2012 Tour de France Stage 5, 7/05/12

Part of me wants to post all the articles of the newest information about Lance Armstrong's USADA investigation. The news this morning ruined my day. Maybe I'll post it later...

...for now let's celebrate Andre Greipel's 2nd win:

July 5, Stage 5: Rouen - Saint-Quentin 196.5km

Greipel doubles up on Tour de France stage 5

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-5/results)

Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) sprinted to victory at stage five of the 2012 Tour de France in the town of Saint-Quentin for his second consecutive stage win. He took advantage of a flat and fast run-in and swooped very late to deny Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge), JJ Haedo (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) and Mark Cavendish (Sky).

"I'm happy because I won another stage in the Tour de France," said Greipel. "There was a bit of a crash and I was behind it at 3k to go, but Greg Henderson was waiting for me. The Lotto Belisol train was working perfectly today. It was a hard sprint, I think it was one of the hardest sprints I've ever done."

For the second consecutive day the finale was marred by a large crash less than 3km from the finish, with the most high profile victim being points leader Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale), who was well-placed at the time but was forced to check his momentum dramatically as several riders hit the floor around him. Ultimately a downed bike caused the Slovak to tumble, leaving contusions on his left elbow and buttock, but he was more concerned with the lost points toward the green jersey competition.

"I missed a great opportunity, especially for points toward winning the green jersey," said Sagan. "Unfortunately, every time there is a sprint the script is always the same: everyone wants to stay ahead, everyone thinks they have good legs and do manoeuvres that cause crashes. We are at the Tour de France and a victory here is worth a lot, but the risks are just too high. Though the thought that I could have been hurt worse helps me overcome the sorrow."

Garmin-Sharp's Tyler Farrar, his arm dripping blood after being taken down in a squeeze between Tom Veelers (Argos-Shimano) and a Lampre rider, was furious following his second major spill in as many days. He attempted to enter the Argos team bus to have it out with Veelers, but was pulled away by team staff.

Veelers explained via the team's press release: "Tyler wanted to get in the wheel of Koen de Kort, but I was already there. He didn't respect my train, but that's his problem. I get why he’s upset, because a crash is never very pleasant."

Emotions are running high as the pressure is on for the sprinters, who have just one flat stage left tomorrow before the race hits the hills on Saturday. The next possible sprint stage after stage 6 to Metz comes on July 13, when stage 12 hits a plateau after a cat 3 climb near the finish, or the following stage to Le Cap d'Agde.

Cavendish, still smarting from his crash the previous day, did not blame his injuries on the fifth place finish, rather he said he intentionally positioned himself behind in order to get a run at the finish but found himself too far back.

"The final didn't work out quite how we wanted it but the guys were all there and they did a good job," said Sky director Sean Yates. "We upped the ante and next time it will be better. Cav dropped back a bit at the finish and had a bit too much work to do at the end.

"We need to keep this going starting tomorrow and we will look to keep Bradley safe and set Mark up heading into the finish."

After today's stage Sagan adds only 8 points (won in the intermediate sprint) to his booty for the green jersey. The ranking sees him still in first place with 155 points, followed by Goss, who moves closer at 137, Greipel (winner today) at 132 and Cavendish at 119, although Goss said that he doesn't want to gain an advantage because of crashes.

"It's not the way I want to take points, I don't want to gain in the competition because someone has crashed but we did definitely take back quite a lot of points today," Goss said.

Meanwhile, it was another quiet day for the general classification contenders, who steered clear of the sprinters in the finale.

The overall race lead remains with Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan), who expects to concede the yellow jersey on the first major uphill finish in La Planche des Belles Filles on Saturday.

"Everything is possible in life if you believe in it. However, in my opinion, from what I’ve seen of the Planche des Belles Filles climb and what I’ve heard about it, it’s a little bit too hard for me," Cancellara admitted.

It was another hectic day in Northern France, with more wind, more narrow roads and nerves. The only abandon of the day came from Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano), who finally gave up after nearly a week of fighting gastroenteritis and knee pain.

The majority of the race was dominated by a four-man breakaway, who went clear just three kilometres into the stage. Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ-BigMat), Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Jan Ghyselinck (Cofidis) and Julien Simon (Saur-Sojasun) rode on the front for over 190km.

Ladagnous took the maximum points at the day's intermediate sprint in Breteuil as the four leaders rolled through the line. Behind, the peloton's green jersey battle continued, with Cavendish getting the better of Goss, Renshaw and Sagan for the points.

The four leaders eked out an advantage of 5:40 but after the sprint the elastic began to contract again, and they were reeled in steadily by the chasing sprinters' teams.

The four kept working together to hold a handful of seconds inside the 3km to go banner, and Ghyselinck panicked: he made a bold attack for the finish line with just over 1km to go. The Belgian could not hang on, however. Urtasun was able to come by, but he, too, was caught and left behind by the marauding pack in the final 100 metres.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team	4:41:30
2	Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
3	Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
4	Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
5	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling
6	Tom Veelers (Ned) Argos-Shimano
7	Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team
8	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
9	Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
10	Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar

2012 Tour de France Stage 3, 7/03/12

July 3, Stage 3: Orchies - Boulogne-sur-Mer 197km

Sagan dances to second Tour de France stage win

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-3/results)

Peter Sagan danced his way to his second Tour de France win in stage 3 to Boulogne-sur-Mer. The Slovakian champion and green jersey holder unleashed his powerful acceleration in the final hundred meters, distancing Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky), who held on for second over Peter Velits of Omega Pharma-QuickStep. A fourth place finish was enough for RadioShack-Nissan's Fabian Cancellara to hold on to his overall lead.

