Oct 14, 2006 0
Paolo Bettini still raw with emotion from his brother’s recent death won the Giro di Lombardia with class. He dedicated the win to his fallen brother as he crossed the line with tears streaming from his eyes. Paolo drew much inspiration from his brother saying that he felt like he was not alone on the road.
Oct 14, 2006 0
Here is a video of a lap of Giro D’Emillia featuring Paolo Bettini wearing gold shorts.
Oct 10, 2006 1
The off season is more or less upon us, and I have been looking for some activity that would complement cycling. I thought running would be a good choice since many folks I know run regularly. It is relatively cheap and you do not need much time to do it. In the past, running and me did not mix well. As a kid I was not much of an athlete. I was a little chubby at times. Actually I was a bit of an athlete, but just not that good. I played soccer thoughout my child hood. I loved playing the sport, but I could not stand the practices. I was a champ on the drills and would always score pretty goals. The thing I detested most was the constant running. “Ok, take a lap” were words that I feared hearing from my coach. One time I even faked a side stich just to get out of running a few miles. Needless to say, my childhood memories of running are not good.
Now things are different. I’ve built up some good fitness again after a season of bike racing and working out at the gym. My cardio fitness is very good, so picking up running will not be too tough and I can start another activity that will allow me to be outside even when it is too chilly to ride. So two weeks ago I started running. My first foray was at Green Lakes State Park which features a popular path around two lakes. The total distance is about 2.7 miles. I was able to complete the course in about 1/2 hour. Not too bad for a first run. Conditions were cool and almost rainy which was perfect for a run. Since it was my first run I would alternate running and walking. I was able to run about 60 to 70 percent of the time. The next two days my legs were sore and walking felt painful. My muscles had to get used to the new motion and stresses. A few days later I did a lunch time run similar to today’s run but a bit shorter and with less walking.
In the last two weeks I’ve been running about twice a week. Each running session has been a bit easier with less walking breaks and longer distances. My lungs feel like they have much more capacity for air. I feell like I can take bigger breaths. This has helped me on the bike , especially when climbing. This past Sunday mornig I went for a ride with Dave Van Wie. We climbed up to Pompey on 91 and cam back to Jamesville via Skyline Drive. The first few climbs were much easier than they were earlier in the year. On the first climb through the quarry area, I was going up the climb at 12 mph. I usually do this short steepish climb at about 6 or 8 mph. Big difference. The rest of the climbing was easier since I started running. The only problem is that I just did nothave enough leg speed to keep a good rythm up the longer stretches of the 91 climb. So there you have it, immediate results from just a few session of running 
.
Oct 10, 2006 1
Floyd Landis is getting ready to post about 370 pages of documents and other info that will shed light on his defense in the positive testosterone case. Landis is taking an unprecendented move by showing how his lawyers intend to attack the case. The lawyers found that the testing process is full of errors with mismatched labels and sloppy precedures.
Landis spokesman Michael Henson says, at this point, the rider is not contending that the positive sample is not his, only that the lab work was extremely sloppy. — USA Today
The documents will be available this thursday, but in the meantime you can converse with Floyd Landis yourself through the Daily Peloton Forums. Floyd is answering many questions including:
Question: During epic stage 17, was there a thought that played through your head besides, what I would expect to be, obvious ones (put time into rivals, maintain hydration, etc..)?
How about a song or lyric?
Landis: The song was Badlands by “The Boss”.
Oct 10, 2006 2
Tuttobiciweb reports that Discovery Channel has given a contract offer to Jan Ullrich. The contract is to make Jan Ullrich team leader for the next two years. This contract offer so far seems to have no regard for the various legal issues surrounding Der Kaiser. Ullrich may be cleared of his Operation Puerto involvement since the court proceeding need to go through another court before any of the evidence in Operation Puerto can be used to implicate any cyclist. Jan may be in the clear for the time being, but he still needs to get his Swiss racing license renewed for next year. The process may be a bit messy since Ullrich seemed to have the most evidence that showed a link with Efuaminao Fuentes and personal coach Rudy Pevenage.
Oct 9, 2006 1
Spanish courts have ruled that all evidence in the Operation Puerto investigation cannot be used to implicate cyclist on doping charges. Looks like the investigation still needs to go through some sort of due process in Spain. All of the evidence is not to be used to implicate riders involved in the investigation.
This turn of events is very shameful for all of those involved in the presecution of this entire affair. Especially for men like Dick Pound who seemed all to eager to implicate all riders involved without even seeing any of the evidence.
