UCI releases Olympic road race allocations
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-releases-olympic-road-race-allocations)
The UCI today announced the number of elite men's road cycling spaces each National Olympic Committee has been offered for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Host country Great Britain earned the maximum number of places to support world champion Mark Cavendish in his goal of taking home the Olympic gold.
Each country can earn a maximum of five spots in the road race and two in the time trial, but only six countries claimed the maximum in both events. World silver medalist Matt Goss helped earn the top spots for Australia, while defending Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez helped Spain to five spots. Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland also took the maximum allocation.
Places in the men's road race and time trial were based upon each country's ranking in the UCI WorldTour, Continental Tours, Continental Championships and rider rankings in the UCI tours.
Belgium, Italy and the USA earned five spots in the road race and one in the time trial, while Denmark and Kazakhstan were awarded the maximum number of places for the time trial.
While the top 10 of the WorldTour nations rankings earned five places and the 11th-15th placed countries earned four, each country could only qualify as many spots as it had riders in the 2011 WorldTour individual rankings. Therefore, Luxembourg, which was ninth in the WorldTour but only scored points with Fränk and Andy Schleck, was awarded just two places in the road race and one in the time trial.
Similarly, Norway (Edvald Boasson Hagen, Thor Hushovd and Alexander Kristoff) and Ireland (Daniel Martin, Philip Deignan and Nicolas Roche) were each awarded three places, despite taking 12th and 13th, respectively. Kazakhstan took 15th and claimed two places, qualified by Alexandre Vinokourov and Sergey Renev.
The top countries of each Continental Tour; Morocco (Africa Tour), Colombia (Americas) and Iran (Asia), were awarded three spots in the road race, while Italy (Europe) and Australia (Oceania) had already qualified the maximum through the WorldTour rankings.
Canada earned just one place in the road race and time trial, while China failed to qualify a single spot - however, Hong Kong was awarded one place in each event.
The allocations for women's road events will not be calculated until the end of May, 2012.
For the time trial, the top 15 countries in the WorldTour each earned one spot, while the top nations in the Continental Tours earned a single spot. Countries in the top 10 of the 2011 road world championships time trial earned one additional place in the time trial in London.
National Olympic Committees now have until November 17 to confirm they intend to use all of their spaces. If there are any unused spots in the 145-rider peloton, the UCI will distribute them between March and April 2012.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Goodbye Carlos Sastre
Here's another member of the peleton that I will miss:
Carlos Sastre ended his 14-year career with win in yesterday's Criterium of Oviedo. "It was a very special day for everything - for the environment I've lived in, for the reception of my peers... they can say goodbye by making me feel appreciated after all this time fighting out on the road," said Sastre. "The truth is that it was an exciting day that I really enjoyed."
The 36-year-old from Madrid, whose career highlight was undoubtedly an overall win in the 2008 Tour de France, announced his retirement a few weeks ago and was happy to be bowing out. "It's time to say goodbye to many years of suffering, defeats, joys, a lot of experiences, all of them memorable - the truth is that I am happy I made the decision. I've been in professional cycling all these years and, especially, have been able to shine and do what I liked," he continued.
Sastre won't be completely walking away from the sport, however. "From January 1 there will open a small parenthesis in my life, but I want so much to continue to be involved in this sport, in one way or other in the near future I will be.
"In the short term I will continue working as I have done so far with the Foundation Víctor Sastre, without any responsibility, as a hobby, but enjoying time with children and other cyclists without so much stress, and with all those who have been to me a stimulus for improvement and learning.
"The truth is that I feel happy because it has been a very good time, very important in my life, both personally and sporting. Saying goodbye to the homage of my colleagues, having been on the podium of the Tour of Spain with my own team has been very special to me. Thanks and a big hug to everyone," added Sastre.
Sastre says goodbye with a win
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sastre-says-goodbye-with-a-win)Carlos Sastre ended his 14-year career with win in yesterday's Criterium of Oviedo. "It was a very special day for everything - for the environment I've lived in, for the reception of my peers... they can say goodbye by making me feel appreciated after all this time fighting out on the road," said Sastre. "The truth is that it was an exciting day that I really enjoyed."
The 36-year-old from Madrid, whose career highlight was undoubtedly an overall win in the 2008 Tour de France, announced his retirement a few weeks ago and was happy to be bowing out. "It's time to say goodbye to many years of suffering, defeats, joys, a lot of experiences, all of them memorable - the truth is that I am happy I made the decision. I've been in professional cycling all these years and, especially, have been able to shine and do what I liked," he continued.
Sastre won't be completely walking away from the sport, however. "From January 1 there will open a small parenthesis in my life, but I want so much to continue to be involved in this sport, in one way or other in the near future I will be.
"In the short term I will continue working as I have done so far with the Foundation Víctor Sastre, without any responsibility, as a hobby, but enjoying time with children and other cyclists without so much stress, and with all those who have been to me a stimulus for improvement and learning.
"The truth is that I feel happy because it has been a very good time, very important in my life, both personally and sporting. Saying goodbye to the homage of my colleagues, having been on the podium of the Tour of Spain with my own team has been very special to me. Thanks and a big hug to everyone," added Sastre.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Rasmussen has to wait another 3 weeks...
Talk about a long wait! I guess the Danish Olympic Committee takes about as long as the American government!!!
Alex Rasmussen must continue to wait until November 17 to see what sanction he will face after receiving three warnings in an eighteen-month period for missing out of competition doping controls.
The Dane received two warnings from Anti-Doping Denmark in 2010 after failing to adequately compile his whereabouts form, and he subsequently missed an out-of-competition test by the UCI in April of this year.
Rasmussen has insisted that the missed tests were due to a lack of organisation on his part rather than an attempt to cheat. Given the nature of the case, he had hoped that the Danish Olympic Committee (DIF) would be able to reach a verdict sooner than anticipated.
“The wait is a little annoying,” Rasmussen told sporten.tv2.dk. “The case is clear and I just want a decision so that I can move on. But unfortunately, DIF cannot assemble the people for consultation before then.”
Ramussen’s contract was terminated by HTC-Highroad in September after the team was informed that he had received three warnings for missed tests. With HTC-Highroad set to disband at the end of the season, Rasmussen had already agreed to ride for Garmin-Cervélo for 2012.
Garmin-Cervélo subsequently stated that it would not sign Rasmussen due to its “stringent” anti-doping policy, but the rider has since claimed that team manager Jonathan Vaughters will complete the signing if he is cleared of wrongdoing.
“They are also awaiting action, and then we’ll talk,” Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen waiting for November verdict
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rasmussen-waiting-for-november-verdict)Alex Rasmussen must continue to wait until November 17 to see what sanction he will face after receiving three warnings in an eighteen-month period for missing out of competition doping controls.
The Dane received two warnings from Anti-Doping Denmark in 2010 after failing to adequately compile his whereabouts form, and he subsequently missed an out-of-competition test by the UCI in April of this year.
Rasmussen has insisted that the missed tests were due to a lack of organisation on his part rather than an attempt to cheat. Given the nature of the case, he had hoped that the Danish Olympic Committee (DIF) would be able to reach a verdict sooner than anticipated.
“The wait is a little annoying,” Rasmussen told sporten.tv2.dk. “The case is clear and I just want a decision so that I can move on. But unfortunately, DIF cannot assemble the people for consultation before then.”
Ramussen’s contract was terminated by HTC-Highroad in September after the team was informed that he had received three warnings for missed tests. With HTC-Highroad set to disband at the end of the season, Rasmussen had already agreed to ride for Garmin-Cervélo for 2012.
Garmin-Cervélo subsequently stated that it would not sign Rasmussen due to its “stringent” anti-doping policy, but the rider has since claimed that team manager Jonathan Vaughters will complete the signing if he is cleared of wrongdoing.
“They are also awaiting action, and then we’ll talk,” Rasmussen said.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The fate of Kolobnev...
Kolobnev, only Tour de France doping positive, gets warning
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kolobnev-only-tour-de-france-doping-positive-gets-warning)Russian Alexandr Kolobnev, the only rider in the 2011 Tour de France to test positive for a banned substance, has been recommended a warning and fine by the Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA), news.sport-express.ru reported today. The final decision is due in the next two weeks.
Kolobnev, 30, tested positive for a diuretic, hydrochlorothiazide (HCT), on stage 5 of the Tour de France, and quit the race on the first rest day pending confirmation of the B-sample testing. The result was confirmed nine days later.
The Katusha rider denied doping, and judging from his punishment by the Russian authorities, he was able to demonstrate that he did not intentionally ingest the substance. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules allow for situations where athletes may unintentionally ingest banned substances through, for example, contaminated supplements.
These drugs are classified in the WADA Prohibited List as "specified substances", of which HCT is one.
The WADA web site explains, "Generally speaking, 'specified substances' are substances that are more susceptible to a credible, non-doping explanation. If the athlete can prove that he or she did not intend to enhance performance by using them to the satisfaction of the results management authority, the sanction under the World Anti-Doping Code can go from a warning to a 2-year ban."
However, HCT is the same substance for which Belgian Iljo Keisse tested positive, and the UCI and WADA appealed his federation's decision to let him go with minimal punishment. However, when Keisse tested positive in 2008, the current 'specified substance' rules were not in place at the time of his positive test.
The Russian federation will forward the dossier on Kolobnev's case to the UCI, which will then, along with WADA, have one month and three weeks, respectively, to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Are Hagen's Mass Sprint Days Over?
Boasson Hagen should forget bunch sprints, says Hushovd
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/boasson-hagen-should-forget-bunch-sprints-says-hushovd)Edvald Boasson Hagen should forget the mass sprints and not dream of winning the Tour de France, Thor Hushovd has said. But the younger Norwegian should focus on the Classics and stage wins.
“I think it will be difficult for Edvald to win the Tour de France overall,“ Hushovd told the Norwegian TV 2 Sport. “But he can win all the Classics.”
