New DNA better than old DNA

“Ah yes, but no more 1966. Lets splurge! Bring us some fresh wine! The freshest you’ve got – this year! No more of this old stuff.” The Jerk 1979

Well folks I learned something today. It seems that not everything gets better with age. Cyclingnews is reporting that Jan Ullrich will come to Germany to give a DNA sample for the purposes of matching it to samples collected as part of Operation Puerto.

But, Jan the German authorities already have a sample of your DNA. Remember, they had a house party in your Swiss chalet while you were on your honeymoon. Well, Der Kaiser is saying “Nein!” to that sample. Hmmm. Jan’s lawyers are saying that they can not give permission to use that sample because there are private papers that they want to protect. Ok, whatever.

UCI redraws line in sand

Grand Tours: This town ain’t big enough for the two of us

UCI: It ain’t?

Grand Tours: No it ain’t!

UCI: I’ll fix that (builds bigger city)

UCI: Now is it big enough?

Grant Tours: No!

Adapted from Bugs Bunny Rides Again (1948)

In the never ending battle between the UCI and the Grand Tours, the UCI reacted to the first shot fired by the Grand Tours with a strongly worded whimper.

ASO, the organizer of the Tour de France, made good on its promise to only invite 18 ProTour teams. Therefore, the latest ProTour team Unibet was denied entry into the first Grand Tour event Paris-Nice. Unibet is the 19th ProTour team replacing the departed Phonak.

The UCI returned fire with a quote that started out strong:

“Without going into details right now, at the moment we are looking at what measures we could take in relation to the Paris-Nice situation.”

You go girl! Then, Pat follows that up with:

“There is a general agreement that the ProTour is good for the future of cycling. It needs some changes, everybody is aware of that, but it requires that everybody gathers around the table and starts working together. We can then look at those changes and introduce them. The UCI is prepared to sit down with the Grand Tour organisers and discuss those things. “

Sit down and discuss? What? Come on Pat, they just just raised the battle flag, took dead aim and fired. If they wanted to talk, they would have invited you over for a little tea. I would have figured an Irishman would know when talking was over and the time to pun down the pint and bring up the fists had come.

Get in there and start swinging.

Christian keeping his powder dry

In a remarkable show of restraint, Tour de France boss Christian Prudhomme declined to lob a verbal grenade into the whole doping controversy. When asked by La Gazzetta dello Sport if Ivan Basso would be riding the Tour de France, Christian replied:

“Basso racing in the Tour de France. I know that all Italians are interested in this. It is a valid question but now I am not able to respond. We will see.”

Wow, refreshing. I think everything will come to a head around Basso. All other Operation Puerto riders have either left the sport or are riding on Continental teams and therefore out of the crosshairs being set up at the ProTour level. That leaves Basso as the one rider who also happens to be one of the top riders in the sport as the lone representative of Operation Puerto. Basso now holds the lightning rod for the whole botched effort.

It will be interesting to see if the UCI, WADA, and race organizers decide to take a pass on Operation Puerto in 2007 until they have more ammunition once the courts release the evidence. That would bring all that frustration Floyd Landis’ way where the feeling that he may provide a greater chance of success. And I’m sad to say that the only thing on the table is winning and losing. The search for the truth has long since died.

Mom! The Grand Tours are not playing fair!

In a story that escaped me, it seems that the UCI is calling mom in to try to get a resolution to the ingoing tug of war between the ProTour and the Grand Tours.

Over in the Tour de France blog is a report that states that the UCI is planning on calling on the European Commission to settle the dispute on whether the Grand Tours have the right to organize their own races.

I guess the UCI feels that the EC has the competencies required to come to a decision. After all, the EC has been smacking around the tech companies such as Microsoft, Sun, and others for the past few years.

Pardon the pun but this dispute would be child’s play.

More motivation to get on the trainer

Over at Erik’s Cycling and Social Commentary blog, there is a link to the 1988 Tour de France L’Alpe de Huez climb. Try not to increase your pace while watching this.

