Wow! There is a lot going on in the cycling world today! I was debating whether I should start with the good news or bad news...or worse news. I decided to start with the good news and work my way to the worse news.
So to let's start with David Millar. He was convicted of doping in 2004, and up until this week he was in a lifetime ban for the Olympics. However, the CAS over-ruled the British Olympic Association, and now he is allowed to ride:
Millar selected on Team GB long list for Olympic Games
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/millar-selected-on-team-gb-long-list-for-olympic-games)
British Cycling announced their squads for the track, BMX and MTB events for the forthcoming London 2012 Olympics at a press conference in Manchester this afternoon, but the biggest news was David Millar’s inclusion on the long list for the road cycling team. Mark Cavendish is expected to lead the men's team.
While the other squads have already been rubber stamped in terms of personnel, the road squads have simply been split down into ‘long lists’, with the actual shape of the final team yet to be decided. There are eight men on the men’s list, including Millar, and from this list five will be selected over the coming weeks. On the women’s list there are six names, which must be reduced down to four.
Millar’s participation in the Olympics had been in doubt right up to April, when CAS overruled a lifetime ban imposed on British athletes found guilty of doping by the British Olympic Association. Millar had tested positive for EPO in 2004, and up until yesterday had consistently implied that he wouldn’t put himself forward for selection.
Now it not only appears that he has changed his mind, but he has forced his way into the thoughts of the selectors. Other names to appear alongside him are pre-race favourite and current road world champion Mark Cavendish and three-time Olympic gold medallist Bradley Wiggins.
“We have selected what I believe to be an excellent team going into the Olympic Games and we have a good mix of experienced Olympians alongside young riders who are making their debuts,” said British Cycling Performance Director Dave Brailsford.
“We still have some decisions to make – for example the road team will be refined in due course. Overall though, the GB Cycling Team has had a strong season across all disciplines and we are ready to step up again at the Olympics.”
Team GB long list for men’s road race (five to be selected): Mark Cavendish, Steve Cummings, Chris Froome, Jeremy Hunt, David Millar, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift, Bradley Wiggins
Team GB long list for women’s road race (four to be selected): Lizzie Armitstead, Nicole Cooke, Katie Colclough, Sharon Laws , Lucy Martin, Emma Pooley
Okay, so next on the news today was the Tour de Suisse. While this could have been the first topic I covered, I am saddened that Peter Sagan couldn't pull off another win:
June 13, Stage 5: Trimbach/Olten - Gansingen 192.7km
Isaichev wins stage 5 of the Tour de Suisse
Vladimir Isaichev (Katusha) triumphed on stage 5 of the Tour de Suisse with a powerful sprint into Gansingen to take his first professional win. The 26-year-old beat Ruben Perez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Salvatore Puccio (Sky). Rui Costa (Movistar) retained his overall lead.
It marked just the second win for a Russian in a Katusha jersey in 2012, but most surprisingly of all, the stage outcome provided a respite from Peter Sagan's dominant run of three wins in four days.
With the mountain stages of the race on the horizon and with four days of racing in their legs, the peloton was willing to see a group of seven riders go clear after just 11 kilometres of racing.
With six category three climbs to conquer, with the last one coming some 16km before the finish, the outcome was far from certain but with Daniel Oss (Liquigas) present, the break's chances quickly increased.
No other sprint teams were determined to chase for Sagan to simply outclass them again and with Isaichev, Salvatore Puccio (Sky), Klaas Lodewyck (BMC), Ruben Perez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Sebastien Minard (AG2R) and Karsten Kroon (Saxo Bank) for company Oss - one of Sagan's lead-out men was allowed to press on. With 145km to go, a gap of over nine minutes was established, with a peak of over 10 minutes reached at one point.
With Puccio at over 13 minutes down on GC, but Costa's closest rival, Movistar was obliged to provide some form of containment and dutifully kept the gap at a stable 10 minutes for most of the stage.
The stage winner would therefore come from the break of seven. Oss, like so many other leadout men, is a fine sprinter in his own right, and was the quickest finisher present. Kroon, with his vast experience but slowing legs, and Puccio with his unknown capabilities, were the most dangerous, but all three were no match for the Isaichev's strength and determination - the Katusha rider closed down several attacks with ease in the final kilometres.
It was Lodewyck who blinked first with a tentative attack to test the waters with 20 kilometres remaining. BMC, without a stage win in its home tour, saw its man go clear again moments later as the final climb came into the frame but by now Lodewyck was a spent force. Perez and Isaichev led the chase and by the top of the climb, BMC's card had been caught and dropped.
It was now down to six and with the gap still at 10 minutes, the break could all afford to slow and watch each other. Kroon appeared to realise that Isaichev was the strongest rider, gluing himself to the Katusha rider's back wheel for much of the last 10 kilometres as Perez attempted to go clear. Oss was the first to react, with Kroon for once dislocating himself from Isaichev's shadow.
