The Moment The Race Was Sold

Vinokourov Kolobnev 2010 Liege

The UCI is investigating allegations that Alexandr Kolobnev sold the 2010 Liège-Bastogne-Liège race to Alexander Vinokourov after an apparent chain of emails between the riders was past to them by judicial authorities in Italy.

Fixing the result of a sports event is a criminal offence in many countries and Russia is due to pass a law on the matter soon. But in cycling there’s a different attitude, a cultural tolerance that can allows riders to trade results and agree deals in a race. Is this acceptable?

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EPO, the Wonder Drug

Epogen

Last month I read Tyler Hamilton’s “The Secret Race” and chased it with the USADA Reasoned Decision. There are many references to EPO, the blood boosting hormone that riders inject. So many that it takes on a variety of nicknames, that the method of injection is explained – both subcutaneous or intravenous – and consideration is given to the storage, whether the domestic refrigerator or a thermos flask for portable access. Even the means of hiding it are explained, from making your team mate store the stash to hiding the vials behind the vegetables in the kitchen refrigerator.

But if it was so widely used it’s rarely stated that injecting EPO is bad for your health. From blood clots to cancer the use of this drug comes with risks when administered under normal conditions. When abused by athletes, nobody knows what the risks are and that’s before we get to the mafia and its role distributing this drug.

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Book Review: Rough Ride

Kimmage Rough Ride

Paul Kimmage’s book “Rough Ride” has been seen as The Doping Book, the text that exposed the use of banned substances in pro cycling when it was published 1990 but it’s much more than this. In the light of recent events I wanted to go back and read the book again.

For most of the book doping seems incidental and the consequence of a rotten system, a response to the environment riders find themselves in. This is much more the tale of a rider struggling to find their place in the sport. The times have changed and some practices in the book are unrecognisable today but much holds true and it is a good read because it offers a tale from the back of the peloton that’s distant from the podium, the prizes and glory.

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Thin Skins

Skins was under the illusion that professional cycling had been fundamentally reformed to contain doping and minimise the risk of scandals with which the brand of any sponsor could be associated

Those are the words from sports clothing company Skins from press release issued via its Swiss lawyers as it announces legal action against the UCI. You can read the full text online as they set out their case against the UCI in a bid to claim US$ 2 million in damages.

The more I look at this, the stranger it seems and unless we get documentary evidence to show Skins have been misled then it’s hard not to view this as a publicity exercise at the expense of the sport.

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Sunday Shorts

Froome Dolphin

Dauphin in French means dolpin but also runner-up so it’s fitting that Tour de France and Team Sky Number Two Chris Froome gets to dance with a dolphin in waters near Curaçao.

It’s all part of the end-of-season festivities on the Caribbean Dutch colony which conclude with two races The Amstel beer brand gets to promote a race and the holiday resort gets lots of publicity with happy-looking cyclists enjoying themselves in sunny weather. Technically the races are illegal for the pros. UCI rules say they can’t compete in unsanctioned competitions but nobody cares, it’s the rule that is at fault more than the riders.

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Should Wiggins Skip The Tour de France?

Bradley Wiggins Tour de France 2013

There’s talk of aiming for the Giro in 2013 instead of returning to defend the Tour de France. Whilst French sensibilities might be offended if the defending champion gives July a miss, the whole sport stands to gain… including the Tour de France.

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DIY Dracula

Leonardo Bertagnolli

It’s Halloween so what better day to cover the story of self-administered blood transfusions in the pro peloton? It’s more sinister than the tale of Britons burning a giant effigy of Lance Armstrong.

But if the tale is ghoulish and rightly frightening, there’s no fancy dress costumes or children’s games. Hell, there’s not even team doctor on hand. It’s real.

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More Thoughts on the 2013 Tour de France

With more time to think about the route come more ideas and a few more points to think about. There’s the matter of smaller team sizes, whether doing Alpe d’Huez twice is hard, a sneak peek for Paris-Nice and more.

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Pie in The Sky

The weekend brought news that Sean Yates was leaving Team Sky. First it was for doping as London’s Telegraph ran the front page headline “Exclusive: British Cycling Star Quits Over Doping” next to a big picture of the big man. Hours later the team put out a contrary press release saying Yates “wants to move on, for purely personal reasons” adding there were “no admissions or disclosures that would have required him to leave the team”. The Telegraph also reported that Steven De Jongh is leaving but there’s no word from the team yet.

It’s all confusing. Yates just happens to retire the moment the team are weeding out those with a suspicious past and if you’re joining the dots, don’t worry because The Telegraph said it was over doping. Either the press release or the journalist was wrong.

Still whilst Sky get the front page treatment for trying to respond to the scourge of doping, other teams are trying alternative approaches and some don’t appear to be doing anything. We should be watching them as closely as we follow Team Sky’s declarations, no?

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Saturday Shorts

Here’s the Pinocchio, the official mascot of the 2013 world championships. He’s the wooden puppet who dreams of being a boy but he’s also known famous because his nose grows longer when he lies. As Wikipedia puts it “he has also been used as a character who is prone to telling lies and fabricating stories,” and no many are laughing when he’s linked to pro cycling.

But things are not as they seem. Famous as a liar, the puppet is also a symbol of hope in Italy. This and more stories below.

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