Doping case against Tour de France winner Landis is upheld
An international sports court upheld doping charges Monday against cyclist Floyd Landis, affirming a laboratory finding that he had taken an illicit dose of testosterone to win the 2006 Tour de France and all but ending his nearly two-year campaign to clear his name.
The three-member panel of the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport also upheld Landis' two-year suspension from competition, backdated to Jan. 30, 2007. That means he will be eligible to resume racing Jan. 29. The arbitrators further ordered Landis to pay $100,000 in costs to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which prosecuted the doping case. It is unclear how that assessment might be enforced.
Landis, 32, is the first Tour winner to be stripped of his title for a doping violation.
The ruling removes a potential shadow over the sport's anti-doping system on the eve of two international events at which anti-doping measures are certain to take center stage: the 2008 Tour de France, which begins Saturday, and the Beijing Olympics, opening Aug. 8.
USADA Chief Executive Travis T. Tygart hailed the ruling. "We are pleased that justice was served and that Mr. Landis was not able to escape the consequences of his doping," he said in a prepared statement.
"Clearly this was a foregone conclusion," Landis said in an interview after the ruling was released. "I refuse to accept that the world works this way. I don't buy it." He said he has not decided on whether to pursue further legal options.
But his options are meager. Under the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which governs doping prosecutions in elite international sports, the Court of Arbitration for Sport is the final arbiter. Although Landis can challenge the latest finding in U.S. federal court, the federal judiciary has turned away all previous challenges to the anti-doping system and its arbitration procedures. That path also may be limited by Landis' dwindling resources: He has said his defense cost as much as $3 million, much of it raised from donors.
Landis, who lives in the Riverside County community of Murietta, won the 2006 Tour de France with a come-from-behind performance in a late stage of the race. Four days later, word emerged that his urine sample from that stage showed evidence of testosterone doping. He immediately declared his innocence and launched the most sustained attack by any accused athlete on the anti-doping system's science and procedures.
Landis accused WADA's Paris laboratory, which had performed the analysis on his Tour de France samples, of technical incompetence, bias and fraud. Several of his expert witnesses testified the lab's performance fell well short of international forensic standards. USADA witnesses, most of whom were employed by WADA labs or held WADA research grants, countered the French lab was in compliance with the agency's standards.
Monday's ruling criticized Landis' aggressive defense, accepting USADA's contention that his "frontal attack on the entire anti-doping system" had prolonged the case and threatened to make the prosecution "financially ruinous" for the government-funded anti-drug agency. The arbitrators said their $100,000 assessment was a penalty for what they called "the unprecedented scope and intensity of the technical challenges" he raised despite their rejection by an earlier arbitration panel.
Landis said he was taken aback by that aspect of the ruling. "I didn't expect it to be a personal attack on me and my defense," he said.
The doping charge was upheld in September by a divided three-member North American arbitration panel, which found the French lab was guilty of numerous errors of procedure and "sloppy practice," but ruled them insufficient to invalidate the conclusion that Landis had taken synthetic testosterone.
The three arbitrators issuing Monday's ruling -- lawyers from New York, Paris, and Auckland, New Zealand -- were even more supportive of the lab, which they said was guilty of little more than "minor procedural imperfections."
Referring to charges by Landis' attorneys that the lab had falsified documents, fabricated records and deleted important analytical data to support its findings, the arbitrators said they found "no evidence at all to sustain any of these serious allegations."
The inconsistencies in record-keeping Landis turned up might have reflected "less than ideal laboratory practices," they ruled, "but not lies, fraud, forgery, or cover-ups."
Copyright 2008 Los Angeles Times
Former Tour de France champion Ullrich to face questions about alleged doping
DUESSELDORF, Germany - Former Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich will face questions about doping allegations during a court case in which he is seeking unpaid wages.
"I can confirm that it is planned to question Mr. Ullrich if he doped or not," Ulrich Thole, spokesman for the Duesseldorf regional court, said Sunday.
Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner, wants US$760,000 from the Coast team, which has refused payment because it assumes he was doping while he rode for the squad in 2003.
A fraud investigation into allegations of performance-enhancing drug use by Ullrich was dropped in April. Ullrich maintained his innocence, but paid a large fine as part of a deal that included the dismissal of fraud charges.
Those charges centred on the idea that using performance-enhancing drugs deceived employers and boosted his income illegally.
Ullrich signed with T-Mobile in 2003 after Coast went bankrupt, and he was released by T-Mobile in 2006 after his name was linked to the Spanish doping scandal.
Copyright (c) 2008 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved
Di Luca surprised by Contador
Defending Giro d'Italia champion Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes) was surprised by the strength of Tour de France champion Alberto Contador (Astana) on yesterday's Giro d'Italia time trial. The Spaniard managed the second best time over the 39.4 kilometre time trial, just eight seconds behind stage winner Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre).
Contador has stated that his intentions are not to win the overall of the Giro. The Spanish rider raced yesterday's stage with a fractured elbow, which was revealed in x-rays on Monday's rest day.