However the Russian quickly closed the move down and when another attack came, this time from Minard, it was Oss who was forced to set pace for the majority of the chase.
With just three kilometres to go, Minard made his move, a by far the most vicious attack, but Perez and Oss, again, closed the Frenchman down.
And Oss remained at the front as the six men approached the final few hundred meters, the worst place for a now visibly tired sprinter to be. Isaychev, sitting back powered through, Perez desperate to cling to his coattails, but the Russian proved too strong.
Full Results
| 1 | Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha Team | 4:58:28 | |
| 2 | Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | | |
| 3 | Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling | | |
| 4 | Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank | | |
| 5 | Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | | |
| 6 | Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:00:05 | |
| 7 | Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:50 | |
| 8 | Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:11:07 | |
| 9 | Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | | |
| 10 | Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Team Type 1 - Sanofi |
Continuing our downfall in Daily News, I feel like now is the time to mention that Andy Schleck won't be riding in the Tour de France due to a fractured pelvis from his time trial crash in the Dauphine. As much as I make fun of him, and joke about him, Schleck is one of my favorites and I truly wish him the best. Quick recovery Andy!!!
I must admit though, I feel like I'm cursed. In 2006, I made a shirt for Ivan Basso/Team CSC. That was the year that Basso, among many other riders, were told they couldn't ride in the Tour de France because os Operacion Puerto (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operaci%C3%B3n_Puerto_doping_case). In 2007, when Basso signed with Team Discovery, I made another shirt to show my support for him. Right before the Tour he was suspended from the team because the case was reopened. So I stopped making shirts for a few years.
This year, I had a Schleck/RadioShack Nissan Trek sweatshirt made...and now Schleck is out of the Tour. Need I say more?
Anyway, the Vuelta a Espana is looking like the best Grand Tour this year...maybe this will be another Contador/Schleck showdown!!!
Schleck confirms he will miss Tour de France
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/schleck-confirms-he-will-miss-tour-de-france)
Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) has announced that he will not ride the 2012 Tour de France after he sustained a fracture to his pelvis in his crash during the Critérium du Dauphiné last week.
In a press conference in Strassen, Luxembourg on Wednesday afternoon, it was confirmed that Schleck had fractured the sacral bone of his pelvis when he fell early on in the stage 4 time trial to Bourg-en-Bresse.
Although Schleck battled through to finish the following day’s stage, he withdrew on the penultimate day of the race. Still in pain on Monday morning, Schleck underwent an x-ray and then an MRI scan, which ultimately revealed the full extent of his injury.
“Yesterday, when I came out of the MRI scan and they told me the news, my world fell apart," Schleck said. "I won't win the 2012 Tour de France, I won't even be in it.”
Flanked by his doctor Charles Delagardelle and orthopaedic surgeon Thorsten Gerich, who said that it would take “between four and six weeks” for the fracture to heal, a solemn Schleck told reporters that he aimed to return to competitive action in time for the London 2012 Olympics on July 28.
Schleck’s absence from the Tour means that he is now on course for a head-to-head battle with his great rival Alberto Contador at the Vuelta a España. Contador returns from suspension shortly before his home Tour, setting up an intriguing clash between the pair in August.
“I hope to be back to ride the Olympics and then my main goal will be the Vuelta a España,” said Schleck. “I’m more motivated than ever before, as people – and journalists in particular – forget very fast.”
Schleck, who has rarely been a factor in major races outside of the Tour and the Ardennes Classics in recent seasons, also said that the world championships in Valkenburg and the Tour of Lombardy could feature on his revised programme. “Since I’m not riding the Tour, I can have many other goals,” he said.
The state of Schleck’s form had been a source of much media attention in recent weeks, and he responded tersely when quizzed on his manager Johan Bruyneel’s thinly-veiled criticism ahead of the Critérium du Dauphiné. “As a pro, you have to deal with critics. If you can’t, you won’t survive in this business long,” he said. “I don’t care.”
Schleck refused to hypothesise how he might have fared in this year’s Tour and called on the eventual winner to be afforded his due respect. “I don’t know if I would have stood in yellow in Paris but that was the goal,” he said. “But whether it’s Wiggins or my brother Fränk or anyone else who wins, I won’t stand there saying, ‘you’re lucky I wasn’t there.’”
Four to six weeks to heal
Orthopaedic surgeon Thorsten Gerich informed journalists on the nature of Schleck’s injury, pulling a plastic model of the pelvic area out from under the desk to illustrate his description as he spoke.
Schleck was referred to Gerich after contacting his personal doctor Charles Delagardelle on Monday morning, citing continuing pain in his pelvic area. While the initial x-ray failed to shed any light on the matter, an MRI scan taken on Monday afternoon revealed the full extent of the damage.
