Tag: doping

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Further Wait for Frank Schleck

Frank Scleck doping allegations Having faced a further two-hour grilling at the Luxembourg Anti-Doping Agency (ALAD), Frank Schleck is likely to have to wait another six weeks to discover his fate in relation to his testing positive for Xipamide at this year’s Tour de France. The 32-year-old RadioShack-Nissan rider failed a routine drugs test on July 14 when traces of the diuretic were shown to be present – the drug, used for treating a range of conditions including hypertension is not a performance enhancer nor is specifically mentioned in WADA’s list of banned substances, but it can be used to mask other illegal substances. RadioShack-Nissan withdrew him immediately from the TdF and issued a statement that said: ‘It (Xipamide) is not a product that is present in any of the medicine that the team uses and the reason for the presence of Xipamide in the urine sample of Mr. Schleck is unclear to the team. Therefore, the team is not able to explain the adverse findings at this point. However, the team is fully determined to collaborate with the anti-doping agencies in order to resolve the matter.’

 

Having already appeared before ALAD on August 29 and October 15, Schleck has continued to deny any wrongdoing and maintains he did not take the masking agent.

 

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Armstrong Panel Named

Lance Armstrong Doping board: Sir Philip Otton, Malcolm Holmes, Tanni Grey-Thompson It has been announced that the panel assembled to investigate the issues and allegations raised and leveled by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) regarding the far-reaching Lance Armstrong scandal will consist of the former Court of Appeal judge Sir Philip Otton, Australian lawyer, Malcolm Holmes QC and UK House of Lords Peer and Paralympic Champion Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. The Commission, which is to be chaired by Otton, was assembled by John Coates, President of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport, and will be entirely independent not only of the International Cycling Union (UCI), but of CAS itself.

 

Pat McQuaid, President of the UCI, commented on the announcement: “The wide ranging terms of reference demonstrate the Commission’s determination to review fully the issues contained in the USADA report and I welcome that… As I have said previously, the Commission’s report and recommendations are critical to restoring confidence in the sport of cycling and in the UCI as its governing body.  We will co-operate fully with the Commission and provide them with whatever they need to conduct their enquiry and we urge all other interested stakeholders to do the same.  We will listen to and act on the Commission’s recommendations.’

 

The Commission will hold a hearing in London between April 9 and 26 next year, with the aim of submitting its report to the UCI by June 1.

 

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Who Ya Gonna call? Dope-Busters…

UCI Pat McQuaid doping hotline Amidst continuing criticism that that the International Cycling Union (UCI) do not do enough to combat doping in the sport, President Pat McQuaid has released an open letter – addressed to today’s riders – in which he not only spells out the Union’s thinking on the subject but suggests the possible launch of a confidential ‘hotline’ for cyclists to call. In the letter McQuaid says of the initiative, ‘I know that it will take some time to build trust and confidence in this new line of communication, but I am confident that, with the best intentions from both sides, we can build that trust. And by doing so, we will accelerate the change in culture that we need in our sport.’

 

In the wake of the Armstrong scandal, McQuaid goes on to say, ‘As far as repairing the reputation of our sport, I would like to add that the UCI has listened to the world’s reaction to the Lance Armstrong affair and it has taken – and will continue to take – decisive steps in response to all matters raised.’ Naturally the UCI are not prepared to shoulder all of the blame or responsibility for rectifying the sorry state of affairs, adding, ‘At the end of the day it is you the riders who have the ultimate say about whether our sport is clean…’

 

You can read the full letter at uci.ch

 

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Lampre Drops Scarponi

Lampre-ISD suspend Michele Scarponi - Michele Ferrari , Lance Armstrong, doping - Giro d'Italia 2011 winnerLampre-ISD has suspended Michele Scarponi, last year’s Giro d’Italia winner, for visiting Michele Ferrari the discredited doctor implicated in the sordid Lance Armstrong affair. Although Scarponi’s association with Ferrari pre-dates his time with Lampre the Italian pro outfit felt it a ‘violation of the internal code of the team…’ Scarponi had been somewhat forced into admitting his past involvement with the doctor after Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport published a report on a Padua-based investigation into Ferrari, who the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) accuse of helping to mastermind the Armstrong doping ring. For his part Ferrari continues to declare his innocence.

