his first Tour de France in 1999, the first of his seven straight Tour titles. With that, Trek became the first American bike company to win the Tour and the first to build a carbon-fiber bike that won the Tour,” John Bradley, a senior editor and the cycling expert at Outside magazine, said Wednesday. “It was a watershed moment.”Racing bikes must be as light and stiff as possible. Before being made of carbon fiber, which has the best stiffness-to-weight ratio, the bikes were made of steel, titanium or aluminum. (more…)
Cycling: UCI…Bring It On! March 9, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Tour De France, Cycling , add a commentI am a HUGE cycling fan and we are now experiencing the fallout of a blood feud between the ASO and the UCI. The ASO controls the Tour de France race and the UCI controls the season-long Pro Tour. So now we get to this week’s Paris-Nice cycling race and both sides refuse to budge and the ASO has basically said, “UCI…Bring it on!”. Can someone please reign in these 2 year olds for the benefit of the sport?
The Paris-Nice race is set to start Sunday even though teams that participate face sanctions from cycling’s governing body, which says it is fighting for its “survival” and ability to regulate the doping-marred sport. International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid has urged riders to boycott the season’s first major stage race, calling it “illegal” because the race organizers—the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO)—are holding it under French laws and outside UCI rules.
McQuaid has threatened teams with six-month suspensions, fines of up to $9,700, and bans from the track world championships this month, which would affect cyclists (more…)
Happy New Year: Ready to Ride? January 1, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Tour De France , add a commentHappy 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?
Big Day - Sept 22 September 14, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentFinallly - like many high profile athlete cases, this one has been payed endlessly in the media — now we get to let the courts decide and in the next week, we will get our answer.
Is he guilty of doping or is he not guilty?
Yahoo Sports is reporting that the arbitrators in the Floyd Landis doping hearing met for the final time this week and declared the hearing officially closed, meaning a decision on the 2006 Tour de France winner’s fate must come in by Sept. 22. Over the past three months, arbitrators have been sorting through the evidence and collecting additional information from the parties. They met Wednesday and are writing their final decision.
Landis, who has denied using performance-enhancing drugs, would face a two-year ban from cycling and the loss of his Tour title if he loses the case. The losing side has the option to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Curtain Call August 11, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Tour De France , add a comment
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?
Mayo Positive for EPO July 30, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentI am officially disgusted with professional cycling. Today’s news is that Spanish rider Iban Mayo tested positive for EPO during the final week of the Tour de France. Doping allegations and suspicions have devastated the 2007 Tour, which ended Sunday, withn three riders, including former overall leader Michael Rasmussen, and two teams were expelled during the three-week race.Mayo’s Saunier Duval team was told of the results of the July 24 test by cycling’s governing body and “immediately suspended” Mayo, according to a statement posted on the team’s Web site. A second test is needed to confirm the initial positive result for Mayo, who finished 16th in cycling’s biggest event.
Let’s kick them out of cycling for two years and take away their annual pay.
I Share His Feelings July 25, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Tour De France , add a commentThe 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
Can It Happen Again? Say It Ain’t So! July 24, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Tour De France, Breaking News , add a commentWhat a debacle AGAIN! After he bonked then showed the world he could grit his teeth, and win a tough mountain stage, Alexander Vinokourov was found guilty of blood doping. This disgusts me….I really thought this would be a clean ride this year but again my legs are whacked out from beneath me.
In a scene eerily parallelling last year’s Tour winner Floyd Landis‘ remarkable “bonk one day then win the next“, Alexander Vinokourov was found guilty of blood doping and immediately sacked by his team, who also pulled out of the Tour de France. “The doping test carried on Alexander Vinokourov after last Saturday’s time trial in Albi has returned positive,” the Swiss team backed by Kazakh companies said. “There is the presence of a double population of haematids (blood corpuscles), which implies there has been a blood transfusion with homological (the same type of) blood.” “Tour organisers have asked Astana Cycling Team to leave the race, which has been accepted spontaneously.”
Vinokourov has asked for the B sample to be tested. “I cannot comment on this until the result of the B sample’s analysis,” International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid told Reuters over the phone. Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said the cheats should now be worried. “I told the riders before the start that this was a fantastic opportunity for renewal,” he said at a news conference.”That has failed. But the cheats must understand that they are playing Russian roulette. We are utterly determined”. Vuelta champion Vinokourov was one of the pre-race favorites for this year’s Tour but injured his knees in a crash during the first week of the race.
The 33-year-old then blew any hopes of victory when he bonked and finished almost half an hour down on stage winner Alberto Contador and overall leader Michael Rasmussen on Sunday. Vinokourov, who won Monday’s 15th stage, was 23rd in the overall standings, 28 minutes and 21 seconds behind yellow jersey holder Rasmussen of Denmark. The biggest loser of all of this blood doping? Andreas Kloeden, who was Astana’s best placed rider in the standings. The German, second in 2004 and third last year, was fifth overall, 5:34 down on the leader.
Still Waiting on Landis Ruling from Last Year
Last year’s Tour de France winner Floyd Landis is still awaiting a ruling from a United States arbitration panel after testing positive for testosterone during the 2006 race. The American has protested his innocence but if the decision goes against him, he could become the first Tour winner to be stripped of his title. Check out all the latest Floyd Landis updates at Trust but Verify.
McEwen Wins…Will He Continue? July 8, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Tour De France , add a comment
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.
Lemond Enters Stage Left May 16, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Tour De France , add a commentI 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
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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 (more…)
Parlez Vous Francais? May 15, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentToday was a day of translations at the Floyd Landis hearing as the USADA legal team worked to get a translated understanding of the lab procedures of the French laboratory that analyzed the Tour de France champion’s urine samples. The USADA called the laboratory’s analytical chemist, Cynthia Mongongu, as a witness on Tuesday, grinding through all the checks and balances of the lab’s testing system.
The morning was slow going as the testimony given by Belgium-born (more…)
Can I Get a Witness! May 15, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Tour De France , add a commentFor 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.
Landis: It All Begins Today May 14, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentToday, Monday, three arbitrators will convene their hearing on Floyd Landis’ case in a moot-court auditorium at Pepperdine University, pitting the one lone cyclist against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) who has alleged the cyclist used illicit performance- enhancing drugs, with a possible two-year suspension and loss of his Tour title hanging in the balance.
At the hearing, Landis will argue — as he has publicly — that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) testing lab in France made numerous errors in handling samples and interpreting test results. For the first time since the anti-doping enforcement system was created seven years ago, one of its hearings will be open to the press and public — subjecting its quasi-judicial process to public scrutiny like never before.
Dozens of journalists from around the world, as well as many other (more…)
What Don’t I Know? May 9, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Tour De France , add a comment
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?
Landis Bankruptcy? April 27, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Tour De France , 1 comment so far
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. (more…)
“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…….
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.