For any observer it was very clear that Operation Puerto was a fiasco in the making. From the original list of 200 cyclist that turned to 59 then just 9, the reports were very suspect. The investigation was known more for outlandish and ever changing leaks than actual proof. Whenever hard evidence was actually demanded none came. When each cyclist was brought before their own cycling federation there was simply not enough evidence to prosecute.
Ivan Basso ready to be cleared, just after Santiago Botero was cleared last week. Most of the Astana team was denied entry to the Tour de France, but later cleared meaning that Astana’s exclusion from the Tour was for no good reason. Ivan Basso and possibly Jan Ullrich’s careers were dealt a serious blow just as they were poised to make a run for a Tour title in the post-Lance era. Jan Ullrich seems to be the most damaged from this investigation as he has lost his job at T-Mobile an several personal sponsorships. Yet nothing is fully proven. Ullrich has been implicated more in the court of public opinion than in any actual court.
This type of fiasco is a black eye to any investigation that is cracking down on doping in sport. The inquisition like treatment of cyclist has got to stop. These are athletes who may or may not take performance enhancing drugs. They are not terrorist, and they are not risking anyone’s life other than their own. They are simply being lazy and using a chemical enhancement to make them go faster. It is wrong, and it should be punished. The system used to catch the cheaters needs to be reliable, fair and open. Otherwise the credibility of all investigations and dope tests is suspicious and doping will go on.
Oct 7, 2006 0
The Italian Fall season is in full swing this weekend as the Giro Dell Emilia and the are warm up races for the “Race of the Falling Leaves” next week.
Davide Rebelling and Danilo DiLuca still have great form and helped to push the pace to form the winning move. Giuseppe DiGrande riding for the small Miche team came in third.
Paolo Bettini raced with a heavy heart as he is mourning the loss of his brother Sauro. Il Grillo decided to race and finish out the seasont o honor his brother. Forget the curse talk, this is a more serious tragedy than any other World Champ has had to endure. Sure guys like Luc Lablanc saw their teams crumble around them, Igor Astarloa couldn’t quite get back to his breakout form, but a death of a family member is harder than not getting a win for a while.
(pic stolen from cyclingnews.com)
Bettini’s choice of clothing did not reflect his somber mood. Paolo broke out a pair of shiny gold shorts that definaltey top the shiny gold shoes worn for the past two seasons.
1. Davide REBELLIN (Gerolsteiner)
km 196,6 in 4.55’15″, media 39,953;
2. Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas);
3. Giuseppe Di Grande (Miche) a 2″;
4. Santo Anzà (Selle Italia) a 10″;
5. Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval) a 15″;
6. Simone Masciarelli (Acqua&Sapone) a 21″;
7. Ruggero Marzoli (Lampre);
8. Oliver Zaugg (Saunier Duval);
9. Luca Mazzanti (Panaria Navigare) a 30″;
10. Kanstantin Siutsou (Acqua&Sapone).
Oct 2, 2006 0
Operation Puerto will probably do more to undermine the anit-doping effort than to help. The vast investigation has yet to convict anyone on the doping charges. With all of the sound and fury that Operation Puerto drudged up just in time for the Tour de France, the end result signifies nothing.
Santiago Botero is the latest cyclist to be let off the hook. The Federación Colombiana de Ciclismo did not have enough evidence from the Spanish Guardia Civil to convict Santiago Botero of any wrong doing in Operation Puerto affair. This is the latest in the long string of cyclist being cleared of wrong doing in the investigation.
Ivan Basso is getting ready to be cleared as there is not enough evidence to convict. So this investigation by the Spanish Guardia Civil has so far failed to provide any evidence that can actually convict riders of doping. The question now has to be why was thre so much credibility put into the preliminary finding when there was no solid evidence that could be seen by everyone? Why did the riders in question have to be suspended for suspicion which turned out to be false? There is a reason why most judicial systems in the world follow the the theory of due process.
The bigger problem is that men like Pat McQuaid, Dick Pound and anyone from the ASO want to convict riders to to give the impression that cycling is clean. Dick Pound in particular seems to have a vendetta against cycling and its doping practices. The fact is that to clean up the sport you have to be dilligent in your efforts. You must follow the policies and procedures that are in place. If there are suspensions by suspicion, then the sport is not helped later when a hasty investigation turns up nothing and a possibly guilty rider walks. It is time for those involved in the doping battle to take a look in the mirror and ask themselves just what is it they are trying to do and how is the best way to do it.
