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Letters to Cyclingnews - August 18, 2006, part 2
Here's your chance to get more involved with Cyclingnews. Comments and criticism on current stories, races, coverage and anything cycling related are welcomed, even pictures if you wish. Letters should be brief (less than 300 words), with the sender clearly identified. They may be edited for space and clarity; please stick to one topic per letter. We will normally include your name and place of residence, but not your email address unless you specify in the message.
Please email your correspondence to letters@cyclingnews.com.
Massive response to Landis situation
The Floyd Landis situation once again dominated our Inbox this week, though the initial Biblical deluge of reaction has now abated to a mere torrent as the war of words between the WADA/UCI and Landis camps has quietened down in the wake of Landis B-sample positive.
- John Stevenson, letters editor
August 18, part 1:
Natural process still possible - likelihood uncertain, Denial, Dick Pound, Oscar
Pereiro, UCI - Pro Tour drug solution?, The problem with legalising doping,
Changing the rules won't stop cheating, Scandal reduces respect, Blood tests,
Corruption, A couple of questions, A couple of questions, A German Pound?, According
to WADA: Who isn't doping?, Collect samples every day from everyone, Corruption
in the system
August 18, part 2:
Does the dope fit the crime?, Doping and the death of pro cycling, Change the
things we can, Doping, Landis, tests, Dufaux?, Floyd, dope, and cycling, Floyd's
only way out, It's the jersey, Julich: "No one is able to cheat anymore", Landis
affair, Landis and faulty test equipment, Landis and what he leaves behind,
Lefevere, Phonak, and cycling's future, Stand by Our Man Landis, Only one positive,
How did the testosterone get there?, Patrick Lefevere, Please help with these
questions, Case thrown out, Stage 17 bad tactics or dope?, What were the actual
results?, Wouldn't it be great, Zero tolerance
Recent letters
Does the dope fit the crime?
Doping and the death of pro cycling
Change the things we can
Doping, Landis, tests
Dufaux?
Floyd, dope, and cycling
Floyd's only way out
It's the jersey
Julich: "No one is able to cheat anymore"
Landis affair
Landis and faulty test equipment
Landis and what he leaves behind
Lefevere, Phonak, and cycling's future
Stand by Our Man Landis
Only one positive
How did the testosterone get there?
Patrick Lefevere
Please help with these questions
Case thrown out
Stage 17 bad tactics or dope?
What were the actual results?
Wouldn't it be great
Zero tolerance
Does the dope fit the crime?
In response to one comment made by Dr. Patrick Charles of Melbourne, Australia, it *is* possible that aggressive behaviour can elevate blood levels of testosterone. One of the wonderful insights that have come about recently is the reciprocal nature of behaviour and biology--while the direction of influence was previously thought to be unidirectional (hormones effect behaviour), there are currently several published empirical findings suggesting that behaviour can influence biology.
Richard Nisbett and Dov Cohen (two psychologists at the University of Michigan) showed that Southerners' levels of testosterone increase in response to a perceived slight, and that people's blood testosterone will increase after something as simple and removed as watching their sports team win. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that when getting into a fight, one's testosterone levels will increase and therefore it seems more than plausible that acting aggressively and getting pumped about a huge comeback stage win could also influence serum testosterone. Now, I'm not arguing that Landis is guilty or innocent, just that it's not so bizarre to argue that winning a stage could boost testosterone.
Dr. David Tom
Columbus, OH, USA
Doping and the death of pro cycling
I for one have been entranced by professional road cycling and the Tour de France for 20 years, but this year may be the last. My personal cycling activity does not depend on these clowns for inspiration and I'll continue to ride and race and never watch the Tour again. This may be the tip of the iceberg for professional sports and hence for the rest of us. Our cultural obsession with breaking records objectifying and observing the ever increasing levels of human strength, speed and endurance are of course the culprit. My hero has changed. Once it was LeMond, then Armstrong, Tyler and finally Floyd Landis. Now I cheer for the common man, that guy who shows up for a week-long tour on a 1984 Fuji 12 speed, wearing basketball shoes and Jean shorts. He's the guy to root for, not the pros.
Michael Olivero
Longmont, CO, USA
Friday, August 11, 2006
Change the things we can
How much stock are we putting in these people?
Statistically there is a child molester in the peloton, but we all still watch and keep up on the results, and I'm sure not going to fall away from this magnificent sport 'cause one of the riders loves his niece a little too much.
He's an athlete, I want to see them perform. I want to see the wars out there on the road. Did Floyd dope? I don't know, but I don't really care. The drug tests will always be behind the cover methods. That's a fact. You've got a better chance of finding a transvestite in Texas than being able to fill the podium of a professional cycling race with clean riders. There will always be drugs in professional sports no matter what, because there is a lot of money involved. You don't like people doping to get ahead, then stop drinking that espresso before your next ride, throw out the newest thermogenics compound you spent too much money for that gives you "pep" before a ride.
