Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Tuesday Roundup

News
The Winnipeg Free Press says that Floyd Landis is just a "bad memory" lost in the morass of the appeals process, but Rodney Harrison, who was suspended from the NFL for the first four games of the year for PED use, is going to the Super Bowl in glory. Fair it's not.

Business Wire says that Greg LeMond will speak on ethics, doping, and the future of cycling in Santa Clara, CA on 2/17:

Three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond will speak at 6 p.m. Sunday, February 17, on "Ethics, Doping, and the Future of Cycling" at the Leavey Center at Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, Calif.

The event is free and open to the public. Joining LeMond in the discussion will be San Francisco Chronicle columnist Gwen Knapp, who has written extensively about doping. The talk coincides with the beginning of the Tour of California cycling race, scheduled to start the afternoon of Feb. 17 with a time trial in Palo Alto, Calif.

The VeloNews quotes Patrik Lefevere as saying the UCI's pro tour, which is attempting to "globalize" after losing the three grand tours and many one day classics, may be on the verge of collapse:

"Let us be clear - the ProTour is a failure," Lefevere told the Belgian daily La Voix des Sports. "This year we pay the same fee commitment in 2005. However, three-fourths of the races originally on the calendar have disappeared after the split of the major organizers. Any private company would have asked to be reimbursed."

Pat McQuaid heartily disagrees. Shock.


The CyclingNews reports that Alessandro Petacchi's CAS appeal which concerns his "non-negative" doping control for Salbutamol at the Giro last year, will commence on March 12 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Petacchi was not suspended by Milram, though he missed the summer, and has continued to race despite a recommendation by CONI that he be suspended.


Blogs
WADAwatch breaks the news that the AFLD/Floyd Landis decision is now on line in French and available a PDF file. We offer a bad translation.

WADAwatch gives us even more today with the intial draft of an unauthorized athletes "bill of rights".

Mani's Misc. postulates that doping and "sledging" , the practice of taunting opponents to break concentration in cricket, have much in common, a desire to win at all costs.

Susutio wants to know who would have "cried like a bitch", a most unfortunate and befuddling phrase coined by Floyd Landis in his recent VN interview, for most of the 2007 cycling season.

Cosmo read the new issue of Bicycling this AM which has a story about Rock Racing. He quotes his fave "Floydism" from the piece.

Sara Best read the Floyd Landis interview with Neal Rogers of VN and feels depressed that Floyd has not been able to move on:

I did read the Floyd interview over at Velo News with Neal Rogers. While I totally understand where it comes from, I find it depressing to still here him ranting away, with so much raw anger and frustration. I guess I always hope that, at some point, he'll be able to move past this and find something else in life that he can be just as passionate about

5 Count thinks Landis has reason to be mad as hell.

Oliver Starr looks at the big picture, and sees lots of folks with political reasons to want Landis found guilty. He's not very kind in his assessment of LeMond, and promises more tomorrow.


3 comments:

Unknown said...

Of course, GL has given of himself and has done so very much for cycling since his retirement as a rider.

Given his, post retirement, close involvement with professional cycling, his tireless advocacy on behalf of professional cyclists and all the ways in which he has selflessly lobbied for the betterment of the sport behid the scene with no desire what so ever to put himself in the limelight, it makes perfect sense for GL to be given a forum to speak about the ethics of the sport, the current crusade against doping in the sport, and the sport's future.

Sarcasm intended.

strbuk said...

Not to mention fellow participant Gwen Knapp who has written a number of rather ill informed articles on the subject. Should be a lot of fun.

str

snake said...

We should go !!

It's a short trip (for me). It's open to the public and FREE !

I'm thinking Mexican food before the big event.