More Cycling News...

Well it's been an interesting few weeks in the cycling world, and a lot has happened since my last post. As far as my own cycling is concerned, it's on hold for right now. I am in what I call my "off-season," which basically means I have some time to relax, unwind and not think about training 24-7. This also allows for a lot more eating and drinking, which is key for the upcoming holiday season. Come late January, however, I will be beginning anew, with a structured season plan. I don't want to get into the specifics of the last time I rode or swam or ran, but it was a while ago! Anyway, even though I'm idle in the multisport sense, there is plenty going on around the globe in the cycling world!

For starters, Iban Mayo's blood test B-sample is still being debated. The last time I posted, his A-Sample was positive and we were waiting (what seemed like forever) for the B-Sample to come back. Well it did, and while some reported that it was negative, it was, in fact, "inconclusive." Either way, the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) closed the case, saying that the result was negative, prompting many reports that Mayo was innocent, and off the hook. But the UCI will have none of it. They have taken issue with the RFEC closing his file, as the inconclusive result is not a negative result, and will be re-tested by the UCI. According to the UCI, Mayo's case is still open, and he still faces a potential two-year ban. Meanwhile, Mayo has voiced his grievances with all the hoopla, telling a Spanish newspaper, in regards to the poor manner in which he believes his urine samples were tested, "Someone will have to pay for this." Indeed, while it has yet to be confirmed, Mayo says he may windup suing the UCI for their conduct.

That's not the only recent case of riders snapping back at the anti-doping system. Ex-Astana rider Andrej Kashechkin has decided to prosecute the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) for some of its policies regarding riders rights and specifically regarding out-of-competition testing. According to Kashechkin's lawyer, Christian Botteman, the situation under which the testing was conducted was "abnormal," and furthermore, if Kashechkin had refused the test, according to Botteman, "he would have been considered guilty."

And in a shocking move, Patrik Sinkewitz, formerly of T-Mobile, has named Michael Rogers, as well as others, on T-Mobile as being involved with a blood doping ring, that Sinkewitz himself was in. Sinkewitz has been working with the German cycling federation, after his recent ban from the sport for testing positive for Testosterone in the 2007 Tour, giving evidence to authorities, and has recently admitted that he used EPO. Sinkewitz told the German magazine Der Speigel in an interview that he started using EPO with Quick-Step in 2003, and stopped using it in 2006. He also says that he had blood transfusions, performed by team doctors Lothar Heinrich and Andreas Schmid--who have been fired for admitting to giving cyclists EPO--and furthermore, that doping was "wide-spread" at T-Mobile. Sinkewitz told authorities that T-Mobile riders, including Jan Ullrich and Micheal Rogers, visited the Freiburg University Clinic days before the start of the 2006 Tour de France, saying that they were there for doping transfusions. Jan Ullrich, as previously mentioned, still avidly denys any and all doping allegations against him, and Michael Rogers has also denied Sinkewitz's claims, saying that he was there for "routine check-ups." T-Mobile team manager, Ross Stapleton, has stood up for Rogers, saying "We know that Rogers has been part of a strict anti-doping program in 2007 and has totally followed all of our rules."

On another note, a scary point is rasied by Australlian Journalist Jacquelin Magnay, of The Sydney Morning Herald, on just how easy it still can be to cheat, if you know what you are doing. This excerpt, from a recent article on doping in the Sydney Morning Herald, shows the calculated methods cheaters use to avoid getting caught:

"Examples were shown how athletes are still managing to cheat the system: adding a grain or two of washing powder or contact lens cleaner which contains the enzyme protease contaminates a urine sample and destroys all evidence of EPO. The technique also destroys naturally occurring EPO, a salient point to remember when the IOC-accredited Lausanne laboratory revealed that no evidence of any EPO, natural or synthetic, was found in 17 per cent of 3050 athlete urine samples analyzed between 2003 and 2006."

Disheartening isn't it? But that's just human nature, there will always be cheaters and while we many not be able to stop people from wanting or feeling the need to cheat, at least we can catch them (occasionally).

