Latest Pro Cycling news.

[Leongsam]

Ivan Basso will return to racing on the Liquigas team

Posted Apr. 24, 2008

Basso hopes to return to the form that gave him a victory in the 2006 Giro


Former Giro d'Italia champion Ivan Basso, suspended for his involvement in the Operacion Puerto scandal, has signed a two-year contract for 2009 and 2010 with Liquigas, the Italian team announced on Thursday.
The 30-year-old Italian's two-year suspension is scheduled to end on October 24. While Basso was origianlly banned on June 15 of last year, he had already spent 243 days under suspension. That figure, however, does not include time he spent as a member of the Discovery team.
Liquigas president Paolo Dal Lago said that having served his time, Basso deserves a new opportunity to resurect his career.

"Ivan Basso has served his suspension with dignity and has maintained a responsible, calm attitude characterised by the seriousness which has won over the public and his fellow professionals," he said.

Basso won the 2006 Giro and finished on the Tour de France podium in 2004 and 2005.

Officials, however, excluded Basso from the 2006 Tour when he and several other top cyclists were named in connection with the Puerto case. He was soon fired by his CSC team, but continued to maintain his innocence. He was later hired by Johan Bruyneel to ride as a member of Discovery.
Basso eventually left that team and confessed to "intending" to dope when officials at the Italian National Olympic Committee demanded a DNA sample from him in order to compare it with blood seized in the Puerto case.

"Basso is Italy’s most talented cyclist,” Dal Lago said. “We will help him to regain his form as we firmly believe that we can help him to achieve the standards of excellence of which he is capable. "

 

[Leongsam]

Kohl's stock plummets in Austria

By Agence France Presse
Posted Oct. 14, 2008
Article Extras

• Photos
• Race Index

Kohl is now under fire in his native Austria.


Photo: Agence France Presse

Austrian cycling star Bernhard Kohl awoke to widespread criticism in his country's press Tuesday after he became the latest rider to be snared for doping at this year's Tour de France.

A surprising third place finisher, who surprised climbing specialists by winning the King of the Mountains' polka dot jersey, Kohl on Monday was confirmed as the fourth rider - after Italians Ricardo Riccò and Leonardo Piepoli, and fellow Gerolsteiner teammate Stefan Schumacher - to test positive for CERA, a new generation of the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin).

Hailed as Austria's next sports personality of the year after his impressive Tour performance and battle to keep the polka dot jersey, Kohl's star has now fallen dramatically.

"The King of the Mountains in freefall," headlined the Kurier daily.
Austria's largest newspaper, the tabloid Kronen Zeitung claimed: "Austria has lost a sporting idol."

Kohl, with teammate Stefan Schumacher, early in this year's Tour de France. Both have tested positive for CERA.
Photo: Agence France Presse

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The French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) on Monday confirmed that Kohl tested positive on two occasions at the race, on July 3 - two days before the start - and July 15 on the race's first rest day.

The Standard newspaper noted that Kohl's positive test was the "13th Austrian positive test in cycling" since 1999.

Kohl's drugs use is all the more bitter for some journalists as many voted to elect him Austrian sports personality of the year. Kohl's name has been promptly deleted from the contenders list.

Some newspapers were quick to allege that Kohl's personal manager, Stefan Matschiner, is a close acquaintance of Walter Meyer, the banned Olympic cross-country skiing coach whose presence at the 2006 Turin Winter Games led to raids on the headquarters of the Austrian cross-country and biathlon teams.

Meyer fled Turin shortly before the raids and then drove his car into a police road block near the Austrian border.

 

[Leongsam]

Armstrong casts doubt on Tour return

By Andrew Hood
Posted Oct. 15, 2008

Armstrong is considering taking a pass on the '09 Tour.
Photo: Agence France Presse




Lance Armstrong’s comeback might not include the 2009 Tour de France, at least that’s what the seven-time Tour winner is hinting at this week.
Armstrong confirmed Monday that the Giro d’Italia will be part of his 2009 racing schedule and told Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport that the May grand tour could be his major goal for next season.


“I don’t have any experience with the Giro, but if I go it will be to win,” Armstrong told La Gazzetta. “Maybe it would be the only three-week race I would start in 2009, because right now, there are a lot of doubts about the Tour.”