Boasson Hagen's chances for the sprints will be reduced by the presence of Mark Cavendish on Team Sky in the coming season. “He cannot focus on flat sprints, because Cavendish will be the only one, there is no doubt. But Edvald can go for the harder ones as he did in the summer when he won the sixth stage of the Tour de France.”
Hushovd also believes that Boasson Hagen can win more time trials. “You see now that riders like Cancellara are not as superior as before. If Edvald had ridden the time trial (at the Worlds), I think he would have finished very high up.”
The 24-year-old's mental strength also came in for praise. “When he decides to go into a break, he is so outrageously determined and stubborn that he doesn't give up until he is caught. And when he is in the break, he is hard to catch. It's the way he should continue in the Tour de France. Then he can win the stages as he did this year.”
While Boasson Hagen won the sixth stage of the Tour in a sprint, he took the 17th stage out of a break. He was part of a group which got away 60km into the stage, and he then escaped from that group near the end to win in a solo effort.
Hushovd himself has transformed from a prologue and short time trial specialist to a mass sprinter to a Classics specialist, and he envisages that Boasson Hagen will develop in a similar way.
“He cannot do everything I think he will adjust automatically. He will find his direction and I think that will happen by itself,” Hushovd said, adding, “Edvald is not the type to ask for advice.”
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Record Breaking World Series Game
I know this is a cycling blog, but I'd like to step back for a second and talk about Albert Pujols's insane night for game 3 of the World Series!
Not bad company. Oh, yes, and Pujols set a series record with 14 total bases. And became the first player to get hits in four consecutive innings.
“It’s pretty special,” he said of equaling the feats of Ruth and Jackson. “Those guys were great players. To do it on this stage is amazing. At the same time, I didn’t walk into the ballpark thinking I’d have a night like tonight.”
What got into him? Sure, he’s a lifetime .328 hitter. His first 11 seasons match up with just about anybody who has ever worn a uniform. And he’s been just as good in the postseason, batting .331 with 15 home runs in 248 at-bats before Saturday’s onslaught.
But he was 0 for 6 in the first two games of this series. And he was called out for avoiding the media after his ninth-inning error cost the Cardinals Game 2.
He said that he was in the clubhouse dining area and didn’t realize reporters wanted to talk to him. Not a convincing alibi, but whatever he was eating, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa ought to order 25 portions and have every player chow down before Sunday’s Game 4.
This time, Pujols graced the interview room moments after the game.
“I felt I’d swung the bat well the last couple games,” he said. “That’s the way baseball is. You have to make sure you don’t get frustrated and bounce back the next day and help the team win.
“It’s not about me, it’s about our ballclub. It’s about representing the Cardinals.”
Others were in awe.
“The guy just got locked in,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “He’s a super player. There is no doubt about it. He certainly came to play tonight.”
Pujols’ performance overshadowed the fact that a taut, low-scoring series suddenly morphed into a shower of singles, doubles and home runs by a host of players.
Maybe it was the increase in temperature from a hand-stinging 47 degrees in St. Louis to a summerlike 80 in Texas. Perhaps the vaunted relief pitchers on both sides are finally tiring from overuse.
Or maybe a blown call early on was like twisting the cap off a shaken carbonated beverage. What should have been a rally-killing double play instead became a four-run Cardinals fourth inning, the beginning of their 13-run explosion over the same four innings in which Pujols had hits.
The Cardinals benefited when first base umpire Ron Kulpa called Matt Holliday(notes) safe even though Mike Napoli(notes) had tagged him before he reached the bag in the fourth inning. The Rangers didn’t seem fazed, answering with consecutive three-run innings.
But the Cardinals kept scoring, sandwiching three runs between those Rangers rallies. Then added four the next inning. And two the next.
The Rangers simply couldn’t keep up. They continued to produce baserunners – amassing 13 hits to the Cardinals’ 15 in the game – but stranded eight runners. Both teams finished with more hits than they had in the first two games combined.
“We fought, we tried to get back in that ballgame but it was a little too much for us,” Washington said.
The scoring began on a solo home run by Allen Craig(notes), whose clutch pinch hits in the first two games against hard-throwing Rangers reliever Alexi Ogando(notes) gave the Cardinals leads. Craig started in right field because the designated hitter is allowed in the American League ballpark; Lance Berkman(notes), the usual right fielder, served as the DH.
Ogando faced Craig again in Game 3 … and struck him out in the sixth inning. Not that Ogando celebrated for long: Pujols followed with a 423-foot, three-run home run off the facing of the club level, and each of the other five batters Ogando faced reached base.
Pujols also homered in his next two at-bats as the Cardinals extended their lead to the point of gluttony.
It was a night of slugging, a night of records and of milestones And one was accomplished by someone besides Pujols: La Russa moved into second place in postseason victories among managers, passing Bobby Cox and trailing only Joe Torre.
Pujols savored that mark as well.
“It’s special to share a special moment with Tony,” he said. “He’s been like a dad to me. Those are moments that when you are done with this game, you can take with you.”
Pujols has landmark performance in Game 3 rout
ARLINGTON, Texas – Albert Pujols(notes) let his bat do his talking Saturday night. Loud. Clear. Historic. And devastating to the Texas Rangers.
Pujols, widely acknowledged as baseball’s best hitter, slugged three home runs in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 16-7 pummeling of the Rangers in Game 3 of the World Series. It might have been the best offensive performance in the history of the Fall Classic.
The three homers tied a series record achieved twice by Babe Ruth and once by Reggie Jackson. His five hits equaled the mark held by Paul Molitor of the Milwaukee Brewers. His six runs batted in tied the record set by the Yankees’ Bobby Richardson in 1960 and tied by Yankee Hideki Matsui(notes) in 2009.
Not bad company. Oh, yes, and Pujols set a series record with 14 total bases. And became the first player to get hits in four consecutive innings.
“It’s pretty special,” he said of equaling the feats of Ruth and Jackson. “Those guys were great players. To do it on this stage is amazing. At the same time, I didn’t walk into the ballpark thinking I’d have a night like tonight.”
What got into him? Sure, he’s a lifetime .328 hitter. His first 11 seasons match up with just about anybody who has ever worn a uniform. And he’s been just as good in the postseason, batting .331 with 15 home runs in 248 at-bats before Saturday’s onslaught.
But he was 0 for 6 in the first two games of this series. And he was called out for avoiding the media after his ninth-inning error cost the Cardinals Game 2.
He said that he was in the clubhouse dining area and didn’t realize reporters wanted to talk to him. Not a convincing alibi, but whatever he was eating, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa ought to order 25 portions and have every player chow down before Sunday’s Game 4.
This time, Pujols graced the interview room moments after the game.
“I felt I’d swung the bat well the last couple games,” he said. “That’s the way baseball is. You have to make sure you don’t get frustrated and bounce back the next day and help the team win.
“It’s not about me, it’s about our ballclub. It’s about representing the Cardinals.”
Others were in awe.
“The guy just got locked in,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “He’s a super player. There is no doubt about it. He certainly came to play tonight.”
Pujols’ performance overshadowed the fact that a taut, low-scoring series suddenly morphed into a shower of singles, doubles and home runs by a host of players.
Maybe it was the increase in temperature from a hand-stinging 47 degrees in St. Louis to a summerlike 80 in Texas. Perhaps the vaunted relief pitchers on both sides are finally tiring from overuse.
Or maybe a blown call early on was like twisting the cap off a shaken carbonated beverage. What should have been a rally-killing double play instead became a four-run Cardinals fourth inning, the beginning of their 13-run explosion over the same four innings in which Pujols had hits.
The Cardinals benefited when first base umpire Ron Kulpa called Matt Holliday(notes) safe even though Mike Napoli(notes) had tagged him before he reached the bag in the fourth inning. The Rangers didn’t seem fazed, answering with consecutive three-run innings.
But the Cardinals kept scoring, sandwiching three runs between those Rangers rallies. Then added four the next inning. And two the next.
The Rangers simply couldn’t keep up. They continued to produce baserunners – amassing 13 hits to the Cardinals’ 15 in the game – but stranded eight runners. Both teams finished with more hits than they had in the first two games combined.
“We fought, we tried to get back in that ballgame but it was a little too much for us,” Washington said.
The scoring began on a solo home run by Allen Craig(notes), whose clutch pinch hits in the first two games against hard-throwing Rangers reliever Alexi Ogando(notes) gave the Cardinals leads. Craig started in right field because the designated hitter is allowed in the American League ballpark; Lance Berkman(notes), the usual right fielder, served as the DH.
Ogando faced Craig again in Game 3 … and struck him out in the sixth inning. Not that Ogando celebrated for long: Pujols followed with a 423-foot, three-run home run off the facing of the club level, and each of the other five batters Ogando faced reached base.
Pujols also homered in his next two at-bats as the Cardinals extended their lead to the point of gluttony.
It was a night of slugging, a night of records and of milestones And one was accomplished by someone besides Pujols: La Russa moved into second place in postseason victories among managers, passing Bobby Cox and trailing only Joe Torre.
Pujols savored that mark as well.
“It’s special to share a special moment with Tony,” he said. “He’s been like a dad to me. Those are moments that when you are done with this game, you can take with you.”
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Seriously Landis! Will you ever learn?
*shaking my head...*
Floyd Landis faces trial this week on charges that he attempted to hack the computer of the French anti-doping agency, in an apparent attempt to change the data in his 2006 Tour de France doping case. Neither Landis nor his coach Arnie Baker, who is also named in the case, are expected to attend but international arrest warrants were issued in January 2010.
The main character in the trial is Alain Quiros, who worked for a company named Kargus Consultants. He is accused of having hacked computer systems and illegally retrieved thousands of confidential documents for a multitude of clients.