Either way, a big step in the right direction is coming. In cooperative effort from several agencies, namely the UCI and WADA, all professional cyclists will have their blood samples taken to create what is being called a "biological passport" for each rider. This "passport" will be a biological profile on each rider, giving the anti-doping agencies a basis of comparison from which to test. The Tour De France has already endorsed the measure, saying that any rider selected to enter in the 2008 edition must submit their "biological passport" in order to participate. In addition to the "passport," the UCI says they will conduct over 5,000 additional doping tests during the 2008 season, bringing the total number up to 15,000 tests.

On the topic of The Tour De France, more positive news--Skoda has re-signed as the title sponsor of the Tour for 2008, through 2011. Skoda acknowledges the doping problems in the sport, and is looking to help get the sport back on track. Skoda spokesman Jaroslav Cerny told The Associated Press: "By this move, we want to help the organizers to clean up cycling...we want to support them in good as well as bad times.'' The route for the '08 Tour has been announced, and for the first time in over forty years, it will not start off with a time trial or "prologue." The 2,200 mile route also focuses more on the Alps in '08, as opposed to the Pyrenees, and the riders will climb Europe's highest mountain pass, the Col de la Bonette-Restefond. The 9,193-foot Mountain was last climbed by the Tour in 1993 and it is one of 19 mountain passes for the 2008 tour, which is two fewer than the 2007 edition.

Also on the topic of the 2008 Tour, the Astana team will be completely re-vamped for 2008, and is looking to be the powerhaus of the 2008 Tour de France, with many from the former Team Discovery jumping ship. Johan Bruyneel has taken the Manager position for the Swiss-based and Kazakh-sponsored team, and former Discovery riders didn't wait long to follow suit. Not long after Bruyneel's deal was inked, former sporting director for Discovery, Sean Yates, announced he would be joining Astana. 2007 Tour De France winner Alberto Contador, along with 3rd place finisher Levi Leipheimer, signed a two-year contract with Astana not long after Bruyneel's announcement. In addition to Contador and Leipheimer, former Discovery riders Sergio Paulinho, Benjamin Noval, Tomas Vaitkus and Janez Brajkovic signed with Astana, as well. All of the former Discovery riders will join with renown cyclist Andreas Kloeden, to round out an impressive line-up. It should be a good year for Astana, especially after all the bad press the team received this year. Johan Bruyneel runs a tight ship, and I firmly believe that he does not encourage or allow any of his riders to use illegal drugs to enhance performance, nor has he ever been linked to doping with any team, which is refreshing. I am looking forward to watching this dynamic team in next year's tour.

Doping part deux

In a follow up to my last post on doping, unfortunately, we have only more bad news. In the time since the last post, several doping related events have unfolded--some resolved, some not. We still don't have a result in the Iban Mayo doping case, the B-sample is still being tested--now allegedly by another laboratory. More sponsorship woes come in the form of Germany's beverage giant, Gerolsteiner, pulling out of the sport. The company said it will not renew it's contract to sponsor the cycling team, which is due to expire in 2008. Gerolsteiner says the departure is not due to recent doping scandals, however, in the same statement, they added that they "devalued the sport." Kazakh rider Andrey Kashechkin has been fired by his cycling team, Astana, after his B-sample came back positive, backing up his A-sample result. T-Mobile was in the headlines again, firing Italian rider Lorenzo Bernucci after he tested positive for a banned appetite suppressant during the Tour of Germany. Earlier in the month, six young Russian cyclists and two officials from a Russian youth cycling team were arrested in connection with doping. Jan Ullrich hasn't seen the doping allegations against him slow down at all, with a new development in the investigation of his connection with Dr. Fuentes springing up. Authorities have linked Ullrich to Fuentes with two large money transfers to the infamous Spanish doctor, one in 2004 for over $34,000 and another transfer in 2006 for an undisclosed amount.

This past Thursday saw two more big setbacks for the sport. First, Canadian cyclist and former world champion, Genevieve Jeanson admitted to using EPO since the tender age of 16(!) in an interview with Radio-Canada's Television news magazine "Enquete." Jeanson first denied claims that she had doped, then, towards the end of the interview, she broke down and admitted to the program that she had cheated. She talked freely about using EPO throughout her career, in events such as the 2003 World Championships and the Montreal cup. Even though she had been using the banned substance for many years, she was only charged with cheating twice. She was caught with an extremely high hematocrit level (56%, with the upper limit being 47%) before the 2003 World Cycling Championships and was subsequently barred from the event; and she failed a doping test before the Tour de 'Toona in 2005. She says that by cutting off the use of EPO only five days before the event, she was easily able to slip by doping tests--with the exception of the two previously mentioned, of course. She says that the pressure of winning, combined with pressure from her coach Andre Aubut was her motive for using EPO.