"Contador surprised me more than [Gilberto] Simoni, however he went well too," Di Luca said. "Simoni went strong today and it is clear he did not pay from [Monday's] day off the bike."
Di Luca plans to utilise his LPR Brakes team to make Contador's life difficult in the coming two weeks, before the race concludes in Milano, June 1. "We will have to attack Contador, definitely," he said. "I will need to take back the advantage from him."
Di Luca pointed towards this weekend's stages, Stage 14 to Alpe di Pampeago and Stage 15 to Marmolada, as a possible time to launch his attack. "There will be a lot of [time] gaps From Saturday forward," he said. "I think Sunday's stage to Marmolada will be the most important."
The 32 year-old from Pescara finished 19th in Tuesday's Stage 10 time trail. Di Luca lost precious time to key overall rivals on the stage, including 2'03" to Alberto Contador, 1'51" to Andreas Klöden and 1'09" to Gilberto Simoni.
"I was going well on the flats, but on the climbs I could have gone better," Di Luca said following the test from Pesaro to Umbria, in Italy's Le Marche.
"This time trial did not make a difference, we are all still there," he said. "This does not change anything."
Today's stage concludes with a very demanding test to Cesena. Though the stage is not a high mountain run, Di Luca will stay alert. "It could make some difference and will be interesting," he said. "The climbers were saved today, even if I could have done better, but - I repeat - 40 or 50 seconds here won't change much."
Copyright Future Publishing (Overseas) Limited, a Future plc group company, 1995-2007. All rights reserved.
Lefevere denies new sponsor rumours
Quick Step manager Patrick Lefevere has denied claims that Specialized will become co-sponsor of the team in 2009. He has spoken to a number of possible candidates, but is yet to reach a final agreement with any of them.
"I have read here and there the figures that the claimed deal is worth," he told Belgian newspaper HLN. "We have already had a commitment with Specialized. I have spoken with the firm, but that they will become cosponsor is incorrect.
"I have many other avenues," he added. "I have submitted a dossier to many other companies and am waiting."
Lefevere's team is riding under the Quick Step banner this year after losing joint title sponsor Innergetic.
"Nevertheless, negotiations may be sluggish; some people think that I already have a deal," said Lefevere. "I have a verbal agreement with some current sponsors, but as long as there is nothing on paper, there is nothing official. I hope to be able to have everything finalised for the Tour of Belgium [May 28 - June 1] so that I can announce the new co-sponsor."
Copyrigth Future Publishing (Overseas) Limited, a Future plc group company, 1995-2007. All rights reserved.
Winner's Tour to Belgium and France!
5/May 2008 @ 19:46 by Sietse Bakker
Winner's Tour news! Eurovision.tv exclusively reports that the winner of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest will also come to Belgium and France. Last week, we already announced that the Winner's Tour entourage will visit London on the 31st of May.
Belgium and France are now confirmed as destinations included in the Winner's Tour 2008, which will bring the winner of the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest through a total of eight European countries between 28th of May and 3rd of June.
The Winner's Tour stops in Belgium on Sunday, the 1st of June, where the fresh Eurovision Song Contest winner will appear in Ostend to participate in a popular TV-show broadcasted by een, Flanders' 'first public TV channel. Other activities will be announced in due time.
The next day brings the winner to Paris, France, to participate in the biggest talk show on Radio Europe 1, The Jean Marc Morandini Show. The show is broadcasted live from 11:00 to 12:00 CET and is one of the most successful radio shows in France, with around four million listeners. The winning artist will also take part in a live talk show, hosted by Laurent Ruquier on France 2, between 19:00 and 20:00 CET.
28th of May: To be announced!
29th of May: To be announced!
30th of May: To be announced!
31st of May: London, United Kingdom
1st of June: Ostend, Belgium
2nd of June: Paris, France
3rd of June: To be announced!
The Winner's Tour schedule is preliminary, and last minute changes ánd additions can be made. Keep an eye on Eurovision.tv for the latest Winner's Tour news in the upcoming days. A special Winner's Tour website will be launched by the end of the week.
Last year, the European Broadcasting Union offered the first ever Winner's Tour to Marija Serifovic' from Serbia, visiting Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Greece.
Copyright EBU 2004-2008 All rights reserved.
Wheeler and O'Dea win 24-hour NPS opener
Chuck Wheeler and Namrita O'Dea emerged as the solo winners, and series leaders, at round one of the 2008 Suzuki 24 Hour National Point Series, the 24 Hours of Vail Lake, which was raced and won over a scorching weekend on April 26-27 at Vail Lake Mountain Resort in Temecula, California. This was the first win in a Suzuki 24 Hour National Point Series for both Wheeler and O'Dea.
Wheeler, a seasoned 24 hour racer, of Scottsdale, Arizona, overcame defending champion Rob Lichtenwalner, of Nazareth, Pennsylvania. to score his first victory on a scenic and hilly 10.22 mile course with 1,498 feet of climbing.