The final climb saw a large group going up for the win in a difficult situation. Oscar Freire of Katusha was squeezed in the dash for the line by a Vacansoleil rider, and set off a crash. It was mostly contained on one side of the road, holding up a number of riders already out of contention for the stage, but all were given the same time as the main bunch. Held up was Denis Menchov (Katusha), Bradley Wiggins and his Sky Procycling teammate Chris Froome. The latter toppled into the barriers but emerged unscathed.

The day was marked by climbs and crashes in the last half of the day. Garmin-Sharp suffered the worst luck of the bunch, although Ryder Hesjedal overcame a late-race puncture to regain the front group and ultimately finish the stage in 12th, the rest of the team's climbers - Dan Martin, Christian Vande Velde and Tom Danielson, in addition to sprinter Tyler Farrar, were held up by a large crash in the final 20km and never regained the front of the race.

Team Sky lost one important helper in Kanstantsin Siutsou, who abandoned after a crash, as did Movistar's sprinter JJ Rojas.

Mørkøv strikes again

Once again, all 198 riders were at the start in Orchies, with the race having finally moved into France. It took only five kilometers for the day's group to form. Andriy Grivko (Astana), Giovanni Bernaudeau (Europcar), Ruben Perez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Sebastien Minard (AG2R) and Michael Mørkøv (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff) took off and quickly built up a gap of 5:40 by km 30. That was enough for the field, and it soon came down to under five minutes.

It was a return appearance for Mørkøv, who has been in the escape group for all three road stages. He took the mountain jersey in the first stage and gathered points one by one in the first two stage to hold on to it.

With some 107km to go, RadioShack got help with the chase. Sylvester Szmyd of Liquigas turned up at the head of the field, an obvious signal that Peter Sagan would be looking for his chance in the difficult last half of the stage.

The first half of the stage was nearly dead flat, and the field was happy enough to roll along, keeping the break group on a long rein, knowing that the fireworks would come soon enough.

The break group rolled right under the intermediate sprint banner as if it were not there, but things were different behind them.

GreenEdge led the charge for the intermediate sprint, and it was a wild sprint. Mark Cavendish looked like he was boxed in but as so often, managed to pull it out at the last minute. And he even turned back to have a word with Kenny Van Hummel of Vacansoleil, who had unnecessarily boxed him in.

As expected, Mørkøv took advantage of being in the lead group to grab the points at the first climb of the day.

Climbing and crashing

And as the field moved onto the narrow roads that would take them over the climbs, the crashes started. Giro d'Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal was involved in an early one. Only minutes later a more serious crash took out Kanstantsin Siutsou (Sky), who became the first rider to abandon the race.

With 37km to go and a gap of about 2:30, the break group kicked up the speed, and managed to drop one of their number, Bernaudeau. Mørkøv took the points on the second climb as well. The peloton picked up their speed as well, to cut the gap. Between the acceleration and the climbs, the sprinters, especially the wounded ones, started dropping off the back.

Not long there after another crash took down a number of riders, including Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge). JJ Rojas (Movistar) and Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha) appeared to be injured, Rojas abandoned with an suspected broken collarbone. The crash also split the field, with many riders having a long way to go to catch up again. Even Philippe Gilbert was apparently caught up in it.

Things were frantic form there on. The lead group tried its hardest to stay away, but BMC grabbed control of the chase group and brought the gap down dramatically. Riders were desperate to get up to the front, but Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) was busy with a stuck rear derailleur and waved down the neutral support car for repairs.

Grivko and Sanchez took the next climb alone in the lead, but with only 16km to go, there were still three more to come.

Gilbert, thought to be a favourite for this stage, was stuck back in one of the chase groups, as was Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), and both were struggling.

Yellow jersey Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) was still in the large first group, as were top race favourites Cadel Evans (BMC) and Bradley Wiggins (Sky). Peter Sagan must also have been there, as a Liquigas rider was often in the lead. And with 10.5km to go, raindrops started to appear.

At the 10km marker, Mørkøv and Grivko had only 28 seconds on the high-powered chase group, and still two more climbs to go. And at 7.3m to go, Mørkøv was caught, leaving the Astana rider alone with a minimal lead. He too was soon overtaken by the chase group.

With 5.5km to go, Sylvain Chavanel of Omega Pharma-QuickStep attacked out of the field. It was familiar terrain for the Frenchman and he popped over the last rise before a long descent, and gradually pulled away.

A roundabout with 2km to go gave Chavanel a problem, and in the peloton behind, Movistar's Alejandro Valverde also had difficulties with it: both had to brake hard and lost ground as the final climb to the finish approached.

Chavanel retained his lead going into the final kilometer, but the thundering horde gave him no chance. Although a crash halfway up broke up the field, the powerful sprinters at the front sailed past the Frenchman.