According to Reuters, the case began in 2006 when the anti-doping lab complained of intrusions into its computer system. These were traced back to Quiros, and said to be done on behalf of Landis. Further investigations however revealed more hackings, involving big industrial clients such as French energy firm EDF, who allegedly asked Quiros to spy on Greenpeace.
Quiros is reported to be held accountable also for breaking into the systems of Luxembourg firms Eurolux and Heine, who allegedly intervened in doubtful commission payments for the sale of submarines to Pakistan in 1994. This information led to a bigger investigation for presumed corruption, which currently involves several persons close to French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
Landis, however, has denied being involved in any hacking activity or using any illegally obtained material.
Landis on trial for hacking charges
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/landis-on-trial-for-hacking-charges)Floyd Landis faces trial this week on charges that he attempted to hack the computer of the French anti-doping agency, in an apparent attempt to change the data in his 2006 Tour de France doping case. Neither Landis nor his coach Arnie Baker, who is also named in the case, are expected to attend but international arrest warrants were issued in January 2010.
The main character in the trial is Alain Quiros, who worked for a company named Kargus Consultants. He is accused of having hacked computer systems and illegally retrieved thousands of confidential documents for a multitude of clients.
According to Reuters, the case began in 2006 when the anti-doping lab complained of intrusions into its computer system. These were traced back to Quiros, and said to be done on behalf of Landis. Further investigations however revealed more hackings, involving big industrial clients such as French energy firm EDF, who allegedly asked Quiros to spy on Greenpeace.
Quiros is reported to be held accountable also for breaking into the systems of Luxembourg firms Eurolux and Heine, who allegedly intervened in doubtful commission payments for the sale of submarines to Pakistan in 1994. This information led to a bigger investigation for presumed corruption, which currently involves several persons close to French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
Landis, however, has denied being involved in any hacking activity or using any illegally obtained material.
Monday, October 17, 2011
2012 Giro d'Italia Route Announced!!!
2012 Giro d'Italia route unveiled in Milan
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/2012-giro-ditalia-route-unveiled-in-milan)The 2012 Giro d'Italia route was officially unveiled in Milan on Sunday, and as anticipated, the corsa rosa will be a decidedly more human affair after criticism that its traditional spectacle arguably veered toward excess last May.
The race will get underway in Herning on May 5, and once again will conclude with an individual time trial in the centre of Milan three weeks later. While a healthy quota of set-piece mountain stages remain a staple of the Giro, the number of transfers has been cut dramatically, an early flight from the opening stages in Denmark back to Italy notwithstanding.
Indeed, there is a reassuring familiarity about segments of the route, and not just because the map was inadvertently leaked on the internet early last week. The final days, in particular, will see a roll call of some of the Giro's most revered climbs: the Passo Giau features on stage 17, while a fearsome summit finish follows at Alpe di Pampeago two days later. The toughest stage of all will come on the penultimate day, as the riders must cross the Mortirolo before finishing atop the mighty Stelvio.
Before that, the opening week should offer Mark Cavendish, Alessandro Petacchi and the sprinters more opportunities than they had in the entirety of last year's race. After reaching its southernmost point at Lago Laceno, the race will intersperse a pair of sprinters' stages with more rolling days as it heads northwards in week two, culminating with a brace of mountain stages to Cervinia and Pian dei Resinelli.
Following the second rest day, the gruppo will face the final phase of the race, but while the climbers will have plenty of opportunities to shine, the parade of mountains is mercifully broken up by a flat run to Vedelago in the middle of the last week.
A Danish start
After two starts in the Netherlands in the past decade (Groningen in 2002 and Amsterdam in 2010), the Giro will break new ground by spending its opening three days in Denmark. A 8.7km prologue time trial in Herning on May 5 will decide the first maglia rosa, while only crosswinds can deny the sprinters two days of glory on the pan flat road stages before an early rest day as the caravan travels south to Italy. Poignantly, stage 3 to Horsens will be dedicated to the memory of the late Wouter Weylandt - he was killed in a crash on the Passo del Bocco stage 3 in 2011, after winning stage 3 to Middelburg the previous year.
The Giro will enter home territory with a 32.2km team time trial around Verona on stage 4, and another flat run down the Adriatic coast to Fano. After a pair of rolling days in the Marche, the Giro's first summit finish will come at Lago Laceno on stage 8. Though far from the toughest of climbs, there was high drama when the Giro last visited in 1998, as Alex Zülle caught and passed Marco Pantani en route to stage victory and the pink jersey.
From there, the race will spend the next seven days winding its way towards the Alps, where a finish at the stunning hilltop town of Assisi on stage 10 should offer both visual and competitive spectacle. Two days later, the rolling stage to Sestri Levante could also see the overall contenders flex their muscles.
Week two will draw to a close with the first five-star mountain stage to Cervinia, where Ivan Gotti soloed clear to take the pink jersey from Pavel Tonkov in wretched weather conditions in 1997. A tough day through Tour of Lombardy country to the top of Pian dei Resinelli, near Lecco, follows, ahead of the Giro's second and final rest day.
The Stelvio
Alberto Contador blew the race apart at the end of week one last year and with that clearly in mind, the 2012 Giro seems mapped out with the hope of maintaining the suspense into the final week. In theory, therefore, the pre-race favourites should still be in contention as hostilities resume with a stage over rugged terrain to Falzes, where Damiano Cunego rode definitively into pink in 2004.
That day is a mere appetizer to what is to come - the very next day, the Giro will tackle the Valparola, Duran and Passo Giau before descending to the finish at Cortina. While the subsequent flat stage to Vedelago acts as a carrot to keep the sprinters from flying home after 10 days, the Giro's hardest days come as it enters its final weekend.
That Friday will feature a summit finish to Alpe de Pampeago, where past winners include Pavel Tonkov, Marco Pantani and Gilberto Simoni, before Saturday's tappone over the Mortirolo to the top of the Stelvio. Given the severity of the third week, one would expect the maglia rosa to be decided by that point, but the concluding time trial in Milan will deliver the final verdict.
2012 Giro d'Italia, May 5-May 27
May 5, stage 1: Herning - Herning ITT, 8.7 km
May 6, stage 2: Herning - Herning, 206 km
May 7, stage 3: Horsens - Horsens, 190 km
May 8: Rest day
May 9, stage 4: Verona - Verona TTT, 32.2 km
May 10, stage 5: Modena - Fano, 199 km
May 11, stage 6: Urbino - Porto Sant'Elpidio, 207 km
May 12, stage 7: Recanati - Rocca di Cambio, 202 km
May 13, stage 8: Sulmona - Lago Laceno, 229 km
May 14, stage 9: San Giorgio nel Sannio - Frosinone, 171 km
May 15, stage 10: Civitavecchia - Assisi, 187 km
May 16, stage 11: Assisi - Montecatini Terme, 243 km
May 17, stage 12: Seravezza - Sestri Levante, 157 km
May 18, stage 13: Savona - Cervere, 121 km
May 19, stage 14: Cherasco - Cervinia, 205 km
May 20, stage 15: Busto Arsizio - Lecco/Pian dei Resinelli, 172 km
May 21: rest day
May 22, stage 16: Limone sul Garda - Falzes/Pfalzen, 174 km
May 23, stage 17: Falzes/Pfalzen - Cortina d'Ampezzo, 187 km
May 24, stage 18: San Vito di Cadore - Vedelago, 139 km
May 25, stage 19: Treviso - Alpe di Pampeago, 197km
May 26, stage 20: Caldes/Val di Sole - Passo dello Stelvio, 218 km
May 27, stage 21: Milan - Milan ITT, 31.5 km
Sunday, October 16, 2011
When did Hagen become a GC Contender?
Boasson Hagen aiming to win in both Tour de France and Olympics
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/boasson-hagen-aiming-to-win-in-both-tour-de-france-and-olympics)Edvald Boasson Hagen plans to do well in both the Tour de France and the London Olympics, next summer, despite the fact that there is very little time between the two events. His solution to the problem: pretend that the Tour has another five or six stages.
The Tour ends on July 22, and the Olympic is the following Saturday, July 28.
“We must not let down after it (the Tour) is over,” he told aftenposten.no. “Just continue the hard rides as if the Tour de France has lasted even longer.”
The 24-year-old is not willing to give up the Tour for the Olympics. “The Tour de France is clearly an important goal for me next year,'” he said “I have shown before that I'm still in shape after major stage races.”
And while Boasson Hagen would like to win the Olympic gold medal, he knows that fellow Norwegian Thor Hushovd also wants to. “Whoever has the best results and and is in the best form must be given priority.”
The Worlds road race was the Sky rider's final appearance of the year. He has put his bike in the corner for the time being, and won't start training again until mid-November. Boasson Hagen's first race of the new season is scheduled to be the Tour Down Under.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
A new Soler update!
Soler out of hospital after four months
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/soler-out-of-hospital-after-four-months)Juan Mauricio Soler was released from hospital Friday, four months after a crash in the Tour de Suisse left him with severe head injuries. The Movistar rider is expected to remain in Spain for rehabilitation for a month before finally returning to his home in Colombia.
“We are very happy because today there is a further step in Mauricio's recovery,” his wife, Patricia Flores, told the Colombian website revistamundociclistico.com. “This is a very important day for which all his friends, supporters and families have anxiously awaited. Mauricio is getting better and this fills us with joy after so much uncertainty during this time.”
Soler was in second place overall when he crashed on the sixth stage of the Tour de Suisse in mid-June. He hit a curb and flew into a fence, suffering a severe head trauma and cerebral edema plus multiple fractures and bruising. He was placed in an induced coma to aid recovery. In July he was moved to the hospital in Pamplona, Spain.
He must stay in Spain for at least a month for rehabilitation at the hospital. “It seems a long time but really it is little after having endured so much in the last few tough months,” Flores said.