How bout this, lets all take the same amount of time we going to spend involved in the Floyd case this week (talking about it, thinking about it, emailing each other, reading articles, participating in forums) and get another ride in, talk to a middle school or high school class about the realities of steroids and blood doping, or even take our children on ride and explain to them how its wrong. Lets change the things we can.
Mike Holt
USA
Friday, August 11, 2006
Doping, Landis, tests
Craig Fleischer asked, "Why hasn't the Landis defence team suggested that his sample was tampered with after he gave the sample or while it was being tested?"
This is very stupid to suggest. First of all, if they had wanted to tamper with Armstrong's tests they have had that chance for 7 years and if the France tour organizers hated anyone it was Armstrong. Landis' performance at stage 17 was supernatural. Steam was still coming out of his nostrils when he jumped off the bike after the finish. It was a clear cut case of synthetic testosterone which most riders use throughout the season accompanied with human growth hormones and EPO. Landis must have went a little overboard due to his bad day the day before and gambled it would not be detected. Now, Landis' defence is ridiculous and his latest excuse is that they have a hidden agenda. What agenda is he talking about?
On the Jay Leno show he said "if you go by the tests then yes I'm guilty" to which Leno replied, "why shouldn't we go by the tests?" The facts are simple. They found synthetic testosterone in his system and it could only have come there if he, or someone else, either injected it or if he used a patch. And if I were Landis and knew for 100% sure that I didn't use this stuff than I would swear to the whole world that I didn't use it which would only leave foul play as an option. But Landis is coming up with all these lame excuses just hoping it will pass and everybody will forget about it. Just like Ullrich and Basso. The day the were sent home by their team management that said they would prove that they were innocent. Bullshit. If Ullrich and Basso knew that were innocent then all they have to do is a DNA test and clear their name and sue the hell out of the Spanish investigation team who prevented them from participating in the tour. But of course they won't do that. They want you and me to believe that as long as they haven't tested positive that they are innocent. Well, that exactly the core of the problem. These doctors have all these methods to manipulate the tests that it will always show up as a negative while in fact they are competing with high levels of testosterone.
Eddy Brouwer
Nashville, TN, USA
Friday, August 11, 2006
Dufaux?
Your news for August 10th reads:
Dufaux to join Astana as DS
'News from the successor team of the dismantled Liberty Seguros: Not Mario Kummer, who was new team advisor Walter Godefroot's favourite, but former pro Laurent Dufaux will become one of the directeurs sportifs at the Kazakh team Astana...He also was one of the riders that were expelled from the Tour in 1998, together with his other Festina teammates.'
Forgive me if I'm out of line here, or I'm missing something, but why on earth would Astana want to hire Dufaux? Surely with the current situation in cycling new teams should be attempting to distance themselves as much as possible from any persons associated, in any way, with a doping scandal. So they've gone from Manolo Saiz to Dufaux! Well done! I'm sure that's going to gain them tons of credibility with the UCI...
Paul Stapley
Montreal, Canada
Friday, August 11, 2006
Floyd, dope, and cycling
It's remarkable to me that, despite the fact that cycling's rules state that the initial drug tests are NOT the final word on doping guilt, that we have so many people - including some of the rules makers - shortcutting those rules to declare irrefutable guilt before the ENTIRE hearings process is complete. If we are to pick and choose which rules to respect, we might as well pick and choose which drug test to respect.
Ralph Moffatt
USA
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Floyd's only way out
I just have one quick question about the whole Floyd Landis situation: You pointed out in your last article on the subject that, although Landis tested positive on the Morzine stage, he was tested four times before and three times after that particular stage and all of those tests came out negative. Does exogenous testosterone leave the body that quickly? If not, how long does it usually take and why didn't his other samples come out positive? Just curious, but this seems to be the most poignant angle on the current scandal. It is his only out. Any information you could give would be appreciated.
Kelly Satterwhite
Washington, DC, USA
Friday, August 11, 2006
It's the jersey
Maybe someone tampered with his jersey? Floyd, if you haven't the washed Stage 17 jersey yet, I'd get that thing to a lab pronto.
I'm only half-kidding. I really want to believe this guy.
Steffan Havas
Palos Verdes, CA, USA
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Julich: "No one is able to cheat anymore"
Who does he think he is fooling? After looking at the alleged medical program for 'Ullrich' for the Tour. Whoever it 'was' for, they knew that it would not be detected. So the battle is still on between both sides, and I assume that it will continue for a long time...
Orval Hart
Los Alamos, NM, USA
Monday, August 14, 2006
Landis affair
Ron Huber of Italy writes:
"What is really bothersome about the Landis doping affair, has nothing to do with him taking performance enhancing drugs to win, but that in world where sporting fraud and hypocrisy reign supreme, the UCI hadn't the courage to rid itself of a certain superman for seven straight years."