“We couldn’t see anything on the plain x-ray, but that’s not unusual,” Gerich said. “On the MRI imaging we could detect that Andy had a fracture on the sacrum of his pelvis. It’s a fracture which doesn’t compromise the stability of the pelvis, but which really hurts as it is a fracture between two nerve roots.”
Gerich estimated that it would take between 4 and 6 weeks for the fracture to heal, and that Schleck would be unable to ride his bike in that period. “It’s not possible to ride as he would have direct, constant pressure on the fracture,” he said. “He can do other sporting activity as long as it doesn’t affect the pelvis.”
In spite of his disappointment, Schleck looked to sound a defiant note. “I’m out but I can’t drown in self-pity. I have to look forward,” he said.
“What doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger. I believe I’ll come back stronger. I believe I haven’t spoken my last word.”
And finally, the worst story of today is that the USADA is re-opening Lance Armstrong's doping case. The Federal Government closed this case months ago after finding no evidence that he ever doped! If the US is trying to ruin cycling in America, they are going about it the right way! No wonder Americans don't like the sport! Stop using our tax dollars on a matter that was settled months ago!!
Not that I matter to anyone important, but I fully believe he is innocent and that he never doped. I am not a huge fan of American Cyclists as I am more familar with the European ones, but I stand behind Lance 100% in believing he is innocent. This is the same way I feel about Alberto Contador, so I'm not just backing my own country.
Armstrong charged with doping by USADA
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/armstrong-charged-with-doping-by-usada)
Lance Armstrong has been formally charged with doping by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) according to the Washington Post. The seven-time Tour de France winner has been banned from competition effective immediately, including triathlons which he has been racing since he retired from pro road cycling in 2011.
The Washington Post reported on a copy of a 15-page letter sent to Lance Armstrong by USADA on Tuesday. In it, the agency alleged that some of Armstrong's blood samples from 2009 and 2010 were "fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions."
Armstrong has never tested positive in any doping tests.
The news comes after the US federal government ended an investigation into doping allegations abruptly in February. The nearly two-year grand jury investigation was closed with no charges brought. The Food and Drug Adminstration's Jeff Novitzky had headed the investigation. Armstrong had welcomed the end of federal investigation earlier this year.
The Washington Post reported that Armstrong's attorney Robert D. Luskin called USADA's latest allegations a product of "malice and spite" on behalf of USADA, which for years has been seeking information on whether Armstrong doped. He pointed to all of Armstrong's passed drug tests and said the letter was a result of a conspiracy against Armstrong since several teams and riders are mentioned, but his client is the only one charged.
USADA has been conducting its own investigation separate from that done by the federal government. USADA has the authority to suspend dopers from competition in Olympic sports and it can take back awards, but it cannot press criminal charges.
The letter accuses not only Armstrong, but also five associates, including three doctors and team manager Johan Bruyneel. It says that they "engaged in a massive doping conspiracy from 1998-2011" and cites the testimony of more than 10 cyclists. Michele Ferrari is one of the named doctors.
In its letter, USADA says Armstrong used EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone, corticosteroids and masking agents as well as distributed them and administered them to others.
Luskin reported that USADA had invited Armstrong to meet last week, but Armstrong chose not to do so.
USADA had previously said it would obtain information from the US Attorney's federal investigation once its case had closed. "Unlike the U.S. Attorney, USADA’s job is to protect clean sport rather than enforce specific criminal laws," Tygart had said in a statement.
Armstrong responds
On his website on Wednesday, Armstrong issued a statement in response to the USADA letter and allegations.
"I have been notified that USADA, an organization largely funded by taxpayer dollars but governed only by self-written rules, intends to again dredge up discredited allegations dating back more than 16 years to prevent me from competing as a triathlete and try and strip me of the seven Tour de France victories I earned. These are the very same charges and the same witnesses that the Justice Department chose not to pursue after a two-year investigation. These charges are baseless, motivated by spite and advanced through testimony bought and paid for by promises of anonymity and immunity. Although USADA alleges a wide-ranging conspiracy extended over more than 16 years, I am the only athlete it has chosen to charge. USADA's malice, its methods, its star-chamber practices, and its decision to punish first and adjudicate later all are at odds with our ideals of fairness and fair play.
"I have never doped, and, unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one. That USADA ignores this fundamental distinction and charges me instead of the admitted dopers says far more about USADA, its lack of fairness and this vendetta than it does about my guilt or innocence."
I guess in all fairness, since I talked yesterday about Chris Horner's side of missing the Tour de France, I should shed light on to what Team Manager Johan Bruyneel said (not that I feel it makes the situation any better, especially now after losing Andy Schleck):
Bruyneel clarifies RadioShack stance on Horner decision
(http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/06/news/bruyneel-clarifies-radioshack-stance-on-horner-decision_223554?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cyclingrightnow%2Fvelonews+%28VeloNews%29)
Johan Bruyneel has clarified the controversial decision to leave popular veteran Chris Horner off RadioShack-Nissan’s Tour de France team, saying that when Horner passed on a start at the Tour de Suisse, he also torpedoed his own chances to race the Tour.