As to his physical condition, she noted that “the accident left many injuries.” Soler has ankle problems, and cannot walk alone because of dizziness, although he can walk for up to 25 minutes at a time.
Emotionally he is coping well, with Flores saying he is “so full of joy and motivation. He has a lot of mixed feelings, but he knows that every day is better. He had done everything possible and will to recover one hundred percent. Today for example he was discharged after a few hours in the morning but chose to stay at the clinic until the afternoon to complete his therapy session.”
Friday, October 14, 2011
A New Training Program For Schleck Brothers
Schleck brothers anticipate 2012 Tour de France with evolving team
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/schleck-brothers-anticipate-2012-tour-de-france-with-evolving-team)Andy and Fränk Schleck have seen the Tour de France 2012 parcours and it is full of time trial kilometres, the sub specialty which is their greatest weakness. The brothers are already contemplating how they will face the challenge, and are looking forward to accepting the challenge along with their new sport director, Johan Bruyneel.
The parcours which was accidentally published earlier this week has 96 kilometres of time trial, as compared to only 60 in 2011, of which only 42.5 were individual. “The time that you lose there must be made up on other terrain,” Fränk Schleck told Tageblatt.lu. “But we must focus more on time trialing.”
They will do that by “increasing muscle mass this winter and working on aerodynamic position. We have already talked to Johan Bruyneel about it. He insists that we work further on this.”
Andy Schleck is finally over the infections and problems associated with his dental problems. “I am swimming a lot right now and running and weight lifting, but I also know that I can't ignore cycling. At the end of this week, I will start training on the road again.”
While the Schlecks have already spoken with Bruyneel, they know that he will not be able to turn his full attention to them until the current season is over. They hope to set up a meeting for the new team in the next few weeks, and then will discover what the Belgian has in mind for them.
“I know that he has many ideas and maybe will plan a different programme from the last few years leading up to the Tour de France,” Andy Schleck said. “I think there will also be different preparation for the Spring Classics.”
He called Bruyneel, “one of the best and most important men in cycling, maybe the man we have been missing.”
Fränk Schleck also praised “our strong new captain Johan Bruyneel. He will surely steer this boat well. He has a very strong hand and behind him to co-ordinate things is Kim Andersen, our right hand in training, who puts our programme together.”
As to the composition of the new team, Andy Schleck said that “I think the right choices have been made, at any rate I am satisfied.” While he regrets losing Stuart O'Grady, “On the other hand, we will have riders like Andreas Klöden at our side. I know 99.5 percent of which riders we have and which staff, and it is a team that we will be proud to be with in the future.”
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Can Yellow and Green both be won by Team Sky?
I personally don't think a 9-man team can support both the Green and Yellow Jersey in the Tour de France. However with Wiggins and Cavendish on the same team this will have to be tried. My opinion, I don't think Wiggins had the ability to compete with the Schleck brothers or Evans...Team Sky should protect the Green.
However, here are Peter Cossins's (from cyclingews.com) thoughts about it:
Now that we all know who Mark Cavendish will be riding for next season, it seems – if Twitter and forums are anything to go by – that the next question that many bike fans want answered is how Team Sky might go about accommodating Bradley Wiggins’ aspirations for the Tour’s yellow jersey with Cavendish’s likely goal of defending his points title at the same race.
Going into next year’s Tour, it will be 15 years since two riders on the same team claimed the yellow and green jerseys in Paris. Back in 1997, Team Telekom claimed that double when Jan Ullrich and Erik Zabel took the GC and points title, respectively. What is perhaps not so well remembered is that the Telekom team was built very much around Ullrich, and that Zabel was often left to find his own way in bunch sprints.
It’s hard to imagine Cavendish being put in the same position as his HTC sprint mentor Zabel, nor is it easy to picture Wiggins being left to fend for himself either. This suggests that compromise will be required on both sides. But perhaps not as much as many are suggesting…
Looking back at Sky’s performances this season and the British team’s staggering show of force at the Worlds, it may turn out that the British team has the personnel to accommodate the objectives of both Wiggins and Cavendish, and perhaps even some other big names as well.
Take the first week of the Tour, where Sky actively went searching for bunch sprint victories and took one in Lisieux thanks to Edvald Boasson Hagen’s blistering finish having been set up by Juan Antonio Flecha and, ultimately, Geraint Thomas. With Ben Swift and Christian Knees also in the team to work either in conjunction with or for the Norwegian, Sky were as well prepared for the sprints as any other team in the race apart, of course, from Cavendish’s HTC-Columbia.
Indeed, Sky’s management had admitted that they learned from the previous year’s Tour. That year they focused all of their firepower on what turned out to be a below-par Wiggins and it showed that it is better to give yourself more than one chance of making an impact at the world’s biggest race. Wiggins’ crash that put him out of this year’s Tour at the end of the first week only served to underline the importance of that change of strategy.
Of course, prior to leading out Boasson Hagen, Sky did not expend lots of energy by setting the pace in the bunch and chasing down breaks as HTC did. But over the past three seasons everyone has expected HTC – who never had a stand-out GC rider to protect – to do the bulk of the chasing and pace-making to take advantage of the race-winning ability of Cavendish, Matt Goss and André Greipel.
With HTC now out of the picture and their riders scattered throughout the peloton it remains to be seen who, if anyone, will pick up this mantle next season. My guess is that Sky will to some extent, but other teams will do so as well, including GreenEdge, Lotto-Ridley, BMC and Omega Pharma-Quick Step.
Consequently, Cavendish may not have the kind of lead-out train he’s had at his disposal during his successful period with HTC-Highroad, but he won’t be out on his own. At most races he’ll be amply supported, and even at the Tour he’ll be well supported with the likes of Bernhard Eisel, Thomas, Flecha, Swift, Boasson Hagen, Chris Froome and Wiggins all in the frame to start and all likely to perform lead-out duties to a lesser or greater extent. Wiggins, too, will be looking to some of these same riders to support him in the mountains, but will lean mostly on Froome and Rigoberto Urán, who have both emerged as strong performers in the high mountains this season.
If the leaked Tour route is to believed, Wiggins will have 100km of time trialling to give himself a significant edge on the specialist climbers, who will have relatively few summit finishes to make their talents pay. The leaked route suggests that Cavendish will also have plenty of opportunities to fill his stage-winning boots.
The ins and outs of the 2012 Tour route will become clearer when the route is officially launched in Paris next week. However it shapes up, I don’t expect Dave Brailsford and the rest of Team Sky’s management to be overly concerned about how they will accommodate Britain’s two headlining riders. They’ll be delighted to have both men on their roster and eager to see what the team can achieve in what is set to be a landmark season for British cycling with the London Olympics following the Tour.
They may also be reflecting that melding Cavendish and Wiggins into the same team could be a breeze compared to the task other squads face. Over at BMC, John Lelangue has to work out how to achieve a successful Tour formula that accommodates Cadel Evans, Philippe Gilbert and Thor Hushovd.
However, here are Peter Cossins's (from cyclingews.com) thoughts about it:
Editorial: How can Sky accommodate Wiggins and Cavendish at the Tour de France?
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/editorial-how-can-sky-accommodate-wiggins-and-cavendish-at-the-tour-de-france)Now that we all know who Mark Cavendish will be riding for next season, it seems – if Twitter and forums are anything to go by – that the next question that many bike fans want answered is how Team Sky might go about accommodating Bradley Wiggins’ aspirations for the Tour’s yellow jersey with Cavendish’s likely goal of defending his points title at the same race.
Going into next year’s Tour, it will be 15 years since two riders on the same team claimed the yellow and green jerseys in Paris. Back in 1997, Team Telekom claimed that double when Jan Ullrich and Erik Zabel took the GC and points title, respectively. What is perhaps not so well remembered is that the Telekom team was built very much around Ullrich, and that Zabel was often left to find his own way in bunch sprints.
It’s hard to imagine Cavendish being put in the same position as his HTC sprint mentor Zabel, nor is it easy to picture Wiggins being left to fend for himself either. This suggests that compromise will be required on both sides. But perhaps not as much as many are suggesting…
Looking back at Sky’s performances this season and the British team’s staggering show of force at the Worlds, it may turn out that the British team has the personnel to accommodate the objectives of both Wiggins and Cavendish, and perhaps even some other big names as well.
Take the first week of the Tour, where Sky actively went searching for bunch sprint victories and took one in Lisieux thanks to Edvald Boasson Hagen’s blistering finish having been set up by Juan Antonio Flecha and, ultimately, Geraint Thomas. With Ben Swift and Christian Knees also in the team to work either in conjunction with or for the Norwegian, Sky were as well prepared for the sprints as any other team in the race apart, of course, from Cavendish’s HTC-Columbia.
Indeed, Sky’s management had admitted that they learned from the previous year’s Tour. That year they focused all of their firepower on what turned out to be a below-par Wiggins and it showed that it is better to give yourself more than one chance of making an impact at the world’s biggest race. Wiggins’ crash that put him out of this year’s Tour at the end of the first week only served to underline the importance of that change of strategy.
Of course, prior to leading out Boasson Hagen, Sky did not expend lots of energy by setting the pace in the bunch and chasing down breaks as HTC did. But over the past three seasons everyone has expected HTC – who never had a stand-out GC rider to protect – to do the bulk of the chasing and pace-making to take advantage of the race-winning ability of Cavendish, Matt Goss and André Greipel.
With HTC now out of the picture and their riders scattered throughout the peloton it remains to be seen who, if anyone, will pick up this mantle next season. My guess is that Sky will to some extent, but other teams will do so as well, including GreenEdge, Lotto-Ridley, BMC and Omega Pharma-Quick Step.