GreenEdge's Michael Albasini led the way up, but Sagan jumped by him and easily went on for the win, whilst behind him, Boasson Hagen and Velits struggled up the steep climb to fill out the podium.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	4:42:58
2	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling	0:00:01
3	Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
4	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan
5	Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
6	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
7	Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
8	Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
9	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
10	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale

Other Favorite Picture of the Day:

RadioShack Nissan Team riding

2012 Tour de France Stage 2, 7/02/12

July 2, Stage 2: Visé - Tournai 207.5km

Cavendish claims first Tour de France stage win of 2012

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-2/results)

Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) claimed the honours in the first mass sprint of the 2012 Tour de France. The Manxman came around arch rival Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol) to claim his 21st Tour stage win in a photo finish. Third place went to Orica-GreenEdge's Matthew Goss. Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) finished in the group to easily maintain his overall lead.

Cavendish proved he could win alone, as he came into the finale without his sprint train. "I knew that there was some headwind, and it was clear to me that I could also have a chance if I started from a bit further back," he said.

He was more than satisfied with his victory, noting that he had come to the race as an auxiliary to team captain Bradley Wiggins, which meant he would have to be opportunistic and take other riders' wheels. Interestingly, it was his first Tour stage win outside of France.

Lotto Belisol looked to have everything under control, as they led the charge into the final km, espeically since Cavendish was on his own and far enough back to be almost unnoticeable. Greipel was in the best position, with the ever-dangerous Peter Sagan on his wheel.

Greg Henderson, in his first Tour de France, pulled hard and delivered Greipel to the 200m marker. Then the mighty German took off on his own, grinding away with his powerful legs.

But he was not alone. Cavendish had come up behind him, picking out the perfect wheel to be on. He didn't panic at being without his sprint train, or attempt to go too early. The world champion pulled out and went for the finish line. It was neck and neck, with both sprinters giving their all. At the end it was Cavendish who had his wheel forward.

"I was alone in the last kilometre. I told Edvald [Boasson Hagen] with five kilometres to go just do your own thing. We haven’t worked enough together when it's so hectic like that. If it had just been the sprinters then it would have been okay but there were climbers and GC riders at the finish. I’d rather just go alone,” he said on the team's website.

"I knew (Oscar) Freire always goes up in the last kilometre so I stayed [with him] and it was just perfect - with the headwind I knew you could come from behind."

Cancellara called it "business as usual" and was happy there were no crashes. "We spent as little energy as possible. The final was pretty intense, pretty hard. I didn't have my best day, but I think that is normal."

Use this on all articles. The player is narrow enough to fit next to the article gallery images box on the right.

All 198 riders were again at the start of the stage in Vise, including several wearing splints, braces and bandages. The biggest name invalids included Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) who suffered a fractured scaphoid in his crash early in Sunday's stage, and Luis Leon Sanchez of Rabobank, with a brace on his left hand, where he also had a broken bone.

It took about 24km for the day's break group to form. It was a small one, with only three riders: Anthony Roux (FDJ-Big Mat), Christophe Kern (Europcar) and once again, Michael Morkov (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff). Roux was another of the wounded, and noticeably rode one-handed over the many cobblestone passages.

The gap jumped quickly to 7:40, but that was enough. The field brought it back to the five-to-six minute mark, and let it stay there for a long time. Even the climb up to the magnificent citadel in Namur brought no changes.

There was one ranked climb on the day, that same Cote de la Citadelle de Namur at 82.5km Morkov went over the top first, to cement his lead in the King of the Mountains competition. From there, the gap started slowly coming down.

The first real action of the day came in the day's only intermediate sprint at 153km. There was a wild sprint for points from the field. After the three leader calmly rolled through, the sprinters from the peloton showed their stuff. Not all of them though - Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol) and Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) didn't participate in the intermediate sprint.

Daniel Oss led the way for Liquigas teammate Peter Sagan, but he didn't have a chance against Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge), Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) and Mark Cavendish (Sky), who crossed the line ahead of the previous day's stage winner.

From there the job was to bring the gap down and catch the break group at the proper moment. That moment came with 29.7km to go. Roux had jumped earlier, leaving his two companions to fade back into the field. He held on to a 45 to 50-second lead, but finally he too was caught and passed with just over 14km left.

Immediately the sprint teams started forming,with Orica-GreenEdge and Omega Pharma-QuickStep at the head of things. Argos-Shimano's Marcel Kittel, said to be having stomach problems, was back amongst the team cars and out of contention.

Lotto Belisol led the way under the flamme rouge, Greipel took off from Greg Henderson's lead and drove hard. Cavendish came around and the two fought for the win in a photo finish, with the Briton taking the win. Goss was a distant third.

About four minutes later, Martin and Sanchez, with their broken bodies, rolled across the finish line.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling	4:56:59
2	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
3	Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
4	Tom Veelers (Ned) Argos-Shimano
5	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
6	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
7	Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ-Big Mat
8	Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
9	Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team
10	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp

Other favorite picture of the day:

Sagan and Cancellara before the start of the stage

14 - June - 2012 - Daily News

Let's start with Stage 6 in the Tour de Suisse, where Peter Sagan won again!!!

June 14, Stage 6: Wittnau - Bischofszell 198.5km

Sagan wins stage 6 in Bischofszell

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-de-suisse-2012/stage-6/results)

Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) continued his dominance in the Tour de Suisse, coming from behind to win the sprint of the sixth stage in Bischofszell. In the last few meters he caught and passed Ben Swift (Sky) who finished second, with Allan Davis of Orica-GreenEdge finishing third.

It was Sagan's fourth win in the race, and his 12th on the season.

