London Fixed-gear and Single-speed

Best doping excuse ever:

http://www.bigpondsport.com/runner-b...7/default.aspx

http://www.bicycling.com/print/67431

More from JV

Make time to read that, because it is bloody brilliant.

i have read most of it before somewhere...

Interesting read

I think it is a recent interview (since his NYT op-ed a few weeks back). Or you mean it is deja vu, as just repeating what most already know?

^That is the full interview transcript that was basis of Bicycling article earlier in the week

And the German anti-doping body has asked for files on Kloden and others re. blood doping

that's it

This makes me confused, and if I understand correctly, angry.

I've been pretty agnostic about LA, I find it hard not to be inspired and captivated by his charisma and achievements (assuming he is clean), and although I don't know all of the details I've never thought that any of the pieces of evidence against him were conclusive on their own. However there is no smoke without fire and the weight of the combined accusations are hard to ignore.

Now in this latest twist have I got things strait? USADA say Lance doped, Lance says he didn't. USADA amass a portfolio of evidence which looks at the decades of evidence as an entire package and includes statements from a large number of LA's former team mates. Rather than fight the charges, LA fights to stop the case being heard. On losing this appeal LA falls in mock martyrdom on his sword and says "I maintain I did not dope but I have been worn down by an unfair and unjust campaign against me. Rather than hear my name further besmirched in court I will reluctantly accept any punishment although I will not accept either the legitimacy of the court or the implication of guilt" [my words]. To me if you are innocent then fight... let the evidence be heard and then present your own stronger evidence to the contrary - after all if you are innocent you must have evidence of the fact, no?? This twisting and turning allows LA and his followers to continue to protest his innocence while absolving them of the necessity to present any evidence to support their claim.

To me these appear like the actions of a guilty man trying to deflect and wriggle out of accusations. The actions of a pernicious snake.

PLEASE! Fuck off out of the sport(s) I love, you malicious C*NT.

The result would be the same for him either way - he knows he'd lose all his titles, and be 'banned'. The only difference is this way he can hide behind the fact that he was never tried and that he won't have to his dirty laundry aired in public.

There will always be a pocket of hardcore supporters (idiots) who believe he's been wronged as it stands, but the fact that he won't have the facts and figures of how, when and why he doped trawled through will probably mean he won't be vilified by the press and the public to the same extent. Or, crucially, over a long period of time.

It's sad really, for the sport that there is now a huge seven year question mark over the sports calendar fulcrum and also for those (few) riders who were racing clean at the time - I think it was hippy who tweeted this morning that the 5 riders who finished above Cadel in the 2005 Tour have all been sanctioned for doping, that must be incredibly difficult for him to deal with. At least he got to win it once, clean.

Elvis lives.

And takes EPO

Anybody know where I can buy some of this dope that makes you faster and stronger that everybody is banging on about?

Viagra might become banned soon.

There is some evidence that it might improve cardio performance at altitude.

I used to take it when mountaineering over 4000m to counter the effects of altitude sickness (I get it bad). It helps blood vessels in your lungs to expand as well as the expected area... There is also some evidence that it slows the onset of frost bite and reduces symptoms of Reynauds Syndrome.

Back to doping...some studies have found cyclists who take viagra when riding at altitude. The debate as to whether it should be banned is ongoing.

Boners in lycra. This is never going to be a good thing.

Wouldn't worry about the boners -with all the steroids they've taken it should be about the same as trying to hide an uncooked grain of rice. Bruyneel is such a massive prick that no-one will look past him anyway.

and if you get trapped on the mountain (a la that film alive) and have to eat each other there's more meat to go round.

There are few more disturbing experiences than bunking with 30 drunk and tumescent german mountaineers in the Hornli Hut. I can tell you that for free.

you do have a purty mouth

ftfy

I think the testing bodies should just have to accept that their testing at the time was not good enough and leave it at that.
Why concentrate on Armstrong, why not concentrate on every single cyclist and why just go back 10 or so years, let's see if we can get any evidence against the great of the 60's, 70' and 80's as there were most probably some suspect activities or is that too far back (who would decide) and is it not as sensationalist.

There is no test for blood transfusions genius.