Consequently, Cavendish may not have the kind of lead-out train he’s had at his disposal during his successful period with HTC-Highroad, but he won’t be out on his own. At most races he’ll be amply supported, and even at the Tour he’ll be well supported with the likes of Bernhard Eisel, Thomas, Flecha, Swift, Boasson Hagen, Chris Froome and Wiggins all in the frame to start and all likely to perform lead-out duties to a lesser or greater extent. Wiggins, too, will be looking to some of these same riders to support him in the mountains, but will lean mostly on Froome and Rigoberto Urán, who have both emerged as strong performers in the high mountains this season.
If the leaked Tour route is to believed, Wiggins will have 100km of time trialling to give himself a significant edge on the specialist climbers, who will have relatively few summit finishes to make their talents pay. The leaked route suggests that Cavendish will also have plenty of opportunities to fill his stage-winning boots.
The ins and outs of the 2012 Tour route will become clearer when the route is officially launched in Paris next week. However it shapes up, I don’t expect Dave Brailsford and the rest of Team Sky’s management to be overly concerned about how they will accommodate Britain’s two headlining riders. They’ll be delighted to have both men on their roster and eager to see what the team can achieve in what is set to be a landmark season for British cycling with the London Olympics following the Tour.
They may also be reflecting that melding Cavendish and Wiggins into the same team could be a breeze compared to the task other squads face. Over at BMC, John Lelangue has to work out how to achieve a successful Tour formula that accommodates Cadel Evans, Philippe Gilbert and Thor Hushovd.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
You Might Need A Guide, Part II
Here is an updated guide to the pro team's rider transfers:
To keep up with all the transfer news, Cyclingnews has put together a handy summary of all the new signings, re-signings, retirements and exits to keep you from getting lost. We'll be adding updates as all the news comes in so be sure to check back to get the latest updates.
AG2R La Mondiale
Ins: Sylvain Georges (Big-Mat Auber 93), Romain Bardet (Chambéry CF), Jimmy Casper (Saur Sojasun), Manuel Belletti (Colnago CSF Inox), Julien Berard (re-signed), Mehdi Sohrabi (Tabriz Petrochemical)
Outs: David Le Lay (Saur Sojasun), Cyril Dessel (retiring), Yuriy Krivtsov, Julien Loubet
Astana
Ins: Paolo Tiralongo (re-signed), Francesco Masciarelli (re-signed), Andrey Kaschekin (Lampre-ISD), Egor Silin (Katusha), Jacopo Guarnieri (LIquigas-Cannondale), Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre-ISD), Dimitry Muravyev (RadioShack), Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil), Kevin Seeldraeyers (Quickstep), Alexander Vinokourov (re-signed)
Outs: Remi Di Gregorio (Cofidis), Simon Clarke (GreenEdge), Tomas Vaitkus (GreenEdge), Allan Davis (GreenEdge)
BMC Racing Team
Ins: Cadel Evans, George Hincapie (re-signed), Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo), Brent Bookwalter, Marcus Burghardt, Steve Morabito, Manuel Quinziato, Michael Schär, Martin Kohler, Mathias Frank (all re-signed), Marco Pinotti, Tejay Van Garderen (HTC-Highroad), Adam Blythe (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Klaas Lodewyck (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Danilo Wyss (re-signed)
Outs: Alexander Kristoff (Katusha), Jeff Louder (UnitedHealthcare), Chad Beyer (RealCyclist), Karsten Kroon (Saxo Bank), John Murphy (Kenda)
Cofidis
Ins: Remi Di Gregorio (Astana), David Moncoutie, Tristan Valentin, Romain Zingle (all re-signed)
Outs: Remy Cusin (Team Type 1), Julien El Fares (Team Type 1), Jens Keukeleire (GreenEdge)
Euskatel -Euskadi
Ins: Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau, Mikel Nieve Ituralde (all re-signed)
Outs: Koldo Fernandez (Garmin-Cervelo), Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar), Daniel Sesma, Javier Aramendia, Inaki Isasi (retiring)
Team Garmin-Cervelo
Ins: Johan Vansummeren (re-signed), David Millar (re-signed), Sebastian Rosseler (Radioshack), Alex Rasmussen (HTC-Highroad), Raymond Kreder, Jacob Rathe (Garmin-Chipotle), Alex Howes (Garmin-Chipotle), Koldo Fernandez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Robbie Hunter
Outs: Jack Bobridge (GreenEdge), Travis Meyer (GreenEdge), Cameron Meyer (GreenEdge), Thor Hushovd (BMC), Brett Lancaster (GreenEdge), Matt Wilson (GreenEdge), Julian Dean (GreenEdge)
GreenEdge
Ins: Daniel Teklehaymanot (neo), Travis Meyer, Cameron Meyer, Jack Bobridge (all Garmin-Cervelo), Stuart O'Grady (Leopard-Trek), Pieter Weening (Rabobank), Sebastian Langeveld (Rabobank), Simon Gerrans (Sky), Jens Mouris (Vacansoleil), Simon Clarke (Astana), Baden Cooke (Saxo Bank-Sungard), Matt Wilson (Garmin-Cervelo), Tomas Vaitkus (GreenEdge), Svein Tuft (Spidertech-C10), Robbie McEwen (RadioShack), Fumiyuki Beppu (RadioShack), Michael Albasini (HTC-Highroad), Matt Goss (HTC-Highroad), Jens Keukeleire (Cofidis), Leigh Howard (HTC-Highroad), Wesley Sulzberger (FDJ), Allan Davis (Astana), Brett Lancaster (Garmin-Cervelo), Mitch Docker (Skil-Shimano), Aidis Kruopis (Landbouwkrediet), Julian Dean (Garmin-Cervelo), Christian Meier (UnitedHealthcare), Daryl Impey (RadioShack)
HTC-Highroad (disbanding)
Ins:
Outs: All riders - team folding: Tony Martin, Peter Velits, Martin Velits (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Patrick Gretsch (Skil-Shimano), Mark Renshaw (Rabobank), Alex Rasmussen (Garmin-Cervelo), Michael Albasini (GreenEdge), Matt Goss (GreenEdge), Frantisek Rabon, Bert Grabsch (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), Marco Pinotti (BMC), Leigh Howard (GreenEdge), Matthew Brammeier (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Bernhard Eisel, Mark Cavendish (Sky)
Katusha
Ins: Pavel Brutt, Denis Galimzyanov, Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver, Joan Horrach Rippoll (all re-signed), Angel Vicioso (Androni), Xavier Florencio (Geox), Gatis Smukulis (HTC-Highroad), Alexander Kristoff (BMC)
Outs: Stijn Vandenbergh (QuickStep), Filippo Pozzato (Farnese Vini), Vladimir Karpets (Movistar), Egor Silin (Astana), Daniel Di Luca
Lampre-ISD
Ins: Davide Cimolai (Liquigas), Diego Ulissi, Adriano Malori (re-signed),
Outs: Andrey Kashechkin (Astana), David Loosli (retired), Thomas Tiozzo (Geox-TMC)
Leopard Trek (forming RadioShack-Nissan-Trek in 2012)
Ins: Ben Hermans (signed with Leopard Trek), Grégory Rast (signed with Leopard Trek), Benjamin King, Jesse Sergent, Nelson Oliveira, Matthew Busche, Christopher Horner, Andreas Klöden, Janez Brajkovic, Markel Irizar, Haimar Zubeldia (all RadioShack), Jens Voigt, Andy Schleck, Fränk Schleck, Daniele Bennati, Fabian Cancellara, Jakob Fuglsang, Maxime Monfort, Robert Wagner
Under contract: William Clarke, Stefan Denifl, Brice Feillu, Linus Gerdemann, Dominic Klemme, Anders Lund, Martin Mortensen, Giacomo Nizzolo, Joost Posthuma, Rüdiger Selig, Tom Stamsnijder, Davide Vigano, Fabian Wegmann, Oliver Zaugg
Not under contract: Bruno Pires, Martin Pedersen, Thomas Rohregger
Outs: Stuart O'Grady (GreenEdge)
RadioShack (current organisation disbanding)
Ins: Gianni Meersman (FDJ), Tony Gallopin (Cofidis) - contracts with Radioshack for 2012
Outs: Sebastian Rosseler (Garmin-Cervelo), Michal Kwiatkowski (Lotto-Ridley), Sergio Paulinho (Saxo Bank), Daryl Impey (GreenEdge), Geoffroy Lequatre (Bretagne-Schuller)
Liquigas-Cannondale
Ins: Alessandro Vanotti, Sylvester Szmyd, Cristiano Salerno, Peter Sagan, Juraj Sagan, Daniel Oss, Vincenzo Nibali, Alan Marangoni, Kristjan Koren, Mauro Da Dalto, Damiano Caruso, Paolo Longo Borghini, Ivan Basso, Valerio Agnoli, Elia Viviani, Fabio Sabatini, Simone Ponzi, Maciej Paterski, Davide Cimolai, Eros Capecchi, Maciek Bodnar (all re-signed)
Outs: Davide Cimolai
Movistar
Ins: Giovanni Visconti, Pablo Lastras Garcia, Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil, Angel Madrazo, Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi, Sergio Pardilla Bellon, Andrey Amador Bikkazakova (all re-signed), Jonathan Castroviejo (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
Outs: José Vicente Garcia Acosta (retired)
Lotto Ridley (was Omega Pharma-Lotto)
Ins: Jurgen Van den Broeck, Marcel Sieberg
Outs: Philippe Gilbert (BMC), Adam Blythe, Klaas Lodewyck (both BMC)
Quickstep (Omega Pharma-QuickStep in 2012)
Ins: Kevin De Weert (re-signed), Tony Martin, Peter Velits, Martin Velits (HTC-Highroad), Stijn Vandenbergh (Katusha), Sylvain Chavanel (re-signed), Tom Boonen (re-signed), Michal Kwiatkowski (RadioShack), Michal Golas (Vacansoleil-DCM), Frantisek Rabon, Bert Grabsch (HTC-Highroad), Andy Fenn (An Post-Sean Kelly), Sylvain Chavanel, Kristof Vandewalle, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Dries Devenyns, Gert Steegmans (all re-signed), Matthew Brammeier (HTC-Highroad), Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack)
Outs: Kevin Seeldraeyers (Astana), Davide Malacarne (Europcar)
Rabobank
Ins: Mark Renshaw (HTC-Highroad), Laurens Ten Dam, Steven Kruijswijk, Rick Flens, Stef Clement, Lars Boom, Juan Manuel Garate (all re-signed),
Outs: Pieter Weening (GreenEdge), Sebastian Langeveld (GreenEdge)
Saxo Bank SunGard
Ins: Nicki Sørensen (re-signed), Sergio Paulinho (Radioshack), Matteo Tosatto (re-signed), Manuele Boaro (re-signed)
Outs: Richie Porte (Sky)
Skil-Shimano
Ins: John Degenkolb (HTC-Highroad), Koen de Kort (re-signed), Patrick Gretsch (HTC-Highroad), Yann Huguet, Tom Veelers, Albert Timmer, Marcel Kittel, Alexandre Geniez, Simon Geschke, Johannes Frohlinger, Bert De Backer (all re-signed), Jonas Aaen Jørgensen, Jaroslaw Marycz and Ran Margaliot
Outs: Mitch Docker (GreenEdge)
Team Sky
Ins: Geraint Thomas (re-signed), Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Gobernacion de Antioquia), Luke Rowe (neo), Richie Porte (Saxo Bank SunGard), Bernhard Eisel, Mark Cavendish
Outs: Simon Gerrans (GreenEdge)
Vacansoleil
Ins: Kenny Van Hummel (Skil-Shimano), Thomas De Gendt, Rob Ruygh, Wouter Poels, Romain Feillu (all re-signed)
Outs: Michal Golas (Vacansoleil-DCM), Jens Mouris (GreenEdge), Borut Bozic (Astana)
The Cyclingnews guide to rider transfers 2011-2012
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/the-cyclingnews-guide-to-rider-transfers-2011-2012)To keep up with all the transfer news, Cyclingnews has put together a handy summary of all the new signings, re-signings, retirements and exits to keep you from getting lost. We'll be adding updates as all the news comes in so be sure to check back to get the latest updates.