“The finishes in the Tour de Suisse are never straight so you need to invent something to find some space,” said Sagan. “I had to work harder today firstly to get a leading position in the finale, and secondly to launch the sprint. I went flat out into the last corner so I wouldn’t get boxed in and even brushed the barriers. I was blocked in that moment but as soon as Swift kicked, I knew I could come around and I did.”

Rui Costa (Movistar) remained in the leader's jersey and maintained his eight second lead over Frank Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) and 15 second advantage on Roman Kreuziger (Astana).

It was another day with five ranked climbs, but all category three and four. Four of them came within the final 50km. In quite a change of weather, there was for once no rain on the day.

There were numerous attempts to break away, with Orica-GreenEdge's Michael Albasini being particularly active. But with 30km down a group formed which received the peloton's blessing, and Baden Cooke (Orica-GreenEdge), Vicente Reynes (Lotto Belisol), Matteo Montaguti (AG2R La Mondiale), Troels Ronning Vinther (Saxo Bank) and Rubens Bertogliati (Team Type 1-Sanofi) took off.

Unfortunately, Bertogliati was only 1:45 down on GC and quickly assumed the “virtual” race lead. Realizing that his presence would only doom the group, he soon dropped back and the remaining quartet went on their merry way.
Nevertheless, the gap grew only slowly, hitting a maximum of five minutes at about the halfway mark. The stage ended with two laps of a 29km circuit course and the four leaders set off on the first lap with 3:24 lead.

Liquigas-Cannondale had led the way in the early part of the race, but Movistar, around race leader Costa, and Lampre-ISD, with sprinter Alessandro Petacchi, had by now taken over. The gap crept up, though, again hitting four minutes with 40km to go.

That was enough for the field to finally take action and the gap dropped to under three minutes by the 25km marker, and it kept on going down from there.

A number of teams shared the lead work in the final kilometers with everyone wanting to get their good-climbing sprinters into position but the category four Schocherswil at 6km to go proved to be no real barrier. With 5km left Cooke and Reynes were back in the pack as Montaguti and Vinther kept on fighting.

They had no chance against the determined field, however, and were also caught at the 2km banner. Sky led the way into the sprint and Swift jumped for the win around the final corner. But Sagan came up on his right side and passed him in the final few meters to take yet another win.

Full Results

1	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	4:30:08
2	Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling
3	Allan Davis (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
4	Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
5	Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team
6	Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
7	Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
8	Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Team Type 1 - Sanofi
9	Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team
10	Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Pro Team Astana

Next, let's explore the fallout from the USADA re-opening Lance Armstrong's case. A lot of articles came out today; everything from Lance's statements, to statements of friends and foes, to how this will affect Johan Bruyneel and the UCI. I know these articles get repetitive, but I feel each one brings something different to light. I don't have time to discuss each article, but I feel they are all important in what they say:

Armstrong and authorities comment on doping charges

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/armstrong-and-authorities-comment-on-doping-charges)

"I have never doped," said Lance Armstrong.

"USADA only initiates matters supported by the evidence," said USADA.

"The UCI is not aware of the information," said UCI.

Three press statements within less than a two-hour window and three authentically contrasting messages. The first was delivered by Lance Armstrong after the Washington Post broke the news that USADA had formally charged the seven-time Tour de France winner and five other individuals with doping violations.

Armstrong, a winner of the Tour from 1999 to 2005, has always denied doping and has claimed to be one of the "most tested athletes on the planet" and his defiant vitriol calls USADA's efforts both a "witch hunt" and "wide-ranging conspiracy" - a complete contrast to the message he eked out at the conclusion of the FDA investigation in February where he appeared to tired of fighting authorities, but nevertheless poignant.

After Armstrong's rebuttal, the UCI made its views clear. Caught between a position of knowing nothing and a huge degree of uncertainty, it began by declaring that USADA had at no point contacted them with information regarding the case. Not surprising, perhaps. At the completion of the FDA investigation in February, the UCI expressed relief that the two-year saga had been put to bed, while Travis Tygart and USADA appeared intent on not only retrieving evidence from the FDA and Attorney General's office, but also pressing ahead with its own investigation.

"This is the first time USADA has communicated to UCI on this subject," the sport's governing body said in a statement.
"The UCI is not aware of the information that is available to USADA on the persons concerned and has not been involved in the proceedings opened by USADA."

With all the information to hand, USADA's statement is far more detailed and wide ranging. Lance Armstrong is just one of six individuals facing scrutiny, with US Postal, Astana and RadioShack management among the six individuals named: Johan Bruyneel, Dr. Pedro Celaye, Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral, Dr. Michele Ferrari, and Mr. Pepe Marti are accused of a variety of doping violations, from the administration of doping products, trafficking, assisting and abetting and covering up.

"In response to numerous inquiries regarding the public statements made by Mr. Lance Armstrong, we can confirm that written notice of allegations of anti-doping rule violations was sent yesterday to him and to five (5) additional individuals all formerly associated with the United States Postal Service (USPS) professional cycling team," the statement read.

"These individuals include three (3) team doctors and two (2) team officials. This formal notice letter is the first step in the multi-step legal process for alleged sport anti-doping rule violations."

USADA are clear that their investigation has yet to prove guilt and that all parties are considered innocent.

"Our duty on behalf of clean athletes and those that value the integrity of sport is to fairly and thoroughly evaluate all the evidence available and when there is credible evidence of doping, take action under the established rules," USADA added.