Quick Step takes TTT At Tour of Qatar

It seems everyone is loving the Team Time Trial these days.  Except, of course, the Tour de France.  The Tour of Qatar is the latest to feature the team race.  The Tour of Qatar is more of a showcase race to call attention to a country that is eager to do business with the European continent. 

As in the Vuelta, the Tour of Qatar TTT was in place of the prologue.  When a TTT is this short (6km) it, in my opinion, brings out the best in a team.  Formations must be perfect and stay perfect.  The end result is a thing of beauty.

“It was very tough,” said Tom Boonen, third in the overall standings. “It’s not easy for a team to manage such a course over a small distance. You have to get off very quickly, don’t slow down and stay very organized. We were tough today.”

It is still too early to start guaging the form of the classics riders at this point but Patrick Lefevre and Quick-Step injected (sorry) a little excitement into the still young season.

Lefevre takes shoe from mouth and puts on other foot

An indignant Patrick Lefevre held a press conference where he blasted the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws for irresponsible journalism.  As quoted in Cyclingnews

“The way I have been tackled is inconceivable. A newspaper – worthy of that name – would never use such methods.”

Trial by media must really stink when you are the one on trial.  I’m sure that in Lefevre’s mind, this situation is different than the L’Equippe article on Lance Armstrong’s alleged doping.  Even when that article  led to an independent investigation clearing Armstrong, Lefevre said “The last clean winner of the Tour de France was Jan Ullrich in 1997.”

So, Patrick.  How does it feel to be on the other side of a media frenzy? 

Here is a twist, WADA thinks UK too strict

Apparently, the UK anti doping policy is too strict by even Dick Pound’s standards.  The UK has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to doping.  When they say zero tolerance, they mean -273 degrees Farenheit.

The UK policy extends to the random testing.  In most places, if you are not home when the doping police come calling, they give you a call on your mobile phone and tell you to get back right now.  To the UK, that is unacceptable.  If you are not there, you are done.

Take the case of track star, Christine Ohuruogu.  She went to her normal workout spot which was being used by a local school.  So she went down the road to train.  The anti-doping police showed up to where she was supposed to be, found her not there and suspended her for 12 months.

Dick Pound in defending Christine said;  “I think you have to make a reasonable effort to find the athlete. A tester can’t just sit at the bus stop and hope an athlete walks by.”

So Dick wants the rule changed whereby the authorities need to make a ‘reasonable’ effort to find the athlete for an out of competition test. 

The UK responded;  “Our view is that if you give notice you give an opportunity for manipulation. But if the WADA Code changes to require it, we shall fall into line.”

Take me now, I’ve heard it all.

This post is rated:

 I thought something like this would come from Mario Cipollini, but it actually comes from the world of soccer.  AC Milan player Marco Borriello tested positive for cortisone recently.  Like many Italian athletes, there is one thing he loves more than soccer.  That is Amore’.

Marco explains that he has identified the source of his positive test.  His cortisone was supplied by his girlfriend Belen Rodriguez.  Supplied may not capture the essence of the mistake.  Apparently, Belen had some issue requiring treatment.  Since she is not subject to WADA rules, she treated it with cortisone.  The cortisone was later transferred to Marco.  If you want to know more, you will need to read the article in the UK Daily Mail. Belen blames herself that their recent “session” is proving “fatal” to Marco’s soccer career.

This may be just one more reason coaches will advise their male athletes in training to avoid the fairer sex.

NFL widens tests for performance enhancing drugs

The National Football League after months of negotiation with the players union announced that they will expand the drug testing program for its players.  Key points to the new program.

1. Testing used to be only in the preseason and for recreational drugs and steroids.  Now, they will test for EPO as well.
2. Players suspended after testing positive will, for the first time, forfeit a portion of their signing bonuses in addition to the salary.  The only guaranteed part of a player’s salary is the signing bonus
3. Ten players will be randomly tested each week from a roster of about 45 players
4. The NFL policy mandates a four-game suspension for a first steroids offense and a year for a second.
5. For recreational drugs such as marijuana or cocaine there is no suspension for a first positive test.  The player is given counseling.
6. The program also includes additional use of carbon isotope ratio testing on a random basis to detect for doses of testosterone. The isotope test was previously used only to validate a positive test.

It’s a start.