It was also announced on Thursday that Floyd Landis lost his trial in the fight to clear his name from doping charges in the 2006 edition of the Tour de France. Two out of three arbitrators agreed with the USADA's judgement that found Landis guilty of injecting himself with a synthetic testosterone during the 2006 Tour de France, leading to his amazing come-back victory in stage 17. The judgment means not only will Floyd Landis be banned from professional cycling for two years, but he will also be stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title. The runner-up, Oscar Pereiro will be awarded the Overall title for the 2006 tour.

Alejandro Valverde is the latest rider to be put back in the hot seat, when it was announced Friday that a hearing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) would be held Wednesday in Switzerland, to decide whether the Spanish cyclist is eligible to ride in the 2007 World Championships this month. Earlier in the month, the UCI banned Valverde from competing in the event due to his alleged connection with the 2006 Operacion Puerto case, and asked the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) to re-open Valverde's investigation. The Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) refused to re-open the case and has entered Valverde in the September 30th competition.

Olympic Distance Tri Complete!

Well, I am happy to report that I accomplished my goal. I finished the Mossman Park City Tri in under 3 hours--02:56:11" to be exact--and I am very satisfied with my performance. I really wanted to finish around the two-and-a-half hour mark, but after some deliberation and calculating, I figured for the training I have done and the level I'm at, it was next to impossible. As I mentioned in my last post, the run is the real killer for me. If I would have done the run at an 8:00/mile pace, I would have finished the race in app. two hours and forty-four minutes. But alas, such is life, we can only race as hard as we train, and I didn't train hard enough for the run. I'll give you a run down of the event.

Traci (my beautiful and very supportive girlfriend) and I arrived at Seaside beach in Bridgeport, CT at approximately 6:05am and began unloading. I got body marked and took my race chip, then proceeded to put my bike and all wares in the transition area. At about 6:45am, I went to stretch, put on my wetsuit and start feeling out the water. The swim was a .9 mile wade through low tide in the Long Island Sound. They had setup one buoy very close to shore, and four additional buoys in a row, perpendicular to the shore. We were to swim out to the row of buoys, heading towards the right one first, swim down the row of buoys, head back to the shore and go around the buoy that had been beached due to low tide, and then head back to make another trip around the row of buoys. For those of you keeping track, that makes two loops counterclockwise. There was one issue though--low tide. When I went out to test the water and warm up a bit, I was able to walk almost half way to the row of buoys because the water was so shallow. So when they sent the first wave off (including me) at 7:30am, we started on the beach, ran about fifty yards and then started swimming for the row of buoys. On the way back to shore, the same thing happened--we had to walk back to shore part of the way and get back in and swim again. Interesting to say the least, but it worked out fine and to the best of my knowledge not many people got mixed up.

Coming out of the water, unknown to me, I was ahead of schedule. I was planning on a 37-40 minute swim for the first leg, based on my training and previous swim experiences. I figured that if I was averaging about 20 minutes for a .45 mile open water swim in a sprint tri, that a .95 mile swim would take me about 40 minutes. It turns out that I went a bit quicker on Sunday, posting a time of 31:16." Regardless, I ran out of the water, up to the transition area feeling good. I didn't start to get tired on the swim leg until about the last 1/8th of a mile or so. I felt pretty strong in the swim, but it is hard to judge just how fast you are going when you're in the water. Once into the transition area, I got down to business. For my last few tri's, I have been trying not to do what Traci calls "lolly gaging" in the transition area--In other words I have been trying to cut my transition time down. I have been very successful in my last three tri's. In my first ever Tri (LI Gold Coast 2006), T1 was 4:03" and T2 was an amazingly slow 03:55." In my next Tri, I did T1 a bit faster, but unfortunately for me, I realized just before I was about to mount my bike that I forgot to put my timing chip back on my ankle after taking my wetsuit off (I have never taken my chip off during a race since), so I had to double back with my bike to my spot and re-attach the chip. So, T1 actually wound up being a second slower than my first, at 4:04." T2, however, was less than half the time of the Gold Coast Tri, at 01:39." In my next event (which was my first of this year - SBR Multisports Race 2 at Harriman State Park), I posted a T1 time of 03:50" and a T2 time of 01:07," better still.