I am curious... what should the UCI have done? They tested the "superman" for drugs constantly, monitored the "superman", put journalists and private detectives on the "superman", all to no avail. Should they simply have suspended him because Ron does not believe that he was as clean as any rider in the peloton, if not (apparently) cleaner?
John Daigle
Atlanta, GA, USA
Monday, August 14, 2006
Landis and faulty test equipment
Floyd Landis tested positive for banned substances and there have been many suggestions published in cyclingnews.com on how this might have happened. One cause of a false positive, not mentioned so far, maybe due to faulty test equipment. The test equipment is quite complex and requires computer software to analysis the test. Could this software be confused by other substances present in Floyd's body? Testing and analysis of the A and B specimens should be conducted in two unrelated laboratories using different procedures, equipment, and software.
Ian Anderson
Palm Springs, California, USA
Monday, August 14, 2006
Landis and what he leaves behind
Floyd Landis and the people who helped him in making this desaster become reality, they should realize that by looking at their personal interests only, they are leaving up to 50 people on the road and many more young future riders without hope to sign a contract in a PRO Tour team.
Let's stop blaming every test and look just at the hard facts: if Landis would have been a Russian track and field star, nobody would be questioning the validity of the tests, or am I wrong?
Thanks Floyd, thanks a lot for what you have done and please make sure that your lawyers come up with better stories than the ones you told in the press conferences. Sometimes it really looks like it is true that to be a good biker you do not need a good brain but just good legs.
Bye bye
Cesare Trabattoni
USA
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Lefevere, Phonak, and cycling's future
First off, I've heard a lot about how the future of cycling is in serious jeopardy, which is of course nonsense. It hardly follows that because of the Landis and Puerto scandals, a sport of over 100 years tradition and a very well established industrial base (for lack of a better term), would fold in the matter of a year or two. Cycling has endured doping before and with time will overcome the problem, but in the meantime, I hardly think that Trek will close its factory, Lance Armstrong will lose popularity, and no one will think on their morning commute, "Hey, it would be pretty fun to race one of these."
Secondly, I must agree with Quick.Step manager Patrick Lefevere on the idea of removing Phonak from the list of ProTour teams, but taking an American approach to prosecuting one another is another issue. I can say very confidently as an American, our approach sucks. It may look like a good idea to start legal action over "damaging the sport of cycling" from over in Belgium, but trust me, if you can sue someone for that, you can sue someone for anything. Trust me it sucks, a lot.
Karl Locher
Madison, WI, USA
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Stand by Our Man Landis
I'm not ready to write off Floyd Landis as just another cheat.
I've watched him turn himself inside out in support of Lance Armstrong. I saw his astonishing ride during Stage 17 in the 2004 Tour de France when he enabled Armstrong to beat Andreas Klöden in a sprint finish.
I've read about him on the Internet, in magazines, and in various books. In “Lance Armstrong’s War” by Dan Coyle, one gets a real sense of Landis (see Chapter 15, “The Book of Floyd.”)
I've observed Landis in OLN interviews and in “The Lance Chronicles.” After he left the US Postal team, I noticed how he weathered the predictable feud with Armstrong. I'm amazed that he regularly publishes the training results from his bike’s power meter.
After all this, I thought to myself, “Landis is one heck of a rider; he’s tough, and he’s open. He hears his own drummer. He’s stubborn, determined, funny, and offbeat.”
I admired Landis’ talent and was pleased that another American was in the cycling elite, but I was not yet a fan. But I became a fan after he had the guts to face the media (with a smile, no less) after his infamous bonk on Stage 16 of this year’s Tour. His unguarded demeanour and raw emotions were refreshing.
That got my attention and spoke volumes about his character.
That’s why I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
And that’s why all of this does not make sense.
After his disastrous ride, Landis said he thought his chances of winning the 2006 Tour were over, and the best he could hope for was to win Stage 17 proving he wouldn't give up.
So he thought he could win Stage 17. . .
If he won the stage, he knew he would be tested . . .
Why cheat and put in a tortuous ride knowing there was a good chance of being disqualified?
How would that prove anything to anyone, least of all himself?
It does not make sense.
I'm not naïve. Many years ago, I worked for a major league baseball team where its star was chasing what was believed to be an unbeatable record. I observed the athletes up close. I was surrounded by the media frenzy. From that experience, I know that things are not always as they appear. I don't know what happened in this case. So what can I really rely on? What can I trust?
After sifting through everything, it comes down to my instincts. My gut tells me that Landis did not cheat. I don't know if Landis can prove his innocence or not, but I wish him well and want to thank him for providing me a lot of entertainment. No matter what happens, I'll remain a fan of cycling because even if it is flawed, it is an amazing and beautiful sport.
Madeleine McBroom
Durham, NC, USA
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Only one positive
Amy asks, "Why is it so easy to believe that he would risk absolutely everything just to win a race?"