Fuckit. i think we should just let Rupert Murdoch and Rebecca Brooks alone too. And Pol Pot. And Bin Laden, that was extreme, wasn't it? I mean-if you're going to shoot a man in the head at least do it within 3 weeks of issuing a warrant-it's just harassment otherwise. What do we even have jails and laws for? Pointless. Let's just say, fuckit, if you weren't caught at the time, even if you've spent a shitload of time and cash escaping from your sins, here you go-handshake, manhug and a no hard feelings. Well done-you did it, you managed to get away with it. Have some more cash. And some more fame, yes, you deserve it. Tell you what-because you might give some other cunt some false hope here's a few book deals and a carte blanche to model yourself after jesus to better camouflage your dishonesty. No, really i mean it, it's fine-you've earned it chief-have a good time.

And if you ever feel hollow or down and need a little lift kerley will be there to cup your single remaining testicle, look you tenderly in the eyes and whisper 'You're the greatest dope test winner who ever lived, Lance' before kissing you gently on the lips and tossing you off wearing silk gloves.

The fact he has made money related to winning/fame is totally irrelevant to failures of any testing.
Oh, you missed Hitler from your list, unless that was deliberate and very telling.

didn't realise that is the only thing that hadn't been picked up.

If a test doesn't exist, and the cheat in question is paying the foremost blood specialist millions (plus a percentage of earnings) to help him bypass the test that do exist, then the point is that it's not just a question of catching cheats through testing.

There was a video released by l'equipe of a US Postal worker dumping blood transfusion kits and medical waste near the team hotel, but that wasn't enough to ban anyone.

Positive for steroids.... backdated medical prescription. Positive A sample for EPO... get the B sample disqualified so you can't be banned. Team mates or other riders might squeal... freeze them out of the sport, chase them down in the breaks and threaten them with legal action.

None of this relevant to the issue in question?

Yes that is good now thanks and said like that I agree. Not sure the previous rant was necessary but guessing you now feel better for it :-)

You're all just people sitting around on Internet forums, saying the things people on Internet forums say.

I thought the slik gloves would have enlivened the scenario a little but alas Oliver is not sensitive to their gentle caresses...

I'm a bit confused by all this.
How can an agency which is not the world governing body of cycling strip him of his titles if he has yet to actually be found guilty?
Is he guilty, has he been found guilty? I just don't get it :$

Yes there is. Blood that has been in the fridge for a month isn't the same as fresh, even if it was yours to start with, and those subtle changes are detectable. There is no WADA accredited test for autologous transfusion yet, but they are working on it. The test for homologous transfusion has been available to the anti-doping authorities for over a decade.

The governing body (UCI) delegated anti-doping to WADA, who delegated it to national anti-doping agencies including USADA. Therefore, UCI either have to recognise any sanction applied by USADA or challenge it through the designated arbitration court, CAS

He was charged with doping violations by USADA, and pleaded " "; that means they can apply sanctions as though he had been found guilty. In a sports governance context, that essentially means the same as "he is guilty", although LA must be hoping that it doesn't establish his doping as a settled fact if any civil claims follow.

From the Inner Ring article:

http://inrng.com/2012/08/lance-armst...ts/#more-10570

"All prize monies must be repaid too."

Wowzers.

We're through the looking glass now, people.

^ 'kin 'ell! Is winning worth all that?

shocking

Thanks for the info

Boosting has been around for ages. I'm not even sure that it's cheating, any more than any kind of training is.

Training = apply abnormal stress to the body, use physiological response to improve performance.
Boosting = apply abnormal stress to the body, use physiological response to improve performance.

Black = colour.
White = colour.

Doesn't mean they are the same thing though.

But they are similar enough that there may be circumstances where it is meaningless to draw a distinction, black and white have the same hue and saturation, so we have to be concerned with lightness to separate them. When you look at boosting and training, you will find similarities and differences; the question is, are the differences things which should be a matter of sporting rules, or are we just making aesthetic judgements based on squeamishness?

I agree. My point was just that, if you describe them abstractly enough, you can make almost any two things appear the same. With boosting, I guess many people would distinguish it from other methods because the 'abnormal stress' involved is so unconventional. They would probably argue that it is in some way more harmful to damage your toe by hitting it with a hammer than, e.g., to damage your muscles by lifting weights.

http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfre...e&type=article

Short opinion piece by Kimmage.

I don't have a problem with boosting. It's obviously not for the faint hearted and sometimes distasteful to the Paralympic-consuming public, but go ahead.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/19386735

Has this been posted already?

Oh please.

He could have chosen not to comment if he had that little to contribute. Calling this shake-up 'annoying' doesn't show much vision. How does he think a corrupt, doper-assisting UCI will serve his generation?

He's sensational on the bike and I'm really looking forward to seing him back on the road with Sky but my opinion of Geraint took a hit when I realised he shares Lance's fondness of wristbands.