The real concerted effort to reduce transition times, however, came at the Montauk Lighthouse Sprint Tri in July. This was the second race Traci had come to watch me. The first Triathlon she was a spectator of was the aforementioned SBR race 2. After the race she commented that I seemed like I was taking my sweet time in the transition area, and that if I hurried it up a bit, I might be able to shave some time off my overall, without much effort. "Oh yeah," I said, "good thinking honey!" It wasn't so much that it hadn't dawned on me to hurry up in the transition area, it was more of a fitness thing. My first few tri's, I was still new to the sport and uneasy after coming out of the water and coming off the bike, so I tended to slow down and relax a bit in the transition area in order to keep myself from pulling a muscle or getting sick. Now I was more experienced and in better shape, so it was time to get a move on. Well, after encouragement from Traci, I decided to make a serious effort to haul ass in the transition area at the Montauk tri. It worked, with my T1 dropping to a respectable 02:41" and a T2 time of 01:30"--T2 was a bit slower than usual because I went real hard on the bike and needed to catch my breath for a second. Now we were getting somewhere! So with the Mossman Park City being my next tri, I decided that even though it was a new, longer distance for me, I would still try to go quickly through the transition area. It turned out to be my best transition time to date, with T1 at 02:24" and T2 at 01:17."

Back to the race. I grabbed my bike and click-clacked my way to the bike-mount line just outside the transition area. I jumped on my red KHS Flite 700 and started hammering the pedals. I felt great on the bike, comfortable and ready to ride. This was the first time since my first tri that I was using my KHS tri-bike. In between my first and second tri, I bought a road bike (Litespeed Tuscany which I love!) and wound up using that for the next few tri's because of the hills on those bike routes. My tri bike is actually a bit to small for me (it's a 54cm and should be a 56cm) and because of the aggressive aero positioning, it doesn't climb hills well. Since the Mossman bike route was flat as a pancake, I decided it was time to get back on the 'old KHS. It worked out great, as I was able to cruise low in the saddle and wound up averaging 19.6mph for 25 miles--not record speed, but not bad for my first Olympic distance tri! The bike leg was fairly uneventful, save for the fact that I lost my Profile Design Aero drink to the first big bump on the course! With that gone, I only had one additional water bottle which I finished by the fourth lap. I didn't get dehydrated, but lets just say that I was quite thirsty by the time I got to T2. As I mentioned, the course was completely flat, with a bit of a head wind on some parts of the course, and a bit of a tail wind on other parts. I didn't push 100% this time, because in my last tri (Montauk Sprint), I pushed a little too hard on the bike and it completely killed my run. I need all the help I can get when it comes to the run, so I decided to go about 85% this time. I wound up with a bike time of 01:15:47" and an average speed of 19.6mph.

That strategy worked well, because even though I didn't get anywhere close to that 8:00/mile pace I was hoping for on the run, I didn't totally blow it, either. Coming off the bike, I felt really good. I was a bit thirsty due to the aero-drink saga, but I had prepared a bottle of Gatorade earlier and I grabbed it on my way out of T2. Not long after I started the run, my calves began to tighten, making me think of the miserable, cramped-up run I had in Montauk. I slowed down a bit, and tried to use more of my quads, which was effective. My legs were a bit tired, so I had to go at a slower pace, but I didn't stop to walk more than once or twice and only for a few seconds to catch my breath. Not bad considering it was double the distance of any run I had done before! I got into a good rhythm and the first three miles went pretty quick--it wasn't until mile 4 and 5 that I got into "the doldrums," as I like to call it. That is the point at which it is hard not to focus on the pain and how much I hate running. The point at which I have to struggle to keep my pace and rhythm. But they always come along at some juncture, so I am used to it and I was able to work through it. By the time I got to the point where "5 Miles" was spray painted onto the sidewalk, I could already hear the announcer on the PA system calling out finishers names and times, so that got me motivated. I was able to sprint for the last 100 yards or so and make for a good finish. I was honestly a tad bit disappointed to see 2:56 up on the clock. With how well the swim and bike went, and the fact that I didn't fall apart on the run, I was hoping for around a 2:45 finish. But I am still happy that I finished in under 3 hours for my first Olympic distance event. The swim was faster than I had anticipated, the bike was almost exactly what I figured it would be and the run...well I need to train for the run much more, and I knew that going in.

