Astana to be tainted by the doping brush thanks to Kloeden

Astana's Andreas Kloeden

A report to come out on Monday from German publication, Der Spiegel, is set to implicate German riders Andreas Kloeden and Matthias Kessler in illegal blood transfusions, citing the findings of an independent commission investigating doping.

The commission spent two years looking into doping allegations against two doctors who allegedly put a doping system into place at Freiburg University Clinic between 1995 and 2006 for the former Team Telekom, later known as T-Mobile.

Doctors Lothar Heinrich and Andreas Schmid, fired by the university in 2007, have admitted providing and administering doping material until 1999. But the commission concluded they continued until at least 2006, Der Spiegel reported.

Kloeden who now rides for Astana and has always denied doping. Kessler is currently serving a doping ban.

Astana have just managed to get some good press on Lance being allowed to ride the Tour de France and now this little bombshell is going to hit them hard. It will be interesting to see how the team responds to it and what the future wll hold for Kloeden within the team. I’m hesitant to speculate just yet, so won’t

Challenging doping controls

Saw the following article this morning on the New York Times website and just have to wonder what the reaction from the sporting community would be if a professional cyclist had stood up and been as vocal against this ruling from the Belgium High Court? Take a look:

MELBOURNE, Australia — More than 60 Belgian athletes have formally challenged stricter antidoping rules that require athletes to keep testers apprised on a daily basis of their location.

The athletes are contending in Belgium’s high court that the rules are an invasion of privacy, and Rafael Nadal made it clear at the Australian Open that he agreed.

“These are things that have to be changed completely,” he said in Spanish on Wednesday after his quarterfinal victory over Gilles Simon. “The voice of the players is unanimous in the locker room. We’ve shown that we are a clean sport.”

Nadal called the revised rules “intolerable harassment.” As of this year, the world antidoping code requires top athletes, including leading tennis players, to let antidoping authorities know their exact whereabouts for one hour each day to facilitate testing.

“We are humans,” Nadal said, adding that athletes should not be made to feel like “delinquents” for playing sports.

It just doesn’t seem fair at all. If a tennis player (from a globally accepted sport) can be vocal about drug testing, then he must be just concerned about his privacy.  But if a cyclist (from a not so globally accepted sport and one that has regrettably been damaged by the use of drugs) is, then chances are that he must be a user of some sort and is trying to make the situation better for himself. Why else would he/she be outspoken about it.

Interesting nonetheless! Thanks to Lance for the heads-up on this one!

French say British cyclists were taking drugs

Can you believe it? Already all the negative reasons as to why Team GB have done so well at the Olympics have started to flow in.

If you don’t win – you didn’t try hard enough. If you do win, then you must have been using drugs. What is it with people nowadays? Why can’t they just accept that someone could actually be better than what they are?

It seems the French have been making insinuations that  that Great Britain’s cyclists superlative medal haul may be due to “performance-enhancing drugs”.

Wow – what a sore bunch of losers. Seriously! Why don’t they just sort themselves out, look back at what they’ve done wrong (training, selections, etc) and make sure they fix it for the next Olympics. Why go and attack the team that made a huge impression upon the world?  What will their comments really achieve? Nothing. It won’t help them get a medal now will it.

Anyway – I just find it interesting what people resort to when someone else wins.  What do you think?

Iban Mayo banned two years

Iban Mayo

Spanish rider Iban Mayo was banned for two years after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld an appeal by the sport’s world governing body the UCI, the Lausanne-based CAS said on Tuesday.

The statement said: “The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld the appeal filed by the International Cycling Union (UCI) in a case involving the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) and the Spanish cyclist Iban Mayo. Accordingly, the CAS disqualified Iban Mayo from the Tour de France 2007 and imposed a two-year ban as from 31 July 2007.”

In a complex matter, Mayo initially tested positive for blood-booster EPO on July 24 during last year’s Grand Boucle. The A-sample had been analysed by the Anti-doping laboratory of Chatenay-Malabry (LNDD) in France.

The B-sample was then tested in Ghent, Belgium, as the LNDD had its annual closure, which referred it to a laboratory in Sydney which claimed it was “inconclusive.”

In December, the LNDD confirmed the initial positive test but the RFEC had previously concluded the B-sample was not positive and had dropped proceedings. That brought about UCI’s appeal to CAS which was lodged the same month.

Riccò admits to using drugs

Riccò led to a French police station earlier this month after his doping positive was announced

It has just been reported that 24-year-old cyclist Ricardo Riccò has admitted to having doped in preparation for the Tour de France. The rider tested positive for a new form of EPO – Continuous Erythropoietin Receptor Activator (CERA), following the 4th stage of the Tour.

According to Italian news agency ANSA, the former Saunier Duval rider made the admission at a hearing before the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) on Wednesday.

