First up don’t get visions of thousands of Frenchmen waving banners and going on strike. Protests are small but nevertheless the arrival of the Tour de France at the Planche des Belle Filles ski station is filling some pages of the French press.
Politics
Who is Andrei Tchmil?
Last week La Gazzetta Dello Sport said Andrei Tchmil is going to run for the top job at cycling’s governing body the UCI. But where is he from, what has he done and where is he going?
Born in Khabarovsk, a town so far to the east of Russia it is within sight of China and just 1400km from Tokyo. With the iron curtain falling away, he joined the Russo-Italian Alfa Lum team and became a successful rider in the mid-1990s. His style was forceful, he often seemed to sit awkwardly on the bike but he took wins in Paris-Roubaix, Milan-Sanremo and the Tour of Flanders amongst others.
Belgian record
I’ve covered the subject of Belgium’s government, or rather the lack of one, before. But today marks a new world record for the country overtakes Iraq for previous record of “longest political crisis”. Following elections 249 days ago the elected representatives have been able to form a majority to govern and the longer the crisis … Read more
Call the CAS
The news that the Spanish federation cleared Contador in the absence of proof is a confirmation that the existing rules were cast aside. The principle of “strict liability” has been abandoned, instead the RFEC says: “The minimal amount detected could not presume an improvement in sporting performance… …This brings us to the conclusion that with … Read more
What next for Contador?
Alberto Contador is set to be cleared by the Spanish cycling federation, the RFEC. His defence has rested on two factors: The quantity of Clenbuterol detected was too small to have a performance enhancement. The principle of “strict liability” in the anti-doping rules is unreasonable. Yet these rules have no minimum tolerance for Clenbuterol and … Read more
The politics behind the Contador verdict
The case of Alberto Contador’s positive test from the Tour de France is growing in to political debate with some potential long term consequences. It is expected that the “Competition Commission” of the RFEC, Spain’s cycling federation, will meet today to agree their ruling then they will inform Contador. Tomorrow the details will be made … Read more
Majorcan Farce
The smile gets wiped off Who won today’s opening stage of the Tour of Majorca, the Trofeo Palma de Mallorca? The answer: nobody. The riders took the start, completed the race and Tyler Farrar was the first to cross the finish line. But the race has been declared void since many of the riders were … Read more
Foal Play Down Under?
Pegasus, the team named after a mythical horse, believed it secured a last minute reprise and sent new documentation to Switzerland. This turned out to be unsatisfactory and the UCI sent the team to the knacker’s yard. I could write plenty about this process being unsatisfactory, it should not be the case that a team … Read more
Unpicking Team Sky from British Cycling
Which van, man? I’ve written before about the inherent conflict of interest between British Cycling, the governing body and Team Sky, the ProTour cycling team. A lot of the Sky staff are actually British Cycling officials, meaning many critical people are part-timers caught between two roles and two paymasters. Here’s Britain’s Guardian on this matter: … Read more
Let’s Talk Tax
Tax. The mere word can put some into furious debate and yet send others into quiet slumber. Either way taxes are inevitable, even in sport. Tax matters in pro cycling. If you’ve ever wondered why French teams don’t buy in some of the best riders from outside France to showcase a sponsor in the Tour, … Read more