Overall, the event was spectacular. Even though Bridgeport isn't the nicest area in CT, the beach is pretty clean and the course was great. The Mossman team did an amazing job with running the event, as it went smooth as silk, and was a lot of fun. The "goody bag" as we call it, which you get when you check in to pickup your number and race packet, was simply awesome, with all kinds of cool trinkets and lots of free food and drink samples. Also, with SOBE as a sponsor, there were tons of free SOBE products at the event. I imbibed two SOBE life waters immediately following my finish. I couldn't have asked for a better event to do my first Olympic distance race!

Mossman Park City Triathlon

I am currently training for my next (and mostly likely final) Triathlon for the 2007 season, the Mossman Park City Triathlon in Bridgeport, CT on Sunday, August 26th. The event is an Olympic (also known as International) distance event, which is (usually) composed of a 1.5K (.9 mile) swim, a 40K (25 mile) bike and a 10K (6 mile) Run--distances can vary slightly depending on the given terrain and event organizer. The name "Olympic Distance" was given (obviously) due to it's standardized length for Olympic competition. The 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia was the first time Triathlon would be part of the summer Olympics. Triathlon, however was not officially an Olympic sport yet. Sydney would be a "test-run," so to speak. If the IOC (International Olympic Committee) liked what they saw at Sydney, they would induct Triathlon as an official Summer Olympics event. Well, they certainly liked what they saw--an amazing performance from Canada's Simon Whitfield. Whitfield, after getting tangled up in a crash on the last few laps of the bike leg, started the 10K (6 mile) run in 24th place overall. Moving his way up through the field, the Canadian caught the race leader Stephan Vuckovic of Germany with approximately 1 kilometer left. Whitfield passed Vuckovic in an all-out sprint with only 200 meters to the finish line, for a dramatic ending to the event. After that exciting race, the IOC officially made Triathlon part of the Olympics. The Men's Triathlon at the 2004 games in Athens was won by New Zealander Hamish Carter. We anxiously await the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing to see who will be the next Gold Medalist.

This will be my first Olympic distance triathlon, having done four Sprint distance Triathlons previously. A Sprint distance Triathlon is generally a 750 meter (.5 Mile) swim, a 20K bike (12.5 miles) and 5k run (3 miles), which doesn't sound like much, but depending on terrain and how fast you go, even a Sprint distance Tri can be grueling. For me, the hardest part of this longer distance Tri will be the run. I have always had trouble with the run leg of the Tri, never having been very good at running in general. This event, however, has a very flat bike and run course, making it a good first-time Olympic distance race. My taper begins on Wednesday, meaning I will not do any training after Tuesday, until the event on Sunday. The purpose of this rest period (known as "the taper" because you taper-off your training) is to make sure your body is well rested and prepared for the event. Your best performance comes when your body has time to recover and rebuild your muscles after training. If you continue to train right up to the event, you body will be tired and worn, and you will not be able to perform at your best. I will post up the results and a short synopsis of the event, including pictures next Monday, August 27th.

Doping

Well here we are again, one year later and back on exactly the same topic again--doping in professional cycling. After a year, Floyd Landis is still awaiting his fate, although it's not looking so good for him. I don't know about Landis, I used to think that he was innocent (maybe I just wanted to believe that after watching his performance in last year's tour) but as time goes on and I watch, listen and read what he and his defense team are saying, I am not so sure. Either way, the scandal over last year's tour winner certainly didn't stop riders from cheating this year.