AG2R La Mondiale
Ins: Sylvain Georges (Big-Mat Auber 93), Romain Bardet (Chambéry CF), Jimmy Casper (Saur Sojasun), Manuel Belletti (Colnago CSF Inox), Julien Berard (re-signed), Mehdi Sohrabi (Tabriz Petrochemical)
Outs: David Le Lay (Saur Sojasun), Cyril Dessel (retiring), Yuriy Krivtsov, Julien Loubet
Astana
Ins: Paolo Tiralongo (re-signed), Francesco Masciarelli (re-signed), Andrey Kaschekin (Lampre-ISD), Egor Silin (Katusha), Jacopo Guarnieri (LIquigas-Cannondale), Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre-ISD), Dimitry Muravyev (RadioShack), Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil), Kevin Seeldraeyers (Quickstep), Alexander Vinokourov (re-signed)
Outs: Remi Di Gregorio (Cofidis), Simon Clarke (GreenEdge), Tomas Vaitkus (GreenEdge), Allan Davis (GreenEdge)
BMC Racing Team
Ins: Cadel Evans, George Hincapie (re-signed), Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo), Brent Bookwalter, Marcus Burghardt, Steve Morabito, Manuel Quinziato, Michael Schär, Martin Kohler, Mathias Frank (all re-signed), Marco Pinotti, Tejay Van Garderen (HTC-Highroad), Adam Blythe (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Klaas Lodewyck (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Danilo Wyss (re-signed)
Outs: Alexander Kristoff (Katusha), Jeff Louder (UnitedHealthcare), Chad Beyer (RealCyclist), Karsten Kroon (Saxo Bank), John Murphy (Kenda)
Cofidis
Ins: Remi Di Gregorio (Astana), David Moncoutie, Tristan Valentin, Romain Zingle (all re-signed)
Outs: Remy Cusin (Team Type 1), Julien El Fares (Team Type 1), Jens Keukeleire (GreenEdge)
Euskatel -Euskadi
Ins: Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau, Mikel Nieve Ituralde (all re-signed)
Outs: Koldo Fernandez (Garmin-Cervelo), Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar), Daniel Sesma, Javier Aramendia, Inaki Isasi (retiring)
Team Garmin-Cervelo
Ins: Johan Vansummeren (re-signed), David Millar (re-signed), Sebastian Rosseler (Radioshack), Alex Rasmussen (HTC-Highroad), Raymond Kreder, Jacob Rathe (Garmin-Chipotle), Alex Howes (Garmin-Chipotle), Koldo Fernandez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Robbie Hunter
Outs: Jack Bobridge (GreenEdge), Travis Meyer (GreenEdge), Cameron Meyer (GreenEdge), Thor Hushovd (BMC), Brett Lancaster (GreenEdge), Matt Wilson (GreenEdge), Julian Dean (GreenEdge)
GreenEdge
Ins: Daniel Teklehaymanot (neo), Travis Meyer, Cameron Meyer, Jack Bobridge (all Garmin-Cervelo), Stuart O'Grady (Leopard-Trek), Pieter Weening (Rabobank), Sebastian Langeveld (Rabobank), Simon Gerrans (Sky), Jens Mouris (Vacansoleil), Simon Clarke (Astana), Baden Cooke (Saxo Bank-Sungard), Matt Wilson (Garmin-Cervelo), Tomas Vaitkus (GreenEdge), Svein Tuft (Spidertech-C10), Robbie McEwen (RadioShack), Fumiyuki Beppu (RadioShack), Michael Albasini (HTC-Highroad), Matt Goss (HTC-Highroad), Jens Keukeleire (Cofidis), Leigh Howard (HTC-Highroad), Wesley Sulzberger (FDJ), Allan Davis (Astana), Brett Lancaster (Garmin-Cervelo), Mitch Docker (Skil-Shimano), Aidis Kruopis (Landbouwkrediet), Julian Dean (Garmin-Cervelo), Christian Meier (UnitedHealthcare), Daryl Impey (RadioShack)
HTC-Highroad (disbanding)
Ins:
Outs: All riders - team folding: Tony Martin, Peter Velits, Martin Velits (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Patrick Gretsch (Skil-Shimano), Mark Renshaw (Rabobank), Alex Rasmussen (Garmin-Cervelo), Michael Albasini (GreenEdge), Matt Goss (GreenEdge), Frantisek Rabon, Bert Grabsch (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), Marco Pinotti (BMC), Leigh Howard (GreenEdge), Matthew Brammeier (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Bernhard Eisel, Mark Cavendish (Sky)
Katusha
Ins: Pavel Brutt, Denis Galimzyanov, Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver, Joan Horrach Rippoll (all re-signed), Angel Vicioso (Androni), Xavier Florencio (Geox), Gatis Smukulis (HTC-Highroad), Alexander Kristoff (BMC)
Outs: Stijn Vandenbergh (QuickStep), Filippo Pozzato (Farnese Vini), Vladimir Karpets (Movistar), Egor Silin (Astana), Daniel Di Luca
Lampre-ISD
Ins: Davide Cimolai (Liquigas), Diego Ulissi, Adriano Malori (re-signed),
Outs: Andrey Kashechkin (Astana), David Loosli (retired), Thomas Tiozzo (Geox-TMC)
Leopard Trek (forming RadioShack-Nissan-Trek in 2012)
Ins: Ben Hermans (signed with Leopard Trek), Grégory Rast (signed with Leopard Trek), Benjamin King, Jesse Sergent, Nelson Oliveira, Matthew Busche, Christopher Horner, Andreas Klöden, Janez Brajkovic, Markel Irizar, Haimar Zubeldia (all RadioShack), Jens Voigt, Andy Schleck, Fränk Schleck, Daniele Bennati, Fabian Cancellara, Jakob Fuglsang, Maxime Monfort, Robert Wagner
Under contract: William Clarke, Stefan Denifl, Brice Feillu, Linus Gerdemann, Dominic Klemme, Anders Lund, Martin Mortensen, Giacomo Nizzolo, Joost Posthuma, Rüdiger Selig, Tom Stamsnijder, Davide Vigano, Fabian Wegmann, Oliver Zaugg
Not under contract: Bruno Pires, Martin Pedersen, Thomas Rohregger
Outs: Stuart O'Grady (GreenEdge)
RadioShack (current organisation disbanding)
Ins: Gianni Meersman (FDJ), Tony Gallopin (Cofidis) - contracts with Radioshack for 2012
Outs: Sebastian Rosseler (Garmin-Cervelo), Michal Kwiatkowski (Lotto-Ridley), Sergio Paulinho (Saxo Bank), Daryl Impey (GreenEdge), Geoffroy Lequatre (Bretagne-Schuller)
Liquigas-Cannondale
Ins: Alessandro Vanotti, Sylvester Szmyd, Cristiano Salerno, Peter Sagan, Juraj Sagan, Daniel Oss, Vincenzo Nibali, Alan Marangoni, Kristjan Koren, Mauro Da Dalto, Damiano Caruso, Paolo Longo Borghini, Ivan Basso, Valerio Agnoli, Elia Viviani, Fabio Sabatini, Simone Ponzi, Maciej Paterski, Davide Cimolai, Eros Capecchi, Maciek Bodnar (all re-signed)
Outs: Davide Cimolai
Movistar
Ins: Giovanni Visconti, Pablo Lastras Garcia, Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil, Angel Madrazo, Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi, Sergio Pardilla Bellon, Andrey Amador Bikkazakova (all re-signed), Jonathan Castroviejo (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
Outs: José Vicente Garcia Acosta (retired)
Lotto Ridley (was Omega Pharma-Lotto)
Ins: Jurgen Van den Broeck, Marcel Sieberg
Outs: Philippe Gilbert (BMC), Adam Blythe, Klaas Lodewyck (both BMC)
Quickstep (Omega Pharma-QuickStep in 2012)
Ins: Kevin De Weert (re-signed), Tony Martin, Peter Velits, Martin Velits (HTC-Highroad), Stijn Vandenbergh (Katusha), Sylvain Chavanel (re-signed), Tom Boonen (re-signed), Michal Kwiatkowski (RadioShack), Michal Golas (Vacansoleil-DCM), Frantisek Rabon, Bert Grabsch (HTC-Highroad), Andy Fenn (An Post-Sean Kelly), Sylvain Chavanel, Kristof Vandewalle, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Dries Devenyns, Gert Steegmans (all re-signed), Matthew Brammeier (HTC-Highroad), Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack)
Outs: Kevin Seeldraeyers (Astana), Davide Malacarne (Europcar)
Rabobank
Ins: Mark Renshaw (HTC-Highroad), Laurens Ten Dam, Steven Kruijswijk, Rick Flens, Stef Clement, Lars Boom, Juan Manuel Garate (all re-signed),
Outs: Pieter Weening (GreenEdge), Sebastian Langeveld (GreenEdge)
Saxo Bank SunGard
Ins: Nicki Sørensen (re-signed), Sergio Paulinho (Radioshack), Matteo Tosatto (re-signed), Manuele Boaro (re-signed)
Outs: Richie Porte (Sky)
Skil-Shimano
Ins: John Degenkolb (HTC-Highroad), Koen de Kort (re-signed), Patrick Gretsch (HTC-Highroad), Yann Huguet, Tom Veelers, Albert Timmer, Marcel Kittel, Alexandre Geniez, Simon Geschke, Johannes Frohlinger, Bert De Backer (all re-signed), Jonas Aaen Jørgensen, Jaroslaw Marycz and Ran Margaliot
Outs: Mitch Docker (GreenEdge)
Team Sky
Ins: Geraint Thomas (re-signed), Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Gobernacion de Antioquia), Luke Rowe (neo), Richie Porte (Saxo Bank SunGard), Bernhard Eisel, Mark Cavendish
Outs: Simon Gerrans (GreenEdge)
Vacansoleil
Ins: Kenny Van Hummel (Skil-Shimano), Thomas De Gendt, Rob Ruygh, Wouter Poels, Romain Feillu (all re-signed)
Outs: Michal Golas (Vacansoleil-DCM), Jens Mouris (GreenEdge), Borut Bozic (Astana)
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Only 262 Days Left!!!