 

Scarponi has previously served an 18-month suspension after being implicated in the doping network of Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes in 2006 which was uncovered by Spanish police in their ‘Operation Mountain Pass’ investigation. Ironically the 2011 Giro d’Italia crown was awarded to second-place Scarponi after Alberto Contador was stripped of the title for doping.

 

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Sean Yates Quits Team Sky

20121028-170221.jpgTeam Sky’s lead Sports Director, Sean Yates has announced he is quitting the team and retiring from cycling after three decades in the sport. Yates was himself a pro cyclist, the British individual pursuit champion in 1982 and 1983 and a stage winner at both the Tour de France and Vuelta a España in 1988, before retiring in 1996 to follow a management career in the sport. He joined Team Sky at their inception and is largely credited with masterminding Bradley Wiggins win at this year’s TdF.
 
In a statement Team Principal Dave Brailsford said: ‘After a long career in professional cycling, he has told us that he wants to move on, for purely personal reasons… Sean has been a great support to the riders on the road and a valuable colleague to us all. We wish him the best for the next step in his life.’

 

The news of his departure comes immediately on the back of Team Sky’s Race Coach, Bobby Julich, leaving the outfit after disclosing that he used a banned substance whilst a pro cyclist during the late 1990s. However Sky are at pains to point out that, although he was interviewed – along with all staff – about any historic misdemeanours there were ‘…no admissions or disclosures that would have required him to leave the team,’ and his exit is, ‘for purely personal reasons.’

 

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TdF: The Empty Years

20121027-091711.jpgFollowing the International Cycling Union’s announcement that Lance Armstrong would be stripped of his seven Tour de France wins (1999-2005), they have further confirmed that no substitute winners will stand in the now vacant spots. Given the breadth and depth of the scandal – which clearly goes far beyond just Armstrong – the UCI statement confirmed the break with tradition of reallocating first place positions, saying, ’The management committee decided not to award victories to any other rider or upgrade other placings in any of the affected events… a cloud of suspicion would remain hanging over this dark period – but that while this might appear harsh for those who rode clean, they would understand there was little honour to be gained in reallocating places.’

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Another One Bites the Dust

20121027-092526.jpgAfter two seasons as Race Coach, Bobby Julich has left Team Sky after disclosing that he used a banned substance whilst a pro cyclist during the late 1990s. This comes both on the back of the on-going Armstrong scandal and after Sky’s season-end declaration that they would be asking everyone involved on the team to volunteer information about any previous misdemeanour in order to move forward with a completely clean slate. In a statement Team Principal Dave Brailsford said: ’Bobby has shown courage in admitting to the errors he made long before his time with Team Sky. We understand that this is a difficult step for him and we’ve done our best to support him… It’s important to emphasise that there have been no doubts about his work with us or his approach as a coach. He has done a good job and been a good colleague during his two years with us. Bobby has our best wishes for the future.’ Brailsford concluded by saying, ’We’ve made clear our commitment to being a clean team and been open about the steps we’re taking. Although it’s never easy to part, we believe this is the right thing to do.’

 

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Hamilton Attacks McQuaid

That house of cards continues to totter with Tyler Hamilton wading into the chaos of the Armstrong doping scandal by issuing a statement calling for UCI president Pat McQuaid to resign. The former US Postal rider and team-mate of Armstrong accused McQuaid of hypocrisy in his leadership and is quoted as saying, ‘Instead of seizing an opportunity to instil hope for the next generation of cyclists, he continues to point fingers, shift blame and attack those who speak out, tactics that are no longer effective.’ Adding, with a spin on McQuaid’s own comment on Armstrong, ‘Pat McQuaid has no place in cycling.’

 

John Fahey, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), has mudded the waters further and clearly demonstrated that no clear line will be drawn under the problems any time soon by calling on the UCI to take further action with regards to exposing the full extent of the problem. Fahey said, ‘They (the UCI) clearly have to take the blinkers off, look at the past, examine the people who are there, ask themselves the questions, “Are those same people still in the sport and can they proceed forward with those people remaining?”’

 

Some time soon Cyclo hope to bring you some non-Armstrong related news…