As for next step, USADA's case will be heard by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) in a three-person panel (each side picks one representative; those two pick the third). The AAA decision can be appealed to CAS. One element is undeniable, this case has the potential to drag on.

Key Points to USADA's case

• Targets listed in USADA letter:

Johan Bruyneel (team director)
Dr. Pedro Celaya (team doctor)
Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral (team doctor)
Dr. Michele Ferrari (consulting doctor)
Pepe Marti (team trainer)
Lance Armstrong (rider)

• USADA's evidence gathered in investigation of potential doping on the United States Postal Service (USPS) (1996-2004), Discovery Channel (2005-2007), Astana (2009) and RadioShack (2010) cycling teams.
• Evidence gathered by USADA from interviews with riders from all referenced cycling teams
• Armstrong only rider who declined to speak with USADA
• Prohibited substances and methods: erythropoietin (EPO), blood transfusions ("blood doping"), testosterone, human growth hormone (hGH), corticosteroids (e.g., cortisone), saline and plasma infusions
• All respondents face following rule violations: Possession of prohibited substances; trafficking of prohibited substances; administration and/or attempted administration of prohibited substances; assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting, covering-up and other complicity involving anti-doping rule violations; and aggravating circumstances justifying a period of ineligibility greater than the standard sanction. Additionally, Lance Armstrong is accused of use and/or attempted us of prohibited substances.
• USADA alleges each of the respondents has been part of a doping conspiracy involving team officials, employees, doctors and cyclists of the USPS and Discovery Channel cycling teams and since they actively participated together the proceeding is being brought as a consolidated case
• USADA alleges the object of the conspiracy has been to cover-up the teams' doping activities via false statements to media, false statements and false testimony given under oath and in legal proceedings, and attempts to intimidate, discredit, silence and retaliate against witnesses
• While the doping allegations brought by USADA expand beyond the eight year statute of limitations, USADA states that all of the respondents took part in doping activities within the eight year statute of limitations and that corroborating evidence from beyond the eight year statute of limitations can still be utilised to prove the conspiracy
• According to USADA protocol, USADA will make written submittal to its Anti-Doping Review Board. All respondents may also provide written submittals by June 22, 2012. Anti-Doping Review Board will decide if there's sufficient evidence to proceed with adjudication process
• Respondents have a right to a hearing if proceedings advance beyond Anti-Doping Review Board. A hearing date should take place prior to November, 2012

 

Bassons and Simeoni say Armstrong probe is overdue

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bassons-and-simeoni-say-armstrong-probe-is-overdue)

Two men who clashed infamously with Lance Armstrong during his reign as the Tour de France’s dominant rider, Christophe Bassons and Filippo Simeoni, today welcomed news that Armstrong will face doping charges from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

Bassons said that USADA’s action was “important” but also long overdue. “It’s a shame now that it’s coming 15 years after it all happened. It’s a shame because the evidence was there for years. I knew all along what was happening, so this doesn’t change anything for me. I don’t need fifteen pages of documents to tell me what I knew already,” Bassons told Cyclingnews.

Simeoni had similarly mixed feelings. The Italian said the possibility of Armstrong being condemned for doping left him “cold”. Simeoni also “can’t understand why suddenly now they’re investigating him, when for years he was allowed to do whatever he wanted.”

Armstrong last night dismissed the investigation as a “witch-hunt”. “I have never doped,” he affirmed in a statement.

Bassons and Simeoni had of course tackled Armstrong about doping, in their own ways, long before this latest round of allegations. In 1999, Bassons was riding the Tour de France for La Française des Jeux but also penning a daily column for Le Parisien. After writing that the peloton had been “shocked” by Armstrong’s stage-win at Sestriere, Bassons was confronted by Armstrong on the road to Alpe d'Huez the next day and invited to stop his innuendo or else leave the sport. Two years later, sure enough, Bassons quit professional cycling at age 27. He now works for the French Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Today Bassons expressed his hope that anyone found guilty in the USADA probe will be banished from cycling. He also, though, partly supported Armstrong’s claim that the seven-time Tour champion is being singled out, while those who have given evidence against him seem set to escape without penalty for their own misdeeds.

“I can understand why they’re offering plea bargains. History tells us that, unfortunately, that’s the only way people will talk. It also provides very valuable intelligence when they do that,” Bassons said. “What is wrong is giving them complete immunity in return for information. When there’s a crime, there has to be a punishment. If there’s not, what’s happening here sets a dangerous precedent.

“As for Armstrong’s entourage, if found guilty, they can’t be allowed back in to work with teams in the future,” he continued. “In general I’m against making doping a criminal offense, except when there is trafficking involved, but there’s no reason why we can’t rid the sport of people who have facilitated doping on this scale.”

On the UCI’s role in the affair, and in particular allegations that they were complicit with what USADA is calling the US Postal team’s “conspiracy”, Bassons called for a radical rethink of sports federations’ role in anti-doping.
“It’s that old chestnut: you can’t have the body in charge of promoting a sport also policing it. Give responsibility for anti-doping to WADA or national anti-doping agencies. But not to the federations,” he argued.

