Saturday, August 27, 2005
Ahh, The French
This story is a few days old and given my love for cycling you’d probably think that that I’d have written about it already. However, this story is so staggeringly ignorant, I wasn’t sure if it was worth my time.
But then I got to thinking, while most of my 4 to 5 readers are up on the baseball scandal, you might not know the big picture on Lance- so here goes.
That’s right, the French, after all their digging into recent tests, couldn’t nab him this year, so they decided to pull up some phantom samples from six years ago.
That’s right folks, the ‘positive sample’ used to ‘prove’ his guilt, no longer exists. So, we have to take the word of an obscure French guy in an obscure French laboratory on the fate of one of the greatest riders in cycling history. Good thing he’s not on trial for murder.
This whole mess smells terribly of a set-up, but since it involves the French ‘smelling terrible’ should be expected.
The only support they have received is some partial support by the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Dick Pound (no kidding, that’s his real name)- a man who’s credibility has been questioned for years.
Lance has paid his doping dues. As much as they’ve tried, he’s come up clean. Take this year’s tour- out of the over 250 riders, Le Tour thought it would be neat if they randomly tested one rider the night before the race’s start. That random rider- not Basso, not Ullrich, not McGrady, but guess who. I suppose with those odds Lance should have played the lottery that night to.
Doping is certainly nothing new in cycling, in reality cyclists make MLB look like Jr. Highers on caffeine pills. Case in point- Tyler Hamilton.
Tyler Hamilton is a name you were all about to know, that is before he got in a little bit of trouble. Tyler was the heir apparent to Lance. He was Lance’s main lieutenant for years before joining Phonack in an attempt to win it himself. He had already come in fourth in the Tour, took gold in the ’04 summer Olympics (time trials) and he is American.
But then Tyler’s road hit a snag. It seems the samples taken after the Olympics, and at the Vuelta a España had something a little funny in them. No, Tyler’s blood didn’t have drugs in it; instead it had someone else’s blood in it. These guys are so hard-core they will regularly have blood transfusions to hide any traces of drugs. It’s not rare; as a matter of fact there have been two cyclists have recently died from it.
But back to Lance.
If someone came up with some good evidence, something that could be substantiated saying Lance was doping, I probably wouldn’t be all that shocked. The problem is that no one has ever been able to produce anything even remotely close to that. So the French keep searching and searching.
Lance doesn’t need to dope. His anatomy is outstanding. If someone sat down to engineer a cyclist, he would be Lance (check it out here). Someone who has a heart and respiratory system three times larger than a normal man’s doesn’t need EPO. Someone with his training regiment doesn’t need EPO. Someone with his team doesn’t need EPO.
I think the problem with the French and Lance (keep in mind a lot of the French people really like him, it’s the aristocracy that can’t get his thorn out of their side) is that Lance got there using two things completely out of their reach- Hard Work and Dedication.
Perhaps it’s time the French save what little face they have and give up on the whole quest- or to phrase it a different way, surrender. That, I know they are capable of.
But then I got to thinking, while most of my 4 to 5 readers are up on the baseball scandal, you might not know the big picture on Lance- so here goes.
Associated Press
Aug. 26 Lance Armstrong received strong backing Friday from cycling's domestic governing body, which said accusations against the seven-time Tour de France champion are "completely without credibility."
"Preposterous is a strong word, but it is warranted in this case," said Gerard Bisceglia, chief executive officer of USA Cycling.
Armstrong has denied reports in the French media this week that he used a banned blood booster in his first tour victory in 1999. The sports newspaper L'Equipe reported that new tests on six urine samples Armstrong provided during the 1999 tour resulted in positive results for the red blood cell-booster EPO.
That’s right, the French, after all their digging into recent tests, couldn’t nab him this year, so they decided to pull up some phantom samples from six years ago.
"All I can do is come on this stage and tell my story and be honest. I've always done that," he said. "Since this stuff's rolled out, I sleep great at night …. I don't have a problem looking at myself in the mirror."
Armstrong questions the handling of samples frozen six years ago. He also wonders how he is to defend himself when the only confirming evidence — the 'A' sample used for the 1999 tests — no longer exists.
That’s right folks, the ‘positive sample’ used to ‘prove’ his guilt, no longer exists. So, we have to take the word of an obscure French guy in an obscure French laboratory on the fate of one of the greatest riders in cycling history. Good thing he’s not on trial for murder.
This whole mess smells terribly of a set-up, but since it involves the French ‘smelling terrible’ should be expected.
The only support they have received is some partial support by the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Dick Pound (no kidding, that’s his real name)- a man who’s credibility has been questioned for years.
Pound said the lab is accredited by the International Olympic Committee. He also questioned the need for two samples to confirm a positive test.
"You can count on the fingers of one hand the times a B sample has not confirmed the result of the A sample," Pound said. "It's almost always a delaying tactic."
Armstrong said that contradicts WADA's own policy.
"For the head of the agency to say he actually doesn't believe in the code … if your career is riding on the line, wouldn't you want a B sample?" Armstrong told the AP. "The French have been after [me] forever, and `Whoops!' there's no B sample? The stakes are too high."
Lance has paid his doping dues. As much as they’ve tried, he’s come up clean. Take this year’s tour- out of the over 250 riders, Le Tour thought it would be neat if they randomly tested one rider the night before the race’s start. That random rider- not Basso, not Ullrich, not McGrady, but guess who. I suppose with those odds Lance should have played the lottery that night to.
Doping is certainly nothing new in cycling, in reality cyclists make MLB look like Jr. Highers on caffeine pills. Case in point- Tyler Hamilton.
Tyler Hamilton is a name you were all about to know, that is before he got in a little bit of trouble. Tyler was the heir apparent to Lance. He was Lance’s main lieutenant for years before joining Phonack in an attempt to win it himself. He had already come in fourth in the Tour, took gold in the ’04 summer Olympics (time trials) and he is American.
But then Tyler’s road hit a snag. It seems the samples taken after the Olympics, and at the Vuelta a España had something a little funny in them. No, Tyler’s blood didn’t have drugs in it; instead it had someone else’s blood in it. These guys are so hard-core they will regularly have blood transfusions to hide any traces of drugs. It’s not rare; as a matter of fact there have been two cyclists have recently died from it.
But back to Lance.
If someone came up with some good evidence, something that could be substantiated saying Lance was doping, I probably wouldn’t be all that shocked. The problem is that no one has ever been able to produce anything even remotely close to that. So the French keep searching and searching.
Lance doesn’t need to dope. His anatomy is outstanding. If someone sat down to engineer a cyclist, he would be Lance (check it out here). Someone who has a heart and respiratory system three times larger than a normal man’s doesn’t need EPO. Someone with his training regiment doesn’t need EPO. Someone with his team doesn’t need EPO.
I think the problem with the French and Lance (keep in mind a lot of the French people really like him, it’s the aristocracy that can’t get his thorn out of their side) is that Lance got there using two things completely out of their reach- Hard Work and Dedication.
Perhaps it’s time the French save what little face they have and give up on the whole quest- or to phrase it a different way, surrender. That, I know they are capable of.