Armstrong, 37, shocked the cycling world when he announced last month he would return to competitive racing. The Texan retired in 2005 after winning his seventh consecutive Tour crown, but the competitive juices got flowing again this summer when he raced to second in the Leadville 100 mountain bike race.
So far, Armstrong has confirmed he will race at the Tour Down Under in January, the Tour of California in February, Paris-Nice in March and the Giro in May.

Whether he continues to start the Tour depends on several factors. First, a key decision will be whether or not the Tour organizers would want to see him in the start line in Monaco next July. Astana, the team run by ex-Discovery Channel director Johan Bruyneel, was barred from this year’s Tour for doping scandals involving the team last year.

There’s no love loss between Armstrong and the French organizers, something Armstrong admitted.

“Before I announced my return, I contacted the organizers, but they didn’t respond,” he said. “Is it possible they wouldn’t invite me to the Tour? Anything is possible, but it would be incredible. I want to be in Paris, but in a serene situation.”

Armstrong says his top motivation to return to competitive cycling is to bring his cancer-fighting message to an international audience.

He said he wouldn’t want the controversies from his sometimes-confrontational past with Tour officials and journalists to interfere with his intentions of raising awareness about cancer.

“I’m more effective getting out the message about cancer on the bike,” he said. “Everyone knows the importance of the Tour, but with the problems I’ve had with organizers, with journalists, with fans, it could distract from my mission to focus world attention on the fight against cancer.”

Secondly, Armstrong won’t to go to the Tour if he’s not in fit enough shape to at least make a strong showing.

“I still believe I can be competitive. I watched the Tour this July and the desire come back,” he explained. “The final decision came in August, on the day I came second in the (Leadville 100). I had the answers I was looking for.”

Anything less than victory he risks not only tarnishing his stellar Tour reputation as well as giving fodder to skeptics who would pounce on a weak Armstrong ride, especially one that is run under a strict, anti-doping program as Armstrong is planning with Don Catlin.

“If I am tested every day, it’s impossible to cheat. If I am fast in the time trials as before and I can climb in the mountains as well as three years ago, the discussion should end there,” he said. “But I am sure there will always be a doubt, ‘okay in 2009, Lance was clean, but in the past?’”

And finally, if Armstrong skips the Tour, he avoids a potentially nasty fight with Astana team leader and 2007 Tour champion Alberto Contador.

Armstrong also confirmed speculation that he might be considering a career in public life after his finally hangs up the bike for good, mentioning that he might run for the governor of Texas.

“Maybe in 2014. It’s something on my mind, but it’s a job as hard as sacrificing on the bike,” he said. “Whatever the case, my family will be decisive in making the decision.”

Vuelta a España officials wasted no time in pressing its case if Armstrong decides to skip the Tour, issuing an open invitation to the Texan: “Armstrong knows he’s welcome to race the Vuelta whenever he wants.”
Maybe Armstrong could pull a “Contador,” and win the Giro and Vuelta in the same year and become the newest member of the grand tour “triple crown” club.

 

[Leongsam]

Armstrong skips Tour presentation

Two days after it was made public that the Giro d'Italia may be his only three-week race target of his comeback season next year, it has been made public that Lance Armstrong will not appear at the official presentation of the Tour de France, to be held in Paris' Palais des Congrès next week.

A spokesman of the American told L'Equipe that the seven-times Tour de France winner would not travel to Paris on October 22 to assist the announcement of next year's route.
<table align="right"> <caption class="small" align="bottom"> Contador and Pereiro will again wear suits in Paris
Photo ©: AFP</caption> <tbody><tr> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> While this can be seen as another indication for Armstrong's absence in the 2009 Tour, nothing is certain, as the cancer survivor also skipped the fancy presentations of the race in his last three years as a professional.

Meanwhile, his Astana teammate and 2007 winner of the event, Alberto Contador, 2006 winner Oscar Pereiro and this year's champion, Carlos Sastre, have confirmed their attendance. The kings of the last three Tours will discover the parcours details in the presence of Prince Albert II of Monaco, as the 2009 Grande Boucle will take its Grand Départ in the Principality of Monaco. First leaks of the Tour route emerged last month, with Barcelona a likely stage town of the first week and the Mont Ventoux a probable mountain stage on the penultimate day.