Filippo Simeoni was involved in his own notorious spat with Armstrong at the 2004 Tour de France. Two years earlier, Simeoni had testified before an Italian magistrate that doctor Michele Ferrari had advised him to use EPO and testosterone in 1997, a claim that prompted Armstrong to brand Simeoni an “absolute liar” in an interview with Le Monde in 2003. The following year at the Tour, Armstrong thwarted Simeoni’s breakaway attempts and allegedly threatened to “destroy” the Italian in a mid-race exchange on stage 18.

Simeoni now owns two bars in Sezze, between Rome and Naples. The 40-year-old claims to have “left cycling behind completely”, although he happened to be riding his bike when Cyclingnews reached him today.

While he applauded USADA’s efforts, he also said that whatever comes of the investigation will bring scant consolation.

“This all leaves me a bit cold now. I’ve taken myself out of that world completely,” he said. “I just can’t understand how justice has taken this long. There was always evidence, but nothing was done. Is what they've got that much more crushing now? Armstrong was allowed to do whatever he wanted for years. He was a superhero, untouchable. Now this. I suppose it just shows how the balance has shifted; before, I think there were forces greater than our understanding working to protect him; now there’s probably also a reason why they’ve decided to take him down.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Simeoni summed up. “I prefer not to dwell too much, because I have too many regrets if I do. This whole business really cut me down in my prime. Now it’d be nice to just get justice, although I still fear that this could rumble on for months if not years.”

Chris Horner: I don’t believe Armstrong cheated

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/chris-horner-i-dont-believe-armstrong-cheated)

Chris Horner has leapt to the defence of Lance Armstrong after it was announced that USADA had brought doping charges against the seven-time Tour de France winner. The pair rode together at Astana and RadioShack, a period in time in which alleged doping infractions occurred. Armstrong has denied all charges levelled at him.

“I read the news like everyone else but you look at it with Lance and it’s the same stories that have been going around for years, forever, and it’s been relived and recycled many times. Lance has always come out clean from it,” Horner told Cyclingnews.

“I don’t believe Armstrong has cheated in any way to win those victories and he’s gone through an insane amount of testing. Do we have pictures of it? Video or testing? Because without that you really don’t have anything.”

USADA’s exact evidence is unknown, however, their 15 page letter to Armstrong and five other individuals – including Armstrong’s former and Horner’s current team boss – does include testimony from ten riders. Horner believes that their word should be questioned.

“I’ve been in the sport for a long time so I’ve heard these rumours and seen this stuff in the press and seen these allegations. Now I’ve read it again and I think USADA could be spending a lot of money on testing with the riders currently racing. Lance has had a legendary, unbelievable career that has just been fantastic to watch and to see what he’s done for the sport and against cancer. The guys that are saying it [doping] I have an idea who they are, just like you do, and you just have to wonder, are they telling the truth or not? But it’s the same story I’ve been hearing for a long time. You can’t crucify someone on that.”

Throughout both the FDA and now the USADA investigation Armstrong criticised the spending of US tax payers’ money into allegations of his and US Postal’s past and it’s a sentiment that Horner agrees with. The RadioShack veteran believes that the sport’s governing body and anti-doping agencies money would be better spent looking to the future, increasing their current rate of tests in a bid to remove cheats from the current peloton.

“There’s so much more that the drug agencies can be doing with the tax payers’ money on cleaning the sport up from this point on,” he told Cyclingnews.

“On the record, 100 percent, I loved racing with Lance. I love my experience I had with Lance and I would love to see USADA, WADA, and the UCI go forward and get the doping tests as controlled as possible and testing the riders who are racing their bikes now.”

Tour de France?

Having been omitted from RadioShack’s initial Tour de France long list there has been growing calls from the US media to install him in the team’s final nine. With Andy Schleck ruled out from injury the team is lighter in its ambitions for GC and Horner – 10th in the 2010 Tour – believes that he can perform a role for the team, whether it’s as a overall contender or a domestique.

“I’d love to go to the Tour. It’s the Tour and that’s an easy decision in terms of me wanting to go but the team makes the selection and I’m going to keep training up until the start and sending in my training SRM files to the team. All I can do is keep training and hopefully it works out.”

Horner refused to be drawn into the circumstances that lead to his current omission: “I don’t really want to comment on that because it’s created so much drama for the team. We’ve got fantastic sponsors with RadioShack and Nissan and I don’t want any bad press for them.

“I’m very good at looking after riders, like I was with Cadel Evans and I’ve been there for Lance and at big races for Alberto Contador. I was looking forward to helping Andy and Frank and I’m still looking forward to helping Frank. You’ve got to have guys on the team that can climb.”

RadioShack’s Tour place may come under scrutiny with RMC Sport reporting that ASO may remove them from the Tour due to USADA’s investigation.

“It would be a huge blow and unfair. I’ve not heard about any possibility of that from the team, though, but it would be truly unfair. We’ve got a great bunch of guys here and clean riders who love racing. It would be a bummer.”

USADA case against Armstrong could damage UCI, Ashenden says

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/usada-case-against-armstrong-could-damage-uci-ashenden-says)

Dr. Michael Ashenden, a former independent member of the UCI's passport panel, has reacted to news of USADA’s charges against Lance Armstrong, noting his concern that the charges have implications for the UCI’s credibility.

Ashenden’s reaction is based on USADA’s letter to Armstrong and five other individuals charged with doping violations in a time span stretching from 1998 to 2010. However Ashenden’s concern does not relate to the alleged use of banned substances such as EPO or human growth hormone, but an alleged cover up of a doping control at the 2001 Tour de Suisse.