Simple: science points to truths unencumbered with the our wishes of how we would like the world to be. If Landis wishes to clear his name he must use the same tools which have enveloped him in this crisis. He should release the results of every test he has ever take. If his T/E is so unusual, this would not be the first time it was out of the normal range. He doesn't do this because the mass spec does not lie.
For all those hooked up on the "chain of evidence" issue, I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that the whole thing is done in a double-blind fashion, no one touching the sample should have any idea whose sample it is. If this is not the protocol, than game over for UCI, but I can't imagine that the process is done any other way.
Finally, I read a lot of sorrow for Landis, but what about Pereiro? How much
was stolen from him? Who knows if he will ever have a chance to stand on the
top step of the podium on the Champ-Elysees, where he should have been,
cheered as the rightful man in yellow?
Dr R P Ilchik
Sydney, Australia
Sunday, August 13, 2006
How did the testosterone get there?
In response to Amy Bush's comment,
"Why is it so hard to believe that if there is synthetic testosterone in his urine, it didn't get there by anything he did? "
Erm, isn't the answer, "because you have to administer it via a trans-dermal patch or injection?"
I think he'd notice ...
Frank Pilling
Sydney, Australia
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Patrick Lefevere
Please let's have the American approach. Then we can have we can have a sport littered with "untouchable" steroid freaks like Bonds, Giambi, Palmeiro, Sosa, McGwire, Sheffield etc., etc. That would be such an improvement or would it just be a return to the pre-Festina days.
Nicholas A. Chivily
Friday, August 11, 2006
Patrick Lefevere and the testosterone/epitestosterone test
It certainly is a curiosity that Patrick Lefevere is so vocal in his condemnation of dopers given his employment of convicted dopers. The part though of Brian Clements letter on testosterone/epitestosterone ratios is the part I find startlingly interesting!
Am I correct in assuming then that if the ratio of a riders testosterone/epitestosterone tested is correct and within tolerance, they are in fact testing clean irrespective of the source of the testosterone/epitestosterone? Do the testers do any more tests on "correct ratio" samples for "source"? Or is that it - the rider has tested clean?
David Norwich
Fountainhall, Scotland
Friday, August 11, 2006
Patrick Lefevere is a hypocrite? Maybe Landis is
Reading all of these pathetic letters from Americans trying to defend a cheat because he's a "good American boy" makes me sick. Would we have the same outpouring of support if Landis was not an American?
1.) Landis failed the A sample test. He was informed (before the media was) and pulled out of the after-Tour races he was signed up to take part in. At this time, none of us knew that he had tested positive. I can't imagine the UCI keeping everything quiet for a few weeks while the B sample was tested. They had to tell the world what had happened, otherwise all kinds of rumours would have started. What would Landis say if reporters had asked him why he was not racing in Holland, etc?
2.) If someone who finished high in the Tour de France tests positive (sample A), this info should be provided ASAP. I know a bit or two about lab medicine and can say these tests are virtually fool proof. The B sample is just a formality and a confirmation of the obvious (even Landis had no doubts about the results of the second sample). A guy who tests positive should be given as little time as possible to enjoy the financial benefits (endorsements and the like) of a high place. "Innocent until sample A is positive" should be the new motto.
3.) Floyd Landis should be sued (as Patrick Lefevere suggested) not for testing positive (he'll be banned for that), but rather for his comments detrimental (and "blasphemous") to cycling. Landis suggests that there's a conspiracy and "there was a hidden agenda". Where have we heard this all before? What evidence does he have? I think he would have acted (with a lawsuit) if someone had labelled him a doper in public before he tested positive. None of the riders Lefevere had riding for his team blamed the sport of cycling for a conspiracy.
4.) Floyd, have the balls (obviously the previous American winner had one missing so he's got an excuse) to admit you doped. Look at David Millar. He took EPO, he admitted it, he served his sentence and people respect him and cheer him on now that he's back and clean.
5.) As for Basso and Ullrich: if the blood found in Dr. Fuentes' office is not yours then submit a blood sample (or a hair sample). The DNA test is so reliable (don't listen to the garbage that was brought forward at the O.J. Simpson trial) this is a certain way of clearing your names. If you don't provide DNA samples, then you're obviously admitting having/or having planned to dope.
6.) I fully support the suggestion that teams/managers should also be penalized for their riders testing positive. This would ensure that the teams themselves would test the riders to make sure they weren't taking anything while out training.
Dr. M. Gronski
Charlottesville, VA, USA
Friday, August 11, 2006
Please help with these questions
So, I feel like I am getting a grip on the legal perspective of the Landis case. I am, also, beginning to understand UCI anti-doping rules (including possible violations in their reporting standards. However, I still don't know the medical side of it. Would someone please answer these questions?