“Speaking to the anti-doping prosecutor, I took full responsibility for my actions,” Riccò told ANSA. “Prior to the Tour, I made a mistake; I took a product that everyone was talking about.” He said he made the decision to dope independently and took the drug outside of the auspices of his team.

I know Ricco is trying to show remorse for what he did, but it was still a stupid move. His actions could have resulted in his team mates losing their jobs. Thankfully US bicycle manufacturer, Scott-USA, stepped in to save the day as the team’s new sponsor when Saunier Duval withdrew their sponsorship as a result of his actions.

Fourth Rider Positive in Tour de France

Dmitri Fofonov (AFP/Getty Images)

Dmitri Fofonov of Kazakhstan has tested positive for a banned stimulant, according to his Credit Agricole team yesterday on the final day of the Tour de France.

The 31-year-old, who learned of his positive test after finishing 19th overall in the race on Sunday, explained to his team he bought a product over the internet to fight cramps. He has been suspended and is now facing the sack.

Having been a professional for only 10 years this year, Fofonov has only picked up three wins: the national time trial title (2000), a stage on the Tour of Catalonia (2002) and a stage on the Dauphine Libéré earlier this year. This is such a basic  and stupid error to make and now his career is at stake. Tell me – was it really worth it?

Saunier Duvall quit cycling

Following my posting on the 19th about Barloworld pulling their sponsorship from professional cycling, news has just come in that Saunier Duvall is also withdrawing its sponsorship in the sport.

Saunier Duvall, part of a German company specialising in domestic heaters and air conditioning units, has pulled out of cycling blaming the drug scandal that engulfed its team at the Tour de France. It acted after its Italian rider Riccardo Ricco failed a dope test on stage four, prompting the team to pull out of the race last week.

Both Ricco and his compatriot Leonardo Piepoli, who had won the prestigious Bastille Day stage but had not failed a dope test, were sacked last Friday.

A statement issued by Saunier Duval today confirmed: “This decision by the company was taken following the recent case of doping involving one of the team’s cyclists, Riccardo Ricco, and the suspicions against another cyclist.”

The news also represents a major blow for Spanish cycling, which will be left with just two Pro teams – Caisse d’Epargne and Euskaltel-Euskadi.

My only hope that this is the last team/sponsor to leave the sport because of the drug scandals. Another sad day indeed!

Scandals cut riders pay as sponsors pull out

I came across this story on Bloomberg.com yesterday and have to say it is a very interesting read. The article talks about the impact that doping has had on the sport and how this negative affect has reduced the salaries of Tour de France riders by as much as one-third since last year. Some riders will earn as little as 30,000 euros ($47,397) in 2008.

If you get a moment today, click on the link. Definitely worth the read. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this. So drop me an email or leave a comment. Cheers.

Barloworld quits Cycling

Team Barloworld

Today is a sad day for the sport of cycling. Newcomer to the world of professional cycling, Barloworld, today decided to call it a day and pull out of cycling completely. The team will finish the Tour first before withdrawing their sponsorship.

The decision comes following the disappointing and extremely stupid actions of Moises Duenas, who tested positive for EPO, following stage 4 of the race.

According to a team statement, the Barloworld Board, after consideration and in accordance with their policy towards doping, decided that the incident has had a negative impact on its brand and principals, which “they have a duty to protect.”

Although Barloworld are withdrawing from the sponsorship they will honour contractual obligations and discussions are underway with replacement sponsors.

I can understand that the pressure on professional cyclists to win and produce the results for their sponsors. But is it worth losing a continued income from a sponsor that wants to invest in the sport. I just hope these dopers start taking note of what is happening around them and either decide to walk away from the sport altogether or hand in their needles.

CERA – What’s the fuss all about?

Have been doing some digging on this new drug and found the following bits of information it. So thought I’d share it with you:

CERA (Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator), developed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant F. Hoffman-La Roche, the drug is marketed under the brand name Micera. Soon available in Europe, the sale and distribution of Micera in the United States has been the subject of a long court battle between Roche and Amgen, the company that originally developed recombinant erythropoietin – originally marketed as EPOGEN – in the late 1980s.

Like synthetic erythropoietin (rEPO), CERA was developed to as a treatment for the anemia that results from chronic kidney disease. Unlike single injections of rEPO, CERA interacts with erythropoietin receptors and has a longer-lasting effect. Patients who were normally required to inject rEPO three times a week were able to achieve the same results with only one or two injections per month.According to some reports, CERA is connected to a chemical called polyethylene glycol (PEG), which allows it to last longer in the body.

I know this doesn’t sound like a lot right now, but it helps create a better picture of what we are dealing with. As soon as I find out more on it, I will share it with you.