Armstrong took part in the race and, according to USADA, several witnesses have given testimony that Armstrong told them that a positive test had been covered up. Two former teammates, Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton, have both gone on record to substantiate the claims.

USADA’s letter of notification also includes reference to their own interview with the Lausanne lab director, Dr Martial Saugy, who conducted the tests in 2001. Saugy told USADA that Armstrong’s samples were indicative of EPO use. In May 2011 Saugy  admitted to attending a meeting with former US Postal sports director Johan Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong to discuss details of the early EPO test method.

“For me the thing that has the most far-reaching consequence is that several witnesses said that Armstrong talked about having a test result covered up,” Ashenden told Cyclingnews.

“That has enormous implications. If the evidence supports that charge it’s likely to descend cycling, which is already fending off a fair bit of criticism, into chaos. It’s hard to understate the ramifications. If Armstrong believed that he had a test that was covered up then that story doesn’t just end with him being sanctioned or not because other people must have been complicit with Armstrong.”

Whether the EPO gel in question was positive, suspicious or negative is secondary to the fact that according to multiple witnesses, Armstrong thought he had had one of his results covered up. He can’t cover it up himself so he must have believed that he’d influenced someone to cover up his result. That points to the UCI, and infers that Armstrong believed at the time that he had the capacity to influence their actions.

The UCI has steadfastly denied any allegations of such a cover up, moving as far as opening legal proceedings against Floyd Landis. However Cyclingnews understands that the American has not received notification of any legal suit in the last two years.

Rather unfortunately for the UCI they have also faced scrutiny over donations made by Armstrong to their bank accounts. Armstrong made two donations to the UCI during his racing career. The seven-time Tour de France winner signed a personal cheque for $25,000 in 2002 and then his management company Capital Sports and Entertainment made a second payment of $100,000 in 2005.

The UCI in 2010 that the money was used in the fight against doping and in July of that year UCI President Pat McQuaid showed Cyclingnews a photocopy of the invoice of the Sysmex blood testing machine that a large part of Armstrong's $100,000 donation was used to buy. He refused to let us take a photograph of it, keeping it in a file marked 'Confidential'.

“The credibility of USADA’s witnesses who made those statements is obviously crucial, and would need to be weighed by the independent arbitrators who would decide upon a case if it were eventually opened. But if the account they have is compelling, and corroborative, then the UCI are inevitably going to be drawn into this,” Ashenden said.

“I know the UCI have strenuously denied this allegation in the past, but the story has added gravity now because USADA believe that there is sufficient evidence to warrant mentioning the issue in their notice letter. The UCI have a duty to the fans and the public in general to police their sport without fear or favor. If it were found that they had in any way been involved in a cover up then it would be fatal for their credibility,”

Bruyneel could face lifetime ban if USADA charges are upheld

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bruyneel-could-face-lifetime-ban-if-usada-charges-are-upheld)

Johan Bruyneel's future, and that of Team RadioShack-Nissan, is unknown in light of doping charges brought against the team manager. He is facing doping charges brought by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). He is charged with possession and trafficking in prohibited substances, as well as conspiring to cover up the illegal activities and if found guilty,  could face a life-long ban from the sport.

Also charged were Dr. Pedro Celaye, Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral, Dr. Michele Ferrari, and soigneur Pepe Marti, as well as Lance Armstrong. Armstrong has already been temporarily suspended from participating in triathlons.
Bruyneel may also be suspended from any further participation with the team until the charges are resolved. However, neither the team nor the UCI has yet publicly addressed the issue, and Cyclingnews has not been able to reach them for a statement.

Bruyneel, 47, could face up to a lifetime ban from pro cycling if he is convicted.

The illegal products and methods

In a 15-page letter sent to all of the respondents, the USADA went through a list of illegal products and methods said to have been used at the teams USPS, Discovery Channel, Astana and RadioShack. Bruyneel has always denied any knowledge of doping practices being carried out on teams he has managed, criticising both Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis – both of whom are former US Postal riders who have admitted to have taken doping products.

The first one mentioned was that that those named had implemented “a number of means to avoid detection of EPO use”. Bruyneel is specifically named by “multiple riders” as having “developed training plans dependent upon EPO use and instructed riders to use the drug.”

Similar charges were made with regards to blood transfusions. Bruyneel and the others not only “developed training plans dependent upon blood transfusions,” but also “facilitated” blood transfusions.”

The letter also states that “Numerous USPS and Discovery Channel riders have also reported that the frequent use of testosterone patches by team members and that oral testosterone (pills or oil), testosterone injections or testosterone patches were provided by Johan Bruyneel” and the others. Bruyneel is also named as providing human growth hormone to team members.”

Corticosteroids can be legally used, but also illegally. Riders and employees reported “that Johan Bruyneel and Pepe Marti encouraged the authorized used to corticosteroids for performance enhancement and gave these drugs to riders.”

Charges against Bruyneel

Specifically, Bruyneel is charged with:

-- The possession of prohibited substance and/or methods.
-- Trafficking of those prohibited substances and methods.
-- The administration or attempted administration of those prohibited substances and methods.
-- “Assisting, encourage, aiding, abetting covering up and other complicity” involving anti-doping violations.
-- Aggravating circumstances which would justify a longer period of ineligibility  than the standard sanction.