1. Is it true that testosterone does not help a riders’ performance in stage races. This is an argument that I have seen reported from respectable sources on the web. In fact, it might even hurt it because it could cause his body to retain water.
2. If Landis truly took something to improve his performance, couldn't he have chosen at least twenty better illegal substances?
3. Does official report does not mention the existence of exogenesis testosterone. I heard (again on the web) that it did not.
4. How is it possible that a rider can test positive for testosterone one day and not two days later? As a college athlete, when I took a test, they told me that they could detect artificial testosterone for several weeks.
5. Is the ratio test used to test Landis’s sample reliable? I have heard from numerous sources, most recently Paul S., that it is not.
6. Finally, does any technology exist that would lead Floyd to believe that he could take exogenesis testosterone without detection?
Chadd McGlone
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Case thrown out
I agree with Rob Verbruggen that ultimately the results are the important thing, however I think he has missed the main concern re the process. It appears that the Chatenay-Malabry lab knew the identity of the samples they were testing, otherwise why would there be any concern that they would leak it to the press? That's the aspect of a process breakdown, if there is one, that is troubling. Its also odd that the lab is considered above reproach with regard to testing but not to be trusted to follow the rest of the process.
Why not send the A and B samples to different, truly independent, labs and have both tested in all cases. Furthermore insure that the identity of the samples are not revealed to the labs. Only cases where A and B come back positive would be considered positive. If that had been done in the current case, with a positive result, I think nearly everyone would accept the results.
Jim Robinson
USA
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Stage 17 bad tactics or dope?
Finally someone noticed! Floyd's critics have consistently used his "stellar" performance on stage 17 as proof of his doping. There are two problems with this criticism. First, from all I've read, testosterone offers no one-day-use performance advantage, so it cannot be an explanation for that ride. Second, as Lee Frankel's letter points out, Floyd's day 17 performance was not uncharacteristic for him.
My opinion (apparently not shared by others) is that his ride that day was a combination of two factors. Having lost so much time the day before, none of the GC contenders saw him as a threat when he went with a break-away chase group, so the peloton made not attempt to pull him back. Second, since he had lost enough time to put him out of contention for a Tour win, had no reason, any more, to hold back and do a sensible ride. Having nothing to lose, he just went for it.
By the time the peloton realized that he had gotten far enough ahead to take back the overall lead, it was too late to reel him back in. And as for Floyd, I'd imagine at some point he must have realized that he had the race-lead back and would have found a tremendous physical "lift" from that. In other words, my vote goes to bad tactics on the part of the GC leaders teams and not drugs as the explanation for Floyd's day 17 ride.
Glen Reuschling
Watsonville, CA, USA
Friday, August 11, 2006
What were the actual results?
In one of his talk show appearances Floyd said that his Testosterone level was not high but his T/E ratio was high. If he had taken a "booster shot" wouldn't he have a high Testosterone level at the end of the stage. Do the results support his contentions that it was only the T/E ratio and the isotope results that where wrong?
How do we get a copy of the actual test results?
Al Wigginton
Livermore, CA, USA
Friday, August 11, 2006
Wouldn't it be great
It would also be great Scott, if most of the Americans (Bin Tan and a few others excepted), who post articles here, could get a grip on reality. It makes me wonder to what extent American sport is tainted with cheating and drug abuse, if some of the letters are to be believed. You have the "lets have a level playing field" (let everyone have an alchemist as well as a coach) approach, where we would see more athletes dying before the age of 40. You have the people who blame the authorities for not being efficient enough (this is often backed up by biased national press and lawyers). The McQuaids and Pounds of this World, along with their organisations are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
We do not need cheats and drug abusers in sport! Get rid of them now, ban them for life, and recoup their ill gotten gains. They ruin sport for honest athletes and by defending them, we are giving out the wrong message to the World. Champions in any sport are often perceived as role models - Pele, Michael Johnson, Jack Nicklaus etc. These are people who reach out beyond their own sport and are respected by everyone who has seen them. How many of the current champions will be revered. Much of sport over the past couple of years has been tainted by corruption, cheating and drugs.
It's time to abandon national pride and deal coldly and justly with the cheats, because they are ruining the sports which I used to love.
Andy Cheshire
England
Friday, August 11, 2006
Zero tolerance
There I was riding the hills of Virginia jacked up on my morning coffee and traces of bourbon from the night before when the answer to UCI's zero-tolerance problems came to me. From now on, any rider that fails both the 'A' and 'B' tests for a controlled substance gets banned from cycling for life. No more two year bans. I do not want to spend two years listening to some guy talk about coming back to prove he is clean.
In addition, all teammates and the team manager participating in a race with the rider when he fails the test are banned from cycling for one year.
Sorry, guys, but you have to be more careful about the company you keep. If you have questions about one of your teammates, you better ask before the tests.
If you do not wish to race under those terms, that's okay. There are millions of people worldwide who would jump at the chance.
