Now that was like a real race. One moment the sprinters were in and then they were out. Gilbert made his expected bold bid but too far out; yet it wasn’t his fault – where else could he attack? And when it looked like a faltering Gilbert would get caught by the defending champion, they were all swallowed up by the dropped yet regrouped riders instead. And when the name “Hushovd” was seen to be included in the re-combined front group – well the obvious was about to happen, and it did.
I bet Haussler was kicking himself for racing too soon on that crook knee.
UCI Road World Championships: Elite Men Road Race, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com
It was a course for the tough sprinter; a man made of iron that could get over the climbs and launch a brutal uphill sprint: enter Thor Hushovd (Norway). The final sprint in Geelong, Australia was perfectly suited to the Norwegian rider and with a clear run down the left hand barrier, Hushovd secured a year in the rainbow colours of UCI Road World Champion.
Now that was like a real race. One moment the sprinters were in and then they were out. Gilbert made his expected bold bid but too far out; yet it wasn’t his fault – where else could he attack? And when it looked like a faltering Gilbert would get caught by the defending champion, they were all swallowed up by the dropped yet regrouped riders instead. And when the name “Hushovd” was seen to be included in the re-combined front group – well the obvious was about to happen, and it did.
I bet Haussler was kicking himself for racing too soon on that crook knee.
UCI Road World Championships: Elite Men Road Race, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com
It was a course for the tough sprinter; a man made of iron that could get over the climbs and launch a brutal uphill sprint: enter Thor Hushovd (Norway). The final sprint in Geelong, Australia was perfectly suited to the Norwegian rider and with a clear run down the left hand barrier, Hushovd secured a year in the rainbow colours of UCI Road World Champion.
A roundup of the latest dopage du jour… you don’t want to miss out on Eddy’s wait for justice, Totschnig’s plea for a fair go after being implicated in the as-yet unproved Viennese blood bank ‘scandal’, Davis’s painful search for a team after, again, implication in something he was not involved in, and more…. all the links go to recent articles by Cyclingnews.com. Opinions are mine.
- Guilty as charged, Mazzoleni waits The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) released a statement on Tuesday calling for Eddy Mazzoleni to serve a two-year ban for his involvement in the ‘Oil for drugs’ scandal. The charges against Mazzoleni relate to SMS messages sent to Italian doctor Carlo Santuccione in 2004, said to contain requests for banned substances and treatments. The Italian cycling federation will now decide whether to accept CONI’s recommended sanction for the 34 year-old Italian.
- Implicated but innocent, Totschnig sues Georg Totschnig will sue the German television station ARD for libel and defamation for its broadcast earlier this month claiming he was a blood-doping client at the Viennese blood bank “Humanplasma”, even though he knows that “the damage can’t be mended.”.
- Implicated, innocent and out of a job: Davis struggles after cleared Former Discovery Channel rider Allan Davis is reported to be getting high-ranked support out of the International Cycling Union (UCI) in his search for a new team. Davis, who got caught up in the Operación Puerto scandal in 2006, was cleared of any charges before signing with the American team for the 2007 season. Despite good racing results last year, the Australian sprinter has nevertheless not been able to find a new squad for 2008, as his reputation is heavily tainted since his name was mentioned in the Spanish doping affair.
- Computers pitch in to help make things better With the ProTour season ready to start in Australia at the Tour Down Under this January, the UCI’s latest anti-doping tool, the biological passport, is also set to hopefully make 2008 one of the cleanest cycling years ever. One key element to the increased out-of-competition tests (7000 tests in 2008 as compared to 1000 last year) is the introduction of a reliable riders’ whereabouts system, the ADAMS computer system (Anti-Doping Administration & Management System).
- Basso actually happy to be suspended, so why did he wait so long? Being suspended “was the best thing that could have happened to me,” said Ivan Basso, whose career as a pro cyclist is currently on hold. “It gave me time to reflect and it has turned my life around.” The Italian was given a two-year ban for his involvement in Operación Puerto.