Stay tuned to Cyclingnews on October 22 for the breaking news on the 2009 Tour de France route.

 

[Bike_Tyson]

I think it's a big mistake for Armstrong if he ever returns. Though he claims his objective is to spread the cancer message. If he doesn't win, it's gonna be a very bad message that's he's sending. They'll say "oh, the cancer did him in"...etc..

Talking about doping, what is it about cycling that so many cyclists resort to such desperate measures to become competitive? And knowing they will easily and normally get caught. I don't see it so rampant with other sports.

 

[Leongsam]

Talking about doping, what is it about cycling that so many cyclists resort to such desperate measures to become competitive? And knowing they will easily and normally get caught. I don't see it so rampant with other sports.

Doping is rampant in ALL endurance sports. It has also permeated baseball, weightlifting etc.

However, cyclists get tested far more often using the latest advances in technology. That's why more are being caught.

NPR.org, December 13, 2007 ·

Major League Baseball has "a serious drug culture" in which steroid use is "widespread," says former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. His long-anticipated report on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball was released Thursday, culminating 20 months of work.


No other sport in the U.S. has launched such a comprehensive investigation of doping within its own ranks. Here are some questions and answers about the report — and the problem it seeks to remedy:


What were the major findings of the Mitchell Report?

It found "a serious drug culture within baseball," one that touches every one of the 30 major league teams. The drugs in question include steroids and, increasingly, human growth hormones, which cannot be detected by standard urine tests. Mitchell named dozens of players — current and former — who have illegally used performance-enhancing drugs. The list includes stars such as Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada, Andy Pettitte and Barry Bonds.


Whom does the report blame?

The report places blame on nearly everyone involved in baseball, including officials in the commissioner's office, the players' union, players and club owners. "There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and to deal with it early on," Mitchell concluded. In his report, the former senator was especially tough on the players, the vast majority of whom refused to cooperate with his investigation.



Will players who used the performance-enhancing drugs be punished?

That's not likely. The alleged offenses occurred as many as nine years ago, and fully half of the players named have since retired. In addition, Mitchell implied that punishing offenders might be counterproductive. Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said the possibility of suspension would be considered on a case-by-case basis.



How long has steroid use been a problem in Major League Baseball?

For at least a decade, and probably much longer. The 1990s saw a surge in home runs and, not coincidentally, a surge in attendance, as well. There were rumors of illegal doping, but the baseball establishment — owners, players, fans — largely turned the other way, content to see the game bouncing back from the disastrous 1994 players' strike.



Hasn't that changed since then? Isn't baseball cracking down on the illegal use of performance-enhancing drugs?

Yes. It established mandatory random testing in 2003, and has steadily ratcheted up the penalties for offenders. The big turning point, from a public-relations standpoint, came in 2005, when Congress held hearings on the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Those hearings underscored the extent of the problem, even as some star players such as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa either denied using steroids or evaded questions about their use.


Why is the Mitchell Report getting so much attention?

Because no other sport in the U.S. has conducted such a comprehensive and thorough investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Mitchell spoke to all 30 Major League Baseball teams and conducted hundreds of interviews (though he did not have subpoena power). Allegations of illegal drug use hit home for many Americans. Many young players view the major league stars as role models, and in fact, hundreds of thousands of teen players have used performance-enhancing drugs themselves, according to Mitchell.



Why did Major League Baseball choose George Mitchell to conduct this investigation?

The former senator and prosecutor is widely respected, with a reputation for both toughness and fairness. He has led peace missions to Northern Ireland and the Middle East. He is also a lifelong baseball fan and was once considered a top candidate to be commissioner of Major League Baseball.



Why do players take steroids?

Because they work. They allow an athlete to build muscle bulk and endurance, mostly by speeding recovery from strenuous workouts. Some experts believe the drugs also enable athletes to run faster and react more quickly on the playing field.



Are steroids dangerous to a player's health?

Absolutely. Steroids can lead to relatively minor side effects — such as premature balding and acne — but also can cause serious medical conditions, such as liver disease and cardiovascular problems. They can also cause mood swings and suicidal thoughts.