Alternatively, we could do nothing and watch mass media, sponsors and fans abandon the sport taking the big races and million dollar contracts with them.
The choice is ours.
H. Mark Hudson
Richmond, VA, USA
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Recent letters pages
Letters 2006
- August 11, part 1: Patrick Lefevere, "The media knew before I did", A couple of questions , Distribute the testing, A possible scenario for Landis, A real Tour, Anti-doping transparency, Anyone hear Jack Nicholson?, Are we fighting doping or not?, Bad for cycling - are you kidding?, Best way to deal with doping, Can some one please tell me... , Case thrown out, CIR and T/E tests, Collect samples every day from everyone, Complaining about drugs in cycling, Corruption in the system
- August 11, part 2: Cycling's reputation, Distortions in the Landis case, Does the dope fit the crime?, Doping, Doping in general, Doping, Landis, tests, Doping - the whole sorry mess, Drug testing for cyclists, Drugs & the Tour Down Under, Enough already!, Flawed process?, Only one positive, Unrealistic expectations
- August 11, part 3: Floyd Landis Affair, Floyd, dope, and cycling, Robbie Ventura, Hoping Floyd soon shows HIS evidence, I will prove it, Is this true (and if so, what's its import)?, Landis, Landis and Merckx, Legal black hole, Media circus, Operacion Puerto Victims, Pat McQuaid and doping... , Penalize teams, organizations
- August 11, part 4: Players, Post race reunion, Robbie Ventura, Solutions are there, Stage 17 Bad Tactics or dope?, T-E testing and Oscar Pereiro, Testosterone cheating, Testosterone Gremlins, The "System", doping, and so on, Who do you believe?, Time to level the playing field, UCI - Pro Tour Drug Solution?, Ullrich, Why process matters, Worse than VDB, Wouldn't it be Great!
- August 4, part 1: I will prove it, Doping, Landis, tests, Why process matters, Robbie Ventura, Rubbish!, Leadership & cleansing, 21st Stage, A few minor thoughts, Stage 17 water consumption, Was it a recovery prep?, Anti-doping transparency, Bad for cycling - are you kidding?, Best way to deal with doping
- August 4, part 2: Case thrown out, Center podium, Collect samples every day from everyone, Complaining about drugs in cycling, Confidence in the testing system, Courage off the bike, Who is Cowboy (2003)?, Crime and punishment, Nothing without the cyclists!, Davis and four others, Does the dope fit the crime?, Doping & money, Doping in cycling, An examination, Drug testing for cyclists, From a fellow pro, In Floyd ..., Do the right thing, Floyd's steroids, Grow Up and Get Real!, Future of testing, Idea for a clean Tour, Landis vs Periero TT, I'm done with cycling, I'm retired as a fan of the pros, Feel like a fool, I'm so disappointed
- August 4, part 3: Team management & doctors, It appears the dope does fit the Crime..., It was the whiskey, It's all a sham, It's everywhere., Nothing is conclusive, Worse than VDB, Cycling needs our support, Of all the tests…, Doesn't add up, Test timing, Players, Legal black hole, B-sample & Marco Pinotti, Landis is guilty of something, Former Phan, Landis Ordeal, Landis Situation, Landis, drugs and cycling, Landis: lab accreditation, The question, Laughingstock, Lawyers in tow, Leaks, Learn from NASCAR, Letter to Editor
- August 4, part 4: Losing hope against the dope..., Mitigating factor, No doping control is insane, One toke over the line, Keystone Cops, Operacion Puerto Victims, Raise the stakes, Something not right, Exhuming McCarthy, Testerone testing, Testing procedure, Landis has been caught, The Jack Daniels defense, The Landis Situation, French testing: a leaky boat, What a positive A sample means, The sieve called doping control, Time to level the playing field, US Perspective, WADA, UCI ruining sport, What about Pereiro?, What's the hold up?, Who's watching the henhouse?
- July 31, part 1: I will prove it, Stop the complaining, Public perception, The process - flawed?, Courage off the bike, Dallas on wheels, Surely not, Sick & insulted, Mitigating factor for Landis, Landis... it is a shame, Landis' abnormal (supernormal) results, Travesty, Who's watching the henhouse?, Could it have been the result of the bonk?, I'm sick of this!, One toke over the line
- July 31, part 2: Why does McQuaid make a bad situation worse, Why does the UCI make a bad situation worse, How one-off testosterone helps, Why risk it? Here's why., Must be natural, Sick of hearing about doping!, Previous reading?, If Landis turns out to be doped, Cycling on trial, All that is gold does not glitter, The science on testosterone, Maybe I am a fool, Loons, Results not yet known, Surely not, Cheated
- July 31, part 3: Who to believe, A slightly inappropriate Landis defence and proposal , Gut feeling, Jaded, Landis, Latest doping allegations, Tired of the system!, Cheating or not, Hard landing for the sport if Landis issue turns sour, Another Landis comment, Why?, Elevated T levels in Landis, Crucified, Floyd Landis, What is happening to cycling?
