Comments on: Interesting Times…

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:41:44 +0000

I don’t have a problem with retrospective testing, if it is done in a timely manner and if the athletes are assured their samples have proper CoC and are viable – not contaminated or degraded. (Timeline might be legitimately stretched, up to a reasonable point, for new technology).

News of the Italian Prosecutor seizing 2008 Giro samples at this time (on the eve of or the first day of the 2009 race) does not meet the test of timeliness and stinks of having alternative agendas that have nothing to do with fairness in sport. The notion that Cera was used by some riders in the 2008 edition of the Giro is not new. It’s at least as old as the timing of Rico being dismissed from the 2008 TdF and there is no new groundbreaking testing technology in play . This kind of delay for political gain, highest news impact, and a variety of other non-sporting reasons is unacceptable to all but a certain population of knuckle dragging thugs who call themselves fans or officials.

Given that it’s going to happen, let’s hope the Italian Prosecutor’s people will be more particular about CoC, sample viability, information leaks, and best practices than the unethical hacks over at LNDD/AFLD.

Fans of train wrecks are giddy about Boonen’s latest fall from grace. I’m not. Cocaine can be a highly addictive drug for some individuals. In the big picture, Boonen had much to loose and very little to gain by using cocaine, yet he did anyway. I guess, but do not know for sure, that Boonen might be particularly susceptible to the addictive qualities of cocaine. It should be noted that it is being reported that the news is a result of an OOC test and that cocaine is not banned for cyclists OOC, so he didn’t trigger an AAF in the sporting sense. It’s more a civil or criminal matter. Still it will surely have sporting implications for the rider. It already has.

By: Jean C

Jean C — Sat, 09 May 2009 09:56:38 +0000

In the same time, Eurosport has announced that Boonen has been caught a second time for cocaine use.
The test was done Out of competition so there is no sport violation but there is of course a big civil offense. His TDF is probably already off.

http://www.eurosport.fr/cyclisme/boonen-encore._sto1933424/story.shtml

By: Jean C

Jean C — Sat, 09 May 2009 09:40:14 +0000

there is some links or words about the retesting of 2008 Giro samples like

http://www.reflector.com/sports/cyclists-at-giro-to-be-tested-for-cera-593861.html

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/Giro_dItalia_news_roundup_article_282205.html

By: Rant

Rant — Sat, 09 May 2009 02:19:48 +0000

Jean,

Interesting. Do you have a link to the article you saw? If so, I’d appreciate it.

eightzero,

These here internets are a wonderful think. Thanks for pointing that out, I’m going to be blocking a few more ads that are inappropriate. It may take a day or two for the filter to kick in, but those ads should vanish from the Google ads in the near future. Meantime, I’ll be happy to twitter you a TUE. But I’m not a doctor, so it probably won’t save you from the ADAs.

By: eightzero

eightzero — Fri, 08 May 2009 23:57:56 +0000

I just love the internets. I’m checking in on rant, and I surf to this story to read the comments. And what do I see in the margin on Rant’s (very nice) wordpress page? An ad by Google offering to sell me “Novarel HCG at $49.99/ampule: Buy Novarel HCG at Wholesale Prices Safe and Secure. We Beat All Prices CanadaDrugPharmacy.com/Novarel”

Wonder if somone can twitter me a TUE?

By: Jean C

Jean C — Fri, 08 May 2009 22:27:41 +0000

Interesting time…

Italian police has seized 2008 Giro samples to test them! Sure a lot of riders would not sleep well.

By: Rant

Rant — Fri, 08 May 2009 12:03:49 +0000

Tom,
Good point about the "man-problem". That would be rather embarrassing, and I can see how a big-name athlete would worry about leaked information.
Thanks for pointing out the article you mentioned on Twitter. I meant to include it last night. I'll probably edit the post a bit later on to include some comments from there, too.
I agree with you about baseball's approach. It is more practical, especially given the murkiness of everything.
Lance's takeover of Astana may well have been inevitable, from the moment he announced his "comeback." Gotta wonder who his title sponsor would be. One wag suggested that Amgen would be a fitting -- and ironic -- choice.

By: Thomas A. Fine

Thomas A. Fine — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:37:01 +0000

If Manny had a legitimate man-problem, his own embarassment might prevent him from obtaining a TUE or from going through team doctors. He might (legitimately) worry about leaked information. And in that scenario, he might avoid fighting the issue to keep things private.

Or, maybe he cheated.

But I find baseball’s punishment level to be much more practical, and in line with with the inevitable murkiness of science and real life.

And as for the Astana/Lance thing, an article I pointed to on twitter explicitly said that Lance preparing to take over the team. Somehow to me, it seems like these events were inevitable from the start of the year. At any rate, I’m looking forward to rooting for Bristol Meyer Squibb Racing presented by LiveStrong in July.

tom