- And the source of recent dramas, German TV backs down over Viennese blood bank claims German television station ARD has retracted its charges that four pro cyclists and unnamed German skiers and biathletes were involved in illegal doping at the Viennese blood center, “Human Plasma”. Before Thursday afternoon’s broadcast of a biathlon race, a moderator said, “It is not justified and not compatible with our professional standards, that such sweeping charges be made without having any evidence to back them up. We regret that accusations and suspicions against athletes arose because of this report.”
- Who knows what else may happen in 2008? I suspect there’s loads more to come with too many unanswered questions lingering in the air.
A roundup of the latest dopage du jour… you don’t want to miss out on Eddy’s wait for justice, Totschnig’s plea for a fair go after being implicated in the as-yet unproved Viennese blood bank ‘scandal’, Davis’s painful search for a team after, again, implication in something he was not involved in, and more…. all the links go to recent articles by Cyclingnews.com. Opinions are mine.
- Guilty as charged, Mazzoleni waits The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) released a statement on Tuesday calling for Eddy Mazzoleni to serve a two-year ban for his involvement in the ‘Oil for drugs’ scandal. The charges against Mazzoleni relate to SMS messages sent to Italian doctor Carlo Santuccione in 2004, said to contain requests for banned substances and treatments. The Italian cycling federation will now decide whether to accept CONI’s recommended sanction for the 34 year-old Italian.
- Implicated but innocent, Totschnig sues Georg Totschnig will sue the German television station ARD for libel and defamation for its broadcast earlier this month claiming he was a blood-doping client at the Viennese blood bank “Humanplasma”, even though he knows that “the damage can’t be mended.”.
- Implicated, innocent and out of a job: Davis struggles after cleared Former Discovery Channel rider Allan Davis is reported to be getting high-ranked support out of the International Cycling Union (UCI) in his search for a new team. Davis, who got caught up in the Operación Puerto scandal in 2006, was cleared of any charges before signing with the American team for the 2007 season. Despite good racing results last year, the Australian sprinter has nevertheless not been able to find a new squad for 2008, as his reputation is heavily tainted since his name was mentioned in the Spanish doping affair.
- Computers pitch in to help make things better With the ProTour season ready to start in Australia at the Tour Down Under this January, the UCI’s latest anti-doping tool, the biological passport, is also set to hopefully make 2008 one of the cleanest cycling years ever. One key element to the increased out-of-competition tests (7000 tests in 2008 as compared to 1000 last year) is the introduction of a reliable riders’ whereabouts system, the ADAMS computer system (Anti-Doping Administration & Management System).
- Basso actually happy to be suspended, so why did he wait so long? Being suspended “was the best thing that could have happened to me,” said Ivan Basso, whose career as a pro cyclist is currently on hold. “It gave me time to reflect and it has turned my life around.” The Italian was given a two-year ban for his involvement in Operación Puerto.
- And the source of recent dramas, German TV backs down over Viennese blood bank claims German television station ARD has retracted its charges that four pro cyclists and unnamed German skiers and biathletes were involved in illegal doping at the Viennese blood center, “Human Plasma”. Before Thursday afternoon’s broadcast of a biathlon race, a moderator said, “It is not justified and not compatible with our professional standards, that such sweeping charges be made without having any evidence to back them up. We regret that accusations and suspicions against athletes arose because of this report.”
- Who knows what else may happen in 2008? I suspect there’s loads more to come with too many unanswered questions lingering in the air.
Now for some good news?
- Allan Davis (as expected) won the final stage of the Qinghai tour. Plenty of Aussies finished this hard, high-altitude race, too, as this pic attests. Rhys Pollck was best placed Aussie overall
- Aussie-laden HealthNet-Maxxis won the Tour de Toona TTT (helps to have Nathan O’Neill on the team, let alone Karl Menzies and Rory Sutherland…).
Now for some good news?