A heatwave drove temperatures well into the 90s [degrees Fahrenheit], and after pushing hard through the afternoon many riders welcomed the nightfall, but then began to feel how much extra they had put out in keeping cool during the heat of the day. Wheeler, who has a history of coming from behind, proved more consistent during the night than 2007 series champion Rob Lichtenwalner, who finished second. Wheeler completed 17 laps, compared to Lichtenwalner's 15. Eddie O'Dea finished third with 13 laps.
"I don't really have a strategy," said Wheeler, "I just go out and ride and try to stay constant. It works less frequently now that a lot of riders are getting so good."
Namrita O'Dea, Eddie's wife, won the women's solo race with 11 laps, ahead of Terri Wahlberg on Liz Baumgardt-Keys, who finished third with eight laps. 2006 Race Across America winner, Shanna Armstrong, was in contention with O'Dea for much of the first day, and looked to be the stronger climber, but after two painful falls on her left femur during the early night, Armstrong - who is using this race as training for her Badwater Ultramarathon attempt this July - decided to call herself done.
"It was very challenging with the heat. But I monitored my pace and my nutrition and hydration, and was able to remain constant through the night," said the women's winner. "Even though it was not a high mileage race, there was a lot of climbing, and with the heat it was very tough." Cyclingnews' diarist O'Dea is a nutrition student, who is planning to compete in four of the series races. "I think I have a chance for the series overall. I'm not sure who else is doing the series, but I think I have a chance," she said.
Copyright Future Publishing (Overseas) Limited, a Future plc group company, 1995-2007. All rights reserved.
Evans loses cycle legs in Liege, but Tour aims remain intact
1 day ago
ANS, Belgium (AFP) - Cadel Evans' plans to go one better than his runner-up place at last year's Tour de France remain intact after what has proved to be an ultimately confidence-boosting week of bike racing.
Yet on Sunday the 30-year-old Australian was left wondering about his form at the prestigious Liege-Bastogne-Liege one-day classic, where at least one of his yellow jersey rivals put his climbing potential on full display.
In the end, Evans finished in seventh place at 40sec behind Spanish winner Alejandro Valverde - a result which, given the difficulty of the 116-year-old race held over 261 km, is still impressive.
After an impressive second place finish on the steep ramps of the Fleche Wallonne classic on Wednesday, Evans was left a little concerned at his inability to follow a handful of fellow race contenders when they upped the pace on one of the race's final climbs.
"I didn't have the legs for the distance today," explained Evans, acknowledging that Liege's 261 km, including 12 punishing climbs, was a far bigger challenge than the 199.5 km of the Fleche Wallonne.
On Sunday the extra 61.5km appeared to make a real difference to Evans' bid, which came apart after he failed to follow Valverde, Davide Rebellin and the Schleck brothers Andy and Frank as they distanced him on the penultimate climb at Roche aux Faucons.
With 20km to go, the Australian was left trailing with fellow pre-race favourite Damiano Cunego, last week's winner of the Amstel Gold Race, and unlikely contender Christian Pfannberger.
In the end, Evans did well to finish 40sec behind Valverde, the 2006 winner who finished runner-up last year to absent Italian Danilo Di Luca.
"The team did everything I asked of them and raced really aggressively - they were a little too good for my form," said Evans.
"261 km is a little bit different from the 200 km I did on Wednesday."
With July's Tour de France - and then the Olympics in Beijing - Evans' main objectives of the season, the Australian will soon begin preparing for those events in May after what has been a positive spring campaign.
Asked if he was happy with his current form, the former mountain bike champion from Northern Territory was unequivocal.
"Absolutely," he said.
But Evans would be forgiven for being a little concerned over his failure to follow on the Roche aux Faucons, an ascent of only 1.5km with a punishing 9.9 percent average gradient featuring for the first time in a bid to toughen up the course.
It was there that Valverde - a potential yellow jersey winner in July - paid particular attention to Evans and Cunego.
"On the Roche I was watching Evans and Cunego," added Valverde.
"And when (Frank) Schleck, (Joaquim) Rodriguez and Rebellin went off I saw that Cunego and Evans couldn't follow. That's when I decided to go for it myself."
Prior to then, Silence teammate and fellow Aussie Matthew Lloyd had launched a futile attempt to up the pace in a bid to force a selection.
Evans then pulled away himself, but was soon reeled in. When Valverde and company then pulled away, Evans couldn't match the pace.
"When they went, I just didn't have the legs to get into position," he said.
But with an historic yellow jersey, and a possible Olympic gold, on the horizon Evans was quick to put things in perspective.
"I hoped for more today, but I'm just a part-time classics rider so I can't be too disappointed. I was more surprised to be (so) good at Fleche Wallonne than I was to be bad today.
"That's the way it goes. July (the Tour de France) is going to be when everyone says whether my year has been good or bad.
"I'll keep working towards that."
Copyright (c) 2008 AFP. All rights reserved.
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