Floyd Landis, after "bonking" (severly decreased performance due to lack of food or dehydration) on stage 16 on the assent up La Toussuire in the 2006 Tour de France, lost over 10 minutes and his yellow jersey (tour lead) on his way down to 11th place overall. Landis came back the next day on stage 17 which included two category 1 climbs and an HC climb--the well-known Col de Joux-Plane, to destroy the competition. In legendary fashion, he led a solo breakaway for 120KM that put him back in third place overall, just 30 seconds behind the new tour leader Oscar Pereiro. Landis would destroy both men ahead of him on the 57KM time trail the next day to reclaim the yellow jersey once again. Unfortunately for Landis, just five days after his tour victory, a urine sample taken after stage 17 came back positive for an abnormally high ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone or T/E (Landis had an 11:1 ratio, the maximum legal level is 4:1) and the presence of synthetic testosterone. The back-up urine sample came back positive as well. While the controversy rages on, Landis still awaits the verdict from the USADA.

Last year just days before the start of the 2006 edition of the Tour de France, several of the top cyclists were barred from competing in the tour due to their involvement with a blood doping ring, dubbed "Operacion Puerto." This ring, headed by the infamous doctor Fuentes, implicated over 200 professional athletes--including over a dozen professional cyclists--of blood doping or the use of other banned substances.

The most popular, and common, drug used by cyclists to cheat is known as "EPO," which stands for Erythroprotien. Erythroprotien is actually a hormone that is synthesized in the kidneys and promotes the production of red blood cells. So how does this help cyclists? Well, red blood cells carry oxygen in the blood stream to the muscles. Therefore, the more red blood cells you have, the more oxygen your body can deliver to your muscles, improving your athletic performance. The advantages of getting more oxygen to your muscles are increased endurance and a higher lactate threshold (the point at which your body cannot remove lactic acid away from your muscles as fast as it is being produced, resulting in severely decreased performance and pain), to name a few. Pre-doped blood is transfused into cyclists, increasing their red blood cell count, and the advantage will remain for up to six weeks. These cyclists will then train hard to further increase their performance and up their lactate threshold. Some cyclists will go to the mountains for high altitude training, to further exploit the benefits of their thickened blood.

Unfortunately, while EPO has been a rampant problem in cycling dating back to the early 1990's, testing for this type of doping only came about around the year 2000. Furthermore, the test must be done within six days of the EPO being administered for it to be effective. Professional cycling has been riddled with doping problems for decades, and while we don't need to go into all the gory details here of cycling's past EPO/doping scandals, do not forget about the more major doping events in recent years, including Dr. Ferrari, Festina, Marco Pantani, Ivan Gotti, Dario Frigo, and the recent admissions from Bjarne Riis, David Millar and Frankie Andreu. That's just the tippy-top of the iceberg. It is a snowball effect--when pro cyclists began to cheat, everybody else had two choices: either dope to keep up with all the other cheating cyclists, or stay clean and watch as their unethical, slimy competitors win everything around them, putting them in danger of loosing their livelihood as a pro cyclist. When looked upon from that aspect, it gives you an idea why, once the cheating became widespread, so many cyclists joined in.

Back to the topic at hand, Operacion Puerto implicated several top contenders in the 2006 Tour de France, including Jan Ullrich--Lance Armstrong's number one rival. Ullrich was the first German to ever win the tour (1997) and had five 2nd place finishes in the Tour de France, three behind Lance. Ullrich was a favorite to win now that Lance had finally retired. Others to be named in Operacion Puerto included Francisco Mancebo, Tyler Hamilton (already on suspension for doping), Carlos Zarate, Oscar Sevilla, Jorg Jaksche and the young hopeful, Ivan Basso. Basso was a promising young Italian rider who after only a few years of being a professional cyclist had won the white jersey (best young cyclist) in the Tour de France (2002), and had 3 top-ten finishes in the Tour de France, including 3rd in 2004, and 2nd in 2005. The 2006 Tour de France was set to be an epic dual between Ullrich and Basso but, unfortunately, both cyclists were kicked out just days before the event.

In the time since Operacion Puerto, Jan Ullrich has retired, still avidly deffending himself against the claims that he was doping. Ivan Basso, after being released by Team CSC, signed to Team Discovery Channel in December of 2006. On May 1 2007, Ivan Basso asked to be released of his contract with Team Discovery after his Operacion Puerto case had been re-opened by the Italian Olympic Commitee. Less than a week later, during hearings for that case, Basso admitted that he was involved with Operacion Puerto and was seeking blood doping. He has been banned from professional cycling for two years.