As a summary of his actions, the letter said that numerous riders will testify that “he gave to them and/or encouraged them to use doping products and/or prohibited methods.” In addition, witnesses “will also testify that Bruyneel worked actively to conceal rule violations by himself and others throughout the period from 1999 through the present.”

A specific penalty is not spelled out in the USADA's letter, but the agency ominously noted that sanctions “may include up to a lifetime period of ineligibility from participation in sport.”

Amstel Gold Race 2012

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/amstel-gold-race/results)

Enrico Gasparotto (Astana Pro Team) won a thrilling Amstel Gold Race, timing his sprint to perfection atop the Cauberg, to win ahead of Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol Team) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale).
Three time world champion Oscar Freire (Katusha Team) finished fourth after his bold attack in the closing 7 kilometres was caught in the final meters of the race. Two-time defending champion, Philippe Gilbert, (BMC Racing Team) had to settle for sixth behind Thomas Voeckler (Europcar).

BMC had controlled the race throughout much of the closing stages but Gilbert was left to do all the work on the final ascent of the Cauberg. His acceleration first brought back Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma QuckStep) and then Freire's dying legs to within touching distance. However the move proved as a spring board for the podium placers.

Sagan was the first rider to come around the Belgian champion but he too ran out of gas, with Gasparotto accelerating on his left and Vanendert on his right.

Maastricht treaty lasts until opening climbs

The riders had left the chilly start city of Maastricht with a blessing of rain drops and a cold northern wind on their noses. Typically many riders tried break clear on the first of the 31 climbs but nobody gained enough in the first hour of the race, which was covered at 45kph.

After nearly 60 kilometers of racing a large group finally was allowed to go. Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), Pello Bilbao (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Raymond Kreder (Garmin-Barracuda), Alex Howes (Garmin-Barracuda), Steven Caethoven (Accent Jobs-Willems Veranda), Cedric Pineau (FDJ-Big Mat), Simone Stortoni (Lampre-ISD), Sébastien Delfosse (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony) and Eliot Lietar (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) were the lucky men.

During the second hour they gathered a maximum lead of 13:30 on the peloton, with no teams wanting to chase. Eventually RadioShack-Nissan, BMC and Katusha took the responsibility and gradually the gap went down.

When approaching the second ascent of the Cauberg the pace in the peloton increased even more and after the Vrakelberg a first group of riders was caught behind the peloton, including outsider Cadel Evans (BMC). In front, the breakaway group lost ground. On top of the Cauberg the gap was down to less than five minutes and that was also where Evans abandoned the race.

With 55 km to go the breakaway group still had four minutes on the peloton. Jurgen Van den Broeck (Lotto-Belisol) went down on the Bemelerberg and even though he was assisted by a couple of teammates his race was almost over. When the pace increased inside the final 30 kilometres he was dropped. Meanwhile Danish rider Matti Breschel (Rabobank) also abandoned the race.

The Wolfsberg, at 41km from the finish line on the Cauberg, was the first of the last string of eight climbs. It proved to be the ground where the Astana moved forward. The gap quickly dropped below two minutes and the speed went up another notch when Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank) attacked the peloton, without much success.

In front Bardet, Bilbao, Howes and Stortoni dropped their fellow breakaway companions although Kreder and Delfosse returned little later. The six remaining leaders entered the last 30km with an advantage of 1:10.

The break split further when Bardet and Howes accelerated again.

Boasson Hagen was the first contender to attack inside the final 15 kilometres but the Sky rider was unable to gain more than 100 meters, with the BMC trio of Mauro Santambrogio, Greg Van Avermaet and Gilbert holding court at the head of the race.

Avermaet, was the perfect teammate, sacrificing his chances for Gilbert, who was either confident of taking on Sagan in the sprint or lacked the legs to attack earlier.

On the penultimate climb of the Keutenberg, Boasson Hagen was swiftly brought back, with Bardet shelling his breakaway companion for the second and final time.

Sky, Astana and Katusha were able to send probing attacks off the front, and Thomas Voeckler and Sagan went briefly alone, but it was Freire who struck a decisive blow with 7km to go, just after Bardet was finally swallowed up.

Freire has never made the podium in Amstel and with Rabobank having such a poor race with Breschel out and Gesink already dropped, Freire's former Dutch team must have been reeling when the Spaniard had a gap of 13 seconds.

But it wouldn't be a Spring Classic without Omega Pharma-Quickstep having their say, and Niki Terpstra accelerated away in pursuit of the Spaniard as the race descended from the Keutenberg.

At the foot of the Cauberg Terpstra had failed to make contact, with a tiring Van Avermaet leading a 20-strong group with Gilbert latched to his wheel.

Gilbert's attack displayed elements of panic and reluctant acceptance at the same time, the rider well aware that everyone was watching him, while also knowing that Freire was on the cusp of a shock win.

Terpstra was quickly reeled in and Gilbert's second acceleration caused the chase group to splinter. Damiano Cunego (Lampre) crashed along with Lars-Peter Nordhaug (Sky), and with a fading Freire unable to hold on the race came down to the strongest, but also the freshest in the sprint for the line.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Pro Team Astana	6:32:35
2	Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
3	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:02
4	Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team
5	Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar
6	Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
7	Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
8	Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin-Barracuda	0:00:04
9	Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
10	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team