- Allan Davis (as expected) won the final stage of the Qinghai tour. Plenty of Aussies finished this hard, high-altitude race, too, as this pic attests. Rhys Pollck was best placed Aussie overall
- Aussie-laden HealthNet-Maxxis won the Tour de Toona TTT (helps to have Nathan O’Neill on the team, let alone Karl Menzies and Rory Sutherland…).
Nice win for Karl Menzies at Superweek, where Karl leads and Jonathan Clarke is in 2nd overall.
And Allan Davis has pulled off another sprint win in the Qinghai tour. That’s 3 so far…
Nice win for Karl Menzies at Superweek, where Karl leads and Jonathan Clarke is in 2nd overall.
And Allan Davis has pulled off another sprint win in the Qinghai tour. That’s 3 so far…
Danilo DiLuca has taken the lead (again) in what is turning out to be a good, combative Giro. With the Zoncolan still to come, it may still become great. Simoni proved his worth again and Cunego is not far off the pace. The hillclimb TT comes next, which should give Cunego a boost. We shall see!
Meanwhile a tearful Erik Zabel has confessed to EPO doping in the ’96 TdF. He dropped it quickly, he says, due to side effects and was obviously regretful – as you would be. His teammate at the time, Rolf Aldag, admitted at the same T-Mobile press conference (hmmm, funny that Zabel gate-crashed this party, eh?) to more extensive doping and stopped when his haematocrit was consistently over 50. I guess he got a bit worried about (a) getting caught and (b) adverse health effects. I don’t balme him, or Erik for that matter. We are all fallible and build our lives incrementally on our decisions, both good and bad. Sometimes we make mistakes – but seeing that it’s a mistake and righting it matters. Admitting to doping when you’re unlikely to be caught – although there’s more than just a slight chance of being given up by the suspect T-Mobile doctor or even one of your ex-teammates – takes a lot of strength. Zabel could have just sat on it and waited but chose to come clean before his name was brought up. Is there a lesson here for other ex-T-Mobile /Telekom riders?
And some good news – Alby Davis takes a win after some close results. He bested both Baden Cooke and Bennati in the Catalunya stage 3 sprint. Tell us again you really weren’t involved in Operacion Puerto and Dr Fuentes, Allan. Thinking of which, another rider cleared of Puerto-affiliation – Oscar Sevilla – took a tough stage 4, Michael Rogers taking 2nd. Both riders moved up the classification and will fight it out in the TT. For which I can hardly wait!
Danilo DiLuca has taken the lead (again) in what is turning out to be a good, combative Giro. With the Zoncolan still to come, it may still become great. Simoni proved his worth again and Cunego is not far off the pace. The hillclimb TT comes next, which should give Cunego a boost. We shall see!
Meanwhile a tearful Erik Zabel has confessed to EPO doping in the ’96 TdF. He dropped it quickly, he says, due to side effects and was obviously regretful – as you would be. His teammate at the time, Rolf Aldag, admitted at the same T-Mobile press conference (hmmm, funny that Zabel gate-crashed this party, eh?) to more extensive doping and stopped when his haematocrit was consistently over 50. I guess he got a bit worried about (a) getting caught and (b) adverse health effects. I don’t balme him, or Erik for that matter. We are all fallible and build our lives incrementally on our decisions, both good and bad. Sometimes we make mistakes – but seeing that it’s a mistake and righting it matters. Admitting to doping when you’re unlikely to be caught – although there’s more than just a slight chance of being given up by the suspect T-Mobile doctor or even one of your ex-teammates – takes a lot of strength. Zabel could have just sat on it and waited but chose to come clean before his name was brought up. Is there a lesson here for other ex-T-Mobile /Telekom riders?
And some good news – Alby Davis takes a win after some close results. He bested both Baden Cooke and Bennati in the Catalunya stage 3 sprint. Tell us again you really weren’t involved in Operacion Puerto and Dr Fuentes, Allan. Thinking of which, another rider cleared of Puerto-affiliation – Oscar Sevilla – took a tough stage 4, Michael Rogers taking 2nd. Both riders moved up the classification and will fight it out in the TT. For which I can hardly wait!
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