Aw MAN!

Tour de France winner Floyd Landis admits doping, accuses Lance Armstrong

Landis was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for doping, yet always denied cheating until now. He recently sent e-mails to cycling officials and sponsors detailing his blood doping. He also claimed that Armstrong and Bruyneel paid an International Cycling Union official to cover-up a test in 2002 after Armstrong purportedly tested positive for the blood-boosting drug EPO.

Gee, thanks Floyd! This really helps the sport. Good job, champ!

Oh wait… so you say you've been doping all these years, but yet you maintain that didn't drug during your 2006 season and therefore you're still worthy of the Tour de France title. Do you really think people are going to believe that after you've come out with this?

Dammit, I hate it when I'm wrong. I really, really, really wanted to believe Landis. I really did. After Tyler broke my heart at the 2004 Olympics and when Lance "retired" in 2005, Landis was one of the few Americans left that was a true contender for Tour de France greatness.

I've never said one way or the other that I thought Floyd doped - it was more of me laughing at the stupid French doping authorities for saying he hacked into their computers to change his test results, but now that he's validated their original accusations that he's been doping all along, this just doesn't help anyone - him, the sport, Americans in general.

…and on to the subject of Lance Armstrong. Floyd says Lance isn't as squeaky-clean as he's made himself out to be. My theory on Lance is that he probably DID dope — but back in the early 90s when he was racing for Motorola and Cofidis and not during his time with USPS and Discovery. In those days, the testing was much less stringent, and Lance was not as good of a rider as he is today. (One of the reasons being his body build was not that of a racer, but of a jacked-up football player… so he was at a huge disadvantage against the 120 lb. Italian mountain goats.) However, after Lance was diagnosed with cancer, went through chemo/radiation/etc., I think he realized that a) maybe all that drug stuff is actually BAD for you in the long run (see: cancer), and b) this time he might actually try going without and seeing what happens.

The only reason why I can [somewhat] confidently say this is because Lance is tested ALL THE FREAKING TIME. The French think he drinks EPO shakes for breakfast, so the doping guys are pounding on his door nearly every day to take his blood, even in the off-season. Lance has never failed a drug test to date [that I know of], so either he's a) a vampire, b) an alien, or c) clean.

The only bright side of all this is that it's given me an excuse to blog and rant a bit before going back to the grind.

Oh man… this again?!

French judge issues arrest warrant for Landis

PARIS — A French judge has issued a national arrest warrant for U.S. cyclist Floyd Landis in connection with a case of data hacking at a doping laboratory, a prosecutor's office said.
…
The American cyclist challenged the drug test results before an arbitration hearing in California - claiming that computer files were mishandled and erased - but he was stripped of his Tour de France title and banned for two years.

"Landis used the hacked files for his defense, that's how we discovered the whole scheme," [France's anti-doping chief] Bordry said. "He wanted to show that the lab made mistakes in the handling of the tests."

Okay. As if the French (more accurately, the Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage) don't have anything better to do (wait, don't we have some sort of major world sports competition going on right now?), they're now bringing this up again.

I still can't say for sure whether I think Floyd doped or not. At the time, I was skeptical considering the circumstances, but the evidence proved otherwise. So be it — Floyd gets suspended for awhile, Phonak decides to stop sponsoring a cycling team (thank you, Tyler Hamilton), and we forget about it. Then Lance comes back, and our clean all-American cycling hero helps rub away some of the tarnish left behind by the 2006 TdF.

Now France is insisting Floyd hacked the computer files. Let me point this out: not only is Floyd Landis considered to be old enough not to have grown up with computers, but he was raised as a Mennonite. Last time I checked, Mennonites weren't exactly the types to have access to such devices — especially considering they ban TV and shorts. So where on earth is the AFLD getting this idea that Floyd decides to sneak into their lab, perform some Mission Impossible or Hackers-esque work, and alter the files to be in his favor?

I have yet to hear of a computer hacker that hasn't had his hands buried in a keyboard since he was 6, so the notion that a kid raised in a Mennonite household in the 1980s actually grew up to be a quasi-computer hacker is a little preposterous.

Maybe AFLD is doing this to prevent Floyd from attempting the Tour de France again. (The warrant is only valid on French soil.) Who knows? But the fact of the matter is, he was convicted, sentenced, and has served his suspension without any issues. Hard to say the same for some other French riders that have tested positive and continued to dope after that! (See: Philippe Gaumont, Christophe Moreau, etc.)

Oh, and AFLD: P.S., we know you're on the verge of being shut down. Guess you got the publicity you wanted…

Hincapie misses yellow jersey at Tour

BESANCON, France (AP) — Lance Armstrong was unfazed about slipping to fourth place at the Tour de France. Instead, he was riled that his former lieutenant, George Hincapie, was deprived of the yellow jersey — allegedly by a rival U.S. team.

Hincapie, the only man to be a teammate of Armstrong on all seven of his Tour victories, came within 5 seconds of the race lead in the 14th stage won Saturday by Russia's Serguei Ivanov.

Starting the stage as the highest-placed rider in the breakaway group, 5:25 behind leader Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy, Hincapie had a shot to swipe the leader's yellow shirt.

Instead, as Armstrong and his Astana team claimed, the U.S. squad Garmin-Slipstream pressed the pace in a way that helped the Italian hold a slim lead over Hincapie.

Armstrong, on his Twitter feed, took aim at Garmin-Slipstream, which competes with Columbia for dibs as the top American squad at the Tour this year.

"No one wanted George in yellow more than me," he tweeted.