- July 31, part 4: Testing testosterone, It was the whiskey, Does the dope fit the crime?, Results not yet known, Landis - Say it ain't so!, Doping, Landis, tests, Landis - guilty until proven innocent, T/E ratio and treatment of Floyd Landis, Bad science and a possible solution, Testosterone is a natural substance, Confidence in the testing system
- July 28: Landis - Say it ain't so!, Surely not, The science on testosterone, Results not yet known, Jaded, Leave Landis ALONE!, "Everybody cheats.", Fairness of testing, Crucified, Who to believe?, Landis doping, The A and B test., Why does McQuaid make a bad situation worse?
- July 21, part 2: Legalising doping, Full transparency, Basso and DNA, Doping, lawyers, and Basso, Ullrich's Innocence, Tyler Hamilton, Did Millar come clean, Ullrich's doping plan, Doping and still suffering
- July 21, part 1: Stage 17, 2006 Tour, And the winner is?, Chicken!, Rasmussen not a "team player"?, Enough Lance, Floyd's bad day, Is Discovery really a true U.S. ProTour team?, First-time winners' past records, Kudos to Leblanc, Landis' aero bars, NORBA Nationals, Floyd's not "photogenically challenged", Respect the yellow jersey?, US Nationals, Very unsatisfying
- July 14, part 2: Landis' aero bars, Wide Open Before the Cols- An Average Fan's Predictions, US Nationals, Cipo @ the Tour, And the Winner is?, Boring spots, Disco Boys?, Enough Lance, Is Discovery really a true U.S. Pro Tour Team?, Kloden by default, Millar's new TT position, Photogenically Challenged Champions, Segregation is not the solution
- July 14, part 1: Legalising doping , Small world, Hamilton's fax, Cheats, Come clean, Simoni, Doping and the double standard, Dopers don't affect love of riding, Greg LeMond, Vino, Lance & LeMond
- July 7, part 2: Legalise it!, Doping, Greg LeMond, Plenty of riders don't dope, What I will do, Phonak, Come clean, Hide & Seek, The Early Signs coming True, Doping and sponsors, Santiago Botero not on the list, An alternative
- July 7, part 1: Are we paying these guys enough? Cardiac hypertrophy and sudden death, A cycling scandal? A sad day for cycling fans, Discovery's team leader, Easier racing won't help, Simoni, Cheats, Vinokourov, An open letter to Ivan Basso, Are we alone?, Sharing the road, Searching for an old book
- June 30, part 1: Easier racing won't help, Communidad Valencia and the ASO, Doping & fans, What a Shame, Sunny side of pro dopers, Tyler Hamilton: how long can he deny, The new "performance" enhancer, Greg LeMond, Armstrong's letter to IOC, Armstrong, L'Équipe, WADA & Pound, A call for one more test
- June 30, part 2: Ullrich and the Tour, Mancebo: The Unsung Hero, Hincapie to lead Disco, Jane Higdon, USA junior development, Voigt vs. Hincapie, Operation Puerto, Where there is smoke, there is fire, Watching the wheels come off, Why only cycling?, UCI request for riders to submit signed statements, UCI leadership questioned by reporters
- June 23: "Next!", Hincapie to lead Disco, USA junior development, Jane Higdon, A call for one more test, Armstrong's letter to IOC, Defending Landis, Doping, The Armstrong/L'Équipe/WADA/Pound affair, Spanish doping allegations, Team consequences, Voigt vs. Hincapie
- June 16: Pound should resign, Now I’m really confused, Vinokourov, Saiz, doping and the TdF, The Spanish operation, Misplaced sympathy, Name the suspects, Spanish doping, Opinions from France, ASO, Simoni vs. Basso, Voigt vs. Hincapie, Jens Voigt vs. George Hincapie, Voigt and Hincapie, Jane Higdon, Jeremy Vennell diary
- June 11: Simoni vs. Basso, Basso and Simoni, Simoni versus Basso, Simoni's smile, Sour grapes Simoni, Sarcastic, disgruntled fan?, Congrats to Jan, Non-round rings, Sport, Voigt and Hincapie, Jens Voigt, Three cheers for Jens Voigt, Jens Voigt vs. George Hincapie, Voigt vs. Hincapie, Thanks to Voigt and Manzano, Champion in countless ways, Chapeau Jens!