So, after all this, all the scandals and cheaters and a new "revolution" in professional cycling, where cheating and doping will not be tolerated, what happens? Well the tour starts off without a hitch, with record crowds showing up to view this amazing sporting event. However, it is only 11 days into the 23 days of the tour before our first tangle with doping. It was relased that T-Mobile rider Patrik Sinkewitz had tested positive for doping one month before the tour, at the time of the release, Sinkewitz had already dropped out of the tour due to an injury. Then on July 24th, a shocking news release--Team Astana, leading the tour at the time, had withdrawn from the competition. After winning the indivdual time trial in Albi just three days earlier, pre-race favorite Alexander Vinokourov tested positive for an illegal blood transfusion (EPO). In addition to Vinokourov, it would be revealed after the tour was over that Andrey Kashechkin, another member of the Astana team also tested positive for blood doping. Everyone was shocked and distraught--after all the anti-doping measures and scare tactics, a tour favorite is kicked out.

Just when you thought the worst was over, and it was time to continue on with the tour, the biggest blow of them all hits the Tour de France. Not long after race leader Michael Rasmussen, wearing the yellow jersey, wins Stage 16, on July 25th (the day after Vinokourov and Astana are removed), Rassmussen's Rabobank team dissapears overnight--the entire team packed up and left. It turns out that Rassmussen had lied regarding his whereabouts durring pre-tour training. Rassmussen had said he couldn't get to his team (anti-doping) drug testing in the months before the tour because he was on vacation with his wife and family in Mexico. During the tour, one of the TV announcers, and former pro cyclist, Davide Cassani, informed the team that he had seen Rasmussen in the Dolomites (Dolomiti Mountains, Italy) training for at least two days at the same time Rasmussen was claiming to have been in Mexico. Because Rasmussen had lied and could not prove to the team that he had indeed been in Mexico, the team (not the tour officials) removed him from the tour and left the event. Now there is no hard proof saying that Rasmussen did or did not dope his blood. However, let us remember that the Dolomiti mountains in Italy are famous for their close proximity to the nefarious doctors who supply EPO and other forms of doping. Either way, the news shocked everyone. Just as the cycling community was trying to get over the news that a tour favorite had cheated his way to a major stage win, we find out that the overall leader of the tour (and at that point a sure favorite to win the whole thing) has been removed on suspicion of cheating. Wow.

Let's take a brief look at the top three finishers in this year's tour. I personally do not believe that any of the three cheated or have cheated in pro cycling. First we have the winner, hailing from Spain, Alberto Contador. In relation to the other two top finishers, Contador draws the most suspicion. This is for two reasons, first, because he was initially named in Operacion Puerto back in 2006, and second because of his stellar performance. However, on the subject of Puerto, he was cleared of all charges and his file has not been re-opened since. As far as his comments on being named in the scandal, Contador claims he was on the wrong team at the wrong time--which makes sense to me. Second, as far as his performance is concerned, I believe that was legit as well. Contador rode a consistent race and in my opinion did not show any "super-human" strengths. Before the '07 tour started, Johan Bruneel, director of Contador's Discovery Channel Team, commented on Alberto Contador's climbing abilities. Bruneel said that he had never seen a rider who was able to accelerate like Contador on such steep climbs before. The young Spaniard is a known climbing specialist.

Think back, if you will, to those two mountain stages (15,16) where Contador and Rasmussen were challenging each other constantly. If look at the riders at the end of the stage near the finish, after over 80 miles of racing up mountains, Contador shows his signs of fatigue. His shoulders slump, his breathing is very heavy, his face is contorted--he doesn't have anything left with which to challenge Rasmussen. Rasmussen, on the other hand, looks cool, calm and collected and at the very end of the stage seems to have no problem sprinting to the line and destroying Contador in the last few Kilometers. While Rasmussen has always been a good climber as well, his climbing ability in this year's tour was way beyond his past efforts. He may have been able to win a mountain stage in the past, one good day where he would take a few minutes out of his opponents. However, his opponents would never bother to catch him because he wasn't a GC (General Contention) threat. Never before has Rasmussen been able to climb and take several minutes out of his opponents, day after day, in the Alps and Pyrenees like he did this year. Furthermore, Rasmussen's time trailing abilities surged way beyond what they have been in previous years. Rasmussen's coach said they were working on his time trailing abilities, however the gain in performance was simply amazing. In the time trial at Albi (Stage 13), before the Pyrenees, Rasmussen finished an amazing 11th overall and overtook one of his rivals Alejandro Valverde in the final few kilometers. Everyone was impressed by the superb performance that allowed Rasmussen to keep the yellow jersey on his back for the coming mountain stages. However, in retrospect, perhaps that performance was a little too amazing.