Anyone getting excited yet?
In the early European afternoon on Monday, race owner Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) mistakenly published the 2012 Tour de France route on its official Tour de France website, letour.fr. For only a few minutes, the link was activated, revealing the complete listing of next year's Tour stages that were supposed to be made official only on October 18.
The first website to catch the big fish was Velopeloton.com and the news spread quickly. Cyclingnews contacted officials at ASO, who would not deny nor confirm the authenticity of the information.
"I can't tell you anything about this. We are fixing it now internally. The only person who could comment on it would be (race director) Christian Prudhomme himself," Claude Rasch told Cyclingnews.
If the information is correct, then it would be the first time in many years that ASO has not been able to keep the secret over the race route until the official presentation. Unofficial leaks have always existed in the days prior to the event held in Paris' Palais des Congrès, but this sort of large-scale error has no precedent.
2012 Tour de France stages:
P Prologue Sat 30 June Liège > Liège 6.1 km
1 Road stage Sun 1 July Liège > Seraing 198 km
2 Road stage Mon 2 July Visé > Tournai 207 km
3 Road stage Tues 3 July Orchies > Boulogne-sur-Mer 197 km
4 Road stage Weds 4 July Abbeville > Rouen 214 km
5 Road stage Thurs 5 July Rouen > Saint-Quentin 197 km
6 Road stage Fri 6 July Épernay > Metz 210 km
7 Road stage Sat 7 July Tomblaine > La Planche des Belles Filles 199 km
8 Road stage Sun 8 July Belfort > Porrentruy 154 km
9 Time trial Mon 9 July Arc-et-Senans > Besançon 38 km
10 Road stage Weds 11 July Mâcon > Bellegarde-sur-Valserine 194 km
11 Mountains Thurs 12 July Albertville > La Toussuire - Les Sybelles 140 km
12 Mountains Fri 13 July Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne > Annonay 220 km
13 Road stage Sat 14 July Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux > Le Cap d’Agde 215 km
14 Road stage Sun 15 July Limoux > Foix 192 km
15 Road stage Mon 16 July Samatan > Pau 160 km
16 Mountains Weds 18 July Pau > Bagnères-de-Luchon 197 km
17 Mountains Thurs 19 July Bagnères-de-Luchon > Peyragudes 144 km
18 Road stage Fri 20 July Blagnac > Brive-la-Gaillarde 215 km
19 Time trial Sat 21 July Bonneval > Chartres 52 km
20 Road stage Sun 22 July Rambouillet > Paris Champs-Élysées 130 km
2012 Tour de France route revealed
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/2012-tour-de-france-route-revealed)In the early European afternoon on Monday, race owner Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) mistakenly published the 2012 Tour de France route on its official Tour de France website, letour.fr. For only a few minutes, the link was activated, revealing the complete listing of next year's Tour stages that were supposed to be made official only on October 18.
The first website to catch the big fish was Velopeloton.com and the news spread quickly. Cyclingnews contacted officials at ASO, who would not deny nor confirm the authenticity of the information.
"I can't tell you anything about this. We are fixing it now internally. The only person who could comment on it would be (race director) Christian Prudhomme himself," Claude Rasch told Cyclingnews.
If the information is correct, then it would be the first time in many years that ASO has not been able to keep the secret over the race route until the official presentation. Unofficial leaks have always existed in the days prior to the event held in Paris' Palais des Congrès, but this sort of large-scale error has no precedent.
2012 Tour de France stages:
P Prologue Sat 30 June Liège > Liège 6.1 km
1 Road stage Sun 1 July Liège > Seraing 198 km
2 Road stage Mon 2 July Visé > Tournai 207 km
3 Road stage Tues 3 July Orchies > Boulogne-sur-Mer 197 km
4 Road stage Weds 4 July Abbeville > Rouen 214 km
5 Road stage Thurs 5 July Rouen > Saint-Quentin 197 km
6 Road stage Fri 6 July Épernay > Metz 210 km
7 Road stage Sat 7 July Tomblaine > La Planche des Belles Filles 199 km
8 Road stage Sun 8 July Belfort > Porrentruy 154 km
9 Time trial Mon 9 July Arc-et-Senans > Besançon 38 km
10 Road stage Weds 11 July Mâcon > Bellegarde-sur-Valserine 194 km
11 Mountains Thurs 12 July Albertville > La Toussuire - Les Sybelles 140 km
12 Mountains Fri 13 July Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne > Annonay 220 km
13 Road stage Sat 14 July Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux > Le Cap d’Agde 215 km
14 Road stage Sun 15 July Limoux > Foix 192 km
15 Road stage Mon 16 July Samatan > Pau 160 km
16 Mountains Weds 18 July Pau > Bagnères-de-Luchon 197 km
17 Mountains Thurs 19 July Bagnères-de-Luchon > Peyragudes 144 km
18 Road stage Fri 20 July Blagnac > Brive-la-Gaillarde 215 km
19 Time trial Sat 21 July Bonneval > Chartres 52 km
20 Road stage Sun 22 July Rambouillet > Paris Champs-Élysées 130 km
Monday, October 10, 2011
CAS overrules the IOC
To me, the dopers who have already served their ban but ruled out of the Olympics seems like double punishment to me. I think this overrulling is actually good.
Athletes who have served a suspension for doping will be allowed to participate in the Olympic games. The Court of Arbitration for Sport today ruled that an International Olympic Committee regulation banning such athletes was “invalid and unenforceable.”
The ruling could mean that David Millar would be eligible to qualify for the British Olympic team for the 2012 London Olympics, for example. Currently, a British Olympic Association bylaw prevents athletes who have been found guilty of a doping offence from competing in the Olympics.
In June 2008, the IOC's Executive Board adopted the so-called “Osaka Rule”,a regulation “prohibiting athletes who have been suspended for more than six months for an anti-doping rule violation from participating in the next Olympic Games following the expiration of their suspension.” This has now been overruled.
The CAS panel “came to the conclusion that the 'Osaka Rule' was more properly characterized as a disciplinary sanction, rather than a pure condition of eligibility to compete in the Olympic Games.” Such a sanction does not comply with the World Anti-Doping Code, the panel ruled, “because it adds further ineligibility to the WADC anti-doping sanction after that sanction has been served.” In addition, “the 'Osaka Rule' is in fact a violation of the IOC’s own Statute and is therefore invalid and unenforceable.”
If the IOC wants to exclude athletes who have been sanctioned for doping, it should propose an amendment to the World Anti-Doping Code, the CS noted.
Sanctioned dopers can participate in Olympics, CAS rules
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sanctioned-dopers-can-participate-in-olympics-cas-rules)Athletes who have served a suspension for doping will be allowed to participate in the Olympic games. The Court of Arbitration for Sport today ruled that an International Olympic Committee regulation banning such athletes was “invalid and unenforceable.”
The ruling could mean that David Millar would be eligible to qualify for the British Olympic team for the 2012 London Olympics, for example. Currently, a British Olympic Association bylaw prevents athletes who have been found guilty of a doping offence from competing in the Olympics.
In June 2008, the IOC's Executive Board adopted the so-called “Osaka Rule”,a regulation “prohibiting athletes who have been suspended for more than six months for an anti-doping rule violation from participating in the next Olympic Games following the expiration of their suspension.” This has now been overruled.