Aren't steroids used for legitimate medical reasons?

Yes. They're used to treat everyone from cancer patients to children with growth problems. But the doses are usually much smaller than those taken by athletes, and the drugs are only available by prescription.



Has the steroid scandal hurt baseball's popularity?

It hasn't hurt attendance, which continues to rise.


Is the use of performance-enhancing drugs limited to baseball?

Not at all. Nearly every major sport is wrestling with this problem. How they deal with it, though, differs widely. The Olympics and professional cycling have the toughest testing regimens and the toughest penalties. After a slow start, baseball now has the harshest penalties of any U.S. team sport. Given the ringing indictment by the Mitchell Report, those penalties — and overall policing of performance-enhancing drugs — are likely to get even tougher.

 

[Leongsam]

Greek prosecutor charges 25 people in weightlifting doping scandal

The Associated Press

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

A Greek prosecutor on Tuesday filed misdemeanor charges against 25 people in a doping scandal involving the country's weightlifting team.

Eleven of the team's 14 weightlifters tested positive for a banned substance during a spot doping check in March, and the results were announced in April. The scandal has made it unlikely that the Greek team will participate in the Beijing Olympics.

Prosecutor Andreas Karaflos ended his investigation into the scandal on Tuesday, bringing nine misdemeanor charges against those involved, including the 11 athletes and their coaching and medical team.

Former head coach Christos Iakovou faces five charges, the most serious of which is administering a banned substance to the athletes. If convicted of all counts, he could face a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Iakovou has insisted he did not knowingly give the team banned substances, and has blamed a faulty batch of diet supplements from China.
The 60-year-old Iakovou is one of Greece's most successful coaches, with his lifters winning 12 Olympic medals, including five gold, since the 1992 Barcelona Games.

A pharmacist in Athens and a man who allegedly imported the supplement from China have also been charged in the case.

 

[Leongsam]

Russian official: Weightlifting doping cases are 'tip of iceberg'

Associated Press


July 25, 2006 at 10:52 AM EDT

Moscow<!-- /dateline --> — A top Russian Olympic official says doping scandals involving the nation's weightlifters are only "the tip of the iceberg" and wants special laws against the trafficking of steroids from China.

Nikolai Durmanov, head of the Russian Olympic Committee's anti-doping agency, said Tuesday that young people are turning to steroids because of pressure to "resemble (Arnold) Schwarzenegger or (Sylvester) Stallone."
"I must say that the peak of doping, if everything is left as it is, will be in three or four years and will be comparable to America," Durmanov said.
Durmanov called for legislation that takes international steroid trafficking as seriously as the smuggling of other illegal drugs.
"Everyone knows perfectly well that the main producer of all these substances is China," Durmanov said at a news conference. "We are between China and Europe, so if we don't have legislation to fight steroid trafficking, then those steroids will end up in Europe tomorrow."
Durmanov spoke as Russian weightlifting officials voiced fears that their team could be barred from the 2008 Beijing Olympics because of a spate of doping cases.

Dmitry Berestov, a gold medallist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and Yevgeny Pisarev, a 17-year-old European junior champion, received two-year bans this month after failing drug tests. Under international federation rules, a third suspension in 2006 could result in the entire team being banned for two years.

"We need to do everything possible not to have a third person caught," Durmanov said. "If a third appears ... it means our federation gets an international ban and big problems with the Beijing Olympics."
Durmanov said the weightlifting cases are "only the small tip of a big iceberg." He said Russian anti-doping officials are facing a wider problem of steroid use in society at large, fueled by a popular culture that emphasizes physical appearance.

"People who like to lose weight as a rule do doping," he said. To back up his point, Durmanov pulled two fist-sized pill bottles out of his jacket that he said were confiscated from two "respectable" health clubs and represented the prevalence of performance-enhancing drugs.

 

[Leongsam]

Ullrich plans farewell ride


Former German cycling star Jan Ullrich, who put an end to his active career in February 2007, plans to organise a farewell ride for his fans next year. "It was planned a while ago, but the circumstances after my exclusion from the 2006 Tour de France did not allow for the cycling festival I had in mind," Ullrich told German Eurosport. Ullrich was heavily linked to the Operación Puerto case in Spain and suffered great loss of popularity in his native Germany.