Second place in the 2007 Tour de France went to a well known Australian cyclist named Cadel Evans. A former pro mountain biker, turned pro-road cyclist, Evans has had his share of victories, including winning the 2004 Tour of Austria, the 2006 Tour de Romandie as well as two top-ten finishes in the Tour de France--8th in 2005 and 5th in 2006. The 30 year-old Evans is the first ever Australian to reach the podium at the Tour de France. Evans himself has never been accused of doping or cheating and has never tested positive for any type of doping. Furthermore, his steady progression up through pro-cycling reinforces his cleanliness.

In third place overall, sits an American who is a gentleman and a leader, Levi Leipheimer. Leipheimer has been a pro since 1997, and has had several major tour wins to his name. Leipheimer was the U.S. Time trial national champion in 1999, has won the Tour de Beauce twice (1998,1999), has four top-ten finishes in the Tour de France including his 3rd place this year, he won the Deutschland tour in 2005, was 2nd overall in the Tour de Georgia in 2005 and 3rd overall in the Dauphine Libere that same year, he won the Dauphine Libere and came in 2nd overall in the Deutschland tour in 2006, and won the Tour de California (his home state) earlier this year. Like Cadel Evans, Leipheimer has progressed naturally through the sport and has never been accused of, nor tested positive for any type of doping or cheating. To further bolster both Leipheimer and Contador's case, the Discovery Channel team and it's predecessor, U.S. Postal, have never had a rider test positive for doping. Johan Bruneel is a strict team director and from what we can see, is a clean team director--a team leader at Discovery is not likely to be cheating.

In the time since the tour, more bad news for cycling has surfaced. On July 30th, the UCI announced that the popular Spanish rider from the Saunier Duval team, Iban Mayo, tested positive for EPO on one of the tour's rest days. We await the B-sample to confirm Mayo's innocence or guilt. Alberto Contador can not get away from critics who are suspicious, due to his initial implication in Operacion Puerto. On Wednesday August 8th, organizers of the Hamburg Cyclassics announced that Alberto Contador was not welcome to compete in their event due to his name being associated with Operacion Puerto. That Friday, August 10th, two more breaking news stories unfolded. In Madrid, Alberto Contador held a press conference where he re-stated his innocence, saying "I have never committed a doping offense. I've never been involved in any act of doping...My promise against doping is absolute." Contador also added, "I am available to all competent authorities in the matter of doping, and will answer any questions, including providing my DNA."

That same day, Discovery Channel announced the team will be disbanding after the 2007 season. Discovery citied a lack of leadership in the sport, constant doping allegations and trouble finding sponsors as it's reasoning for leaving the sport. Discovery is far from the first sponsor to leave cycling because of doping. Dozens of sponsors have pulled out in the last decade due to their team's involvement with doping. This is the ultimate cost of doping--sponsors taking their money and walking, further weakening a sport that is already on the brink. It's a downward spiral that all stems from cheating. Let's hope for the best.

Welcome!

Hello all,
Thank you for stopping by and taking a look at my blog. This blog is dedicated to Cycling and the "Multi sport Lifestyle," or Triathlon. I will be posting my own personal experiences as I am an avid cyclist and Triathlete, as well as my reviews and opinions on professional cycling and other multi sport related topics. First off, I would like to congratulate Team Discovery Channel, Alberto Contador, Levi Lepiheimer and Cadel Evans on their extraordinary accomplishments in this year's Tour De France. Contador rode an amazing race and, at the tender age of 24, has so much potential. Lepiheimer has been steadily increasing his Tour capabilities over the past few years, and it looks as though he has become a serious contender. I hope that you will continue to check back often to see my latest endeavours, trials and tribulations! Until then, good luck and don't give up!