Speaking to VeloNews on Tuesday, the Belgian director said it was Horner’s decision to not race this week’s Tour de Suisse, something that Bruyneel said was essential for him to be considered for the team’s final Tour nine.
“It was communicated very clearly to him that in order to be selected for the Tour, he had to be at the Tour de Suisse,” Bruyneel told VeloNews. “If that was not the case, then he had no possibilities to be on the Tour de France team.”
On Monday, RadioShack-Nissan released its long list of 14 riders being considered for final selection to make the nine-man team for the June 30 start of the 2012 Tour.
Horner’s omission surprised many and team officials initially said part of the problem was that Horner was suffering from a back injury.
Horner, however, told VeloNews overnight that he had since recovered from minor back pain that flared up during the Amgen Tour of California and that he was in condition to race the Tour, having just come off a 600-mile training week.
In the meantime, there’s been a growing storm of indignation among Horner’s many fans and supporters.
Bruyneel, however, said there’s more to the story and insisted that it was Horner’s decision to pull himself out of the Tour de Suisse, which started Saturday in Lugano.
“It’s not that we didn’t give him the option,” Bruyneel said. “Chris was given the choice (to race the Swiss tour), so when he said no, that was the same for me as saying, ‘I also give up on the Tour.’”
The Belgian director said he spelled out very clearly to everyone on the team at the beginning of the season that in order to be selected for the Tour, riders had to participate in either the Critérium du Dauphiné, which ended Sunday, or the Tour de Suisse.
Bruyneel said he wanted riders in those races in order to hone their form ahead of the Tour as well as to demonstrate they were up to the task of carrying the team colors for three weeks in the season’s most important race.
The only exception was for riders who participated in the Giro d’Italia. Fränk Schleck was the team’s only rider long-listed for the Tour team after starting the Giro, but the Luxembourger abandoned the race during the 15th stage and currently sits second overall in Switzerland.
“Just after California, Chris had a back problem and he had asked for some time off to treat it. That was fine; then he asked the team to not ride the Tour de Suisse. Our position was — my position was — in order to be selected for the Tour, he was required to be at the Tour de Suisse,” Bruyneel said. “We didn’t ask any results from him, but out of fairness to all the other guys who are racing, he had to be there.”
Last year, Horner raced neither the Dauphiné nor the Swiss tour, but things have changed dramatically in the wake of the fusion between RadioShack and Leopard-Trek for the 2012 season.
With the presence of Tour podium contenders Andy and Fränk Schleck as well as time trial powerhouse Fabian Cancellara, there is more competition among the team’s riders to make the nine-man Tour selection.
“Last year was different because (Horner) was in top shape. He was already at a high level after winning California; he was second at the Basque Country. And it was also not such a deep team as we have this year,” Bruyneel said. “Last year, the Tour selection was a lot easier. Now the selection is a lot more difficult. I still have to tell four or five guys they’re not going to the Tour.”
Bruyneel also said he spoke to Horner on Tuesday to discuss the Tour decision.
He admitted that he did not directly tell Horner of the news earlier this week about the Tour omission, but also said that the team is organized such that each of the team’s six sport directors work closely with up to five riders on the team.
Horner’s point man within the RadioShack organization is Alain Gallopin, his former director and trusted confidante when he raced in Europe in the late 1990s with the Francaise des Jeux team from 1997-99.
Bruyneel says it was clearly communicated to Horner via Gallopin about the implications of his decision to bypass the Tour de Suisse.
“I talked to Chris today. I wasn’t in agreement with some of his comments he made and he said he wasn’t in agreement with some of the comments from the team about his back injury,” Bruyneel said. “His back injury is not the reason why he is not on the Tour team. It’s because he chose not to ride the Tour de Suisse. I need to make the selection from those two races… If someone has an injury, the risk is too high to wait until the Tour to see if it’s healed.”
Bruyneel also confirmed that Horner is under contract with RadioShack-Nissan for the 2013 season and that there is no bad blood between the parties.
“There is not a reason why he shouldn’t race the Tour next year,” Bruyneel said, also shooting down the rumor that there were some lingering effects from Horner’s crash in last year’s Tour. “Absolutely not. He’s been in all the big races this year. Basque Country, the classics, California — that’s absolutely not true.”
Bruyneel said he is traveling to the Swiss tour tomorrow to meet with riders and staff to finalize the process of trimming the Tour roster down to nine riders.
“I cannot say now who is going to be picked,” Bruyneel concluded, saying, “there is not going to be any big surprises.”