The CAS panel “came to the conclusion that the 'Osaka Rule' was more properly characterized as a disciplinary sanction, rather than a pure condition of eligibility to compete in the Olympic Games.” Such a sanction does not comply with the World Anti-Doping Code, the panel ruled, “because it adds further ineligibility to the WADC anti-doping sanction after that sanction has been served.” In addition, “the 'Osaka Rule' is in fact a violation of the IOC’s own Statute and is therefore invalid and unenforceable.”
If the IOC wants to exclude athletes who have been sanctioned for doping, it should propose an amendment to the World Anti-Doping Code, the CS noted.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
UCI's Testing Missed a Race?
...but this would never happen in the Tour de France...
A plan to implement a comprehensive and independent anti-doping scheme for the Amgen Tour of California was watered down when a deal to allow the US Anti-doping Agency (USADA) to perform all in-competition testing was scuttled by the sport's governing body. Cyclingnews has learned that no blood controls were performed during the race after the UCI took responsibility for the race-day testing.
Three months prior to the 2011 Amgen Tour of California, the race organisation and USADA announced "the most comprehensive anti-doping program in the history of the race", in which USADA, an independent testing body, would perform all pre- and in-competition testing, while the UCI would manage the results of the controls.
It was understood that, at the time of the announcement, the UCI had signed off on the plan, but just one day before the start of the race, it was reported that the deal fell through at the last minute. A source has confirmed to Cyclingnews that the deal had in fact been signed by all parties, but was terminated by the UCI.
Race organisers and USADA together funded pre-competition testing, which included both blood and urine tests for a variety of substances including growth hormone and EPO on all riders scheduled to compete in the race.
The plan was to continue the comprehensive testing during the race, but the UCI took over control before the event began. The UCI confirmed to Cyclingnews that while standard urine tests were executed, no blood tests were carried out during the entire eight-day race.
According to a source close to the race, a backlash from the UCI was the cause of the last-minute change.
The reason? Strong statements made at the February press conference by USADA CEO Travis Tygart, a vocal proponent of independent testing, who believes sports should not be responsible for policing themselves. "You've heard the expression 'the fox guarding the henhouse' over the years," Tygart said in the press conference. "There's this natural tension when the sport attempts to police itself of enforcing firmly and fairly the rules versus the other interest which is to promote and raise revenue for the sport."
"There was a deal to do pre-competition and in-competition testing," the source told Cyclingnews. "That deal was struck with the deputy director of USADA and the UCI and that was in writing. It outlined USADA would do pre- and in-competition testing, but that the result management would be done by the UCI. So USADA would be responsible to determine who would be tested and what would be tested for and the lab used. The results would go to the UCI.
"Then there was a press conference and there was the comment about the fox guarding the henhouse. McQuaid went crazy and demanded an apology. One wasn't forthcoming and there was a huge thing. It was seen as an affront to Pat McQuaid's honour and fuck the sport if Pat McQuaid's honour is impeached.
"The deal that had been agreed in writing was pulled off the table. Pat assured the race that the UCI would do the testing and test for EPO."
Cyclingnews asked the source if blood testing had been carried out at the race. The source said: "I don't know but I believe it was only urine testing."
In a statement to Cyclingnews, the UCI put the blame for the last-minute change onto USADA, stating, "they planned to do some before and during the race, but just few days before the start USADA rejected the agreement which we submitted to them, too late to organize it in time without their support.
When contacted by Cyclingnews, Travis Tygart was diplomatic about the breakdown over testing rights.
"It's their rules and their event and they decided to do the testing at their event and we didn't," he said. "We did the pre-[competition] testing on it as we specified, and that was really successful. As far as the event testing I couldn't tell you if there was blood or urine testing.
"We were prepared to do it and we wanted to test there because the race organiser wanted us to test there. We think that at any national US event, USADA as an independent body should be doing the testing. That's not what the UCI rules say."
Tygart remains steadfast in his belief that all anti-doping controls should be done by an independent body.
"That's the model that's most successful," he said. "I've testified in front of congress about it and say it every chance I get. There's an inherent conflict or at least an inherent perceived conflict when a sport attempts to police itself. That's why, where it is possible, there should be independent anti-doping testing. There's really no good reason not to.
"We'd put in the infrastructure to do it and we were told close to the event that we weren't going to do it. It is what it is. Under their rules it was their right to do it. We did all the pre-race testing and felt like we had a thorough urine and blood testing program in place, testing riders several months out from the event."
However, the news over the lack of any in-competition blood tests is at odds with the testing USADA and the race organisers had wanted. Several teams and a US domestic rider have all told Cyclingnews that no blood tests were carried out. Two teams have also made clear that no blood tests were carried out at either the Tour of Utah or USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado.
In recent weeks the UCI has stressed its new format of 'intelligent' testing in cycling and indicated that targeted testing in more rigorous areas has both improved the health of the sport and the image of cycling. However, targeted testing has been seen as a smoke screen for less testing by some.
Last month, Michael Ashenden told Cyclingnews that he had seen several gaps in biological profile tests carried out by the UCI. He did admit that this may have been due to target testing, but said he had not been made aware of any such plans by the UCI.
The UCI added that their out of competition testing is also targeted and in a far stronger position than it was two years ago and that the strength of the biological passport means that "we don't need to conduct tests on every race anymore."
UCI performed no blood tests during Amgen Tour of California
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-performed-no-blood-tests-during-amgen-tour-of-california)A plan to implement a comprehensive and independent anti-doping scheme for the Amgen Tour of California was watered down when a deal to allow the US Anti-doping Agency (USADA) to perform all in-competition testing was scuttled by the sport's governing body. Cyclingnews has learned that no blood controls were performed during the race after the UCI took responsibility for the race-day testing.
Three months prior to the 2011 Amgen Tour of California, the race organisation and USADA announced "the most comprehensive anti-doping program in the history of the race", in which USADA, an independent testing body, would perform all pre- and in-competition testing, while the UCI would manage the results of the controls.
It was understood that, at the time of the announcement, the UCI had signed off on the plan, but just one day before the start of the race, it was reported that the deal fell through at the last minute. A source has confirmed to Cyclingnews that the deal had in fact been signed by all parties, but was terminated by the UCI.
Race organisers and USADA together funded pre-competition testing, which included both blood and urine tests for a variety of substances including growth hormone and EPO on all riders scheduled to compete in the race.
The plan was to continue the comprehensive testing during the race, but the UCI took over control before the event began. The UCI confirmed to Cyclingnews that while standard urine tests were executed, no blood tests were carried out during the entire eight-day race.
According to a source close to the race, a backlash from the UCI was the cause of the last-minute change.
The reason? Strong statements made at the February press conference by USADA CEO Travis Tygart, a vocal proponent of independent testing, who believes sports should not be responsible for policing themselves. "You've heard the expression 'the fox guarding the henhouse' over the years," Tygart said in the press conference. "There's this natural tension when the sport attempts to police itself of enforcing firmly and fairly the rules versus the other interest which is to promote and raise revenue for the sport."
"There was a deal to do pre-competition and in-competition testing," the source told Cyclingnews. "That deal was struck with the deputy director of USADA and the UCI and that was in writing. It outlined USADA would do pre- and in-competition testing, but that the result management would be done by the UCI. So USADA would be responsible to determine who would be tested and what would be tested for and the lab used. The results would go to the UCI.
"Then there was a press conference and there was the comment about the fox guarding the henhouse. McQuaid went crazy and demanded an apology. One wasn't forthcoming and there was a huge thing. It was seen as an affront to Pat McQuaid's honour and fuck the sport if Pat McQuaid's honour is impeached.
"The deal that had been agreed in writing was pulled off the table. Pat assured the race that the UCI would do the testing and test for EPO."
Cyclingnews asked the source if blood testing had been carried out at the race. The source said: "I don't know but I believe it was only urine testing."
In a statement to Cyclingnews, the UCI put the blame for the last-minute change onto USADA, stating, "they planned to do some before and during the race, but just few days before the start USADA rejected the agreement which we submitted to them, too late to organize it in time without their support.
When contacted by Cyclingnews, Travis Tygart was diplomatic about the breakdown over testing rights.
"It's their rules and their event and they decided to do the testing at their event and we didn't," he said. "We did the pre-[competition] testing on it as we specified, and that was really successful. As far as the event testing I couldn't tell you if there was blood or urine testing.
"We were prepared to do it and we wanted to test there because the race organiser wanted us to test there. We think that at any national US event, USADA as an independent body should be doing the testing. That's not what the UCI rules say."
Tygart remains steadfast in his belief that all anti-doping controls should be done by an independent body.
"That's the model that's most successful," he said. "I've testified in front of congress about it and say it every chance I get. There's an inherent conflict or at least an inherent perceived conflict when a sport attempts to police itself. That's why, where it is possible, there should be independent anti-doping testing. There's really no good reason not to.
"We'd put in the infrastructure to do it and we were told close to the event that we weren't going to do it. It is what it is. Under their rules it was their right to do it. We did all the pre-race testing and felt like we had a thorough urine and blood testing program in place, testing riders several months out from the event."
However, the news over the lack of any in-competition blood tests is at odds with the testing USADA and the race organisers had wanted. Several teams and a US domestic rider have all told Cyclingnews that no blood tests were carried out. Two teams have also made clear that no blood tests were carried out at either the Tour of Utah or USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado.
In recent weeks the UCI has stressed its new format of 'intelligent' testing in cycling and indicated that targeted testing in more rigorous areas has both improved the health of the sport and the image of cycling. However, targeted testing has been seen as a smoke screen for less testing by some.
Last month, Michael Ashenden told Cyclingnews that he had seen several gaps in biological profile tests carried out by the UCI. He did admit that this may have been due to target testing, but said he had not been made aware of any such plans by the UCI.
The UCI added that their out of competition testing is also targeted and in a far stronger position than it was two years ago and that the strength of the biological passport means that "we don't need to conduct tests on every race anymore."
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