One day after the announcement that the Deutschland Tour would cease to exist because of ongoing doping scandals shattering the country, the 1997 Tour de France winner said he imagined an unusual event to say his proper Goodbyes to cycling. "It won't be a normal 'man against man' race. I will think of something special," he said, adding that he would like to invite his greatest rival, Lance Armstrong, as well as five-times winner Miguel Indurain to the ride.

 

[mushroom-eater]

Anyone who is into trekking in here. Or camping stuff. It's really one of my hobbies.

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

Yup that is why I felt sad to see my all time fav Miguel Indurain lose his Maillot jaune before he finally retired. Always best to go out at the top of one's game.

I think it's a big mistake for Armstrong if he ever returns. Though he claims his objective is to spread the cancer message. If he doesn't win, it's gonna be a very bad message that's he's sending. They'll say "oh, the cancer did him in"...etc...

 

[Bike_Tyson]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/di-luca-positive-for-cera-in-giro

Di Luca positive for CERA in Giro
By:CyclingnewsPublished: July 22, 14:33, Updated: July 22, 17:46Edition:Second Edition Cycling News, Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes)
(Updated) UCI provisionally suspends Italian after two positives

The International Cycling Union (UCI) announced Wednesday that it has suspended Italian Danilo Di Luca for two positive tests for the EPO derivative CERA.

The LPR-Brakes rider's doping control samples showed evidence of the banned blood booster on two occasions - on May 20 and 28th during the 2009 Giro d'Italia.

Di Luca finished second overall in the Giro to Russian Denis Menchov of Rabobank.

"These adverse findings were a direct result of a targeted test programme conducted on Mr Di Luca using information from his biological passport’s blood profile, previous test results and his race schedule," the UCI press release stated.

"This is further proof that the system works and we are determined to get rid of the cheats," UCI president Pat McQuaid told Cyclingnews' Shane Stokes.

Di Luca's first positive test came on stage 11 of the Giro the day before the decisive Cinque Terre time trial. The second positive came on stage 18, the day before the final mountain stage to Mount Vesuvius.

On July 13 Di Luca and UCI president Pat McQuaid openly denied the rider was under investigation for his biological passport results after a Spanish newspaper reported as much.

It is the second time that Di Luca has come under suspicion of doping. He served a three-month suspension for involvement in the Italian "Oil for Drugs" investigation. He was suspended for working with a doctor who had been banned by the Italian federation.

It is still unclear as to whether or not Di Luca would face a possible lifetime ban for a second doping offence. "I’m not sure of the regulations on this but I don’t think it would count as a second offence. But that is for the legal people to determine," said McQuaid.

CERA, a more stable version of recominant erythropoeitin, was developed as a therapeutic agent to help anemic patients maintain a more table blood count than previous versions of the hormone which led to spikes and dips. Abuse of the drug by athletes was first detected in last year's Tour de France, when Italian Riccardo Ricco' was declared positive.

The French anti-doping agency AFLD pioneered the use of the CERA test to find several riders positive during or after the 2008 Tour. In post-Tour follow ups, Ricco's teammate Leonardo Piepoli, German Stefan Schumacher and Austrian Bernhard Kohl were also found to be positive for the substance.

Italian Emanuelle Selle was found to be positive for CERA in an out-of-competition test last year.

Schumacher and teammate Davide Rebellin were also caught in the CERA net when the International Olympic Committee re-tested samples from the Beijing Olympic Games and found them positive for the drug.

Before the Tour de France, the UCI announced the positives of several riders who it had targeted based on suspect profiles in the biological passport program. Riccardo Serrano and Inigo Landaluze have also been found positive for the substance this year.

 

[Ramseth]

Cycling? Bleaaah. Tour de France? Bleaaah.

Cycle thru the traffic in China, then that's cycling.

 

[Bike_Tyson]

Cycling thru' the traffic in China is not cycling, it's SUFFERING!

 

[Ramseth]

Cycling thru' the traffic in China is not cycling, it's SUFFERING!

LOL! Can't disagree you on this one.