- June 9 - Special edition: Vino’s position, Astana-Wurth and the TdF, Vinokourov, Saiz, doping and the TdF, Spanish doping allegations, WADA, Vrijman's findings, That Report, WADA and Armstrong, WADA vs. UCI vs. the riders, WADA's double standard, WADA and Pound missing the point, Pound should resign, A Pound of what?, The role of the AIGCP, The Spanish operation, Botero interview, Say it isn't so, Manolo
- June 2: Simoni versus Basso, Simoni and Basso, Simoni, Simoni's smile, Simoni is a crybaby, Basso and Simoni, Sour grapes Simoni, Gibo Si-MOAN-i, Blood, drugs, cash and corruption, Sickening double standard, Spanish federations' reaction to Saiz, Don't be surprised by drug use, Giro d'Italia, Thanks to Voigt and Manzano, Chapeau Jens!, Jens Voigt, Three cheers for Jens Voigt, Jens Voigt is the man, Voigt 2006 vs Boogerd 1999, Voigt and Hincapie, Discovery’s Giro team, Altitude tents and EPO, Not just name-calling, Say it isn't so, Manolo, Spanish doping allegations, Armstrong and L'Equipe, CSC is a class act, Basso and CSC, Jimenez memories, Markers in drugs, Discovery Channel's Giro performance, Pound should resign, Giro live reporting, Banning of altitude tents, Bettini is consistent
- May 26: Their A-game's at home, The Tour and the TT, Jan's good form, Jan bashing, Congrats to Jan, The diesel, Double or nothing, Ivance Bassostrong, Bravo, Basso!, Discovery Channel's Giro performance, Bettini is consistent, Banning of altitude tents, When disqualification isn't enough, WADA should ban intervals
- May 26 - Special edition: Say it ain't so, Manolo, Say it isn't so, Spanish Federations' reaction to Saiz, The doping scandal to end them all
- May 19: Bettini is consistent, Banning of altitude tents, Hypoxic tents, WADA and altitude tents, Latest WADA crusade, WADA bans another, Congrats to Jan, Criticism of Jan Ullrich, Jan bashing, Jan ready for the Tour, Jan's good form, Armstrong - the New American Idol, The same old Lance, Defeatism in Discovery, Giro reactions, One of Savoldelli's secrets, Rasmussen's time trial position, Riders under helmets, Difference between following and leading, The Tour and the TT, Bruyneel's Giro comments, When disqualification isn't enough
- May 12: Marion Clignet, Bruyneel's Giro comments, Criticism of Jan Ullrich, Jan bashing, Jan's weight, Defeatism in Discovery, Lance talking up Basso, The same old Lance, Rasmussen's time trial position, Giro team time trial, Hincapie in Paris-Roubaix, Riders under helmets
- May 5: Criticism of Jan, Criticism of Ullrich, The Ullrich-bashing bandwagon, Ullrich in 2006, Jan dramas, More Jan dramas, Bruyneel's Giro comments, Team helmets, Volunteering at bike races, Hincapie in Paris-Roubaix
- April 28: Working for the team in Georgia, Ullrich's thick skin, Ullrich and the 2006 Tour, Jan Ullrich racing, Ullrich and THAT wheel, Jan Ullrich, Jan dramas, Paris-Roubaix technology, Hincapie in Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Roubaix controversy, Paris-Roubaix comments, Paris-Roubaix tech, Team helmets
- April 21: Paris-Roubaix final say, Paris-Roubaix controversy, Paris-Roubaix and technology, George and the fork issue, Quotable quotes, Cycling technology, Behaving like a champion, Paris-Roubaix: UCI Code of Ethics
- April 14: Continuing to behave like a champion, No curse of the rainbow jersey, Tom Boonen, Hang in there, Saul, The gods of cycling, Trek and Paris-Roubaix, Looking out for George, Paris-Roubaix and technology, Broken forks and broken dreams, Jan Ullrich, Jan dramas, Disqualifications, So you know, Paris - Roubaix, THAT railway crossing incident, Need for consistency, Paris-Roubaix - poor Cancellara, Paris Roubaix disqualification, Paris-Roubaix: setting a good example, Roubaix disqualification decision, UCI Roubaix disgrace, Paris Roubaix disqualification, Paris Roubaix affair, Paris-Roubaix fiasco, Paris-Roubaix sham, Racing's railroad crossings, George's bike failure, Let them race, Roubaix controversy
- April 12 (Special Paris Roubaix edition): Paris-Roubaix disqualification, Disqualification on the pave, Level crossing in Paris-Roubaix, Rules are rules, Paris-Roubaix, McQuaid's reasoning, Pat McQuaid and train barriers, Railway crossing at Paris-Roubaix, Disqualifications in Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Roubaix crossing, Roubaix controversy, Grade crossings, Railroad crossings, Safety at Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Roubaix sham, Paris-Roubaix safety, Paris-Roubaix rail crossing, Boonen and friends cross the tracks, McQuaid's explanation, Roubaix disqualification decision
- April 7: Hang in there Saul, De Ronde parcours, Edwig van Hooydonk, Discovery’s American riders, Tom Boonen, April fools, Hair care product line, Brave new world, Commonwealth Games time trial, Photo of the year