"Until 10km (6.2 miles) to go he was solidly in yellow until GARMIN put on the gas and made sure it didn't happen," Armstrong wrote.

Oh fer cryin' out loud. It's not Garmin's fault Hincapie couldn't catch the leader, Ag2r-La Mondiale (Nocentini's team) was pressing the pace to protect their lead. If Hincapie was truly DESERVING of the yellow, he would have sucked it up and actually fought for the lead, not go stomping off to the team trailer after the stage finish.

According to this Wash Post article,"Hincapie's breakaway group was more than six minutes ahead of the Italian, fanning suspense about the yellow shirt. Nocentini's AG2R-La Mondiale team, then American team Garmin both accelerated the pace, trimming the gap by the finish. Hincapie missed the yellow jersey by seconds."

"TV cameras showed a frustrated Hincapie as he watched Nocentini's pack cross the finish line. He did not speak to reporters before entering the team bus."

Two words: Sore. Loser.

"I mean that's a victory for everybody. That's something that would have gotten attention all over the U.S., that would have been good for the whole sport in America," [Columbia manager Bob Stapleton] said.

Okay, quick poll to non-cyclists: hands in the air if you know who George Hincapie is.

Anyone?

Yeah, I thought so. George Hincapie is about as well known as every other American rider on this tour. As sad as it sounds, Lance is the only one people care about, and Hincapie being in yellow for one frickin day would have made absolutely no difference on the sport.

"Garmin just wanted to prevent another American team from taking the yellow jersey. It's not right," Astana manager Johan Bruyneel said. "It's not very sporting.

No, it's called Garmin was doing what any other cycling team would have done: try to catch up on the lead so their top rider could advance. Also, if I'm reading correctly, having Hincapie in yellow would take the pressure off Astana and force Columbia (Hincapie's team) to work hard to try and defend the jersey… so I'm taking his statement with a grain of salt.

I don't blame Garmin for chasing down Ag2r, because chances are if they hadn't, another team would have. But then again, what do I know? I'm just an impartial observer, following the tour and crossing my fingers that maybe this year riders will stay clean and not dope. (So far, so good…)

A Safety Issue to Officers, Poor Form to Cyclists

More than 700 cyclists were on the roads of Loudoun County over the weekend, some pedaling up to 150 miles, trying to raise money for a debilitating disease, multiple sclerosis.

According to cyclists and Loudoun authorities, several cyclists failed to come to complete stops at some intersections, and a county sheriff's deputy was waiting to pounce. Eight cyclists were ticketed for running stop signs that day in the Lovettsville and Purcellville areas, authorities said.

To several who took part in the annual event… the tickets were poor form, even if cyclists had rolled through the signs. To authorities, who said they received numerous complaints from motorists about cyclists crowding the roads and running stop signs, the citations were necessary to ensure safety on the roads.

Where do I begin… how about this: I participated in this ride but only rode on Saturday. Every single group/charity ride I've done (whether it be the Reston Century or Bike MS), there are the same ignorant people who don't respect the rules of the road. I'm not talking about stop signs — I'm guilty of doing a slow California Stop when I feel it's safe to do so. (Plus, half the time I end up putting myself in MORE danger by unclipping, stopping, starting, then attempting to clip in without falling over before that car gets to the intersection.)

However, and I've covered this topic before: I honestly don't blame the community for being upset with the bikers. As per usual, I saw too many people riding side-by-side (coincidentally, the majority of them were men on racing or tri bikes) when it wasn't appropriate. Riding abreast is OK if you're out in the middle of Montana on a 10 foot wide shoulder, the next town (pop: 24) is 30 miles away and the last time you saw a car was 2 hours ago. Riding in a pack on Halfway Road in Middleburg is NOT OK. Especially when there's a five ton UPS truck trying to get by you.

Jennings said he and another cyclist, a charity participant, slowed to about 1 mph before proceeding through a stop sign in Lovettsville, only to find a sheriff's deputy nearby, who flagged them down.

Um, yeah, it's physically impossible to ride 1 mph - trust me, I've tried (and promptly fell on my side). Maybe if you're track-standing, but normally the slowest speed someone can do while coasting through a stop sign is around 3-4 mph. Put it this way: if you were a driver and saw cops standing around at a seemingly innocent intersection, wouldn't you stop completely? Of course! Same goes for bikers. Duh.

"What was amazing to me was it seemed to me they were there because of the MS ride," Jennings said. "They've donated their time and all their money, and they've donated to a charity, and you've got the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office just sitting there waiting to hand them a ticket. It didn't seem right."

Bull. Sh**. Just because you've donated your time and money to a charity via a bike ride doesn't give you the excuse to ride like a jerk and not obey stop signs. If the police did this during the Reston Century (and I think they should, because most of it is on the W&OD and has even more intersections/stop signs than the MS Ride), you'd still complain.

So, really guys… I have no sympathy for those who blatantly disobeyed a stop sign and blasted through, because chances are you're the same person who thinks riding two abreast on a busy road is acceptable.

Yesterday's ride — relatively uneventful. Nice scenery, short hills, good weather.

I ended up messing up my directions and going down Glen Mill instead of the subdivision to the east of it, so needless to say I probably won't make that mistake again… a bit too much traffic for my tastes, not to mention the road is pretty cut up in spots. Still, I ended up doing a bit over 17 miles (MMR mileage is wrong). Pretty good, although at this point in time I'd like to be hitting at least 20 regularly, but I'd rather keep them short and frequent rather than long and once a week.